Sophia agrobiotech institute (isa)

Address :: Centre de recherche Provence-Alpes- Côte d’Azur 400 route des Chappes BP 167
06903 Sophia Antipolis Cedex
Email :: severine.beurtey@inrae.fr
On the Internet :: https://www6.paca.inrae.fr/institut-sophia-agrobiotech
Additional contact details :

General information

Affiliated institutions :

Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRAE)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Université Côte d'Azur

Reference : INRAE 1355 CNRS 7254

Departments : DS 10 : Département Sciences Agronomiques et Ecologiques

Organization

Director(s) :

Frederique Lavirotte (Directeur adjoint)
Pierre Frendo (Directeur adjoint)
Philippe Castagnone (Directeur)

Staff

The ISA projects, led by ten teams, focus on bacterial symbiosis, pathogenicity of nematodes and oomycetes, insect biology, integrated horticulture and biological control. The Institute has internationally recognized expertise in the study of plant-microorganism interactions and the integrative biology of insects, at the population, ecological and evolutionary levels. ISA is also heavily involved in teaching at Université Côte d'Azur in Biology (bachelor, master and doctorate levels) and participates in recurrent scientific outreach events such as the "Salon de l'Agriculture" and "Fête de la Science".

Publications

Biondi A et al. 2018. Ecology, worldwide spread, and management of the invasive South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta: Past, present, and future. Annual Review of Entomology 63, 239-258
Blanc-Mathieu R et al. 2017. Hybridization and polyploidy enable genomic plasticity without sex in the most devastating plant-parasitic nematodes. PloS Genetics 13, e1006777
Calcagno V et al. 2017. Diversity spurs diversification in ecological communities. Nature Comm. 8, 15810
Larousse M et al. 2017. Tomato root microbiota and Phytophthora parasitica-associated disease. Microbiome 5,56
Ribeiro CW et al. 2017. Regulation of differentiation of nitrogen-fixing bacteria by microsymbiont targeting of plant thioredoxin s1. Current Biol 27, 250-256

Equipments

ISA combines its collective resources in the PlantBIOs infrastructure (Biocontrol and Biostimulation of Plants, Equipment and Expertise), which comprises: i) an Analytical Platform bringing together skills and equipment in bioinformatics, metabolo-proteomics and cellular imaging; ii) Collections of Biological Resources of nematodes and trichograms, including one (EpColl) certified by the national IBiSA label and attached to the Environment pillar of the National Research Infrastructure RARe; and iii) an Experimental Facility (EI) for the production of biological material and experiments in controlled conditions in climatic rooms, with a building for the breeding of insects, quarantine structures and greenhouses (S2 and mesocosm).

Partnerships

International relations

The continuum of basic and applied research in the field of plant health makes ISA a recognized centre of expertise, unique in France, and with very few equivalents worldwide, to address the phytosanitary challenges of today in an integrated manner. This recognition is evidenced by intense collaborations at the national and international level, and its recognized expertise (Biocontrôle Consortium, ANSES expert groups, etc.). The ISA teams are supported by numerous national and international research programs (H2020, Interreg, ERDF, ANR, Labex Signalife, CASDAR, etc.), by the Terralia and PASS competitiveness clusters and by local and regional authorities.