UMR BGPI (Biologie et Génétique des Interactions Plantes-Parasites) Cirad, Inra, SupAgro - France, riz, magnaporthe, pyriculariose, NLR, cytokinin, fertilisation, cereale, rice, blast, resistance, nitrogen, decoy, leurre

Unité Mixte
de Recherche

Biologie et Génétique
des Interactions Plante-Parasite

CIRAD
UMR-BGPI TA A-54/K
Campus International
de Baillarguet
34398 Montpellier Cedex 5
FRANCE

Nous contacter

Equipe 4 : Interactions Céréales Agents Pathogènes (ICAP)

Chef d'équipe : Jean-Benoit Morel
jbmorel@cirad.fr
Tél : 04 99 62 48 37
Assistant : Michel Amphoux

Composition de l'équipe

Chercheurs/Ingénieurs	Assistants techniques	Doctorants
Elsa Ballini Stella Cesari (post-doc) Thomas Kroj Isabelle Meusnier Jean-Benoit Morel Michel Vales (Bolivie) Paola Zuluaga (post-doc)	Véronique Chalvon Aurélie Ducasse Corinne Michel

Converting knowledge
into solutions

Resources
and Know-how

Teaching

Our group is interested in understanding the molecular interactions between rice and the blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.

We use multidisciplinary approaches combining cellular and molecular biology, genetics and genomics to understand how this fungus perturbs cellular processes to invade the host (Pathogenicity), how the plant detects this invasion and deploys its defense arsenal (Resistance mechanisms) and how the abiotic environment modifies the establishment of disease resistance (Impact of abiotic stresses on the interaction).

We are also interested in analyzing how all these molecular events operate in the field (Resistance in the landscape).

Knowledge gained in the rice-M. oryzae model interaction is translated into solutions for rice and wheat disease resistance (turning knowledge into solutions).

More about rice blast disease

1- Understanding fungal pathogenicity

1-1 Identification and study of M. oryzae effectors
Like other phytopathogenic fungi, M. oryzae secretes during infection huge amounts of small proteins that are supposed to act as effector proteins and to impede appropriate triggering of defense and/or to perturb the normal functioning of the cell. Some of these effectors are translocated into the host cytoplasm as we have e.g. shown for the effector AVR1-CO39 (Ribot et al, 2013). By using transcriptomics and comparative genomics we started to establish the effector complement of M. oryzae and its diversity in different host specific lineages of the blast fungus (Chiapello et al, 2015).

Figure 2: After invading the first host cell, the fungus is penetrating neighboring cells (small red pieces of mycelium going through the cell wall in blue)

Analysis of the 3 dimensional structures of the effectors AVR-Pia and AVR1-CO39 identified a highly diverse but structurally conserved effector family in phytopathogenic ascomycete fungi that we named MAX (Magnaporthe Avrs and ToxB) effectors (de Guillen et al, 2015). This unexpected finding opens new opportunities for the identification of effector proteins in fungal genomes and sheds light on the evolutionary mechanisms that generated the huge and highly diverse effector repertoires of phytopathogenic fungi.

Figure 3: The M. oryzae effectors AVR-Pia (A),AVR1-CO39 (B) and AvrPiz-t (C) and the Pyrenophora tritici repentis effector ToxB (D) have similar ß-sandwich structures.

In collaboration with the BECPhy team, we are now deepening the investigation of the diversity of the effector repertoires in M. oryzae and related species.

Contact person: Thomas KROJ

1-2 Fungal-derived cytokinins are potent effectors

M. oryzae produces cytokinins. We have shown that M. oryzae mutants defective in the production of cytokinins are severely impaired for pathogenicity. This is correlated with an enhanced defense response of the plant and altered modifications of nutrients in and around the infection site (Chanclud et al, 2016). How these fungus-derived cytokinins affect plant physiology is under study. The rice ZBED gene could be part of this process (see below).

Contact person: Jean-Benoit Morel

Figure 4: The blast fungus secretes cytokinins (CKs) that alter plant defense and nutrient availability at the site of infection.

