• October 2020 – February 2024: PhD student in ecology: “Physico-chemical leaf defenses of Quercus pubescens in response to amplified drought: A long-term study in the Mediterranean region” (IMBE, Marseille, FRANCE)
• 2017 – 2020: Master degree in forest genomics: “Combining QTL mapping and RNA-Seq to gain insights into the genomic architecture and transcriptional control of phenolic compounds production in white spruce” (Université Laval, Québec, CANADA)
• 2014 – 2016: Master degree in “Biology and Biotechnology of Plants” (Université de Bordeaux, FRANCE)
  • Jan. – June 2016: Intern position in plant ecophysiology at University of California of Los Angeles (USA)
  • July – Sept. 2015: Technician in plant ecophysiology at INRAe (Bordeaux, FRANCE)
  • May – June 2015: Intern position in plant ecophysiology at INRAe "Bois et Forêt" (Cestas, FRANCE)
• 2011 – 2014: Bachelor degree in “Biology of Organisms and Ecosystems” (Université de Bordeaux, FRANCE)

Postdoctoral research in BIOFLUX team

I am currently working on the BELOW project which aims to understand how soil biodiversity drives multiple ecosystem functions (greenhouse gas emissions, soil C storage, nutrient cycling) and how it is affected by changes in water availability (drought, inundation).

My postdoctoral project mainly focuses on a long-term controlled experiment conducted at the CNRS European Ecotron of Montpellier (https://www.ecotron.cnrs.fr/). The aim is to test the interactive effects of functional diversity of soil fauna and increased summer drought on the functioning of a Mediterranean forest ecosystem with a total of 16 mesocosms (1m3 of soil and air volume each).

Such an experimental set-up, combined with field experimentation could allow to assess the underlying mechanisms of the interactive effects of both changing soil biodiversity and changing water availability on ecosystem functioning.

PhD research:

During my PhD, I investigated whether amplified and recurrent long-term drought (> 10 years) in a Mediterranean forest increased the physiological stress level of trees (Quercus pubescens Willd.) and led to modulation of chemical (i.e. carotenoids, chlorophylls, flavonoids, cuticular waxes) and morpho-anatomical (i.e. stomatal and trichome densities, leaf thickness, SLA) leaf traits.

Publications

• Laoué, J., Havaux, M., Ksas, B., G., Orts, J-P., M. Reiter, I., Fernandez, C., & Ormeño, E. (2024). A decade of rain exclusion in a Mediterranean forest reveals long memory and trade-offs of leaf chemical defenses. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 24119. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71417-z
• Laoué, J., Gea-Izquierdo, G., Dupouyet, S., Conde, M., Fernandez, C., & Ormeño, E. (2024). Leaf morpho-anatomical adjustments in a Quercus pubescens forest after ten years of partial rain exclusion in the field. Tree Physiology, 44(5), tpae047. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpae047
• Laoué, J., Havaux, M., Ksas, B., Tuccio, B., Lecareux, C., Fernandez, C., & Ormeño, E. (2023). Long‐term rain exclusion in a Mediterranean forest: response of physiological and physico‐chemical traits of Quercus pubescens across seasons. The Plant Journal, 116(5), 1293-1308. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.16424
• Laoué, J., Fernandez C., & Ormeño E. (2022). Plant Flavonoids in Mediterranean Species: A Focus on Flavonols as Protective Metabolites under Climate Stress. Plants, 11(2), 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11020172
• Laoué, J., Depardieu, C., Gérardi, S., Lamothe, M., Bomal, C., Azaiez, A., ... Bousquet, J. (2021). Combining QTL Mapping and Transcriptomics to Decipher the Genetic Architecture of Phenolic Compounds Metabolism in the Conifer White Spruce. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12, 675108. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.675108