RANNIS - 2020-2023

Do lichens provide a selective force for Pseudomonas Syringae in Arctic tundra environments?

  • Funding: Icelandic Research Fund
  • The project concerns the exploration of lichens in Iceland as a reservoir of Pseudomonas syringae. It aims to assess how lichens, the main type of vegetation in Iceland which occupies all ecosystems colonized by vegetation on this island, are permissible habitats for this bacterium. The quantitative isolation of P. syringae, the genetic characterization of the strains, and the studies of phylogeny and pathogenicity of the isolated strains will make it possible to determine i) how the bacterium adapts in the absence of agriculture and ii) the epidemiological risk during changes in land use. The project will also allow the training of a doctoral student who would be co-supervised by the three project partners.
  • Coordinator: Université d’Akureyri, Islande
  • Partners: INRAE-PACA-Avignon (Pathologie Végétale), School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, UK
  • Manager for the unit: Morris Cindy
  • Lifetime: 2020-2023; 36 months