Ingénieur agronome devenu biologiste, Loïc Lepiniec est directeur de recherche INRAE, responsable de l’équipe SeedDream au sein de l’Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (IJPB – Université Paris-Saclay/INRAE/AgroParisTech). Spécialiste de la biologie des semences et des réseaux de régulation qui gouvernent leur développement, il a contribué à la structuration des sciences du végétal en France. Il a également accompagné la construction du campus Paris-Saclay, de la création des laboratoires d’excellences (LabEx) et leurs communautés, jusqu’aux évolutions institutionnelles récentes.

Le réseau Sciences des Plantes de Saclay (SPS) et les unités de recherche SayFood et PNCA vous invitent à la prochaine journée des rendez-vous de l’innovation, sur le thème de la diversification des productions végétales et des nouveaux défis pour l’alimentation. Cette journée a pour but de favoriser les échanges entre les équipes de recherche du réseau SPS, des unités SayFood et PCNA et des partenaires du secteur privé pour faire émerger de nouveaux projets innovants.

Les produits végétaux sont une source majeure de macro et micronutriments pour l’alimentation humaine. Leur rôle dans la diversification des sources protéiques suscite un intérêt croissant dans le contexte de la transition agroécologique, notamment en vue de substituer certains produits alimentaires d’origine animale. Cette dynamique implique une évolution et une adaptation des systèmes de cultures, avec un regain d’intérêt pour les espèces végétales riches en protéines et en lipides. Cette diversification s’accompagne d’une attention particulière portée aux qualités nutritionnelle et organoleptique, à la biodisponibilité et la bioaccessibilité de certains nutriments ainsi qu'aux propriétés technologiques de ces produits. Elle génère également de nouvelles contraintes sur les procédés de transformation, de fractionnement et de purification, ainsi que sur la valorisation des coproduits. Cette évolution nécessaire des productions végétales répond aussi aux attentes des consommateurs en matière de santé et d’alimentation, mais également aux questions d'éthique. Une meilleure compréhension de ces différents leviers, de la production à la consommation, est primordiale pour accélérer les transitions agroécologiques et alimentaires.

This Summer school is organized by the Saclay Plant Sciences (SPS) network, one of the largest European plant sciences communities.

scRNAseq approaches have revolutionized the way biologists approach their research subjects, by making it possible to dissect molecular mechanisms at the single-cell level. But although technological developments have recently made these approaches more accessible, their expensive use still requires significant technical training, including the good conception of experimental designs, the preparation of samples as well as their bioinformatics analyses. In addition, different protocols and various bioinformatics and statistical analyzes are available, and it can be difficult to choose the most relevant ones for the biological question at hand.

Over five days, the SPS Summer School 2026 will cover all the stages of a scRNAseq project in plants. Through a combination of lectures and practical work, the many specific features of plant models will be highlighted by experts from the Saclay Plant Sciences network (CNRS and INRAE), the ViB in Ghent and the Pasteur Institute.

After this international school, participants will:
–    Have an overview of the different scRNAseq technologies and understand their pros and cons.
–    Be able to design experiments depending on the biological question. 
–    Be trained on sample preparation techniques for single cell and single nuclei
–    Understand the different steps of bioinformatics and statistical analysis
–    Have a better biological interpretation of results
–    Have facilitated exchanges with technology platforms, bioinformaticians, and biostatisticians in order to successfully complete their scRNAseq project

The summer school will bring together outstanding and enthusiastic young scientists (PhD students and post-docs) from all over the world in order to exchange knowledge and ideas. It is limited to a small group of participants (20 maximum) to privilege informal interactions and scientific discussions

Application deadline: March 12, 2026 (midnight)
Answers will be sent mid-April at the latest.

Surprisingly, differences in phenotypes and gene expression are observed between genetically identical individuals grown in the same environment. While we now have a good knowledge of the source and consequences of transcriptional differences observed between cells, in particular for unicellular organisms, it is still very scarce when it comes to variability between multicellular organisms. Using plants as a model we analysed the establishment, maintenance and consequences of inter-individual transcriptional variability. We showed, for a gene of interest, that differences in expression between plants are established in young seedlings and maintained over several days. Our results also indicate that these differences in expression can explain phenotypic variability between plants such as for the root growth. Finally, using a genome-wide approach, we found a co-expression in seedlings for our gene of interest, involved in nitrate nutrition, and genes involved in photosynthesis. All in all, our study suggests that a global coordination of the genes involved in the carbon/nitrate balance in plants is established in young seedlings, with differences between plants, and then maintained over time.

International Master in Plant Sciences track of the

Biology AgroSciences master degree

https://www.master-sciences-du-vegetal.fr/eng

We are delighted to share that the International Master in Plant Sciences track of the Biology

AgroSciences Master degree will soon be launching (September 2026). Fully taught in English

(First and second year) and embedded in the Saclay Plant Sciences Excellence Network, this

program will train a new generation of talented students to tackle the most pressing challenges in

plant research — from climate resilience to sustainable agriculture.

Loïc Lepiniec is an agricultural engineer who became a biologist. He is now a research director at INRAE, where he heads up the SeedDream team at the Jean-Pierre Bourgin Institute (IJPB – Université Paris-Saclay/INRAE/AgroParisTech). A specialist in seed biology and the regulatory networks that govern their development, he has contributed to the structuring of plant sciences in France. He has also been involved in the creation of the Paris-Saclay campus, from the establishment of laboratories of excellence (LabEx) and their communities to recent institutional developments.

The world faces energy shortages as fossil fuels are phased out.

Research can’t go on as normal. working at a research institute that Why am I doing science? As a scientist focuses on food security, I’m acutely aware of the accelerating ecological and climatic breakdown that is occurring around us. What part should scientists play in such a fragile world? For many years, like most of my peers, I thought that science was part of the solution. More knowledge and innovation would allow societies to adapt to and mitigate environmental damage. That belief began to crack

in 2018, when I discovered the work of Jean-Marc Jancovici,

an energy and climate specialist. His message is clear: our  world is built on abundant energy, around 80% of which has come from fossil fuels over the past 50 years. Because supplies are limited, energy consumption will peak in decades — sooner if humans

attempt to limit climate change. To keep global warming below 1.5 °C by 2100, the use of fossil fuels must fall by 5–8% each year — a pace that is too fast for low-carbon energy to keep up with. Restricted energy supplies will shrink economies and force people to make hard choices — whether to travel less, live in a smaller home or do more labour manually. ....

COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE - Sophie Nicklaus est officiellement nommée directrice scientifique Alimentation et Santé pour 4 ans, par Philippe Mauguin, président-directeur général d’INRAE, après consultation de son conseil d’administration ce 13 octobre. Désormais membre du collège de direction de l’institut, Sophie Nicklaus était depuis avril 2024 directrice scientifique adjointe Alimentation et Bioéconomie auprès de Monique Axelos qui fera valoir ses droits à la retraite à la fin de l’année. Face aux enjeux de sécurité et souveraineté alimentaire, de durabilité et de coût de l’alimentation et aux défis de santé publique et d’innovation, INRAE a choisi de cibler les missions de la nouvelle directrice scientifique sur les domaines de l’alimentation et de la santé, afin de contribuer à l’alimentation de demain, une alimentation saine, durable et accessible à tous. Une direction scientifique dédiée à la bioéconomie, préfigurée par Monique Axelos, sera mise en place à la fin de l’année.