Interactions of Bacteria with Plants and Insects

Macro-organisms do not live alone. They live in world that abounds with microbes. While the large majority of these microbes have no -or a weak- impact on their host, some microbes engage in close interactions with them with either a positive (symbionts) or negative (pathogens) effect on the host fitness. Reciprocally, these molecular interactions contribute to the co-construction of specific ecological niches within the host that are exploited by symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria.

The team analyses the eukaryotic and microbial functions (genes, proteins, metabolites, and signals) that are involved in interactions between plants or insects and bacteria. We also investigate agronomic and environmental issues, such as the development of innovative and environmentally friendly biocontrol approaches to protect plants from pathogens or biofertilizers to enhance plant growth.

Our model organisms are the endosymbiotic rhizobia and legumes (Sinorhizobium meliloti and Medicago plants), the gut symbiont Caballeronia insecticola and its insect host, the stinkbug Riptortus pedestris, the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens that induces tumors on various host plants, including tomatoes and Arabidopsis, and the pectinolytic pathogens Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. and their potato host plant.

Our experimental approaches are functional genomics (transcriptomics, comparative genome analysis, transposon sequencing, chromosome conformation capture by Hi-C), genetics and reverse genetics, protein biochemistry and cell biology in the hosts, plants or insects, and in the bacteria. This multi-disciplinary approach allows to study cell cycle and differentiation processes, inter or intra-bacterial interactions, host-control on the bacteria, and bacterial induced host processes.