To stabilise high yield levels growers require the rapid establishment of optimum plant stands under many different environmental conditions. Because germination refers to the ability of a seed to produce a normal seedling under favourable conditions, selection of seedlots on the basis of germination characteristics alone will not necessarily identify those that will be most successful in seedling establishment. The aim of CONVIGOUR is to determine the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms influencing genetic variation for seed vigour in Brassica napus and develop new bio- and genetic markers for breeding of new cultivars with enhanced vigour and yield stability. In particular the project aims to: i) Understand the impact of seed and seed coat structure and chemical composition on seed vigour; ii) Determine the roles of micronutrients and phytohormones on germination performance and vigour iii) Understand the responses of these seed traits to environmental factors in order to investigate the genotypexenvironment interactions iv) Develop bio-markers and high-throughput metabolic and genetic screening tools for breeding of new cultivars with enhanced seed vigour and environmental stable yield The objectives proposed in this project will be achieved by high-throughput phenotyping and genotyping of a large collection of genetically diverse B. napus genotypes. The industrial partners will provide expertise in field-based phenotyping and Brassica biology, and will benefit from the application of new genetic and bio-markers. A tight partner network has been established according to the respective expertise of the industry and research partners. As a result we first expect to gain major improvements in breeding and seed production by better understanding the phenotypes of seed production failures in certain genotypes or under certain environmental conditions. This will lead to identification of candidate genes and bio-markers that are expected to increase the efficiency of breeding for seed quality traits in B. napus. CONVIGOUR represents a concerted transnational effort to attain a comprehensive systems-level understanding of B. napus seed vigour, its response and adaptation to the environment and its influence on yield. Through the selection of excellent complementary partners, combining four different technology platforms in three countries, we expect to generate considerable amounts of new data and knowledge on seed vigour, and to translate these resources into innovative prediction and modeling tools in commercial breeding practice. The CONVIGOUR network will consolidate and expand existing transnational research efforts and bring together some of the leading partners in European oilseed rape and North American canola breeding and research.

DREAM will provide Mediterranean growers with a new cultivation approach for fruit production, with the aim to improve small farms’ resilience to climate change (CC), promote biodiversity, reduce waste and pollution as well as economic stability. The DREAM agroecosystem will be characterized by the following basic principles which go beyond conventional agricultural systems: i) a multi-variety orchard, with different, scalar fruit varieties, blooming and ripening at different times during the season and exploiting a range of genetic resistances to biotic and abiotic stressors; ii) consociation with a cover crop mixture, able to prolong blooming, increase soil nutritional and water status, attract natural enemies and repel phytophagous insects; iii) adoption of Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) protocols aimed at increasing the system water use efficiency (WUE) as well as improving fruit quality. The agroecosystem will be managed using the “Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management paradigm” (IPPM), a new approach that aims to enhance Integrated Pest Management (IPM) compatibility with crop pollination management, thus integrating resistant varieties to biocontrol agents (natural antagonists) and bioactive natural compounds, while leaving chemical application as the last option. The new agroecosystem will be co-designed with the help of local living labs so to adapt it to local environmental economic and social conditions in three fruit producing areas: Italy and Morocco, where apple will be tested and Spain, where pear will be tested, thus reflecting the local fruit economy. (WP1). In each site, the performance of the new agroecosystem will be tested in terms of: i) physiological efficiency; ii) yield and quality of the production; iii) above and belowground biodiversity level; iv) soil fertility (WP2). Its sustainability will be assessed in terms of farm economic stability and environmental sustainability (WP3). Furthermore, specific marketing strategies for the diversified products derived will be proposed while farmers acceptance as well as consumer perception of the derived products will be assessed (WP4). Dissemination and communication as well as end-user training through specific technology transfer solutions will be carried out in collaboration with the living labs and the end-user associations from both Mediterranean shores (WP5). DREAM responds to the challenges and scope of the topic 2.2.1 as it will develop a novel cultivation approach, to adapt the small farming systems to climate change, increase farmers incomes as well as their ecosystem services and biodiversity. This new approach, particularly suited to small farm holdings, will enhance functional biodiversity and the beneficial synergies among the different species (i.e. trees, herbaceous crops, pollinating insects, soil microbiome). It will promote the use of a low level of inputs such as water, fertilizers and chemicals, reducing environmental pollution. Thanks to the natural resistances of the fruit genotypes and their scalar vegetative cycle, it will allow a diversified production as well as a higher resilience to extreme weather events such as frost, hailstorms and heat waves as well as to biotic stressors. The project will follow a multi-actor approach as growers, fruit cooperatives and consultants as well as consumers with special attention to women and youth will be involved in living labs to actively contribute to the design, adaptation and possible adoption of the DREAM agroecosystem in the different sites, based on their needs and experience. Studies on consumer acceptance and on alternative marketing strategies for the derived niche products will be conducted to guarantee higher revenues for the growers and an improved economic stability at farm level.

