The initial scientific mission of "Institut Méditerranéen d’Ecologie et Paléoécologie" (UMR CNRS 6116) was to enlarge the knowledge field concerning the Flora and the Vegetation of peri-mediterranean lands. Today, the main IMEP objective is to understand how the local modifications interact with global changes to structure Mediterranean ecosystems. However, along with the study of biodiversity patterns at various time and space scales, IMEP emphasizes the ecological vulnerability (species and ecosystem vulnerability). The main research topics are “origin, implementation and evolution of biodiversity” (Department 1), “ecological system organization and vulnerability” (Department 2) and “ecosystem functioning and biodiversity valorization” (Department 3).
In the department 2 (“Organization & vulnerability of the ecological systems”), the goal of the team « Biomarqueurs & Bioindicateurs Environnementaux » is to identify biomarkers and bioindicators for the early ecological diagnosis. Our project is to correlate the meta-ecological responses and the earliest responses that are expressed in individuals with a “multimarker” approach. These multidisciplinary researches allow to work in situ (i.e. in the field) and to relate the ecotoxicological biomarkers to the population bioindicators in order to validate environmental diagnosis associating short-term (biomarkers) and long-term (bioindicators) responses. Our in situ approach also allows studying the biological responses in aquatic invertebrates and in terrestrial and aquatic plants in relation with abiotic parameters, including seasonal variations.
To evaluate the « quality » of a continental ecosystem (stability or vulnerability), the activity levels of biomarkers (stress protein : Hsp70, metallothioneins, MXR system; mineral composition; neurotransmitters: serotonin, GABA ; terpenoids and fatty acids; proteins involved in detoxification mechanisms) are studied in response to environmental perturbations resulting from human pressure (PAHs, PCBs, heavy metals, pesticides, detergents, nanomaterials…). This approach consists of the evaluation of the effects of these contaminants on aquatic invertebrates (flatworms, crustaceans, insect larvae …) and various plants (metallophytes macrophytes …) to evaluate the ecosystems vulnerabilities that lead to propose new biological indices for the Mediterranean region.
Implication of the BBE team in ecotoxicological studies of nanomaterials
In an « ANR » program (ANR PNANO 2008: NANAN Project), our goal is to evaluate the vulnerability of continental aquatic invertebrates to nanomaterials. The NANAN proposal is focused at developing a new multifunctional oligonucleotide-based nanoplatform for both nucleic acids imaging and oligonucleotide delivery. NANAN is a competitive hybridization-based technology using Quantum Dots as the central nanoparticle imaging core. Here, we identify the flux of nanomaterials and nanoparticles, and follow their evolution in vitro and in situ in the living targets.
ANR PNANO 2008: NANAN Project, 2009-2011
NANo-plateforme multifonctionnelle dérivée d’Acides Nucléiques à visée biomédicale (NANAN).
Porteur du Projet : Pr. P Barthélémy INSERM U869, équipe "Chimie des ARN; Aptamères; Sonde et Transports" CAST, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2)
Aim 4: Nanoecotoxicity: (L. De Jong-Moreau, X. Moreau and A. Thiéry.)
Goals:
- Evaluation of dose- response relationships for QDs acute and chronic toxicity
- Follow up of the QDs uptake and fate to know their target tissue and their spatial distribution
- Study of cytotoxic effect and possible inference with cellular mechanisms
Implication of the BBE team in other environmental programs
ANR CES MARSÉCO Project, 2009-2012 « Flux de contaminants et fonctionnement des écosystèmes littoraux provençaux : transferts sol-eau-biocénose ».
Axis 3: I. Laffont-Schwob (Project leader), V. Masotti and J. Rabier
This scientific program aims to answer to a need of global understanding of the pollutant fluxes at the level of the different compartments (soil, water, plants) and the biocoenose relationships.