Quentin COULETTE
PhD Student
Speciality : Molecular biology ; Host-parasite interactions ; Insect physiology ; Transcriptomics ; Proteomics
Team: BIPE
quentin.coulette@u-picardie.fr
Topic of the thesis
Comparative analysis of the virulence factors in the parasitoid wasp genus Asobara (Hymenoptera : Braconidae)
Key words
Parasitoid wasps, Drosophila, Asobara, Resistance, Virulence, Evolution, Venom proteins
Summary of the thesis
I joined the Ecology and Dynamics of Human-influenced Systems Research Unit (EDYSAN) in October 2012 as a PhD student, after having been awarded a research contract funded by the French Ministry of Higher Education. The PhD I am undertaking uses a combined transcriptomic and proteomic approach to compare the protein composition of venom and ovarian fluids from three species of parasitoid wasps belonging to the same genus Asobara (Braconidae), endoparasitoids of Drosophila larvae, and originating from different geographical areas: Asobara citri from Ivory Coast, Asobara japonica from Japan and Asobara persimilis from Australia.
While beginning the sequencing data analysis, I spent the first part of my thesis trying to characterize and study the interspecific variation of an aspartylglucosaminidase (AGA) identified as a major protein in the venoms of both the French endoparasitoids Asobara tabida (Braconidae) and Leptopilina heterotoma (Figitidae). Under this collaborative project, I was graciously hosted by the Sophia Agrobiotech Institute (ISA).
I originally started my studies in Behavioral Ecology by attending the Master in Ecology of the University of Picardie Jules Verne, which offered me to complete two research internships. The first one, supervised by Charles Abramson (Regents Professor of Psychology in Oklahoma State University, USA), aimed to examine the effects of a systemic pesticide (Plenum WG-50®) on learning performances of the honeybee Apis mellifera, through proboscis extension conditioning of harnessed foragers. The second one, under the guidance of Arnaud Ameline and Aude Couty (PhDs in Behavioral Ecology, Lecturers), focused on the potential colonization of the biomass energy crop miscanthus by three of the main aphid pest species of common crops in Picardie (Aphis fabae, Myzus persicae, and Rhopalosiphum padi) to discuss the role of this introduced perennial C4-grass in the flow of aphid vectors and their phytoviruses.
Recent publications
Coulette Q, Couty A, Lasue P, Rambaud C, Ameline A. Is the biomass energy crop miscanthus a potential new host for aphid pests? Accepté dans Journal of Economic Entomology 2012. (IF = 1.699).
Oral communications
Coulette Q., Gatti JL., Colinet D., Cazes D., Prévost G., Anselme C., Poirié M. L’AGA chez L. heterotoma et A. tabida, un facteur venimeux abondant chez des parasitoïdes qui n’ont pas grand chose en commun ! Réunion du GDR REID (Réseau Écologie des Interactions Durables), 10-13 février 2014, Montpellier. Coulette Q., Jaubert M., Anselme C., Doury G., Cherqui A., Eslin P., Prévost G. Hymenoptères endoparasitoïdes du genre Asobara : analyse comparative des facteurs de virulence. Réunion du GDR REID (Réseau Écologie des Interactions Durables), 4-6 février 2013, Bordeaux. Coulette Q., Jaubert M., Anselme C., Doury G., Eslin P., Cherqui A., Prévost G. Analyse comparative des facteurs immunosuppresseurs chez les hyménoptères du genre Asobara, endoparasitoïdes de Drosophiles. Présentation de projet de thèse. Congrès Immuninv (Immunité des Invertébrés), 17-19 octobre 2012, Palais des Congrès, Perpignan. Pointeau S., Couty A., Coulette Q., Jaguenet E., Ameline A. Is the biomass energy crop miscanthus a potential new host for aphid pests? Sixth European Hemiptera Congress, 25-29 juin 2012, Blagoevgrad, Bulgarie. Coulette Q., Couty A., Rambaud C., Lasue P., Ameline A. Impact de l’introduction de la culture de Miscanthus x giganteus sur le pathosystème plantes hôtes/pucerons/PVY. Réunion du réseau BAPOA (Biologie Adaptative des Pucerons et de leurs Organismes Associés). 7-8 novembre 2011, Institut Curie, Paris. Coulette Q., Couty A., Rambaud C., Lasue P., Ameline A. Interactions physico-chimiques entre une plante introduite et différentes espèces de pucerons au sein des agrosystèmes. Réunion du GDR (Groupe De Recherche) Écologie Chimique, 24-26 octobre 2011, Dijon.
Poster
Coulette Q., Anselme C., Jaubert M., Doury G., Cherqui A., Prévost G. Variabilité interspécifique de la composition du venin et des fluides ovariens chez des hyménoptères du genre Asobara, endoparasitoïdes des larves de drosophiles. Entomophagistes. 2-4 avril 2014, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique.