Ariane Atteia

Ariane Atteia is a biochemist whose research focusses on the energy metabolism of unicellular eukaryotic algae. She has worked primarily on two Chlorophyte algae, the photosynthetic species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and its colorless close relative Polytomella sp. Pringsheim SAG 198.90. Through comparative studies of their mitochondrial and plastid proteins, she has put forward this duo to study the impact of loss of photosynthesis in the evolution of microalgae. Her research also aimed at understanding how microalgae cope in anoxic environments. Using C. reinhardtii as a model organism, she studied the fundamental biological processes involved in the response to oxygen deprived environments, thus providing a detailed characterization of the fermentative enzymes as well as insights in the regulatory aspects of fermentation metabolism. In 2017, Ariane Atteia joined the UMR MARBEC with the aim of elucidating algal metabolism and physiology in the context of climate change. Her current projects focus more specifically on the molecular mechanisms of acclimation to anoxic episodes and heatwaves, and are developed on species isolated from the nearby Thau lagoon. 

• Model organisms: Amphora, Navicula, Picochlorum, Tetraselmis.

• Approaches: eco-physiology, proteomics, biochemistry, genomics, phylogeny.