Report from the INRA Microscopistes Network

The fourth gathering for the scientific and technical network of INRA microscopistes was held from 13 to 15 November 2013 in Champenoux.  This event was supported by Labex ARBRE.

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Ninety-two participants were present representing the different INRA centers. The theme of this event focused on scanning electron microscopy and analysis tools.  The base principles of these technological tools were presented followed by discussion of how samples are prepared (plant, animal, bacteria, soil etc.). The presentations and discussions between network members are linked by their focus on the use of pressure-controlled microscopes or use of microanalysis X permitting mineral elements to be located and quantified on a microscopic scale.

Hands-on workshops were held (EDS, WDS, microdissecion laser, cuts cryostat microtome, vibratome, as well as 3 mini bench top SEM) as well as guided tours of PTEF and Xylosciences platform research sites used by the different teams who work under Labex ARBRE.

For the full program details, please click here :

Report RMUI – part 1
Report RMUI – part 2
Report RMUI – part 3
Report RMUI – part 4
Report RMUI – part 5

 

 

AgreenSkills encourages mobility: call for submission is open

 

 

AgreenSkills is an international mobility program offering young researchers of all nationalities incoming and outcoming fellowships in all disciplinary fields. 142 fellowships with attractive recruitment conditions will be offered over a period of four years.

ARBRE would like to remind you that this program exists with the possibility of cofinancement for projects supported by the Labex initiative.  ARBRE encourages all scientists to take advantage of this unique opportunity to further develop collaborative projects.

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Coordinated by INRA and Agreenium, the AgreenSkills program (2012-2016) is co-funded by the European Commission in the framework of the COFUND – FP7 People Programme.

AgreenSkills sets out to encourage the international mobility of young researchers, from 6 to 12 months for outgoing fellows and from 12 to 24 months for fellows coming to France (visiting fellows), by supporting research projects with attractive mobility allowances and personalized support for career development plans. It is aimed to aid talented young researchers from all over the world who have a PhD with a maximum of ten years research experience following their Master’s degree. The program concerns all Agreenium member research laboratories.

The AgreenSkills website www.agreenskills.eu provides general information about the program, eligibility criteria, all necessary documents as well as the official forms and templates. The website also includes information about the mobility and hosting conditions. Applications must be submitted through the online secure application system which will be available when the selection process opens.

Calendar:

Call for submisison is open. This open and continuous call holds two selection rounds each year over the first three years of the programme (2012, 2013 and 2014).

The second selection round closed on 15 May 2013. Applications for the latest selection process closed on 15 November 2013.

– Presentation of the programme (PDF) : Agreenskills program presentation

A tribute to bacteria-fungal interactions

 

 

 

 

 

The first International Jacques Monod conference took place recently in Roscoff (Bretagne) from 7 to 11 December.  This conference co-organized by INRA, CNRS and Labex ARBRE was titled « Bacterial-fungal interactions: a federative field for fundamental and applied microbiology »

No fewer than 77 scientists of 15 different nationalities (France, Europe, United States, Mexico, Sri Lanka) gathered to learn more about the wide cross-sectoral nature of this area of research which is rapidly gaining momentum. Representing a wide cross-section of research fields (Agronomy-Forestry, Ecology and Environmental Protection, Agri-Food / Food Processing, Medicine, Modeling Systems, Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology and Cultural Heritage), these researchers in turn discussed their most recent results relevant to ecology, the molecular mechanisms of bacteria-fungal interactions and their applications and implications in all areas combined.  The dynamics created by this conference led participants to a program a similar event for 2016-2017 and to formalize the development of an international network of laboratories working on this theme. This network is open to any and all laboratories interested (for more information, please contact A. Deveau – deveau@nancy.inra.fr).

The conference program is available on the following link :
http://www.cnrs.fr/insb/cjm/archives/2013/cjmprog.html

To read more, please click here for the conference introduction slide presentation

The Experimentarium in Lorraine

An shared adventure for both PhD students and school kids

The Experimentarium project offers PhD students studying at the University of Lorraine the opportunity to interract with the non-scientific public (students, teachers, general public).

 

 

Two training sessions are organized annually and highlight three themes:

  • Personalized interviews held in the laboratory where students are given the opportunity to reflect on what gives their research meaning and to consider the perspective of their scientific approach
  • Individual research projects for which PhD students not only prepare a presentation of their work aimed at a non-specialist audiences but also design a workshop for an open dialogue with the public about the scientific approach in general and what the profession of researcher involves
  • A day of training followed by class demonstrations

In Lorraine, the Experimentarium is run by the association La Vigie de l’Eau in partnership with INRA. Over the past five years, we have worked with 60 young researchers and 650 adults and children who were given the chance to discover the world of research.  Funded in large part by the 2013 call for project proposals, Experimentarium received additional support this year from Labex ARBRE.

