Team "Environment, Bioenergies, Microalgae and Plants" - EBMP

Photosynthetic organisms (plants, algae and cyanobacteria) have the potential to address three major societal challenges: food security, energy security and climate change. To domesticate these organisms to address these major challenges, a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of photosynthesis, carbon metabolism, nutrient perception and carbon allocation and their integration is desirable.

The goal of our team is to better understand the molecular mechanisms inherent to these biological processes, and to identify the limiting steps, as this fundamental knowledge is necessary to improve photosynthetic organisms. At the fundamental level, we are interested in the mechanisms of nutrient sensing and capture, cellular energetics and the regulation of carbon fluxes to energy-rich compounds (lipids, hydrocarbons, polysaccharides). In particular, we seek to identify the key molecular players involved in signaling, metabolism and cellular energetics in order to study their impact on the physiology and productivity of the organisms considered. At the biotechnological level, we use this knowledge to propose innovative strategies to increase biomass productivity, reduce inputs, improve lipid or polysaccharide productivity, or produce biobased hydrocarbons.