Article published GRAP
Plant biology working for human health
Plants participate in the prevention of environmental damage and illnesses, in the fight against global warming and in the preservation of biodiversity. A multi-disciplinary team made up of biologists, computing specialists and electronics and electromechanical experts, have combined to form GRAP (Groupe de Recherches Appliquées en Phytotechnologie - the Phytoechnology Applied Research Group) to manage, develop and ensure the maintenance of a technical platform, dedicated to the production and exploitation of 20,000 plants in controlled conditions in two class S2, in-vitro, growing rooms. Around ten experiments are being performed in parallel, using a set of measurement chambers with enable monitoring and quantification of plant growth. On the inside of these 19, hermetically sealed, measurement chambers, all the environmental parameters are continuously measured and regulated, in particular the composition of gaseous atmosphere, the temperature (from 1 to 50°C) and the humidity (from 20 to 80%).
This installation is used for work on problems such as the reaction of plants to stress, the assimilation of plant material and understanding the action of toxic molecules on humans. GRAP accepts new industrial partners under the framework of objective contracts.
