Expertise & services

The objective is to create an engineering centre for integrative plant biology (study of the organisation of living organisms and the functioning of organic systems in their totality and complexity) in order to bring together the skills needed to translate fundamental knowledge into problem-solving solutions for the sectors concerned within an acceptable timeframe.

PHENOTIC

This engineering centre is notably based on the PHENOTIC platform.

PHENOTIC is an instrumentation and imaging platform for Phenotyping at the interface between plant sciences and signal and image sciences. This platform, supported by SFR 4207 Quasav, benefits from a close collaboration between IRHS (Research Institute on Horticulture and Seeds - INRAE, Agrocampus Ouest, University of Angers), LARIS (Angevin Systems Engineering Research Laboratory - University of Angers) and GEVES (French Variety and Seed Study and Control Group).

The objective is to develop high-throughput phenotyping to meet the specific needs of horticultural companies in the broadest sense: bio-aggressor host interactions and the quality of horticultural production. The idea is to co-develop innovative solutions with economic partners in the sector (seed and breeding companies, equipment manufacturers) and to strengthen links with education.

Part of the project is financed by the CPER (State-region plan contract) Pays de la Loire and supported by the INRAE.

The platform is recognized for its research through local (Végépolys Valley), regional (Biogenouest since 2013) and national (GIS IBiSA) labels.

At the national level, the platform is involved in the Emphasis-FR network and at the European level in the EPPN2020 network with possible transnational access by 2020.

News 2019

A new robot was acquired as part of the CPER 2015/2020. It was installed in its climatic chamber "Phenobean" in January 2020. A robotic arm in x, y and z will allow the transport of sensors used for the phenotyping of biotic interactions: chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, thermographic, multispectral and depth imaging.

Within the "Phenobean" chamber, the robot will allow the kinetic monitoring of the plant's health status during its development under controlled conditions. The chamber provides temperature, hygrometry and light intensity control for a cultivation area of 10m². In addition to A. thaliana, the Phenobean chamber will be adapted for all the plants studied in Angers, which are larger and of more complex architecture, with a size up to 70cm, such as beans, cabbage or grafted apple trees.