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Laboratory of Tropical and Mediterranean Symbioses - UMR LSTM
Joint Research Unit (UMR)
BIOS Department
The microorganisms, nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi that live in symbiosis with plant species play a vital role in increasing and sustaining agricultural and forest production, and also in regenerating tropical and Mediterranean environments. They enable the adoption of strategies aimed at sustainable development and at rehabilitating degraded and threatened ecosystems.
Nitrogen-fixing nodule © MSLT/LSTM
The unit’s scientific objectives are to characterize, analyse and exploit the range of symbiotic and rhizospheric associations within plant-microorganism relations. On a fundamental level and in terms of training, this means characterizing the molecular mechanisms involved in how these associations function and evolve.
The unit’s work serves to promote symbiotic microorganisms (edible mushrooms, bacteria/fungi) suited to soil conditions that do not favour the development of a plant cover, and to identify ecological strategies that use symbioses to boost the productivity and stability of agro-ecosystems.