1-3 Identifying effector targets

Cytoplasmic immune receptors of the class of NLR proteins characterized by Nucleotide-Binding (NB) and Leucine-Rich-repeat (LRR) domains are key players in plant immunity. They recognize pathogen effectors in a direct or indirect manner and are extensively used in crop resistance breeding.

Recently, we have demonstrated that up to 10% of the plant NLR proteins harbor additional non-canonical domains (Cesari et al, 2014; Kroj et al, 2016). These additional domains likely correspond to decoys that the plants integrated into the NLR immune receptors to detect perturbations triggered by pathogen effectors on proteins paralogous to the decoy domains.

Figure 5: The integrated decoy model proposes that domains of plant proteins (light green) normally targeted by pathogen effectors (orange circle)
to perturbate the cell and trigger susceptibility can be integrated in NLR immune receptors (dark green).

Among the integrated decoys, the most prominent are kinase and WRKY domains which are well-known for their crucial role in plant immunity.

Figure 6: Wordle representation of integrated decoys found across 30 plant genomes. The Kinase, WRKY and BED domains the most frequently integrated into NLR proteins.

We also identified the BED domain as a new major player in plant immunity (see below). The knowledge of integrated decoys opens new avenues for the identification of effector targets and susceptibility genes that hold great promise in terms of resistance durability.

Contact person: Jean-Benoit Morel

2- Understanding resistance mechanisms

2- 1 Molecular bases of NLR immune receptor function

Over the last years, we have developed the rice NLR pair RGA4/RGA5 that mediates recognition of the sequence –unrelated but structurally similar M. oryzae effectors AVR1-CO39 and AVR-Pia as a model for paired NLR immune receptors (Cesari et al, 2013). RGA4 acts as an activator of resistance signaling and is repressed, in the absence of pathogen, by RGA5. RGA5 acts, in addition, as a receptor and binds both, AVR1-CO39 and AVR-Pia, through a heavy-metal-associated domain termed RATX1 (for related to ATX1) that acts as an integrated decoy. Effector-binding relieves the RGA5-mediated repression and leads to activation of resistance signaling by RGA4 (Cesari et al, 2014).

Figure 7: Schematic representation of RGA4 and RGA5 working as a pair. In the absence of the corresponding AVR effectos, RGA5 inhibits RGA4’s activity.
Upon binding of AVR-Pia, this inhibitory function is released and RGA4 triggers cell death. The light green circle corresponds to the RATX1 decoy domain.

The way this pair of proteins interacts at the molecular level and the molecular details of Avr effector recognition are under study.

Contact person: Thomas KROJ

2-2 Identifying components of basal immunity

In the early days of rice genomics, we participated to the building of several resources and tools for studying the interaction between rice and M. oryzae: a Genome Browser containing curated information on gene expression upon infection (Archipelago database: Vergne et al, 2008) and on Quantitative traits Loci for blast resistance (Ballini et al, 2008) as well as mutant lines in standard genes involved in disease resistance (NPR1, CEBiP…: Delteil et al, 2012).

Figure 8: Screenshot of the Archipelago database (visit http://orygenesdb.cirad.fr/)

Using transcriptomics, we identified several genes that have later been shown to be required for resistance. We demonstrated e.g. that four wall-associated kinases are involved in disease resistance in rice and that they control part of the immune response (Delteil et al, 2016). In another study, we have shown that the MADS26 transcription factor is not only a negative regulator of disease resistance but also of drought tolerance (Khong et al, 2015). This unique property of MADS26 is further investigated at the molecular level and in the field as well as in other in other plant species such as wheat.

By studying constitutive expression of defense across rice diversity, we could show that preformed defense is a hallmark of quantitative resistance in rice (Vergne et al, 2010). Following this lead, we identified plant genes that are positive or negative regulator of quantitative resistance (Grand et al, 2012). Among them, we identified the ZBED gene which contains three BED domains also found as an integrated non-canonical domain in many NLR proteins (Kroj et al, 2016). The in-depth study of ZBED is underway to understand its function in disease resistance.

