Presentation
Life is animated by a secret life of encounters, interactions and associations that are sometimes unsuspected. These biotic interactions can be beneficial, ineffective or harmful. On the whole, interactions are most often mutually beneficial (mutualism), as natural selection leads to adaptations that reduce or eliminate the impact of antagonistic interactions. These positive biological interactions create a close, lasting relationship between two individuals, in the form of a non-compulsory exchange of services (cooperation) or a vital relationship (symbiosis). A few concrete examples will illustrate the importance of these interactions for living organisms, particularly when subjected to stress. In particular, the symbiotic relationship between one of the rare leguminous plants that has become a hyperaccumulator of metallic elements and a rhizobium bacterium capable of surviving in a highly polluted environment will be better understood. In a second time, it will be shown how this association became the starting point for the restoration of a highly degraded soil. Finally, the results of this ecological restoration are at the origin of a new symbiotic economy: the recreated ecosystem generates a valuable mineral resource that is valorized according to the concept of ecocatalysis. This beneficial association between human activity and Nature is generating a regenerative economy capable of replacing the extractive model.
Speakers
- Claude Grison, Research Director, CNRS, Director of the Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Chemistry and Ecological Innovations, Visiting Professor at the Collège de France
- Marc-André Seloss, Professor at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Member of the Académie d'Agriculture, President of BioGée
- Isabelle Delannoy, Agricultural Engineer and President of l'Entreprise Symbiotique