François Delmotte
Research scientist
INRA, Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin, UMR Santé Végétale
BP81-33883 Villenave d'Ornon Cedex
France

   Phone Number

   +33 (0)5 57 12 26 42

   Fax Number

   +33 (0)5 57 12 26 21

   Email : delmotte(a)bordeaux.inra.fr

 

/ CV / Research Interests /
/ Publication list : [all_PDF] /
 

 

Education / Professional Experience

2004    Full time researcher at INRA, Bordeaux, France

As a Population Geneticist and Evolutionary Biologist, I have a wide range of interests in molecular ecology, phylogenetics, molecular evolution and genomics. My main research program at INRA concerns the genetic diversity; the phylogeography, and the adaptation of grapevine downy mildew (Plasmopara viticla) to its host plants (Vitis sp.). Recently, I started a new research study on the evolution of sunflower downy mildew populations (Plasmopara halstedii).

2001    European "Marie Curie" Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Valencia (Spain)
            "Evolutionary genomics of bacterial endosymbionts of insect" supervised by Moya A

1998    PhD  thesis, INRA Le Rheu, UMR Bio3P (France) directed by Simon JC
            "Understanding the routes to asexuality in aphid species"

1997    M.S. in Ecology & Evolution, Université Paris 6 & INA-PG
            Training period at Laboratoire Évolution et Sytématique (France) directed by Shykoff JA

 

Research Interests
My aim is to understand life bridging the theory of evolution and genetics. My specific research interests fall into three areas:
    Population genetics and adaptation of plant-pathogens
    Evolutionnary genomics of bacterial endosymbionts
    Evolution of sex in aphids
Population genetics and adaptation of plant-pathogens [donwload all PDF]

This program focus on two Oomycetes model species that are both obligate plant-pathogens of american origin (downy mildews) :
 
P. viticola on phylloxera galls
- Plamopara viticola : Grapevine downy mildew is one of the most damaging fungal diseases of grapevine (Vitis spp) worldwide. It is caused by Plasmopara viticola (Berk. & Curt. ex. De Bary), a oomycetes native of north America. In the late 1870s, P. viticola was accidentally introduced to Europe, probably when american vine stocks that were resistant to grape phylloxera were used to graft the European varieties.
- Plasmopara hasltedii : Sunflower downy mildew due to Plasmopara halstedii (Berlese & de Toni) an obligate parasite that has been introduced into Europe at the start of the 20th Century. Gene-for-gene interactions have been demonstrated between this pathogen and its plant host (Helianthus spp) and many races (pathotypes) have been characterised.

The objectives of this research program are multiple :
- to describe genetic variability of P. viticola and P. halstedii populations using nuclear (SNP, microsatellites) and mitochondrial markers,
- to understand the routes of introduction of these plant-pathogens from North America into Europe (ANR Emerfundis, 2008-2010),
- to analyse plant-parasite coevolution and host-plant specialization in these pathosystems,
- to increase the durability of plant resistance gene by understanding how downy mildews adapt to host-plant varieties.

Publications

Delmotte F, Giresse X, Richard-Cervera S, Vear F, Tourvieille J, Walser P, Moinard J, Tourvieille de Labrouhe D. 2008. Single nucleotide polymorphisms reveal multiple introductions into France of Plasmopara halstedii, the plant pathogen responsible of sunflower downy mildew. Infection, Genetics and Evolution, 8, 534-540. [PDF]

Montarry J, Cartolaro P, Delmotte F, Jolivet J, Willocquet L. 2008. Genetic structure and aggressiveness of Erysiphe necator populations during grapevine powdery mildew epidemics, Applied Environmental Microbiology, 74: 6327–6332. [PDF]

Montarry J, Cartolaro P, Richard-Cervera S, Delmotte F. Spatio-temporal distribution of Erysiphe necator genetic groups and their relationship with disease levels in vineyards. European Journal of Plant Pathology, in press [PDF]

Giraud T, Enjalbert J, Fournier E, Delmotte F, Dutech C. 2008. Population genetics of fungal diseases of plants, Parasite, 15, 449-454. [PDF]

Baudoin A, Olaya G, Delmotte F, Colcol JF, Sierotzki H. 2008. QoI resistance of Plasmopara viticola and Erysiphe necator in the Mid-Atlantic United States. Plant Health Progress, doi:10.1094/PHP-2008-0211-02-RS

REX consortium INRA. 2007. Structure of the Scientific Community Modelling the Evolution of Resistance. PLoS ONE, 12, e1275. [PDF]

Giresse X, Tourvieille de Labrouhe D, Richard-Cervera S, Delmotte F. 2007. Twelve polymorphic expressed sequence tags-derived markers for Plasmopara halstedii, the causal agent of sunflower downy mildew. Molecular Ecology Ressources, 7, 1363-1365. [PDF]

Chen, W. J., F. Delmotte, S. Richard-Cervera, L. Douence, C. Greif, and M. F. Corio-Costet. 2007. Multiple origins of fungicide reistance in grapevine downy mildew populations. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2:5162-5172 [PDF]

Dutech, C., J. Enjalbert, C. Fournier, F. Delmotte, B. Barrès, J. Carlier, D. Tharreau, and T. Giraud. 2007. Challenges of microsatellite isolation in fungi. Fungal Genetics and Biology, 44:933-949 [PDF]

Delmotte F., Chen W.-J., Richard-Cervera S., Greif C., Papura D., Giresse X., Mondor-Genson G. and Corio-Costet M.-F. 2006. Microsatellite DNA markers for Plasmopara viticola, the causal agent of downy mildew of grapes, Molecular Ecology Notes, 6:379-381 [PDF]

Delmotte F., Bucheli E., & Shykoff J.A. 1999. Host and parasite population structure in a natural plant–pathogen system, Heredity, 82:300-308 [PDF]

