Areas of expertise
Plant-microbe interactions , Climate change , Community ecology , Plant microbiomes , Symbiosis evolution
- Professor
Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie Research Centre
531 des Prairies Blvd.
Laval, Quebec H7V 1B7
Research interests
Research in the lab focuses on the ecology and evolution of plant symbioses, using leaf microbes as our main study system. We are particularly interested in understanding how symbiotic microbial communities assemble, and how their functional traits and evolutionary histories drive their contemporary distribution and symbiotic associations.
Our current research projects address three main questions:
- What are the main drivers of host species range in leaf bacteria? How does life with plants influence niche evolution (specifically host specialization and generalization) in phyllosphere microbes?
- What adaptive mechanisms drive associations between plants and their leaf microbiomes?
- What roles do plant microbiota play in plant resistance or vulnerability to disease and herbivory?
Team
Clémence Pierrard (PhD)
Mobina Gholamhosseini (Master’s degree)
Ahlem Dafri (Master’s degree)
Professor Geneviève Lajoie joined INRS in 2025. She first studied plant biology and ecology as part of her undergraduate program at McGill, then during her master’s degree at Université de Sherbrooke. Her interest in the ecology and evolution of plant-microbe associations developed during her PhD at UQAM, where she specialized in the study of foliar symbioses. After a short postdoctoral fellowship at UBC, she obtained a research position at the Montreal Botanical Garden and an associate professorship at Université de Montréal in 2021. She joined the faculty of the Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie at INRS in January 2025. In parallel with her research activities, she is particularly motivated by improving equity, diversity, and inclusion in academia.
Member of Centre SÈVE
Member of the Réseau québécois de recherche en agriculture durable (RQRAD)