Five PhD students working on their thesis projects in one of the LabEx research laboratories participated in this training this fall. On November 7, with enthusiasm, they presented their research and their approach to the profession of researcher to a group of 45 particularly attentive and interested students from Lunevillois.

 

4th scientific and technical days for INRA Microscopists


Scanning electron microscopy and analyzing tools

13, 14 & 15 November 2013

INRA Centre of Nancy, Champenoux

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This year, the local  organizational committee of Nancy headed by Didier Le Thiec welcomes you to the INRA center of Nancy-Lorraine from 13 to 15 November for a program on electron microscopy and methods of coupled analysis. Hands-on workshops have been organized to shed light on these new techniques and to share expertise in microscopy.   Contests for session posters as well as photography will conclude this meeting of the microscopists network.
These workshops have received financial support from the departments of research Phase, BAP and EFPA of INRA, the CNOC, the national program for ongoing training at INRA, Labex ARBRE, the Lorraine region, as well as various partners in the private sector.

For the full program please click here :  Program

 

Sébastien Duplessis – Award winning Lorraine forest research

Honoring Alliances between Trees and Mushrooms

2nd Reseacher Award 2012

November 7, 2013

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Sébastien Duplessis (IAM unit) will receive the 2nd regional researcher prize by the Lorraine Region for his research on tree-fungus interactions. A young researcher at INRA Nancy-Lorraine, Sébastien Duplessis is experiencing a prosperous period: he was promoted to Director of research at the end of 2012 and, earlier this year, he received the Suzanne Zivi Award from the Academy of Stanislas.

These awards represent recognition throughout the lorraine forest scientific community and are an encouragement to continue our research efforts in areas where we are recognized internationally. The regional thesis prize and the prize for young researcher will also be awarded during two days devoted to the regional research centres. The areas of research developed by INRA with its academic partners figure prominently in the regional strategy for higher education, research and innovation.

To read more ..

Bravo Sébastien!

WADE Seminar

Weeks seminar for Wood Acclimation to Disturbed Environments (WADE)

October 31 – 14h00

Tilleul conference room
INRA Nancy center,  Champenoux

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This weeks program featured four summary presentations describing the latest work progress related to WADE.

Integrative biomechanics for tree ecology: beyond wood density and strength .
by Meriem Fournier

Biosynthesis of secondary walls in poplar wood under environmental stress.
by Mireille Cabané

Composition of wood in mixed plantations of nitrogen-fixing and non-nitrogen fixing species: Impact of the nitrogen resource.
by Nicoloas Brosse

Wood branches and nodes – preliminary results on the branches of Norway spruce. Future perspectives.
by Francis Colin

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WADE project
Wood Acclimation to Disturbed Environments

Contacts
Jana Dlouhà, LERFORB
Meriem Fournier, LERFORB

Jacques Monod Conference – Bacteria & Fungal Interactions

Conférence Jacques Monod co-organized by l’INRA, CNRS and Labex ARBRE
Bacterial-fungal interactions: a federative field for fundamental and applied microbiology

7-11 December in Roscoff (Bretagne)
France

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Historically, the classical separation of microbiological research between bacteriologists and mycologists has led to the study of bacteria and fungi in gnotobiotic settings. This compartmentalization has overlooked the fact that in many environments bacteria and fungi coexist and interact, forming physically and metabolically interdependent consortia that harbour distinct properties from their single components. These mixed consortia are of central practical importance in an exceptionally diverse variety of fields including agriculture, forestry, environmental and cultural heritage protections, food processing, biotechnology, and medicine.

By not focusing exclusively on one area of application, the Jacques Monod Conferences seek to generate a novel unifying perspective on BFIs that enables the identification fundamental themes, mechanisms and areas of mutual interest.

To read more ..

Please click here for the Jacques Monod conference flyer

Master FAGE seminars

Four Inter-Lab Seminars
supported by Labex ARBRE in partnership with the Master FAGE program (University of Lorraine and AgroParis Tech)

8 November 2013

13h30 to 16h30

INRA Nancy centre, Champenoux
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The four seminars will be held in the afternoon, presented successively by :

Jens Abildtrup (INRA Nancy-Lorraine, Laboratoire d’Economie Forestière – LEF) –
“The recreative value of forests : Assessment and policy implications”.

