All animals and plants on Earth harbor microbiomes—communities of bacteria, viruses, and other microbes that inhabit specific host environments. Our goal is to study key members of these microbiomes, such as bacteria and their viruses (bacteriophages), which are constantly evolving to adapt to new conditions and avoid extinction.
Mission
The Frazão Lab studies how bacteria and their bacteriophages evolve genetically
under different host conditions, such as pregnancy and cancer, where antibiotic
resistance may emerge.
Using Escherichia coli and mice (Mus musculus) as models, we investigate
microbial evolution to build fundamental knowledge that can be translated into
clinical strategies to improve human health.
Coordinator: Nelson Frazão
The Frazão Lab investigates the genetic evolution of bacteria and their associated bacteriophages under different physiological conditions of the mammalian host—such as pregnancy and cancer—where bacterial antibiotic resistance can emerge. Our primary model systems include E. coli, their associated bacteriophages, and the laboratory mouse (Mus musculus). E. coli is a well-established member of the human gut microbiome, while M. musculus serves as a well-recognized model for studying mammalian, particularly human, biology.
Publications:
- Frazão N, et al. Clonal interference and genomic repair during strain coexistence in the gut. 2025, PLoS Genetics.
- Frazão N, et al. Two modes of evolution shape bacterial strain diversity in the mammalian gut for thousands of generations. 2022, Nature Communications.
- Balbontín R, Frazão N, et al. DNA breaks-mediated fitness cost reveals RNase HI as a new target for selectively eliminating antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 2021, Molecular Biology and Evolution.
- Frazão N, et al. Horizontal gene transfer overrides mutation in Escherichia coli colonizing the mammalian gut. 2019, PNAS.