As the first available prebiotics for neonates, milk oligosaccharides regulate gut microbial composition and modulate host immune response, playing a crucial role in the holobiont assembly. By using two livestock models (pigs and rabbits) with different maturity levels at birth, HoloOLIGO aims to decipher causal links between milk oligosaccharidesstructures, the offspring microbiota and immune system. We will create a database using data mining of the literature to find, visualise and analyse milk oligosaccharidesstructure diversity patterns within and between mammalian species. We will produce the first MO data in rabbits and expand them in pigs. To understand structure importance of milk oligosaccharides, we will undertake in vitro functional analyses in both species on commensal bacterial strains and intestinal immune cells and further validate results in vivo. Finally, we will evaluate, via in silico analyses (pig) and in vivo (rabbit), the existing genetic variability and assess the genetic determinism of milk oligosaccharidescomposition.

In eukaryotic nuclei, genomic DNA is compacted via chromatin in which DNA is wrapped around histone tetramers called nucleosomes. Most transcription factors (TFs) are unable to bind to their target sequences in compact chromatin regions or in the presence of nucleosomes. However, a group of TFs called “pioneer” TFs possesses the special ability to bind to inactive chromatin regions thereby modifying the accessibility of the bound regions either directly or via the recruitment of chromatin remodelers. These modifications of the chromosome landscape by pioneer TFs then allow other specific TFs to bind. Consequently pioneer TFs are important determinants of cell fate in many embryonic cell types in animal systems. In plants, pioneer TFs are barely described. Leguminous plants such as the model legume Medicago truncatula are able to interact with nitrogen fixing bacteria named rhizobia. This symbiotic interaction leads to the formation on the roots of the host plant of a new organ called the nodule, inside which atmospheric nitrogen is fixed for the benefit of the plant. The TF NF-YA1 belonging to the CCAAT-box binding factor family of TFs specifically controls nodule development. The objective of this project is to demonstrate that NF-YA1 functions as a pioneer TF regulating the root to nodule developmental transition and to understand its mode of action. The project will be organized in 3 Work packages (WP) aiming to demonstrate different aspects of pioneer TF activity. In WP1, we will assess the ability of NF-YA1 to regulate chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation patterns and 3D chromatin looping organization, characteristic of pioneer TFs. We will a) use a technique called ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin followed by sequencing) to asses nucleosome occupancy in both WT and nf-ya1-1 mutant nodules; b) estimate DNA methylation, genome wide, by using BS-seq (Bisulfite conversion and sequencing) again in both WT and nf-ya1-1 mutant nodules; and c) apply chromosome conformation capture approaches to estimate the role of NF-YA1 on chromatin topology in nodules. In WP2, we will identify and characterise potential chromatin modifiers that interact with NF-YA1. We will first perform IP/MS (immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry) assays and/or alternatively we will establish turbo ID-based proximity-dependent labeling techniques to search for transient or weaker protein-TF interactions. As DELLA proteins were previously shown to interact with NF-YA1 complexes, the implication of this interaction on chromatin accessibility will also be tested, as well as the cooperation of NF-YA1 with another type of proposed pioneer TF linked to cytokinin signaling. Selected chromatin modifiers interactions will be confirmed in planta through BiFC (bimolecular fluorescence complementation) as well as FRET/FLIM (Fluorescence energy transfer/ Fluorescent lifetime imaging) assays. WP3 is devoted to the identification and characterization of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) potentially regulating NF-YA1. A combination of open and targeted approaches will also be used to a) isolate lncRNA molecules interacting with NF-YA1 using RIP experiments (RNA Immunoprecipitation) on isolated nodules; and b) selected NF-YA1 and co-regulated lncRNAs interactions will be confirmed using TriFC (tri molecular fluorescence complementation). These results will demonstrate the impact of NF-YA1 in the reconfiguration of the epigenetic landscape during the root-nodule developmental transition. Overall, this project should allow us to better understand a general and innovative mode of action of a plant pioneer transcription factor.

In a previous participatory science project with a rural secondary school, we worked on understanding the role of the brain in adaptive behaviour (behaviour necessary for the survival of animals). On that occasion, we noted that teenagers were increasingly interested in and concerned about respect for animals and the protection of biodiversity, but their knowledge was sometimes incomplete or even erroneous. In the CoCerACoCo project, our scientific objective is to gain a better understanding of the brains of animals in order to better understand their adaptive behaviours, with the hypothesis that these behaviours have co-evolved with the organisation of the brain. To achieve this objective, the CoCerACoCo project aims to develop brain exploration software that will be used by schoolchildren to carry out various anatomical measurements that they will relate to the adaptive behaviours of the species studied. This work will be developed in the form of a board game co-constructed with the pupils, and in the form of a database freely open to the entire scientific community. To carry out this project, the CoCerACoCo consortium brings together research laboratories specialising in neuroethology, brain imaging and digital sciences, and a zoopark specialising in the adaptive behaviour of wild animals. All the members of the consortium are involved in scientific outreach activities, and the CoCerACoCo project will be carried out with the support of the CSTI Centre.Science and the Maison pour la Science Val de Loire.