2025 IS-MPMI Congress

BIOGER at the International Symposium on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Cologne.

The 20th Congress on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (IS-MPMI) brought together over 1,300 scientists, researchers, and industry professionals from academia, government, and private sectors to present groundbreaking research, exchange ideas, and forge new collaborations in the field of plant-microbe interactions. The congress took place from July 13 to 17, 2025, at the Confex Centre in Cologne, Germany.

Axelle, Jean-Félix & Elza were there and presented their results !

Axelle Deroubaix, PhD student on the ShySM project in the ECCP team presented her results on the role of two fungal specialized metabolites in establishing plant infection. She received financial support from the IS-MPMI Michael Mishkind Travel Award Fund. Axelle’s PhD is funded by Saclay Plant Sciences.
A poster on the design and validation of a new set of tools for the production of fungal specialized metabolites (SMs) was also presented by Jean-Félix Dallery. These tools allow the heterologous production of SMs in baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and were made in the frame of Aude Geistodt-Kiener's PhD. The system was published in the journal Metabolic Engineering https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymben.2023.10.002.

Elza Neau, PhD student in the GAIA team, presented her results on the complex nature of multidrug resistance in Zymoseptoria tritici.

Title : Beyond MFS1: the complex nature of multidrug resistance in Zymoseptoria tritici
Authors : Elza Neau, Simon Patry-Leclaire, Anaïs Lalève, Anne Sophie Walker, Sabine Fillinger
Abstract : Fungicide resistance in Zymoseptoria tritici, the causal agent of septoria leaf blotch in wheat, is an increasing concern in agriculture. Since the 2010s, strains exhibiting a ‘Multi-Drug Resistance’ (MDR) phenotype have been detected in the field. This phenotype is primarily linked to enhanced fungicide efflux through the overexpression of the membrane efflux pump gene MFS1, driven by three distinct insertions in its promoter (PMFS1). More recently, a survey of Z. tritici populations in Northwestern Europe (2020–2021) suggested that additional mechanisms may be at play.
In this study we screened a sample of 380 strains for their PMFS1 genotype and MDR phenotype. we identified extensive variability in the MFS1 promoter region of natural strains, some of which are linked to the MDR phenotype. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) also revealed that, beyond MFS1, other mutations and/or mechanisms are associated with MDR in Z. tritici field strains.
In addition to the analysis of field isolates, we characterized in vitro evolved MDR strains. Efflux assays showed increased efflux activity in most isolates compared to the ancestor, suggesting the involvement of additional transporters in the MDR phenotype. Other isolates exhibited distinct efflux phenotypes, pointing to entirely different MDR mechanisms. Whole-genome sequencing of the evolved strains identified novel candidate genes, including an uncharacterized AtrR-like transcription factor currently under investigation.

Modification date: 27 August 2025 | Publication date: 26 August 2025 | By: BIOGER

Name of the cookie	Purpose	Shelf life
CAS and PHP session cookies	Login credentials, session security	Session
Tarteaucitron	Saving your cookie consent choices	12 months

Name of the cookie	Purpose	Shelf life
atid	Trace the visitor's route in order to establish visit statistics.	13 months
atuserid	Store the anonymous ID of the visitor who starts the first time he visits the site	13 months
atidvisitor	Identify the numbers (unique identifiers of a site) seen by the visitor and store the visitor's identifiers.	13 months