Reconciling Pasteur and Darwin to control infectious diseases

Samuel Alizon (1, 2) , Pierre-Olivier Méthot

1 MIVEGEC-ETE - Evolution Théorique et Expérimentale
2 CIRB - Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en biologie

The continual emergence of new pathogens and the increased spread of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations remind us that microbes are living entities that evolve at rates that impact public health interventions. Following the historical thread of the works of Pasteur and Darwin shows how reconciling clinical microbiology, ecology, and evolution can be instrumental to understanding pathology, developing new therapies, and prolonging the efficiency of existing ones.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]; Biodiversité; Interactions entre organismes; Santé; Microbiologie et Parasitologie; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Samuel Alizon, Pierre-Olivier Méthot. Reconciling Pasteur and Darwin to control infectious diseases. PLoS Biology, 2018, 16 (1), pp.e2003815. ⟨10.1371/journal.pbio.2003815⟩. ⟨hal-01737461⟩