Integrative Epigenetics to predict the adaptive capacities of pests

Background and challenges

The EPIPREDICT project proposes to answer these questions for two examples of pests with clonal reproduction and remarkable resilience 

• the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, which causes a wide range of damage on various leguminous plants and has remarkable phenotypic plasticity in response to its biotic and abiotic environment.
• the mycotoxin-producing filamentous fungus Fusarium graminearum, which is responsible for disastrous episodes of Fusarium head blight in wheat throughout the world, and which also displays a formidable capacity for adaptation.

Goals

Epigenetic variations are heritable modifications of the expression of a genome that do not affect its sequence. Under environmental constraints, on short-time scales, the implementation of epigenetic modifications appears to be an efficient way for organisms to express new heritable phenotypes in order to ensure their survival and continue to develop. This epigenetic code is studied using high-throughput sequencing approaches, generating large volumes of data of a heterogeneous nature for which current analysis methods provide a limited understanding.

The EPIPREDICT project proposes to develop innovative statistical and mathematical approaches in order to identify in these data the elements that allow the description of variations in the expression of genes (in particular those responsible for the virulence and aggressiveness of pathogens and pests), taking into account the spatial characteristics of genomes.

Ultimately, decoding how genes are expressed in response to the environment could provide a decision support model for developing resilient and economically viable agro-ecosystems.

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Units involved and partners

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