Collaborations :

Grapevine downy mildew
Pere Mestre - INRA, UMR SVQV, France
Annemiek Schilder - Plant Pathology, Michigan State University, US
Corinne Vacher, Cyril Dutech - INRA, Forest Pathology, UMR Biogeco, France
Giraud Tatiana - CNRS, Université d'Orsay, France

Sunflower downy mildew
Denis Tourvieille de Labrouhé - INRA, UMR ASP, France
Emmanuelle Mestries, CETIOM, France
Tom Gulya - USDA, Fargo, US

Evolutionnary genomics of bacterial endosymbionts [donwload all PDF]

Bacteria have repeatedly quitted their normal free life to invade a new habitat, the eukaryotic cell. The complete transition, known as endosymbiosis, involved a revolution in the life style of the prokaryote. Endosymbiosis occurs several times in arthropods. Not surprisingly, endosymbiosis has systematically been characterized by a spectacular revolution at the genome level. With the aim to understand the process leading to this "endosymbiotic syndroma", we took advantage of the great wealth of information represented by the availability of several complete genomes of bacterial endosymbionts of insects to evaluate the effect of mutation and selection on the symbiont genes through a comparative genomic approach.

Delmotte F., Rispe C., Schaber J., Silva F. J., Moya A. 2006. Deep reconstruction of gene loss in endosymbiotic bacteria : random or predictable pattern? BMC Evol. Biol. 6:56 [PDF]

Schäber J., Rispe C., Wernegreen J., Buness A., Delmotte F., Silva F., Moya A. 2005. Gene expression levels influence amino acid usage and evolutionary rates in endosymbiotic bacteria. Gene, 352:109-117 [PDF]

Rispe C., Delmotte F., van Ham R.C.H.J., Moya A. 2004. Mutational and selective pressures on codon and amino-acid usage in Buchnera sp., endosymbiotic bacteria of aphids, Genome Research, 14:43-53. [PDF]

Gil R., Silva F. J., Zientz E., Delmotte F., González-Candelas F., Latorre A., Rausell C., Kamerbeek J., Gadau J., Hölldobler B., van Ham R.C.H.J., Gross R., Moya A. 2003. The minimum gene set to sustain endosymbiotic life: comparative analysis of reduced genomes, PNAS, 100(16), 9388-9393. [PDF]

Collaborations :
Rispe Claude - INRA, UMR BiO3P, Rennes, France
Andres Moya, Francisco Silva, Rosario Gil - ICBIBE, Valencia, Spain
Joerg Schaber, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
 

 

Evolution of sex in aphids

[donwload all PDF]

 

Many theories attempt to explain why sexual reproduction has invaded life so thoroughly. Some are plausible, but there remains a need for evolutionary biologists to identify the main factors accounting for the maintenance of sex in diverse, real organisms. An increasing focus of studies on the evolution of sex concerns cyclical parthenogens and aphids in particular, which conveniently show coexistence of sexual and asexual reproductive modes. The rate and mode of emergence of asexual lineages are important factors to consider when assessing the costs and benefits of sex since they determine both the level of genetic diversity and the ecological adaptability of the resulting lineages.

In this context, I investigated the possible evolutionary routes to obligate parthenogenesis in the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi based on a survey of genetic and phylogenetic relationships of sexual and asexual lineages.


Halkett F., Plantegenest M., Prunier-Leterme N., Mieuzet L., Delmotte F., Simon J.C. 2005. Admixed sexual and facultatively asexual aphid lineages at mating sites, Molecular Ecology, 14, 325-336. [PDF]

Simon J.C., Delmotte F., Rispe C., Crease T. 2003. Phylogenetic relationships between parthenogens and their sexual relatives: the possible routes to parthenogenesis in animals, Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society, 79, 151-163. [PDF]

Delmotte F., Sabater B., Leterme N., Sunnucks P., Latorre A. & Simon J.C. 2003. Hybrid origins of asexual lineages in an aphid, Evolution, 57(6), 1291-1303. [PDF]

Papura D., Simon J.-C., Halkett F., Delmotte F., Le Gallic J.-F. & Dedryver C.-A. 2003. Predominance of sexual reproduction in Romanian populations of the aphid Sitobion avenae inferred from phenotypic and genetic structure, Heredity, 90, 397-304.  [PDF]

Delmotte F., Leterme N., Gauthier J., Rispe C. & Simon J.C. 2002. Genetic architecture of sexual and asexual populations of the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi based on allozyme and microsatellite markers, Molecular Ecology, 11, 711-723.  [PDF]

Delmotte F., Leterme N., Rispe C., Bonhomme J. & Simon J.C. 2001. Multiple routes to asexuality in an aphid species, Proceeding of the Royal Society of London B, 268, 2291-2299. [PDF]

Simon J. C., Martin O., Delmotte F., Leterme N. & Estoup A. 2001. Isolation and characterisation of microsatellite in the aphid Rhopalosiphum padi, Molecular Ecology Notes,1, 4-5.  [PDF]

Delmotte F., Leterme N., & Simon J.-C. 2001. Microsatellite allele sizing: difference between automated capillary electrophoresis and manual technique, BioTechniques, 31, 810-818. [PDF]

Simon J.-C. & Delmotte F. 2000. Systèmes de reproduction, structure génétique et  microsatellites, Actes de colloque CNRS-INRA "École Chercheurs Microsatellites 2000". [PDF]
 

Collaborations
 Paul Sunnucks - La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
Beatriz Sabater-Munoz, Amparro Latorre - ICBIBE, Valencia, Spain

       

Other collaborators (having a web page...)
Mouquet Nicolas - ISEM, Université Montpellier 2, France

 

Last update : 14/09/2007