2022 – Nolwenn Kergosien

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Fascinated for years by marine sciences, and more particularly by the study and valorisation of macroalgae, I am currently working on a CIFRE PhD thesis in partnership with an academic supervisor, the Laboratory of Environmental Marine Sciences (LEMAR) and an industrial supervisor, the SME ALGAIA. In response to the proliferation of temperate and tropical brown macroalgae of the genus Sargassum C. Agardh (Phaeophyceae, Fucales) on the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, my PhD project VALSARG focuses on the valorisation of this biomass in two application sectors, plant and human health, through a study of their potential in biostimulation and modulation of bacterial flora. The results are compared with three other species of brown algae, common to the French coastline and exploited by ALGAIA. To this end, the biochemical composition of each species is analysed and characterized, to orientate extraction processes towards an eco-friendlier approach, as an improvement on conventional industrial processes. Algal metabolites are isolated from the extracts, and tested in biostimulation assays to evaluate their effect on crop yields and plant resistance in response to various stresses. In parallel, the extracts are tested for pro- and/or anti-bacterial activity to assess their potential on the development of various beneficial and pathogenic bacterial flora.

I am especially enthusiastic about my research, and I always look forward to presenting it to different audiences. I am thus very grateful to the French Phycological Society (SPF) for having selected my PhD project for a SPF grant, thus enabling me to present the progress of my work at the 8th European Phycological Congress (EPC8) in Brest, France (20-26 August 2023).