Contact person: Jean-Benoit Morel

3- Understanding the impact of abiotic stresses on the interaction between rice and M. oryzae

3-1 Nitrogen fertilization and susceptibility

Nitrogen fertilization is well-known to increase susceptibility to many fungal pathogens in the field, including M. oryzae. This phenomenon, called Nitrogen-Induced Susceptibility (NIS) could be reproduced in the laboratory (Ballini et al, 2013). We showed that fungal development is impacted by nitrogen fertilization. We have also identified regions of the rice genome that are important for NIS.

The effect of nitrogen fertilization (left) on blast susceptibility and one example of a genetic locus involved in NIS (right)

We are currently analyzing molecular and metabolic changes during NIS.

Contact person: Elsa Ballini

3-2 Drought and susceptibility

Just like fertilization, drought is also well-known to enhance disease susceptibility. We have developed an experimental system to study drought-induced susceptibility (DIS).

Figure 9: Rice blast symptoms are strongly increased by drought

We are currently studying the transcriptional changes occurring on both rice and M. oryzae during DIS.

Contact person: Jean-Benoit Morel

4- Resistance in the landscape

The way all the molecular mechanisms identified in the rice blast system operate in the field is a very challenging question. We are trying to evaluate what are the key molecular determinants that are important in two rice growing areas: the Yuanyang terraces in Yunnan (China) and the Camargue region (France).

In Yunnan, the resistance against rice blast is known to be very stable since centuries despite the very limited usage of fungicides. We are interested in understanding how some resistance properties (R-genes, preformed defense) of rice are shaping this exceptional durability. In Camargue and also Yunnan, we are interested in translating our knowledge on Nitrogen-Induced Susceptibility.

Riz : diviser pour régner

Emission Planète-environnement
Podcast du 11 janvier 2017

Quoi, du bio…chinois ?

Emission A Bon Entendeur
Vidéo du 22 août 2017

Contact person: Jean-Benoit Morel

Converting knowledge into solutions

The effect of genes and metabolites identified in different projects is tested under field conditions. For instance, plants over-expressing several genes identified in our group are being evaluated for disease resistance and other key agronomic traits in the field.
Similarly, we are trying to validate the usefulness of some metabolite markers in breeding programs for reducing Nitrogen-induced Susceptibility.
This is mostly done in collaboration with private companies or technical institutes.

Contact person: Jean-Benoit Morel

Resources and Know-how

Our laboratory has developed an extensive set of mutant lines (NPR1/NH1, CEBiP…) and markers for gene expression (plant and fungus) to analyze any type of interaction.

Our laboratory is routinely using:
- confocal microscopy
- Bi-molecular Fluorescence complementation (BiFC)
- Oxidative burst, callose deposition, cell death assays
- Yeast-2-hybrid (libraries available for indica rice, japonica rice and wheat)
- co-immuno precipitation
- transient expression of proteins in Nicotiana benthamiana
- gene expression by Quantitative RT-PCR
- rice transformation
- M. oryzae transformation
- pharmacological treatments (SA, JA, CK…)

Different conditions for testing several plant/pathogen interactions are available:
- Rice: M. oryzae and Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae (quarantine facility)
- Wheat: Zymoseptoria tritici, Puccinia triticina, Fusarium graminearum, Stagonospora

Together with our collaborators, we have developed a protocol for long-term storage of fungal spores allowing efficient preparation of standardized inoculum.

Teaching

Since 2010, Elsa Ballini is Associated Professor in the Biology and Ecology department of Montpellier SupAgro. She is part of the teaching team of three masters: one master in breeding for Mediterranean and tropical crop Apimet, one master in plant health and one master for the design of Sustainable Cropping Systems Agrodesign.

Elsa Ballini also maintaining the Scoopit on rice blast

Scientific networks

Our group is currently coordinating three networks:

- The “Resistance” network, funded by INRA-SPE, deals with plant resistance mechanisms.
- The “Effectome” network funded by INRA-SPE and EFPA divisions, deals with effector biology and pathogen virulence.
- The “SUSTAIN” network funded by a European COST Action grant, aims to create a European network of scientists and breeders working together to turn breakthroughs in plant-pathogen interaction research into effective breeding strategies for durable disease resistance in cereal and Solanaceous crops which are of primary importance for European agriculture.

