PhD conducted from  the 1^st of October 2014 to the 30^th of  September 2017

Under the supervision of Dr Véronique LEFEBVRE

PhD granted by the ANR project EffectOoRes (http://www.agence-nationale-recherche.fr/?Projet=ANR-13-ADAP-0003) and the PACA region

I’m part of the research group Durable Resistance in Solanaceous crops (RDS) which study the plant-pathogen interaction within the Solanaceae. This team focuses on the discovery of the molecular determinants of the interaction and the understanding of the co-evolution between the pathogen and the plant hosts. The main aim is to predict the overcome risks of the plant resistances by the pathogens and to propose strategies in order to improve the durability of the resistances.

My PhD project is linked to this research field of the resistance durability with a focus on the interactions of Phytophthora infestans with tomato and Phytophthora capsici on pepper. The Phytophthora spp. cause severe damage on crops.  Their explosive dispersion in the field and the pesticides use limitations make the management of the disease caused by them difficult.

Another characteristic that contributes to their dangerousness is their fast evolution rate. In tomato, the majority of the resistances genes deployed in the field were overcome. For pepper, quantitative resistances were identified but we don’t have data on their durability.

In order to find new sources of resistances a priori more durable, I study the pathogen proteins that permit it to hijack the resources and bypass the defenses of the host plant, also known as the effectors.

To do so, I use an effectoromic pipeline. This approach contains 3 parts:

-          A first bioinformatic step using Omics data to select the best effector candidates to search for resistances

-          Then, the effector candidates are used with an in planta transient expression assay on a diverse pool of host genotypes to screen for resistant genitors that recognize them and show a hypersensitive response.

-          With the last step, we will search the genotypes for which the recognition correlates with resistance to the Phytophthora isolates that possess those effectors.

Research questions:

-          Do pathogen effectors triggered recognition in one plant species also trigger recognition in other

plant species?

-          Is the in planta recognition of effectors associated with disease resistance?

-          Do the host genes that recognize expressed, conserved and non-redundant effectors show a

wider spectrum and could be more durable than those recognizing non-conserved effectors?

Aims:

. Identify conserved effectors through sequencing of P. infestans and P. capsici isolates,

. Identify the expressed conserved effectors through analysis of effector gene expression during infection.

. Identify putatively durable resistance genes and corresponding pathogen virulence genes through transient expression of cloned effector genes in plant germplasm.

Formation et Carrière

Internships :

Master 2 internship (6 months), INRA, GAFL, Avignon, FRANCE

Functional variability of genes associated with the sex determinism mechanism in the cucurbits. (Supervisor: Catherine Dogimont, catherine.dogimont@paca.inra.fr)

Master 1 internship (4 months), IRD, DIADE, Montpellier, FRANCE

                Characterization of rice resistance genes to the rice yellow mottle virus, RYMV. (Supervisor: Laurence Albar, laurence.albar@ird.fr)

DUETI internship (6 weeks), Laval Univ., Center for Forest Research, QUEBEC

                Identify spores of endomycorrhiza fungi by sequencing analysis of the phosphate transferase gene. (Supervisor: Serge Sokolski, serge.sokolski.1@ulaval.ca)

DUT internship (2 months), Laval Univ., Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, QUEBEC

                         Evaluation of the effect of a low phosphorus diet on the development of different bone tissues of the farm rainbow trout. (Supervisor: Grant Vandenberg, grant.vandenberg@fsaa.ulaval.ca)

Scientific and technical skills: Bioinformatics, genomics, statistical analysis of transcriptomic data, pathology tests, transient assay in planta, cloning, effectoromic

Formation:

Master 2 in Biotechnology for Tropical plants, Faculty of Science, University of Montpellier II, FRANCE

Master 1 in Plant Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Montpellier II, FRANCE

University Diploma of International Technological Studies (L3 equivalent) / Laboratory Techniques in Biotechnologies, Cégep Lévis-Lauzon, QUEBEC

DUT Génie Biologique option Environnement  (L1+L2 equivalent), I.U.T of Saint Pierre, Reunion Island, FRANCE (4^th semester completed with the Laboratory Techniques in Biotechnologies, Cégep Lévis-Lauzon, QUEBEC)

Publications/chapitres/poster

Scientific communications:

The 8^th Effectome Meeting, Lauret, FRANCE (2015): RNA-Seq study of host resistance and isolate aggressiveness on gene expression in Phytophthora capsici. [oral presentation + abstract], 16-18 September

The 12^th Solanaceae Conference (SOL2015), Bordeaux FRANCE (2015). Toward a characterization of the pepper host resistance effect on the gene expression of the pathogenic Phytophthora capsici. [oral presentation + abstract], 25-29 th October

The 16^th Teachers/Researchers “Comment s’organiser pour une agriculture durable ?”, INRA, Saint Paul Center (2016). Genetic resistances. [oral presentation + Organization of the day], 27 th May

The XVIth EUCARPIA Capsicum and EggPlant Working Group Meeting, Kecskemét, HUNGARY (2016): A transcriptomic study of the interaction between pepper and Phytophthora capsici. [Poster + Participation article + abstract], 11-14 September