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Originally from the Côte d'Azur, Enora Panek first obtained a BTS of biotechnology in Orleans and recently graduated of bachelor’s degree of genome and biotechnology for plant improvement at the University Paul Sabatier in Toulouse. Enora Panek recently joined the IPO team to work for 2 years on the ANR project STRESS-PEPT.

The main objective of STRESS-PEPT is to 1-better understand the plant response to biotic stresses that involve small, secreted peptides, also called peptide hormones or plant cytokines, that can interact directly with pathogens or participate in intercellular signaling in plants; 2- Characterize new molecular actors involved in defense mechanisms and understand the influence of these molecular actors in the response to aggressions of different biotrophic and necrotrophic pathogens (oomycetes, fungi, bacteria).

The main activities of Enora Panek during the STRESS-PEPT project will be based on a selection of candidate peptides, functional analyses including tests on KO mutants and overexpressor lines. They will also include treatments with synthetic peptides to understand and validate their role in the response to pathogens.

The STRESS-PEPT project should lead to the discovery of new secreted peptides involved in the perception of biotic stresses by plants and the regulation of their immune response. By taking into account their conservation in the plant kingdom, these peptides could be exploited in strategies optimizing the quality and resistance of cultivated plants, thus leading to new opportunities for sustainable crop management.