Claire Gachon

Telephone: 0044 (0)1631 559 318

E-mail: cmmg@sams.ac.uk

Scientific interests

Algal host-pathogen interactions

Functional & evolutionary genomics

Current projects

DIMBA: Disease and Immunity in Marine Brown Algae

SOFI: Molecular and ecological investigations into the infection process of Eurychasma dicksonii in brown algae - in collaboration with the Aberdeen Oomycete Group

CCAP barcoding initiative

Porphyra/Algal Genomics Research Collaboration Network

member of the Chondrus crispus genome annotation team

Past projects

Pioneering post-genomics approaches for studying algal host pathogen interactions, using the Ectocarpus / Eurychasma model

SOLAS: Transformation, volatilisation and speciation of organic and inorganic iodine in the marine environment

Ectocarpus siliculosus Genome project

Pythium ultimum genome project

Teaching / supervising activities

Guest Lecturer at the Préparation à l'Agrégation SVT Université Paris-Sud / Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris, France).

Publications

14. Gachon C.M.M., Sime-Ngando T., Strittmatter M., Chambouvet A., and Kim G.H. (2010). "Algal diseases: spotlight on a black box" Trends in Plant Science in press. 

13. Levesque C.A. et al. (2010) " Genome sequence of the necrotrophic plant pathogen, Pythium ultimum, reveals original pathogenicity mechanisms and effector repertoire" Genome Biology, 11(7):R73

12. Cock J.M. et al. (2010) "The Ectocarpus genome and the independent evolution of multicellularity in brown algae. Nature doi:10.1038/nature09016

11. Gachon C.M.M., Strittmatter M., Müller D.G., Kleinteich J. and Küpper F.C. (2009) "Differential host susceptibility to the marine oomycete pathogen Eurychasma dicksonii detected by real-time PCR: not all algae are equal. " Applied and Environmental Microbiology 75:322-328.  

10. Müller D.G., Gachon C.M.M., Küpper F.C. (2008) "Axenic clonal cultures of filamentous brown algae: initiation and maintenance" Cahiers de Biologie Marine 49: 59-65.

 9. Sekimoto S., Beakes G.W., Gachon C.M.M., Müller D.G., Küpper F.C. and Honda D. (2008) "The development, ultrastructural cytology, and molecular phylogeny of the basal oomycete Eurychasma dicksonii, infecting the filamentous phaeophyte algae Ectocarpus siliculosus and Pylaiella littoralis" Protist doi:10.1016/j.protis.2007.11.004

8. Gachon C.M.M., Day, J.G., Campbell, C.N., Pröschold, T. , Saxon, R.G. and Küpper, F.C. (2007) "The Culture Collection for Algae ad Protozoa (CCAP): a biological resource for protistan genomics" Gene 406(1-2): 51-57.

7. Gachon C.M.M., Küpper H., Küpper F.C., and Setlik I. (2006) Single-cell chlorophyll fluorescence kinetic microscopy of Pylaiella littoralis (Phaeophyceae) infected by Chytridium polysiphoniae (Chytridiomycota) European Journal of Phycology 41(4): 395-403.

6. Langlois-Meurinne M., Gachon C.M.M., and Saindrenan P. (2005) "Pathogen-responsive expression of glycosyltransferase genes UGT73B3 and UGT73B5 is necessary for resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato in Arabidopsis." Plant Physiology 139(12): 1890-1901.

5. Gachon C.M.M., Langlois-Meurinne M., and Saindrenan P. (2005) "Plant secondary metabolism glycosyltransferases: the emerging functional analysis." Trends in Plant Science 10(11): 542-549.

4. Gachon C.M.M., Langlois-Meurinne M., Henry Y., and Saindrenan P. (2005) "Transcriptional co-regulation of secondary metabolism enzymes in Arabidopsis: functional and evolutionary implications." Plant Molecular Biology 58(2): 229-245.

3. Gachon C., Baltz R., and Saindrenan P. (2004). "Over-expression of a scopoletin glucosyltransferase in Nicotiana tabacum leads to precocious lesion formation during the hypersensitive response to tobacco mosaic virus but does not affect virus resistance." Plant Molecular Biology 54(1): 137-146.

2. Gachon C. and Saindrenan P. (2004). "Real-time PCR monitoring of fungal development in Arabidopsis thaliana infected by Alternaria brassicicola and Botrytis cinerea." Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 42(5): 367-371.

1. Gachon C., Mingam A., and Charrier B. (2004). "Real-time PCR: what relevance to plant studies?" Journal of Experimental Botany 55(402): 1445-1454.

4. Strittmatter M., Gachon C.M.M., Küpper F.C. (2009) "Ecology of lower oomycetes" in Oomycete Genetics and Genomics: Diversity, Plant and Animal Interactions, and Toolbox. Ed. by K. Lamour & S. Kamoun in press

3. Mingam A., Gachon C., and Charrier B. (2004). "Quantifying nucleic acids with fluorescent probes: contributions of real-time PCR to applied and fundamental plant research. "Advances in Plant Physiology. Ed. by A. Hemantaranjan. 7: 423-458.

2. Gachon C. and Saindrenan P. (2005). "Quantification par PCR en temps réel du développement des champignons Alternaria brassicicola et Botrytis cinerea sur Arabidopsis thaliana." Cahier des Techniques de l'INRA  Special issue pp 127-129

1. Scientific editing of three chapters of a scientific outreach encyclopedia: Règne végétal, Ed. Bordas(1998)

Educational and career history

2008-present: Lecturer at SAMS

2006-08: Marie Curie Postdoctoral Research Fellow at SAMS

2004-06: Fixed- term research and teaching assistant (ATER) at University of Paris XI, France

2005: PhD in Plant Physiology (University of Paris XI, France)

2001: MSc in Molecular Plant Biology (University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg / ENS, Paris)

2000: Agrégation en Sciences de la Vie et de la Terre

1997-2001: Fellow of the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Paris)