AI and multi-omics in plant health
Producing sufficient agricultural resources to feed a world population estimated at over 9 billion people by 2050, while reducing the impact on our planet, is one of the main challenges facing humanity.
In their own environment, plants engage in various types of interactions with other organisms. These interactions can be either beneficial to their development (e.g., symbiosis with fungi and bacteria) or detrimental to their health and survival (e.g., pests, pathogens and parasites). Agricultural pests are themselves involved in interactions with predators, pathogens, and parasites that can be used as bio-control agents (e.g., parasitoid wasps).
The deepening of our knowledge on the functioning and success of these different biotic interactions is thus of paramount importance to improve plant health and avoid a future agricultural crisis, while limiting our environmental impact.
In this context, the MSI of Université Côte d'Azur and the Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (INRAe) have developed a joint research project to study interactions between organisms in relation to plant health through the integration of multi-omics data and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms.
The main themes addressed concern the study of:
- Interactions between plants and various bio-aggressors (nematodes, oomycetes, insects).
- Symbiotic relationships beneficial to the plant such as those maintained with various bacteria and fungi.
- Interactions between insect parasitoids and plant pests in the context of their bio-control.
Partners
MSI – Center of Modeling, Simulation and Interactions
- Dr. Djampa Kozlowski
- Dr. Silvia Bottini
INRAe - Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (ISA - Institut Sophia Agrobiotech, Game team)
- Dr. Etienne Danchin
Contact
Djampa Kozlowski (PhD),
Operational engineer in multi-omics data integration and artificial intelligence.
E-mail : djampa.kozlowski@univ-cotedazur.fr