Tuberculosis is caused by bacilli belonging to theMycobacterium tuberculosis complex and is still the most deadly human disease. Despite its low prevalence in high-income countries, it is still causing more than 1 million deaths per year. This high mortality rate is linked to insufficient access to followed treatments and/or due to antibiotic resistance. The bacillus exhibits a high phylogeographic diversity likely due to Neolithic migrations, but also an intra-patient diversity that is still poorly understood.
We are studying the factors controlling neutral and adaptive diversification of this bacillus, including intra-host diversification and emergence of antibiotic resistance.