Major collaborations

- Marc-Henri Lebrun (INRA-BIOGER-Versailles)
- Emmanuel Guiderdoni (CIRAD-AGAP, Montpellier)
- André Padilla (CNRS-CBS, Montpellier)
- Ryohei Terauchi (Iwate Biotechnology Institute, Japan)
- Xiahong He, Huichuan Huang, Youyong Zhu (YNAU, China)

Funded projects

The projects for which our group is/was the Principal Investigator are indicated in bold

Participation to international projects

- 2015-2017: FSOV project “WEAB”
- 2012-2016: Riceconnection project (France, Italy, Vietnam, Colombia)
- 2007-2009: ERA-NET project « Eurigen » of technology transfer (France-Spain)
- 2006-2009: Riceimmunity project (PTP-Italy)
- 2005-2008: Cerealimmunity project (Brazil, Mexico, Japan, England, USA, France)

Participation to national projects

- 2016-2017: Integrated decoys (INRA-SPE division funded)
- 2015-2019: ANR project «ImmuneReceptor »
- 2010-2014: ANR project « CerealDefense » (INRA-Biogemma)
- 2010-2013: ANR-SYSTERRA « GARP » program (CIRAD-INRA)
- 2009-2011: Génoplante project « RLKome » (CIRAD-INRA)
- 2009-2012 ANR project “GEMO” (CIRAD-INRA)
- 2008-2010: Génoplante project « IRMA » program (INRA-CNRS)
- 2008-2010: Génoplante project « TWIST » (CNRS-INRA-Biogemma)
- 2006-2008: ANR-blanc program « OsMir » (CNRS-IRD-CIRAD-INRA)
- 2006-2007: Génoplante project « Ricetill » (BAYER-INRA)
- 2006-2007: Génoplante project « Cagrill » (CIRAD-INRA-IRD)
- 2005-2006: Génoplante project « B8 » (Biogemma-CNRS-INRA-CIRAD-IRD)
- 2005-2007: INRA-SPE project « Diversité des réactions de défense du riz » (INRA)
- 2001-2004: Génoplante project « OsCrR1 » (INRA-CNRS).

People


Left to right : up: Thomas Kroj, Jean-Benoit Morel, Emilie Chanclud, Aurélie Ducasse, Przemek Bidzinski, Diana Ortiz down: Corinne Michel, Elsa Balini, Véronique Chalvon, Jingjing Liao, Isabelle Meusnier	Left to right : up: Sophie Gayot, Stella Cesari, Emilie Chanclud, Bastien Cayrol, Jean-Benoit Morel, Elsa Balini, Thomas Kroj, Przemek Bidzinski, Enrico Gobbato, Huichuan Huang down: Marie-Stephanie Vernerey, Thuy Nguyen, Judith Hirsh, Corinne Michel, Véronique Chalvon,

Other past members


Sophie Leran	Mélisande Blein	Cécile Ribot	Xavier Grand	Joan Estevan

Odile Faivre-Rampant	Emilie Vergne	Amandine Delteil	Nabila Yahaoui	Jean-Loup Notteghem

Publications

2017
Zuluaga P, Szurek B, Koebnik R, Kroj T, Morel JB. Effector mimics and integrated decoys, the never-ending arms race between rice and Xanthomonas oryzae. Front Plant Science 2017. 8:431. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00431

Ortiz D, de Guillen K, Cesari S, Chalvon V, Gracy J, Padilla A, Kroj T. Recognition of the Magnaporthe oryzae Effector AVR-Pia by the Decoy Domain of the Rice NLR Immune Receptor RGA5. Plant Cell. 2017 (1):156-168. doi:10.1105/tpc.16.00435.

Huang H, Nguyen Thi Thu T, He X, Gravot A, Bernillon S, Ballini E, Morel JB. Increase of Fungal Pathogenicity and Role of Plant Glutamine in Nitrogen-Induced Susceptibility (NIS) To Rice Blast. Front Plant Science 2017. 8:265. doi:10.3389/fpls.2017.00265.

