My research activities concern the study of the biosynthesis of furanocoumarins. My objectives are two-fold: firstly, the goal is to identify and characterize new genes and enzymes from the fig tree (Ficus carica) involved in the biosynthesis pathway of furanocoumarins. However, the synthesis of secondary metabolites requires some energy and resources from the plant, which impact its growth. Consequently, the second axis of my research consists in using the furanocoumarins’ biosynthesis pathway to study the metabolic cost related to the production of defense molecules.
Molecular biology including cloning, yeast and (agro)bacterial transformation, heterologous expression in yeast, enzymatic activity assay, GoldenBraid technology, etc.
Plants: transient and stable transformation, in vitro culture
Electropenetrography (EPG): experiments and analysis (with aphids)
Scientific mediation
Keywords: Secondary metabolism, Furanocoumarins, Ficus, Biotechnology, Molecular biology, In vitro culture, Bioinformatics