Sixth-formers protect the black poplar

Since the start of the school year, precedence has been given to the molecular approach, with the genotypic characterisation of the poplars listed and sampled near the Lycée, as they are assumed to be indigenous, and now cultivated in a special tree nursery. This genetic validation work has been possible thanks to a programme led by the DNA School called "Génome à l’école", for which the Lycée applied and was selected along with eleven other schools across France.  

After sequencing at the Génescope the students will take part in analysing the results, with the end goal being to make sure that the poplar cultivars placed in collection for restoring the population do indeed bear the sought-after characteristics.  

The production with the Orléans French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) office of a scientific publication on the black poplar should round off this ambitious project.  

As part of Angers Loire Métropole's biodiversity plan, these initiatives have been carried out in partnership with the Orléans INRA office, National Forestry Office alongside the Guéméné-Penfao national nursery of forestry resources and the Association des Croqueurs de Pommes de l’Anjou. 

Online:

• Un projet emblématique : la conservation et la restauration d’espèces végétales locales