2016
http://presse.inra.fr/Ressources/Communiques-de-presse/comment-la-diversite-des-plantes-accroit-la-durabilite-de-leur-resistance

Liao J, Huang H, Meusnier I, Adreit H, Ducasse A, Bonnot F, Pan L, He X, Kroj T, Fournier E, Tharreau D, Gladieux P, Morel JB. Pathogen effectors and plant immunity determine specialization of the blast fungus to rice subspecies. Elife. 2016. 5. pii: e19377. doi: 10.7554/eLife.19377.

Bidzinski P, Ballini E, Ducasse A, Michel C, Zuluaga P, Genga A, Chiozzotto R, Morel JB. Transcriptional Basis of Drought-Induced Susceptibility to the Rice Blast Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Front Plant Sci. 2016 7:1558.

Hutin M, Césari S, Chalvon V, Michel C, Tran TT, Boch J, Koebnik R, Szurek B, Kroj T. Ectopic activation of the rice NLR heteropair RGA4/RGA5 confers resistance to bacterial blight and bacterial leaf streak diseases. Plant J. 2016 88(1):43-55. doi: 10.1111/tpj.13231.

Mogga V, Delventhal R, Weidenbach D, Langer S, Bertram PM, Andresen K, Thines E, Kroj T, Schaffrath U. Magnaporthe oryzae effectors MoHEG13 and MoHEG16 interfere with host infection and MoHEG13 counteracts cell death caused by Magnaporthe-NLPs in tobacco. Plant Cell Rep. 2016 35(5):1169-85. doi: 10.1007/s00299-016-1943-9.

Chanclud E, Morel JB. Plant hormones: A fungal point of view. Mol Plant Pathol. 2016 Mar 7. doi: 10.1111/mpp.12393.

Garroum I, Bidzinski P, Daraspe J, Mucciolo A, Humbel BM, Morel JB, Nawrath C. Cuticular Defects in Oryza sativa ATP-binding Cassette Transporter G31 Mutant Plants Cause Dwarfism, Elevated Defense Responses and Pathogen Resistance. Plant Cell Physiol. 2016 57(6):1179-88. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcw066.

Cayrol B, Delteil A, Gobbato E, Kroj T and J.-B. Morel Three Wall-Associated Kinases required for rice basal immunity form protein complexes in the plasma membrane. Plant Signal Behav. 2016 11(4):e1149676. doi: 10.1080/15592324.2016.1149676.

Chanclud E, Kisiala A, 3, Emery NRJ, Chalvon V, Ducasse A, Romiti-Michel C, Gravot A, Kroj T and Morel JB Cytokinin production by the rice blast fungus is a pivotal requirement for full virulence PLoS Pathog 12(2): e1005457. doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1005457

Kroj T, Chanclud E, Michel-Romiti C, Grand X, and Morel JB Integration of decoy domains derived from protein targets of pathogen effectors into plant immune receptors is widespread. New Phytol 2016 210(2): 618-626. doi: 10.1111/nph.13869.

Delteil A, Gobbato E, Cayrol B, Estevan J, Michel-Romiti C, Dievart A, Kroj T and Morel JB. Several Wall-Associated Kinases participate positively and negatively in basal defense against rice blast fungus. BMC Plant Biol. 2016 16(1):17. DOI: 10.1186/s12870-016-0711-x

Dievart A, Perin C, Hirsch J, Bettembourg M, Lanau N, Artus F, Bureau C, Noel N, Droc G, Peyramard M, Pereira S, Courtois B, Morel JB, Guiderdoni E. The phenome analysis of mutant alleles in Leucine-Rich Repeat Receptor-Like Kinase genes in rice reveals new potential targets for stress tolerant cereals. Plant Sci. 2016 242:240-9. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2015.06.019.

2015
Khong GN, Pati PK, Richaud F, Parizot B, Bidzinski P, Mai CD, Bès M, Bourrié I, Meynard D, Beeckman T, Selvaraj MG, Manabu I, Genga A, Brugidou C, Do VN, Guiderdoni E, Morel JB*, Gantet P*. OsMADS26 negatively regulates resistance to bacterial and fungal pathogens and drought tolerance in rice. Plant Physiol. 2015 Sep 30. pii: pp.01192.2015.
* last co-authors

de Guillen K, Ortiz-Vallejo D, Gracy J, Fournier E, Kroj T, Padilla A. Structure Analysis Uncovers a Highly Diverse but Structurally Conserved Effector Family in Phytopathogenic Fungi. PLoS Pathog. 2015 Oct 27;11(10):e1005228. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1005228.

