SUCSEED: An ANR funded project

SUCSEED  : Stop the Use of pestiCides in seeds

This research project directed Matthieu BARRET  (Inrae) is granted by the French Research Agency (ANR) for the coming 4 years.

The SUCSEED project (2021-2026) aims to make seeds a central player in plant health management by focusing on two major phytosanitary problems: (i) pathogens transmitted to and by seeds and (ii) emergence failures. To achieve this, 3 levers of action are being explored: (i) induction of seed immune pathways, (ii) control of the microbiota associated with seeds, and (iii) the diversity and role of molecules released into the soil during germination. During this second year of the project, thanks to the reference material acquired, research efforts focused on the acquisition and study of omics data (transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics and metabarcoding) with a view to gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in seed protection and stimulation. The first molecules have been identified whose potential for activating defences or anti-microbial action has yet to be established. In addition, the first associations of bacteria naturally present on seed batches have been reconstituted and inoculated on seeds in order to study the mechanisms underlying the constitution and transmission of the microbiota and its effects on the phenotype of the seedling. The high-potential molecules or microbial agents obtained in the course of this research will be formulated using technological approaches adapted to seeds and then deployed on several genotypes, under various environmental conditions. This stage will validate their potential for use in agriculture, in the light of the regulatory, economic and social context explored in this project. These various research projects have been the subject of a number of presentations aimed at academic, economic and institutional players, as well as students from various training courses.

https://anr.fr/ProjetIA-20-PCPA-0009