Research Activities
GEVES carries out applied research projects, aiming to develop and promote methods for seed quality analysis and variety testing, and to standardise and validate these methods through national and international organisations. Our research activities have three main areas of focus: evaluation of genotypes in their environment, management of reference collections, and seed quality. These activities draw on GEVES’s expertise in phenotyping genomics, and data analysis.
Evaluation of varieties in their environment
To meet the evolving context of variety testing, GEVES aims to pilot a more diverse range of trial networks in order to better understand varieties and better predict their performances in different growing conditions. Our objective is to target genetic progress towards more sustainable varieties and cultivation practices in terms of disease and pest and resistance.
The characterisation of trial network environments and the development of methods for collecting abiotic and biotic environmental variables are identified as priority research issues. Piloting networks targeted towards a greater range of experimental conditions must be paired with the development of test protocols adapted to evaluating the adaptation of varieties under limited conditions.
Characterisation of reference collections
As part of its missions, GEVES manages a large number of collections (DHS, pathogens, weeds, genetic resources). The combination of genomics and phenotyping can be used to characterise these collections, and ensure they are managed effectively.
These research activities help to make progress in:
- Defining minimum genetic thresholds and distances for detecting non-conformities (hybrids and seed lots)
- Optimising management of reference collections
- Improving variety distinction.
Seed quality testing
GEVES carries out research activities aiming to improve seed testing with regard to purity, germination, and pathology. These activities draw on the expertise of GEVES agents in the domains of seed biology, physiology, phenotyping, pathology, and molecular biology, with a view to achieving a more detailed characterisation of seed quality.
Scientific partners
GEVES’s research activities are carried out in partnership with various actors as part of national and international programs, and in the context of method improvement (contracted projects, international projects for optimised protocols, preliminary studies before developing new methods, developments, improvements, transfer, harmonisation of existing methods and validation for international recognition).
Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee supports and advises GEVES in its policies and research projects. It plays a key role in providing insight into domains related to GEVES’s missions.
The Scientific Committee is composed of eight external scientists from GEVES’s different partnerships, who work in different domains of plant science:
- Didier ANDRIVON, chair of the Scientific Committee at GEVES, is a plant biology researcher at the Genetics, Environment, and Plant Protection Institute (IGEPP) at INRA Rennes.
- Elisabeth CHEVREAU is a researcher in fruit genetics and disease resistance, working at the Horticulture and Seed Research Institute (IRHS) at INRA Angers.
- Anne LAPERCHE is a senior lecturer at Agrocampus Ouest working in the IGEPP team on rapeseed and abiotic stress tolerance.
- Frédéric BARET works at INRA Avignon in phenotyping and remote sensing.
- Daniel GABILLARD is Deputy Head of Research at Vilmorin.
- Marie-Christine GRAS works in plant breeding for forage and grass plants at RAGT.
- Peter ROGOWSKY, is a researcher for INRA based at the National School of Lyon, specialising in molecular biology and biotechnologies.
- Françoise CORBINEAU is a specialised professor in seed quality at the Pierre et Marie Curie University.
Contacts
| Names | Jobs | |
|---|---|---|
| Ms Aurélia GOULEAU | Scientific coordinator | |
| Ms Marie-Noëlle RACAT | Head of convention monitoring unit | |
| Ms Filomena JUIGNET | Administrative manager for research conventions |