Funded projects

Start date: 01 October 2023 End date: 30 September 2025

Early-life experiences, including the intrauterine thermal environment, can profoundly influence fetal growth and development and exert long-term effects on postnatal disease and productivity. In utero heat stress, for instance, adversely alters dairy cattle growth, immune response, and lactation even years after the initial event occurred. These heifers are less likely to survive to lactation and produce less milk across their first, second, and third lactations relative to in utero thermoneutral counterparts. Producers who raise in(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Cassandre Lazar

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Environment

Budget: 304 000,00 $

Start date: 01 October 2023 End date: 30 September 2025

In deep terrestrial underground layers (100m to 3km below our feet), microbes can live buried inside compact rock matrices. The composition of the species living within distinct layers is unique and indicative of its surrounding. In Québec, a region rich in minerals and gas, the mining industry is booming, and searching for innovative methods to explore new sites rapidly, efficiently and at low cost. In this project, Cassandre Lazar and her collaborators aim to use(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Joan Laur Louise Hénault-Ethier

Contest: Climate Action Genomics Initiative : Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems

Sector: Agrifood

Budget: 6 395 706,00 $

Start date: 01 October 2023 End date: 30 September 2027

Agriculture, food waste and waste management generate more CO2 than all the cars, trucks, trains, and boats in Canada. Emerging circular approaches are mitigating green house gasses (GHGs) by using composting, mushrooms, and edible insect bioreactors to transform urban agri-food waste into food or fertilizers. Microorganisms in the bioreactors affect the digestibility of agri-food residues, GHGs, and how the by-products improve soil and crop health. In a unique urban living laboratory, this project will use(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Ilga Porth Louis Bernier

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Forestry

Budget: 300 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2023 End date: 30 June 2025

A surveillance program is being conducted in major Québec cities, and in areas bordering with Ontario and the U.S to detect the presence of the highly virulent oak wilt fungus. The loss of oak has the potential to reduce biodiversity, cause reduction in wildlife habitat and acorns which are considered the most important food source for wildlife in North American forests. Additionally, these tree species provide added value to the landscape of urban areas. The(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Edel Pérez-Lopez

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Agrifood

Budget: 300 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2023 End date: 30 June 2025

The management of bacterial canker of tomato is one of the main challenges experienced by the greenhouse industry nowadays in Québec and Canada. Unfortunately, to this day, there are no resistant varieties or effective chemical or biological control available to the growers. That is why Ulysse Biotech embarked few years ago on the challenging task to try to find a biocontrol method that could contribute to reduce Clavibacter michiganensis (Cm), the causal agent of the disease, and(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Xin Zhao Xiaonan Lu

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Agrifood

Budget: 300 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2023 End date: 30 June 2025

Campylobacter is a major foodborne pathogen worldwide, and highly associated with agroecosystem and food processing environment. Campylobacteriosis is the most frequently reported bacterial illness in Canada, outnumbering the reported cases of Listeria monocytogenes, Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella infections combined. The contamination of this pathogenic microbe has a significant economic impact on the poultry industry. Current methods for the detection of Campylobacter in poultry products have various disadvantages, such as time consuming and labor intensive. In this project, we aim to develop(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Thiago Gumiere

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Agrifood

Budget: 300 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2023 End date: 30 June 2025

To improve crop yields, the farmer and the agronomist base themselves on the chemical and physical analyzes of the soil and will adjust the inputs to be applied accordingly. Soil is a living ecosystem, rich in microfauna, bacteria and fungi, with specific functions necessary for growth. Good soil health practices can improve the general life of the soil, but it can happen that certain functions are deficient, given a low population of certain bacteria. This(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Saji George Suha Jabaji

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Agrifood

Budget: 221 600,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2023 End date: 30 June 2025

The project aims at using genomic tools to identify the mode of action of a newly generated agrochemical product derived from Bacillus velenzensis strain OB9. This bacterium was found to produce novel biochemicals (lipopeptides and secondary metabolites) highly valuable for plant protection and growth. Collaborative research with BioSun showed that using clay nanomaterials could enhance the shelf life of the bioactive compounds and the field test showed improvement in growth and productivity of tomato and yellow beans.(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Eric Déziel

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Environment

Budget: 300 000,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2023 End date: 30 June 2025

Surfactants – or surface-active agents – are the primary components of many chemical formulations like cleaning detergents or soaps. By reducing the surface tension on a surface, they are helping to trap dirt and remove it from the surface. While surfactants are typically derived from petroleum or synthetic chemicals, biosurfactants are biologically produced by microorganisms. Their production is tightly regulated by microscopic organisms such as the yeast named Starmerella bombicola. This microorganism naturally produces a mixture(...)

Opened project

Principal searcher: Philippe Constant

Contest: Genomics integration program – Agriculture and biofood, forestry and environment

Sector: Agrifood

Budget: 102 528,00 $

Start date: 01 July 2023 End date: 30 June 2025

An extensive sampling campaign conducted in Québec vineyards by the Centre agroalimentaire de Mirabel (CRAM) revealed a high prevalence of fungi causing grapevine trunk diseases (GTD). These fungi could cause significant losses since the only way to eradicate them is to replace or regenerate the infected vines. Agronomists recommend general or specific prophylactic interventions to limit GTD, but the phenological and climatic conditions of vineyards are insufficient to explain the distribution of GTD, which remains(...)

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