New biosourced and multifunctional molecules for the control of phytopathogenic agents in crops in the transboundary region

The use of conventional synthetic chemicals in agriculture generates a degradation of the water and air quality and has recognized impacts on the biodiversity and human health. Moreover, the absence of available bio-sourced products impedes the implementation of agro-ecological treatment or the transition from the conventional agriculture to a sustainable agriculture.

In order to respond to the increasing demand for the development of a sustainable environmentally agriculture in the cross-border region, the project BioScreen aims to screen and identify new molecules of biological origin able to control pathogens of cultures of the transborder area. Thus, a high-throughput screening platform will be developed in order to identify new molecules with an antifungal activity and/or inducing systemic resistance of plants against phytopathogenic agents. The selected molecules will be tested on different pathosystems.  The complementary cross-border expertise will permit to advance quickly on the evaluation of the efficiency of molecules and their potential use in biological control. The study of the mode of action of these molecules as well as their impact on non-targeted agents would permit to identify the structural characteristics responsible for their biological activity and thus optimize their use in the field.

The project BioScreen will also develop training and communication actions through the organization of symposiums, teachings, seminars and summer schools. The project will establish also a common training platform allowing to students from cross-border institutes to improve their training in the field of biological control. The communication will be based on scientific and/or general public publications/communications addressed to scientists, professional, producers and suppliers.