Summer School 2022 - Plant sugars

Sugars are the predominant carbon and energy source for all living organisms. Especially, sugar metabolism, transport and signaling are key processes involved in biomass production, yield and quality. In addition, sugars are also playing a crucial role in plant growth and development in response to changes in the environmental conditions. Over the past decades, these fields have seen major advances but the current climate changes that the world is facing is bringing new challenges for the researchers to address.

The SPS Summer School 2022 was a one-week program for outstanding and enthusiastic master and PhD students, as well as post-docs working in plant biology on biological questions related to sugar transport, metabolism and/or signaling. It provided them with an introduction on several aspects of the molecular and cell biology of sugar metabolism, transport and signaling in relation to global climate changes.

This Summer School brought together 20 participants from all over the world and offered them the chance to receive scientific training in an international and rather informal atmosphere, facilitating exchanges. This course involved theoretical lectures delivered by world-class experts and specific workshops allowing active exchanges between participants and experts to discuss around the future prospects in these different fields of research.

Program and speakers

Download the program of the Summer School

This Summer School included:

         > Theoretical modules (16,5 hours):

Leading scientists held lectures on the topics of the summer school, giving the participants a comprehensive insight into the latest research findings and identifying key open questions in the field.

"Sugar signaling"
- John Lunn (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology - Potsdam-Golm, Germany)
- Michel Vincentz (Centro de Biologia Molecular e Engenharia Genética - CBMEG - Campinas, Brazil)
- Christine Horlow (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)
- Christian Meyer (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)
- Anne-Sophie Leprince (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)

"Sugar transport / partitioning"
- Nathalie Pourtau (Écologie et Biologie des Interactions - Poitiers, France)
- Ekkehard Neuhaus (TU Kaiserslautern, Germany)
- Rozenn Le Hir (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)
- Evelyne Téoulé (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)

"Sugar metabolism"
- Benjamin Pommerrenig (TU Kaiserslautern, Germany)
- Sylvie Dinant (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)
- Bertrand Gakière (Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay - Gif-sur-Yvette, France)
- Fabien Chardon (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)

"From shoots to roots : Integrative view of carbon allocation"
- Yves Gibon (Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie - Villenave d'Ornon, France)
- Frédéric Rees (ECOSYS - Thiverval-Grignon, France)
- Olivier Loudet (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin – Versailles, France)

         > Workshops and round-table (8 hours)

The workshop sessions were dedicated to team work. The participants were asked to make three groups, to choose one thematic among three abiotic stresses (drought, temperature stress or salinity). Based on the literature, their own experience and the support from the invited speakers, they were asked to come up with suggestions of experiments, methodologies or else that would help producing plants with increased tolerance to stresses by modulating sugar metabolism, transport and/or signaling.

The round table was the occasion for the participants to present the results of their brainstorming, through a 15 min short talk, and to discuss with the invited speakers about the future challenges in this thematic.

         > Presentations of the participants’ projects

         > Visits of SPS labs

         > Cultural excursion at the Versailles Castle

This varied program gave plenty of opportunities for discussion with speakers and the other participants.

Organizers

Rozenn Le Hir (Coordinator, IJPB)
Catherine Bellini (IJPB)
Fabien Chardon (IJPB)
Sylvie Dinant (IJPB)
Bertrand Gakière (IPS2)
Anne-Sophie Leprince (IJPB)
Christian Meyer (IJPB)

Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, IJPB, Versailles
Institute of Plant Sciences Paris-Saclay, IPS2, Gif-sur-Yvette

Teaching language

English

Venue

Centre Port-Royal
Chemin du Charme et du Carrosse
78470 Saint-Lambert-des-Bois

Sponsors