Ulysse Guilloteau’s mobility experience, co-financed by the SPS Teaching and Training – Mobility Open Call

Ulysse Guilloteau is a doctoral student under the supervision of Thierry Marcel in the ADEP team at the Biology of fungal plant pathogens (BIOGER) Research Unit, which is part of the SPS network. His PhD project focuses on the host specificity of the phytopathogenic fungus Zymoseptoria tritici. Ulysse has spent several research stays in Clermont-Ferrand, in the IPM team at the GDEC (Genetics, Diversity and Ecophysiology of Cereals) Institute, under the supervision of Cyrille Saintenac.

Tell us shortly about your PhD project

"Zymoseptoria tritici is the pathogen responsible for septoria tritici blotch, a leaf disease affecting both bread wheat and durum wheat. Although both wheat species can be infected, they do not respond in the same way to different strains of the pathogen. Conversely, we observe strains or populations of the pathogen that are only adapted to one of the two wheat species. My PhD aims to study, at the genetic level, this specificity in the interactions between the pathogen and these two host species."

How will the mobility impact your project and which objectives will you be able to reach thanks to it?

"During my first year of doctoral research, several of my experiments on host species specificity converged on a major resistance gene in wheat. To confirm the role of this gene, functional validation is necessary. As we do not have the facilities to carry out this type of approach at BIOGER, we have started a collaboration with the GDEC in Clermont Ferrand, which specializes in wheat and has a functional validation platform. As this experiment will take several months, short stays at this unit will allow me to monitor and participate in the key stages of the experiment. This exchange with another laboratory should therefore enable me to finalize one of the key aspects of my project, by validating an association genetics result on plants."

What did this mobility experience give you on a personal level, beyond the scientific aspect?

"Spending time in another laboratory is an opportunity to meet other doctoral students and researchers and discover other scientific research organizations, probably in a more natural and informal way than at conferences or project meetings. I was able to easily talk to the doctoral students in the unit about their work, how they operate, their mobility, and come away with quite a few ideas. And then, staying in Clermont-Ferrand means hiking to the top of Puy Dôme..." 

Would you recommend to other PhD students to spend a period in another lab? Why? 

"Yes, whether it's to conduct an experiment or simply discuss with colleagues, it's a good opportunity to take a step back from your project, gather new ideas, discover other topics, and open yourself up to new perspectives for both your PhD and your future."