Dr. Annick Bertrand

Image Annick Bertrand
Research Scientist Physiology and Biochemistry of perennial crops

Abiotic stress resistance of perennial forage crops (temperature stress, salinity, climate change, ice, drought):

  • Development of new selection approaches for winter survival;
  • Identification of metabolites and cold-regulated genes associated with higher level of stress resistance;
  • Optimization of rhizobial symbiosis for improved stress resistance in alfalfa and other legume species;
  • Development of open-top chambers for long-term studies of CO2 increase in the field.

Improved nutritive value of forages

  • Increased energy concentration (starch, pectin, and soluble sugars including fructans);
  • Increased cell wall digestibility.

Increased forage yield

  • Development of new selection approaches for reduced fall dormancy in alfalfa.

Current research and/or projects

  • Résistance aux stress abiotiques (gel, salinité, glace, sécheresse, changements climatiques :1) Développement de nouvelles approches de sélection; 2) Identification de métabolites et de niveaux de transcrits liés à la résistance aux stress; 3) Optimisation de la symbiose avec la luzerne pour une meilleure résistance; 4) Développement d’un système à toit-ouvert pour l’étude à long terme des changements climatiques au champ.

  • Amélioration de la qualité nutritive: 1) Augmentation de la concentration en énergie des fourrages; 2) augmentation de la digestibilité des parois cellulaires

Augmentation des rendements : Développement de méthodes de sélection pour la réduction de la dormance automnale.

Professional activities / interests

Member of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists

Member of the Comité Plantes fourragèers du CRAAQ

Key publications

  1. Christie, B. C., Baron, V. S., Young, D., Ohama, A. J., Schellenberg, M., Bertrand, A., and Claessens, A. Relationship between late season plant height and winter hardiness in alfalfa. Poster presentation. Cow-Forage Gentec Tour. August 22, 2017. Lacombe Research and Development Centre. Lacombe, AB.

    2017 - View publication details

  2. Christie, B. C., Baron, V. S., Young, D., Ohama, A. J., Schellenberg, M., