Soulaiman Sakr

• Mailing adress

2 rue Le Nôtre
49045 Angers cedex 01
Building: E - Office E113

Phone: +33 (0)2 41 22 54 24
Email:soulaiman.sakr@agrocampus-ouest.fr

• Research

My research focuses on the physiological, metabolic, and molecular mechanisms that control plant architecture, particularly bud outgrowth and branching. It aims to understand how plants integrate endogenous and environmental signals to adjust their growth in the context of agroecological transition.

My work has contributed to reshaping the conceptual framework of branching control by demonstrating that sugars act not only as carbon sources but also as genuine signaling molecules. It has led to the identification of an integrated network linking carbohydrate metabolism, sugar signaling pathways, and plant hormones, and to the development of a mechanistic model describing the interactions between sugars, auxin, cytokinins, and strigolactones in the control of bud outgrowth. More recently, my research has focused on the transcriptional regulation of the integrator gene BRANCHED1/TEOSINTE1, in connection with sugar metabolism pathways, including glycolysis, the Krebs cycle, and the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway.

These fundamental insights support more applied research aimed at understanding and leveraging the trade-offs between growth and stress tolerance. Since 2020, I have been developing projects on biostimulants and plant responses to water deficit, in collaboration with the SMS team at IRHS and BCF Life Sciences, to identify strategies that improve both yield and plant resilience. In parallel, through collaborative projects with the start-up DELLED and the SONAS laboratory, I develop approaches in controlled environment agriculture. The CANNATECH project (2022–2025), focused on medical cannabis, illustrates this approach by combining light management, plant developmental control, and secondary metabolism optimization to enhance the chemotype of female inflorescences.

My work relies on close collaborations within IRHS (GDO, SMS, and FungiSem teams), as well as with national and international academic partners, particularly in Australia and China. I am also actively involved in public–private partnerships, contributing to projects with technical institutes and companies that have led to protected know-how and a patent.