REUNION

Partner 1-Coordinator: UMR PVBMT Reunion


Unit name: Plant Protection Facility (3P), Saint Pierre


Description of the research unit: The UMR PVBMT University of La Reunion - Cirad is hosted on the 3P platform (Pôle de Protection des Plantes) which was labelised Gis-Ibisa in 2009. 3P is an original and efficient research platform in the field of protection of tropical natural ecosystems and agro ecosystems. About 31 scientific, technical, administrative persons are dedicated to functioning of the platform.


Expertise and skills: Explored scientific domains are genomics and epidemiology of emerging pathogens, study of the species complexes and genes of interest for use in plant breeding programs, dynamics and behaviours of arthropods, ecology and phylogeography studies in a biodiversity hotspot. Implemented disciplines are phytopathology, entomology, forest ecology, molecular biology, genetics and biotechnology. 3P offers innovative and original approaches in plant protection, technology transfer, ecological diagnosis, knowledge transfer, teaching and training. The staff involved in the project has internationally recognised expertise in vanilla physiology, agronomy, virus diseases, and molecular genetics.


Name of staff involved in the project : Permanent staff: Pascale BESSE (Pr Reunion Univ., molecular geneticist) (Scientific responsible) Michel GRISONI (CR Cirad, phytopathologist), Isabelle FOCK-BASTIDE (MCF, Reunion Univ., plant molecular physiologist), Hippolyte KODJA (MCF HDR, Reunion Univ., plant physiologist), Thierry PAILLER (MCF HDR, Reunion Univ, plant ecologist), Katia JADE(technician, Civ and molecular genetics), Jean-Bernard DIJOUX (technician, CRB shade houses) All this staff belongs to the team 2 of UMR PVBMT devoted since 2004 to study “species complex and genes of interest” on the model Vanilla, except Thierry Pailler from team 5 “ecological dynamics in ecosystems”, a specialist of orchid ecology and evolution.


Facilities (lab and ex situ collections description) : 3P associates up-to-date laboratory technologies in 3000 m² safety containment (level 2 and 3) laboratories (including a molecular genetic lab with state of the art equipment such as 10 standard thermal cyclers, 2 real time thermal cyclers, 1 16-capillaries automatic DNA sequencer (ABI PRISM 3130xl) and a facility for hybridization and reading of DNA microarrays; a specialised documentation centre and 15 ha experimental tropical fields including 1150 m² of insect-proof green houses, 2300 m² insect-proof tunnels, 3600 m² of insect-proof shade houses and soon, an experimental station in the tropical forest inside La Réunion national park. The platform laboratories are designed to receive a broad range of plants, pests and pathogens, including quarantine virus, bacteria and arthropods.


UMR PVBMT is in charge of the Biological Resource Centre BRC VATEL : The vanilla collection from the BRC Vatel comprises more than 800 accessions available as living material (400), dehydrated samples or DNA extracts (400) (Roux Cuvelier and Grisoni 2010). It includes about thirty species, belonging to the different sections and subsections of the genus Vanilla and originating from the three continents where this genus is distributed (America, Africa, Asia). Cuttings are strictly controlled at the sanitary level, particularly regarding viruses known to infect vanilla (CymMV, ORSV, CMV and potyviruses). These genetic resources are currently conserved under shade houses (1.500 m²) and in vitro.