Young Researcher Profile : Julien Pernier

Julien Pernier has been a research scientist at INRAE since 2024, working in the BIOGER unit (INRAE/UPSaclay) in Palaiseau, within the Effectors of Cellular Communication at the fungal-Plant interface team . His research focuses on the mechanisms of synthesis and release of fungal extracellular vesicles produced by phytopathogens.

He completed his PhD in biochemistry at Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris), investigating the role of key residues in the enzymatic activity of aminopeptidase B. From 2011 to 2024, he carried out several postdoctoral positions. He first joined LEBS (Gif-sur-Yvette) to study regulators of actin network dynamics. Then, he moved to the Curie Institute (Paris) to investigate the role of a membrane motor in cytoskeleton organization using biomimetic membrane systems. Subsequently, at I2BC (Gif-sur-Yvette), he developed focal adhesion reconstitution systems to understand the mechanisms controlling their formation. Finally, at the Gustave Roussy Institute (Villejuif), he studied how a membrane motor contributes to the regulation of autophagy by participating in the maturation of intracellular vesicles, lysosomes, during bladder cancer progression.

Since joining INRAE, Julien aims to understand how phytopathogenic fungi produce and release extracellular vesicles. Currently, little information is available on fungal extracellular vesicles. His hypothesis is that different proteins homologous to those characterized in mammals control the production of fungal extracellular vesicles. He proposes an interdisciplinary and multi-scale study, including protein overexpression and deletion approaches, live cell membrane dynamics, isolation and analysis of extracellular vesicles, and the development of in vitro biomimetic systems to identify the role of these various proteins. In the longer term, these proteins could serve as markers for extracellular vesicles to track them during plant infection.

"One must have perseverance, and above all, self-confidence. One must believe that one is talented at something, and that this thing must be achieved at all costs." – Marie Curie

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