Patrice Polard

This study identifies RumC1 as a broad-spectrum bacteriocin targeting a transient peptidoglycan intermediate in cell wall maturation, with distinct mechanisms from vancomycin.

This study identifies a tripartite protein complex essential for ssDNA uptake during natural transformation in firmicutes, validated through structural modeling and experimental assays.

This study identifies a toxin-antitoxin system in Streptococcus pneumoniae that induces competence by causing replicative stress and triggering the comCDE operon.

The paper investigates how ComM, a membrane protein in Streptococcus pneumoniae, transiently inhibits cell division during competence by reducing septal peptidoglycan synthesis.

This study shows that competence-induced expression of RecA and RadA in Streptococcus pneumoniae enhances tolerance to genotoxic stress, highlighting competence as a stress-sensing mechanism.

This study presents cryoEM structures of RadA and ComM, revealing their mechanisms of ATP hydrolysis and DNA branch migration during homologous recombination.

This study identifies two D-loop resolution systems in bacteria, YraN/ComM and CoiA/RadA, that work together to process the transformation D-loop during natural genetic transformation.

The paper develops a dynamic model of competence in Streptococcus pneumoniae, revealing regulatory mechanisms and experimentally confirming predictions about gene products and protein interactions.