Chiapello H, Mallet L, Guérin C, Aguileta G, Amselem J, Kroj T, Ortega-Abboud E, Lebrun MH, Henrissat B, Gendrault A, Rodolphe F, Tharreau D, Fournier E. Deciphering Genome Content and Evolutionary Relationships of Isolates from the Fungus Magnaporthe oryzae Attacking Different Host Plants. Genome Biol Evol. 2015 Oct 9;7(10):2896-912. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evv187.

2014
Xiao Y, Chen Y, Charnikhova T, Mulder PP, Heijmans J, Hoogenboom A, Agalou A, Michel C, Morel JB, Dreni L, Kater MM, Bouwmeester H, Wang M, Zhu Z, Ouwerkerk PB. OsJAR1 is required for JA-regulated floret opening and anther dehiscence in rice. Plant Mol Biol. 2014 86(1-2):19-33. doi: 10.1007/s11103-014-0212-y.

Cesari S, Bernoux M, Moncuquet P, Kroj T, Dodds PN. A novel conserved mechanism for plant NLR protein pairs: the "integrated decoy" hypothesis. Front Plant Sci. 2014 Nov 25;5:606. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2014.00606.

Césari S, Kanzaki H, Fujiwara T, Bernoux M, Chalvon V, Kawano Y, Shimamoto K, Dodds P, Terauchi R, Kroj T. The NB-LRR proteins RGA4 and RGA5 interact functionally and physically to confer disease resistance. EMBO J. 2014 Sep 1;33(17):1941-59. doi: 10.15252/embj.201487923.

Ballini E., Morel J.B. New insights arising from genomics for enhancing rice resistance against the blast fungus. In: Springer Book. 2014 R. Tuberosa et al. (eds.), Genomics of Plant Genetic Resources, 1 DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-7575-6_11

2013
E Ballini, T Nguyen and JB Morel Diversity and genetics of nitrogen-induced susceptibility to the blast fungus in rice and wheat. RICE 2013, 6:32.

JB Morel. Exploring Healthy Plants as a New Way to Keep them Healthy. ISB NEWS REPORT February 2013

Cesari S, Thilliez G, Ribot C, Chalvon V, Michel C, Jauneau A, Rivas S, Alaux L, Kanzaki H, Okuyama Y, Morel JB, Fournier E, Tharreau D, Terauchi R, Kroj T. The Rice Resistance Protein Pair RGA4/RGA5 Recognizes the Magnaporthe oryzae Effectors AVR-Pia and AVR1-CO39 by Direct Binding. The Plant Cell 2013 25(4): 1-19. doi/10.1105/tpc.112.107201.

Ribot C, Césari S, Abidi I, Chalvon V, Bournaud C, Vallet J, Lebrun MH, Morel JB, Kroj T. The Magnaporthe oryzae effector AVR1-C039 is translocated into rice cells independently of a fungal-derived machinery. Plant J. 2013 74, 1–12. doi: 10.1111/tpj.12099.

2012
Grand X, Espinoza R, Michel C, Cros S, Chalvon V, Jacobs J, Morel JB. Identification of positive and negative regulators of disease resistance to rice blast fungus using constitutive gene expression patterns. Plant Biotechnol J. 2012. 10(7):840-50. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2012.00703.x.

Abbruscato P, Nepusz T, Mizzi L, Delcorvo M, Morandini P, Fumasoni I, Michel C, Paccanaro A, Guiderdoni E, Schaffrath U, Morel JB, Piffanelli P and Faivre-Rampant O.
OsWRKY22, a monocot WRKY gene, plays a role in the resistance response to blast.
Mol Plant Pathol. 2012. DOI: 10.1111/J.1364-3703.2012.00795.x.

