Tristan Rey
Master in biology
tristan.rey@unine.ch
Research Areas
With a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and an additional specialization in Chemistry, I completed my studies with a project focused on the study of chromosomal inversions in evolutionary genetics and genomics, conducted in Professor Thomas Flatt’s laboratory. Since then, I have developed a strong interest in the connections between chemistry and biology, which gradually led me to the field of chemical ecology. It was therefore a natural step to join Professor Sergio Rasmann to study chemical interactions between different organisms, and more specifically between plants and parasitic insects. As sessile organisms, plants have evolved complex defense mechanisms based on the production of specialized molecules.
Main Topics
- Chemical interactions between organisms
- Metabolomics
- Analytical chemistry
Project
This project aims to characterize interactions between plants within the rhizosphere during an attack by a herbivorous insect, by studying the secretion of defense metabolites in root exudates. While numerous studies have shown that plants can perceive volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by neighboring attacked plants, thereby triggering their own defense mechanisms, underground communication between plants remains relatively unexplored. We aim to develop a system to capture signaling molecules present in the root exudates of Vicia faba during an infestation by aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum), in order to study their role in inducing defense responses in neighboring, non-infested plants.
Publication-s
