Currently pursuing a postdoc at the Laboratory of Biometry and Evolutionary Biology (LBBE) of the University Claude-Bernard Lyon 1, Aline Muyle studies plant biology and particularly the molecular evolution of plants and bioinformatics.

For the L’Oréal Foundation, she tackled “the importance of sex in palm trees.” Male or female? That’s an important question for farmers of the palm tree Chamaedorea tepejilote in Central America, because only the flowers of the male trees are traditionally eaten as a vegetable. But the gender of each tree is only known after several years of growth, which leads to production loss. Aline Muyle used this example to highlight the importance of studying the sex chromosomes of plants to help these farmers.

This young researcher has developed a non-conventional genetic detection method thanks to a computer programme, SEX-DETector, which she worked on during her doctorate. “Thanks to my research, the yield of the culture of certain species we consume should increase, which is important given the growth of the population on Earth, a planet with limited resources,” she notes.

She is passionate about developing great technical innovations to change agricultural practices and reduce man’s negative impact on the environment. Beyond the example of the Chamaedorea palm tree, Aline Muyle’s work can be transposed to numerous plants cultivated for their fruits – the kiwi, quinoa or asparagus – or for their medicinal properties, such as Ginkgo biloba.

Already a strong record

• In 2015, Aline Muyle is a doctoral student at the LBBE when she wins the prestigious Walter Fitch Award of the SMBE (Society for Molecular Biology & Evolution).
• Aline Muyle is currently pursuing a postdoc under the direction of Gabriel Marais, leader of the team “Sex and evolution.” She studies the joint evolution of dioecy and sex chromosomes of the likes of Silene, Caryophyllacae.
  It’s worth noting that Gabriel Marais is himself an alumnus of the ENS de Lyon, who was awarded the CNRS Bronze Medal in 2012. During the ceremony, he made sure to specifically thank Prof. Ioan Negrutiu, professor and lecturer at the Laboratory for Plant Reproduction and Development.
• 2016: Wins the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for women and science