Two IJPB “Exploration” projects from the EXPLORA'E program

The "high-risk research" program EXPLOR'AE – Accelerating high-risk research in agriculture, food, and the 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 program 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.

SETAVAC project - Reshaping your understanding of sugar allocation in C4 plants in response to rising atmospheric CO2 levels
Abstract: This project specifically aims to identify the molecular mechanisms that regulate sugar exchange between the vacuole and cytosol in C4 photosynthetic cells. By advancing our understanding of this process, we will pioneer a new area of research focused on sugar partitioning in C4 plants, particularly under changing environmental conditions. Ultimately, these insights will reshape our understanding of sugar allocation in C4 plants and provide breakthroughs to design innovative strategies to enhance crop yields in the face of a changing climate.

MitoTRANS project - Mitochondrial genome modification in plants
The Explora’e MitoTRANS project aims to establish precise genetic engineering strategies for the mitochondrial genome of plants. By enabling controlled manipulation of a genetic compartment that has long remained recalcitrant to transformation, this project will represent a major breakthrough in plant biotechnology. MitoTRANS is expected to open up significant prospects both for fundamental research and for applied innovations in plant science.


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