The Phytotron
Manager: Karen Gaget
Scientific advisor: Federica Calevro
Objectives: The phytotron of the UMR BF2I, located on the 4th floor of the Pasteur building, is intended to produce the plants necessary for the work of the BF2I lab, either in the framework of studies on plant-insect interactions, or for the breeding of some insects that require living plants (field crop pests), and which are more difficult to raise on synthetic artificial media.
We work essentially with Vicia faba bean, "universal host" of the aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum (also called pea aphid), and Medicago truncatula model (alfalfa), as well as host plants of the major aphid pests Myzus persicae (pepper), Aphis gossypii (melon) and Rhopalosiphum padi (wheat), which are peach, cotton/melon and wheat/barley/oat/corn aphids, respectively.
Technique and materials: The phytotron was created during the work of the Campus Plan and inaugurated in January 2019. It is composed of 4 rooms of 24 m2 each. Each room is autonomous in temperature, hygrometry and equipped with LED lighting with a photoperiod of 16 hours by day and 8 hours by night. This platform is occasionally used by other teams of the Campus working in the field of Plant Health.
Conditions of access: Full access to members of the BF2i lab, and controlled access to colleagues from the Biology area of the La Doua Campus based on collaborative projects.
Location: This 'Phytotron' platform is located on the 4th floor of the Louis Pasteur building at INSA Lyon.