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Functions - Research topics

“Designing resilient stone fruit trees via integrative phenotyping in low phytosanitary input orchards and Association genetics”

General objective:

The broad research question addressed in this work is whether and how it is possible to breed stone fruits trees for their resilience to pest and diseases (e.g. viruses, bacteria, fungi). To answer this question, methods need to be developed to measure resilience, identify resilient ideotypes and control the inheritance of resilience in stone fruit. To pioneer these objectives, the genetic resources of two major Prunus species (apricot and peach) will be exanimated as a leverage to:

i)                    uncover the fundamental principles of resilience in stone fruit;

ii)                   find genetic markers associated to resilience and/or resilience components, such as resistances and tolerances to individual pests and diseases;

iii)                 identify potential resilient progenitors useful for pre-breeding activities.

Thus, by increasing our understanding of stone fruit resilience at the phenotypic and genetic levels, this project will contribute in the long term to make resilience a concrete breeding target for breeders

Field of expertise

Integrative biology, plant genetics, quantitative genetics, biostatistics, bioinformatics

Training and Career

2015-2017: 2-year advanced level preparatory courses for institutes of higher education in Lycée Saint Louis, Paris, France

2017-2021: Graduation as an Agricultural Engineering with a specialty in plant breeding from the engineering school L'Institut Agro - Montpellier, France (National institute of Agronomy)

March - September 2021: Last year internship within the GAFL unit (INRAE Avignon). Identification and characterization of phenotypic and genetic components of resilience in apricot and peach by using genome wide association studies
Internship supervisor: Morgane Roth

2021-2024: PhD student within the GAFL unit (INRAE Avignon)
Director thesis: Bénédicte Quilot-Turion
Co-supervisors: Morgane Roth, Jean-Marc Audergon

Publications/chapitres/poster

SERRIE, Marie, 2021. Identification et caractérisation des composantes phénotypiques et génétiques de la résilience chez l’abricotier et le pêcher à l’aide de la génétique d’association. Mémoire de fin d’études, diplôme d’Ingénieur Agronome, option Amélioration des Plantes et Ingénierie Végétale Méditerranéennes et Tropicales, Institut Agro | Montpellier SupAgro. 73 page