Lorieux M, Blein M, Lozano J, Bouniol M, Droc G, Diévart A, Périn C, Mieulet D, Lanau N, Bès M, Rouvière C, Gay C, Piffanelli P, Larmande P, Michel C, Barnola I, Biderre-Petit C, Sallaud C, Perez P, Bourgis F, Ghesquière A, Gantet P, Tohme J, Morel JB*, Guiderdoni E*.
In-depth molecular and phenotypic characterization in a rice insertion line library facilitates gene identification through reverse and forward genetics approaches.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2012 Feb 28. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7652.2012.00689.x.
* : co-corresponding authors

Delteil A, Blein M, Faivre-Rampant O, Guellim A, Estevan J, Hirsch J, Bevitori R, Michel C, Morel JB. Building a mutant resource for the study of disease resistance in rice reveals the pivotal role of several genes involved in defence.
Mol Plant Pathol. 2012 Jan;13(1):72-82. doi: 10.1111/j.1364-3703.2011.00731.x.

2010
Vergne E, Grand X, Ballini E, Chalvon V, Saindrenan P, Tharreau D, Nottéghem JL and Morel JB Preformed expression of defense is a hallmark of partial resistance to rice blast fungal pathogen Magnaporthe oryzae
BMC Plant Biology 2010 10:206.

Ballini E., Vergne E., Tharreau D., Nottéghem J.L., Morel J.B. ARCHIPELAGO : towards bridging the gap between molecular and genetic information in rice blast disease resistance. In Wang G.L., (ed.), Valent B., (ed.). Advances in Genetics, Genomics and Control of Rice Blast Disease 2009. Springer, p. p.417-425. (vol. 32).

2009
Delteil A, Zhang J, Lessard P and JB Morel Potential candidate genes for improving rice disease resistance RICE, 2009 3(1): 56-71

Tufan HA, McGrann GR, Magusin A, Morel JB, Miché L, Boyd LA. Wheat blast: histopathology and transcriptome reprogramming in response to adapted and nonadapted Magnaporthe isolates. New Phytol. 2009 184(2):473-84.

2008
Faivre-Rampant O, Thomas J, Allègre M, Morel JB, Tharreau D, Nottéghem JL, Lebrun MH, Schaffrath U, Piffanelli P. Characterisation of the model system rice-Magnaporthe for the study of non-host resistance in cereals. New Phytol. 2008;180(4):899-910.

Vergne E, Ballini E, Droc G, Tharreau D, Nottéghem JL, Morel JB. ARCHIPELAGO: a dedicated resource for exploiting past, present, and future genomic data on disease resistance regulation in rice. Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2008 21(7):869-78.

Ballini E, Morel JB, Droc G, Price A, Courtois B, Notteghem JL, Tharreau D. A genome-wide meta-analysis of rice blast resistance genes and quantitative trait loci provides new insights into partial and complete resistance. Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 2008 21(7):859-68.

Larmande P, Gay C, Lorieux M, Périn C, Bouniol M, Droc G, Sallaud C, Perez P, Barnola I, Biderre-Petit C, Martin J, Morel JB, Johnson AA, Bourgis F, Ghesquière A, Ruiz M, Courtois B, Guiderdoni E. Oryza Tag Line, a phenotypic mutant database for the Genoplante rice insertion line library. Nucleic Acids Res. 2008 36(Database issue):D1022-7.

Ribot C, Hirsch J, Balzergue S, Tharreau D, Nottéghem JL, Lebrun MH, Morel JB. Susceptibility of rice to the blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea. J Plant Physiol. 2008 165(1):114-24.

2007
Ballini E, Berruyer R, Morel JB, Lebrun MH, Nottéghem JL, Tharreau D. Modern elite rice varieties of the 'Green Revolution' have retained a large introgression from wild rice around the Pi33 rice blast resistance locus. New Phytol. 2007 175(2):340-50.

Vergne E, Ballini E, Marques S, Sidi Mammar B, Droc G, Gaillard S, Bourot S, DeRose R, Tharreau D, Nottéghem JL, Lebrun MH, Morel JB. Early and specific gene expression triggered by rice resistance gene Pi33 in response to infection by ACE1 avirulent blast fungus.
New Phytol. 2007 174(1):159-71.

Thèses

Diana Ortiz-Vallejo (2013-2016)