Biogeography and evolution of plant-microbe interactions
Understanding the origins and consequences of global microbial diversity represents a priority for biologists of the 21st century. From improving human and plant health to maintaining air, water and soil quality, the applications of research in microbial ecology are particularly relevant to answer to the great environmental challenges of our time.
My research at IRBV aims to understand the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms underlying the associations between plants and their leaf microbes. Namely, my laboratory is interested in understanding which types of microbes live at the surface of leaves and within them, and which adaptations allow them to survive in these habitats. We combine conceptual and experimental approaches to ask these questions, namely ones based on the traits of organisms and their phylogenetic relationships. We are also interested in the ways in which the plant microbiome can prevent the emergence and spread of plant diseases at the Botanical garden of Montreal.
Keywords: Plant and microbial ecology • Host-symbiont associations • Population and community ecology • Genomics • Bioinformatics • Functional traits and phylogenetics
Ph.D. students
Mobina Gholamhosseini, co-supervision with Anne Bruneau
Clémence Pierrard
M.Sc. students
Laurine Dariel
See the list of publications on Google Scholar.