Analyse et Valorisation de la Biodiversité

AVB was born from the will of two CNRS research units, iSm2 (Institute of Molecular Sciences of Marseille, UMR 7313, Head researcher: Jean Rodriguez) and IMBE (Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine and Continental Ecology, UMR 7263, Head researcher: Catherine Fernandez) to mutualize requests for equipment and human resources in the field of life Sciences on the Aix-Marseille University site of St Jérôme. Three technical fields were considered as priorities for this facility: genetic analysis, fermentation in liquid medium, and protein purification. The facility got granted 100 k€ by the government for a timeframe of four years, which allowed the facility to significantly develop. Besides, if AVB first intended to provide technical support for research projects conducted in AMU, its 160m2 of equipments are now also open to external public or private, regional, national or international projects.

AVB was born from the will of two CNRS research units, iSm2 (Institute of Molecular Sciences of Marseille, UMR 7313, Head researcher: Jean Rodriguez) and IMBE (Mediterranean Institute of Biodiversity and Marine and Continental Ecology, UMR 7263, Head researcher: Catherine Fernandez), to mutualize requests for equipment and human resources in the field of life sciences on the Aix-Marseille University site of St Jérôme.

Three technical fields were considered as priorities for this facility: genetic analysis, fermentation in liquid medium, and protein purification.

The facility was granted €100k by the government for a timeframe of four years, which allowed the facility to significantly develop. Besides, while AVB first intended to provide technical support for research projects conducted in AMU, its 160 m² of equipment is now also open to external public or private, regional, national, or international projects.

AVB is open to scientific communities from both the academic and private sectors, upon request

The many equipment (listed at: https://avb-ism2.univ-amu.fr) hosted under AVB allow better understanding the evolution of ecosystems, in particular at the microbial level, through, for instance:

• the development of cultures of recombinant or non-recombinant microorganisms;
• the production of metabolites or enzymes of interest to chemists, notably thanks to green chemistry processes in the framework of sustainable development.

AVB also contributes to the training of Ph.D. and Master students in technical aspects of genetic analyses and fermentation. The use of the facility’s equipment by Master students is notably integrated into their university curricula as practical work or continuing education.

By providing technical support, AVB also participates in applications for national or European funding programmes and/or contracts with industry.