A new IJPB “Exploration” project from the EXPLORA'E program

The France 2030 programme EXPLOR'AE – Acceleration of High-Risk Research in Agriculture, Food, and Environment – aims to support research projects that combine risk, breakthrough potential, and impact. It is designed to foster talents and bold ideas, and to create the conditions necessary to generate conceptual or technological breakthroughs. The programme has been entrusted to INRAE by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation MESRI (Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche), with funding from France 2030. The "EXPLORATION" pillar of the EXPLOR'AE program is specifically intended to break new ground by exploring novel and unconventional ideas at the frontiers of current knowledge.

Active Cell Wall Remodelling Transforms Hydathodes into Immune Sentinels
Hydathodes, often regarded as simple pores for sap exudation, may also act as active sentinels of plant immunity. The central hypothesis of the HYDAWALL project is that hydathodes can prevent pathogen invasion through dynamic cell wall remodelling. This remodelling is thought to maintain a state of local immune alert and to influence both the microbiome of the hydathode cavity and that of the leaf, thereby promoting beneficial microorganisms. In the long term, this project will pave the way for new strategies to combat pathogen attacks.


Research developed at the Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin for Plant Sciences.