Chemical ecology

Chemical ecology aims to study the roles of chemical mediators in the interaction between organisms. Our interests, in collaboration with ecologists and/or natural product specialists, focus on the notion of holobiont (association of a macro-organism with its micro-organisms) and on the chemical mechanisms involved in inter-individual chemical communication (quorum sensing, for example). We are developing new metabolomics methodologies, such as molecular networks, to answer questions such as: what molecules are involved in a tree's defenses against insect pests (termites)? what molecules are involved in bacterial quorum sensing to regulate colony growth? The approaches we have developed also enable us to address economic issues related to the valorization of biomass, from cellulose degradation processes to the use of micro-organisms to degrade plastics.

1. Sextonia Rubra as a tropical holobiont from the Guyana Plateau

2. Tacamaque resins: origins and preservation

3. Biomass-degrading fungi

4. Inter-species chemical communication

Bibliography