Meet Ludovic Bonhomme, PhD, a professor of plant molecular physiology at the University of Clermont Auvergne in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and a member of the Genetics Diversity and Ecophysiology of Cereals Research Unit.

Interested in Interactions

Ludovic grew up in a rural environment in Normandy, located in northwestern France. Here the bocage (terrain of mixed woodland and pastures) is predominately used for agriculture with farming and livestock production being the main activities. Initially fascinated by the responses plants had to variations in their abiotic environment, Ludovic obtained his PhD in 2009 from the University of Orleans (located in central France) where he studied the optimization of water flows for biomass production in trees.

After graduation, he took a post-doctoral position at the Quantitative Genetics and Evolution laboratory (Le Moulon – University of Paris-Saclay) to study the determinants of drought tolerance in maize. During his second post-doctoral position, he became interested in biotic interactions. His research focused on using Arabidopsis thaliana to study the mechanisms for signaling pathogen perception and triggering transcriptional responses.

FHB Leads to Professorship

Ludovic was eventually recruited by the University of Clermont Auvergne for an assistant professor position. Here, his projects aimed to identify susceptibility factors in bread wheat for Fusarium head blight (FHB). He achieved his Habilitation in 2019, for his research on understanding how Fusarium graminearum establishes itself within wheat, which took advantage of dual-omics approaches and focused on both participants in the interaction (host and fugus). He obtained a full professor position at the University of Clermont Auvergne in 2021 to extend his research to the impact of climatic stresses on the expression of molecular determinants of FHB susceptibility.

Regarding FHB research, his biggest accomplishment to date is describing the elementary components of the molecular dialogue that control FHB development in wheat. Equally important was the identification of major determinants of susceptibility to the disease (fungal effectors and susceptibility genes) through innovative genomics and integrative biology approaches.

Outside of conducting his own research, he also leads a group working on the adaptation of wheat to biotic and abiotic stress combinations with Limagrain Holdings, an international cooperative company. In addition, Ludovic is responsible for an international Master’s degree program in Plant Science where he creates and gives lectures while advising students. Training and mentoring new students and young researchers are two of Ludovic’s greatest motivators. He finds their enthusiasm and discussion to be very stimulating and fulfilling.

Presenting at the 2022 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum

Attend the 2022 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum on Monday, December 4, 2022, in Tampa, Florida to hear Ludovic present on the identification of pathogenesis effectors in F. graminearum, their expression during infection, and how they are connected with wheat’s responses.

If you are interested in learning more about Dr. Bonhomme’s research, you can reach him via email.

You can also check out the series of previous USWBSI Featured Researchers.