Mediterranean terrestrial ecosystems are facing increasing desertification because of the worsening of environmental pressures due to global change. The desertification processes lead to plant cover degradation, soil erosion, nutrient depletion and a decrease of microbial activity. The establishment of global political strategies aiming at a better management of terrestrial ecosystems is thus crucial for their conservation. In this context, Ceratonia siliqua L. (carob tree), a xerophilous tree adapted to Mediterranean climate, appears as a key model for afforestation/restoration programs because of its resistance and adaptation to extreme environmental conditions and its high socio-economic added value. Carob is a non-nodulated legume highly dependent of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) symbiosis for its survival and productivity. Its biological nitrogen fixation status remains uncertain but AM fungi have been hypothesized as an "obligatory vector" of nitrogen-fixing endophytic bacteria into the carob intracellular compartment. The management of carob populations is therefore closely linked to a better understanding and use (ecological engineering strategies) of the symbiotic community associated with carob. The main hypothesis of DYNAMIC is that infra-specific plant evolutionary differentiation is a determinant, but overlooked, driver of the diversity and structure of the symbiotic community, optimizing symbiotic efficiency. However, the evolutionary history and genetic diversity structure of carob is mostly unknown at the Mediterranean scale. Geographical isolation, long term vicariance and selection for agriculture are expected to have caused extensive genetic and physiological modifications in carob, conducing to potential changes/adaptations of its associated symbiotic microbiome. The overall objective of DYNAMIC is to decipher the symbiotic network in Mediterranean carob-based (agro)ecosytems to develop innovative ecological strategies based on efficient symbiotic interactions. The project is tackling this issue by (i) revealing the evolutionary significant units and genetic structure of carob at the Mediterranean scale, (ii) characterizing the alpha and beta taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of carob symbiotic microbiome, (iii) exploring the links between these genetic parameters and environmental data to determine symbiotic networks and their drivers (genetic x ecological) and finally by (iv) testing experimentally the results to optimize the host-symbiont efficiency in carob tree cultures. Field investigations will be done through the carob dissemination history (native and exotic areas) and in contrasting ecological contexts (shrublands, agroforestry systems, pure stands). The symbiotic networks will be characterized by combining high-throughput molecular approaches, bioinformatic analyses based on ecological network theory, and then applied to develop innovative ecological engineering strategies. The perspectives are a better understanding of plant-microbiome genetic relationships driving ecosystem functioning and the identification of a core and an accessory "SymbiOme" in carob populations. More generally, DYNAMIC should give new insights on the ecological drivers governing host-symbiont specificity and efficiency and should propose new avenues for the development of efficient ecological engineering strategies applied to ecosystem restoration and ecological intensification of (agro)ecosystems.

The detection and assay of drugs and their metabolites at low concentrations in biologic matrices is a major societal issue and a major challenge in the analytical area due to the strong demand in fields such as pharmacology, toxicology, forensics, doping. At present time, this detection is performed using immunoanalysis and chromatographic techniques that have both their strengths and weaknesses. In this way, the analytical technique that is low-cost, rapid, simple, specific and highly sensitive does not exist yet. Raman spectroscopy has been envisaged for that purpose as it is a rapid, simple and low cost technique and it is also specific as it can discern compounds with similar structures. Despite all these positive aspects, Raman spectroscopy has been considered to be more useful for structural analysis than for ultrasensitive detection due to the extremely small cross section for Raman scattering. This main bottleneck was overcome with the discovery in 1977 of SERS effect that corresponds to a Raman signal enhancement observed when Raman-active molecules are adsorbed on “nanostructured” metal surfaces. Even if a lot of compounds in wide concentration ranges were studied using SERS effect, the design of efficient and flexible nanostructured substrates for SERS detection is still one of the main challenges to be achieved to ensure a highly reproducible and large enhancement factor before the technique can be widely applied. However, even if this high level of control at the materials scale is reached, only one side of the problem is solved since the thermodynamic parameters of the interaction between the targeted molecule and the material is not completely studied and understood. In this way, we propose an innovative research project that will permit to achieve this breakthrough. It consists in the elaboration via a new synthesis procedure of tailored and multifunctional Ag and Au-porous nanocomposites and in their use for the detection of drugs coupling the study of the adsorption properties with the Raman response. The highly challenging objectives of DOM TOM project are the understanding of mechanisms allowing the control of the Raman response of a drug adsorbed on porous nanocomposite and the use of this knowledge to design multifunctional materials that will permit to create a new analytical method for drugs detection. We propose, to reach our objectives, an original scientific approach based on four successive steps: 1/ / the elaboration of tailored materials in order to control the adsorption process to yield to a highly reproducible and unambiguous drug Raman response. 2/ the complete thermodynamic description of drug/material interaction 3/ the understanding of the synergistic interplay between drug/material interaction and drug Raman response via, notably, the identification of key determinants related to material characteristics, the thermodynamic parameters of the drug/material interaction and the conditions of Raman spectroscopy measurements 4/ the optimization of these key determinants to generate in a control manner SERS effect and thus to reach the lowest drug detection threshold. The project is divided in two stages. During Stage I (steps 1 to 4), we will work with Oxazepam that is one of the benzodiazepines metabolites that are commonly prescribed and easily accessible drugs in France. They are often found during toxicological testing in cases of drug facilitated sexual assault, but main screening methods that are currently used are lengthy, complicated, or do not successfully detect them at low concentrations. During Stage II dealing with step 4, the expertise acquired during stage I will benefit the detection of drugs that been selected owing to their clinical detection relevance. The DOM TOM project is interdisciplinary as it gathers indispensable expertise in chemistry (polymers sciences, sol-gel), materials science (porous materials), physical chemistry (thermodynamics), physics and medicine.

The goal of the ScenNet project is to strengthen national and international ties between researchers working on scenarios of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The project involves researchers from a wide range of disciplines covering all aspects of scenarios including modeling of impacts of global change on biodiversity and ecosystem services, scenarios of socio-economic development that take into account biodiversity and ecosystem services, and feedbacks of changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services on decision making. At the global level, this project will support the newly initiated Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and reinforce the recently launched interdisciplinary global change program, Future Earth. Strong ties and coherence with these are ensured through significant participation of researchers involved in both IPBES and Future Earth. ScenNet focuses on networking and capacity building in all eight countries participating in the Belmont Forum call for proposals. Networking and capacity building in ScenNet is based on i) international workshops, ii) development of national networks, iii) a large international conference on biodiversity and ecosystem scenarios to be held in 2016 and vi) a web-based networking tool. The project also builds on and brings added value to a number of other research programs and networks at national and international levels. Substantial participation by nonfunding countries has been ensured by linking ScenNet to on-going international projects with similar objectives; for example, the EU-COST Action Harmbio project that focuses on harmonizing global biodiversity modeling and the Eur-oceans project that includes the harmonization of regional and global marine systems modeling.