Joint Research Unit on Animal mycoplasmas of the Lyon Laboratory

Created in April 2004, under the supervision of VetAgro Sup and ANSES, the Joint Research Unit on Animal mycoplasmoses (MYCO UMR) specialises in the study of mycoplasmas, a bacterial genus responsible for several animal diseases. It comprises a total of 13 people, including nine permanent scientists, with one to two PhD students and one to three university students per year on average.

The missions of the UMR MYCO primarily focus on research and training through research in mycoplasmology, with a particular expertise on ruminant mycoplasmas. These are combined with expertise/reference and teaching missions for ANSES and VetAgro Sup, respectively. The UMR MYCO carries out scientific work evaluating the biodiversity of bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma and the clinical expression of related diseases.

Surveillance activities

The UMR MYCO coordinates the French national epidemiological surveillance network, Vigimyc. In addition to carrying out missions involving the surveillance and monitoring of both endemic and exotic ruminant mycoplasma species, the network also provides diagnostic support for veterinary analytical laboratories. Vigimyc maintains a collection of mycoplasma strains used in the external production of autogenous vaccines but also in multiple research projects. Since 2020, the monitoring of the ruminant mycoplasma species circulating in Belgium was initiated through a collaboration with the ARSIA.

Research activities

The research projects of the MYCO UMR mainly focus on the diversity and antimicrobial resistance of animal mycoplasmas and on their virulence and emergence.

The UMR MYCO is mainly driving applied research activities, with a particular focus on establishing structural links between clinical observations (outcome of diseases, therapeutic uses, economic impact and epidemiological surveillance) and the characterisation of pathogens (identification, genetic polymorphism, antimicrobial resistance, virulence). Close collaborations between the UMR MYCO and production sectors, diagnostic laboratories, veterinary practitioners and professional health organisations ensure that research activities are connected to known or emerging issues and therefore provide true benefits on animal health and welfare.

Fundamental research projects are usually carried out in collaboration with university partners and research organisations, in particular through the joint supervision of PhD students. The UMR MYCO is a member of the educational and guidance committee of the E2M2 doctoral school (Evolution, Ecosystems, Microbiology and Modelling) of the University of Lyon. It is also a member of eMyNet, the European Mycoplasma Research Network, and of MyMIC, a European consortium focusing on antimicrobial resistance in mycoplasmas.

Additionally, the UMR MYCO has been developing different cellular models with increasing complexities to study the pathophysiology of mycoplasma infections through a partnership with INRAE. These models are intended to be used to study host-mycoplasmas interactions and antimicrobial resistance in conditions mimicking natural infections. In parallel, the development of projects relying on high-throughput whole genome sequencing technologies was pivotal in the transition of Vigimyc towards a genomic surveillance program. Based on the complete and precise genetic characterization of the circulating mycoplasma strains, such a program allows for the detection of atypical or re-emerging strains, the definition of species or virulence markers and their monitoring over time, etc… More recently, synthetic genomics techniques have been implemented in the UMR MYCO. Relying on the use of the Baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an engineering platform, these techniques allow the creation of isogenic mycoplasma mutants, which will facilitate the study of genes of interests and foster the development of novel research interests and collaborations.

Main research projects (ongoing and recently finished)

MyMIC (2023-2025)

Partners: 15 European countries and 3 third countries for a total of ~50 scientists

Funding: French Research Agency (ANR)

MyMIC is a European networking project funded by the ANR as part of the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPI-AMR) call for projects. It aims to build a network to exchange good practices and harmonize methodologies used for the diagnosis and determination of antimicrobial resistance in animal mycoplasmas of veterinary interest.

EXOVIR (2021-2024)

The secretome of animal mycoplasmas: inter-species comparison, role in pathogenicity and application to diagnostics

Partners: MBA Unit of ANSES's Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort Laboratory

Funding: ANSES, Saint-Brieuc urban community and Côtes-d'Armor Departmental Council

Despite their apparent simplicity, mycoplasmas have a complex secretome composed of capsular polysaccharides and exopolysaccharides, exoproteins, extracellular vesicles. Defined as all components secreted at the surface of bacteria or released into the environment, mycoplasma secretome undoubtedly plays a major role in the interactions of mycoplasmas with their natural hosts. The EXOVIR project aims to better characterize the secretome of ruminant mycoplasmas, as well as expanding its definition to other animal hosts. It allowed the identification of novel mycoplasma capsular polysaccharides and secreted nucleases produced by ruminant, porcine and avian mycoplasmas. It also allowed to better assess the broad diversity of these secreted molecules in mycoplasmas, which was greatly underestimated so far.

DIAMS (2023-2025)

Development of a rapid assay for the determination of antimicrobial resistance in ruminant mycoplasmas during diagnosis.

Partners: LABOCEA35 (cattle), Aveyron Labo (sheep), Qualyse (goats). 

Funding: French general directorate of food (DGAL), as part of the EcoAntibio program

Rapid phenotypic methods to assess antimicrobial resistance (antibiograms or E-tests) are not applicable to mycoplasmas. As part of the Vigimyc network's surveillance activities, ANSES uses the determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) by dilution in agar medium. This technique is cumbersome, cannot be automated and is not suitable for diagnosis purposes. This project aims to develop, optimise and validate the performance and robustness of MIC determination by microdilution in a format compatible with the routine operations of veterinary diagnostic laboratories (VDLs).

MYTROUC and MYCARESP (2021-2026)

Assessment of the role of mycoplasmas in respiratory and reproductive disorders in dogs

Partners: Neocare team (ENVT), CERREC (VetAgro Sup) and in the longer term the other French national veterinary schools and CHUVAC (VetAgro Sup)

Funding: VetAgro Sup, ENVT and the Central Canine Society Agria

Since 2020, the UMR MYCO has broadened its scientific interests to study the importance of additional pathogenic mycoplasma species in animals. Several complementary projects consist of determining the involvement of mycoplasmas in reproductive disorders in female dogs (pregnancy failure and puppy mortality), as well as in respiratory pathologies. More specifically, these projects aims to identify the different mycoplasma species found in dogs and determine the putative correlation between the presence/abundance of these species and the clinical status of the animals. Comparative genomics and targeted metagenomics (metabarcoding) approaches are currently carried out. The development of multiplex PCR able to specifically detect all mycoplasmas colonizing dogs is also developed for diagnostic purposes. The antimicrobial resistance of the most important mycoplasma species will also be determined when necessary.