The Project entitled “Génomique et Adaptation lors des Invasions Biologiques” headed by S. De Mita has been selected by the “Région Lorraine”

Summary

Due to anthropic activities and climate change, the rate of emerging diseases threatening natural ecosystems and cultivated crops is increasing. In this context it is essential to understand the parameters limiting and favoring the introduction and propagation of exotic pathogenic species in native ecosystems. We developed an experimental system based on the poplar leaf rust and its causative agent, the fungus Melampsora larici-populina. Based on a combination of population and ecological genomics approaches, we aim to understand the interplay between selective pressures and demographic factors during the invasion of natural poplar populations by M. larici-populina migrant from a known source. To this end, we will take profit of a natural system at the limit of the area of distribution of M. larici-populina where a recurring invasion takes place annually from a known source and along a predictable path.