BIOGER unit : ECCP group

@lmetabolites.bsky.social

Presentation

I am an INRAE plant pathologist since 2019 at the research unit BIOGER (BIOlogy of fungal plant pathogens:  from GEnomes to agRo-ecosystems) located on the Campus Agro Paris-Saclay at Palaiseau. I co-lead the team ECCP (Effectors of Cellular Communication at the fungal-Plant interface) which focus mainly on effectors of two fungal plant pathogens, Botrytis cinerea and Colletotrichum higginsianum. Our team studies also the plant signal perceived by those fungi. I have a PhD in biology and after a postdoctorate in natural product chemistry, I now work at the interface between biology and chemistry. Some of the secondary metabolites fungi produce are exclusively generated during plant infection. My research aims to understand the role of those infection-specific fungal secondary metabolites. More specifically, we isolate secondary metabolites with a view to elucidate their structure and eventually to identify their bioactivities using screens related to plant immunity. I also investigate activities with a broader application (e.g. antibiotics). To reach these objectives, I use various approaches involving molecular genetics, synthetic biology, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and more recently, the combined use of metabolomics and proteomics to identify plant molecular targets of fungal metabolites.

Projects and grants

• ShySM – Of Shy Specialized Metabolites: A role for non-proteinaceous effectors in plant-fungal interactions? (2025-2028) – funding ANR, Young Scientist program – Coordinator [ANR] [Project web site]
• PRELUDE – Production, isolation and structural elucidation of the BHB2 fungal specialized metabolite required for plant infection (2024-2025) – funding OI Microbes – Coordinator
• PURMET – Vers un pipeline de purification de métabolites spécialisés (2024-2025) – co-funding SPS / INRAE SPE – Coordinator 
• PROLIFIC – Identification of specific interactions between proteins and ligands (2023-2025) – co-funding EUR SPS / INRAE SPE – Coordinator
• UNCHAIN – Unlocking fungal chemical effectors involved in pathogenicity using synthetic biology (2021-2022) – funding INRAE SPE – Coordinator
• PURFLASH – Acquisition of a Flash Chromatography (2020) – co-funding Infrastructure SPS / INRAE SPE – Coordinator

• Master2 internships Open Call – Binisha Shrestha (2025) – OI Microbes – Coordinator
• Master2 internships Open Call – Axelle Deroubaix (2023) – OI Microbes – Coordinator

PhD supervision

• Laure Bardiot (2024-... ; co-supervisor) – « Role of dikaritins in the infectious process of fungal pathogens of plants » – funding ANR FRiPPon [theses.fr]
• Axelle Deroubaix (2023-...; director) – “Role of non-proteinaceous effectors in plant-fungus interaction: focus on specialized metabolism” – funding EUR Saclay Plant Sciences [theses.fr] [JJC2024 prize of the best poster]
• Aude Geistodt-Kiener (2019-2023 ; co-supervisor) – “Study of the role of the fungal secondary metabolites in plant-pathogen interactions” – funding EUR Saclay Plant Sciences [theses.fr], [publication #1]

Publications