Development of the root microbiota and plant nitrogen nutrition theme by Benoît Alunni INRAE Senior Scientist appointed to the IJPB

Plant root microbiota (bacteria and fungi) plays a major role in plant nutrition, and its engineering could help reducing the input of fertilizers in field crops. The project of Benoît Alunni, who joins the "Symbiotic Nitrogen Acquisition in Plant-Microbe Systems" SYNAPS team, makes use of the maize-Rhizophagus irregularis (vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus) model developed in the team to understand how mycorrhizal roots recruit soil bacteria that can facilitate their host’s nitrogen nutrition. He is interested in the role of root exudates in the recruitment of microorganisms from endogenous or synthetic/inoculant microbial populations.

In parallel, he participates to the development of the soybean sector in France by studying this legume’s microbiota, with tools and fundamental/applied goals shared with his main project on maize.

Benoît Alunni mini-CV
2023, September: Permanent position at the IJPB as INRAE Senior Scientist
2017: Habilitation to direct research
2012-2023: I2BC, Gif-sur-Yvette, topic - Cellular differentiation and symbiotic efficiency in rhizobia
2009-2012: IBP (current IPS2), Orsay, topic - Disease resistance in bean
2009-2023: Associate Professor, Université Paris-Sud then Université Paris-Saclay
2008-2009: Post-doc, Laboratoire de Pathologie Végétale INRA - INA-PG (current AgroParisTech), Paris, topic - Transcriptome in planta of Dickeya dadantii
2007-2008: ATER Université Paris Diderot (current Université Paris Cité), ISV (actuel I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, topic - Salt stress tolerance in Medicago truncatula
2004-2007: PhD Université Paris-Sud, ISV, Gif-sur-Yvette, topic - Cellular differentiation during rhizobium-legume symbiosis