Molecular Plasmid Ecology Lab

Our Research

Mobile genetic elements such as plasmids are central players in bacterial ecology and evolution. Plasmids are highly diverse, replicate independently of the bacterial chromosome, and can transfer horizontally between bacterial cells through a process called conjugation. They are also key carriers of antibiotic resistance genes. Since antimicrobial resistance is an urgent threat to global health, understanding what drives plasmid success is critical and may help identify points of intervention to curb the spread of resistance.

Our lab investigates the ecology and evolution of antibiotic resistance plasmids, with a focus on interactions between plasmids, an aspect that is still poorly understood. We are particularly interested in plasmid competition, and our work currently follows three lines:

Type IV CRISPR-Cas. One of the very few known genetic systems dedicated to plasmid competition. We study its molecular mechanisms and the plasmid dynamics that result from its interference.

New competition systems. We search for novel plasmid competition systems and study how they work and how widespread they are.

Competition and resistance spread. We ask how competition between plasmids shapes the spread of antibiotic resistance in bacterial populations.

Together, these lines of work aim to understand how competition between plasmids contributes to plasmid success, from the molecular mechanisms of individual competition systems to the population-level dynamics of resistance spread.

We work mainly with clinical Enterobacterales strains and their plasmids. We use molecular and synthetic biology to dissect how competition systems work, quantitative experiments to measure how plasmids compete within and between bacterial populations, and mathematical models to predict the resulting plasmid dynamics and their consequences for resistance spread.

Get to know our team, browse our publications or get in touch if you're interested in joining us.

We are hosted by the Kümmerli Group at the Department of Quantitative Biomedicine at the University of Zurich. 

Join us

We are always happy to hear from curious, motivated people who want to explore plasmid biology, bacterial evolution and antibiotic resistance with us. If you are interested in joining the lab as a PhD student or postdoc, or for a Master’s or Bachelor’s project, please get in touch with a short description of your interests and your CV.

We also welcome enquiries from candidates who would like to apply for independent fellowships (e.g. SNSF, EMBO, Marie Skłodowska-Curie) to be hosted in our lab.

Contact: fabienne.benz_at_uzh.ch