Raphphael Calama (Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria INIA, Espagne) – “Research and management of nonwood forest products”.

Rubén Manso (INRA Nancy-Lorraine, Laboratoire d’Etudes des Ressources Forêt-Bois – LEFORB) – “Individual growth and mortality in mixed stands of oak and beech”.
“The recreative value of forests : Assessment and policy implications”.

Mathieu Fortin (AgroParis Tech, Laboratoire d’Etudes des Ressources Forêt-Bois – LEFORB) – “Simulating forest growth from trees to stands”.

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Program description – Master FAGE
Masters in Biology, Forest Ecology, Agronomy and Environmental studies (FAGE)(Université de Lorraine – AgroParisTech)

The scientific objective of FAGE is to give students who have already completed beginning studies in biology, chemistry or earth sciences the necessary training in biological concepts specific to the fields of applilcation and mastery of the tools (communication, experimentation, inquiry, interpretation of data) essential for research and management approaches. The goal of the training is also to encourage students to consider societal demands on todays scientific community, with particular emphasis on sustainable development tools.

From the perspective of integrative biology, training is focused on molecular and cellular biology, microbiology, genetics, physiology and ecophysiology.  From the perspective of ecological analysis, training will focus on functional tools in ecology, pedology, poplulations ecology, communities and landscapes. And from an analytical perspective aimed at productive systems training will focus on the design, measurement and modeling for performance and sustainability indicators.

 

WADE Seminar

Alexander Kirdyanov et Marina Bryukhanova

25 October  from 10h00-12h00

Salle Tilleul – INRA Nancy center,  Champenoux

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On October 25th, we are pleased to announce that we will welcome to INRA Alexander Kirdyanov and Marina Bryukhanova from the E. Vaganov group (Sukachev Institute of Forests, Krasnoyarsk).  E. Vagonov is a respected and well known researcher in the field of wood formation. He is also known for his book published in 2006.

This seminar is supported by the WADE project and by Labex ARBRE.


Résumé Alexander Kirdyanov:

Dendro-science in Siberia. Case studies from the Tree-Ring Structure Lab (Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk, Russia)

Tree-rings were shown to provide comprehensive information on the environmental changes and physiology of tree functioning. The Laboratory of Tree-Ring Structure at the Sukachev Institute of Forest, Krasnoyarsk Russia is focused on extracting and interpreting this information with the goals to understand the impact of environment on tree growth and forest productivity. A short overview of some recent and current studies will be provided to show the main topics of interest and the potential of the Lab: transect studies, use of multi-proxy approach (tree-ring cell structure, density and isotope composition), studies on permafrost, etc. Examples will vary on both spatial (from one stand to continental) and temporal scale (seasonal growth with the resolution of 3-7 days to multi-millennia dendroclimatic reconstructions).

Résumé Marina Bryukhanova:
Growth of trees on permafrost: habitat driven response to climate

Global change is expected to alter boreal forest conditions with far reaching consequences for tree growth in these ecosystems. Within this study we aimed at determining which limiting factors control tree-growth on permafrost under different site conditions.
A tree-ring multi-proxy characterisation of mature Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Rupr. from a continuous permafrost zone of Siberia (Russia, 64°18′ N, 100°11′ E) was used to identify the physiological principle of responses related to the plant-soil system. Tree-ring width (1975-2009), carbon and oxygen stable isotopes, and xylem structural characteristics (2000-2009) indicated that an increased depth of the soil active layer favors a better exploitation of the available resources.

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The WADE project
Wood Acclimation to Disturbed Environments

ContextWood quality is variable and used by dendrochronology as a marker of past events. A better understanding of wood plasticity require new modeling approaches, as tree responses in frequently and strongly changing environments overlay many processes. Therefore, neither the usual modeling of wood properties from variables as tree ring width and cambial age, nor the empirical calibration of a few wood properties as markers of tree functioning and environmental disturbances, deliver robust and reliable predictions.

Objectives Wade aims at developing a new framework of wood analysis and quality modeling in the context of questions asked by acclimation to canopy disturbance.

Approaches — WADE is based on a multi-scale approach of wood structure and properties from the whole tree to the cell wall ultrastructure and chemical composition, with a large set of techniques including usual and new methods of both dendro-ecology and wood biophysics and chemistry. It includes a careful theoretical analysis of the functional relevance of the selected properties and of their spatio-temporal patterns of variations, using an ecophysiological and biomechanical framework to study how trees respond to changes of both light and mechanical micro-climate after gap opening.

PI: Meriem Fournier (UMR 1092 LERFOB Laboratoire d’Etudes des Ressources Forêts-Bois )