Clément Pichot INRAE research scientist joins the BCR team

Plant androgenesis allows haploid male gametes to be reprogrammed towards embryogenic development and, ultimately, the production of doubled haploid plants, thereby accelerating plant breeding programmes. However, some cereal species – particularly certain wheat and barley genotypes – remain strongly recalcitrant to regeneration through androgenesis. It is in this context that Clément Pichot, a new member of the "Cell Biology and Plant Regeneration" BCR team, will investigate the early mechanisms controlling the initiation of androgenesis in monocots, using Brachypodium distachyon as a model species and bread wheat as the target species, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the determinants of embryogenic competence.

The project is based on the hypothesis that key molecular and epigenetic factors associated with embryogenic competence, particularly those acting transiently, could be modulated to improve the production of doubled haploid plants in recalcitrant genotypes. To identify these factors, an integrative analysis will be conducted using time-resolved multi-omics datasets generated during the different early stages of androgenesis induction. This will combine gene expression, chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, histone modifications and three-dimensional genome organisation, using approaches based on cell sorting and single-cell sequencing.

The knowledge gained from Brachypodium distachyon will provide a first step towards a translational biology approach aimed at identifying and validating, in bread wheat, strategies to overcome the current limitations of androgenesis.

Clément Pichot, Mini-CV
> 2026 - today : Research Scientist INRAE, IJPB
> 2024 - 2026 : Post-Doc, INRAE, IJPB, "Cell Biology and Plant Regeneration" BCR team - Characterization of the factors regulating induced somatic embryogenesis in Brachypodium distachyon
> 2022-2024 : Chief Technical Officer (CTO), start-up Genomines,"Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay" IPS2, Gif-sur-Yvette
> 2018-2022 : PhD, Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay IPS2, Gif-sur-Yvette, Université Paris-Saclay - IIdentification and characterization of cis- and trans-regulatory elements of the genes controlling sex determination in Cucumis melo. Directeur de thèse : Abdelhafid Bendahmane





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