Research activities carried out in the QUALIBIOSEC team are devoted to the identification of biochemical, histological and molecular factors involved in lignocellulosic biomass degradability in maize in the context of climate change, and in particular of water deficit.
To this end, quantification of cell wall composition/structure and distribution in stem of lignified tissues are performed on contrasting lines. Gene regulatory networks linked to these variations are also characterized.
Context and research axes
Plant cell walls are the source of variability in the behavior of plants and their products for animal feed and non-food uses. The QUALIBIOSEC team aims to understand the mechanisms triggering variation of cell wall degradability, which refers to the complex characteristics of plant cell walls to protect their carbohydrates from degradation by enzymes. Research focuses on the discovery of new biochemical, histological and genetic factors influencing cell wall degradability in the context of climate change, particularly water deficit, and combines different approaches:
Context and research axes
Plant cell walls are the source of variability in the behavior of plants and their products for animal feed and non-food uses. The QUALIBIOSEC team aims to understand the mechanisms triggering variation of cell wall degradability, which refers to the complex characteristics of plant cell walls to protect their carbohydrates from degradation by enzymes. Research focuses on the discovery of new biochemical, histological and genetic factors influencing cell wall degradability in the context of climate change, particularly water deficit, and combines different approaches:
- The development of model systems to establish links between the structure, composition and distribution of the plant cell walls and resilience to water deficit.
- The identification of genomic regions involved in the variation of cell wall degradability and cell wall-related traits and their response to water deficit.
- The characterization of the molecular mechanisms governing these variations: from genes to networks.
The QUALIBIOSEC research is based on the plant model species Arabidopsis thaliana and two grasses of interest, maize and miscanthus. The team also uses multidisciplinary methodological approaches:
- Cell wall biochemistry analyses
- Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)
- Histology
- Forward and quantitative genetics
- Molecular and cellular biology
- Plant system biology
- Translational biology
PHOTOS
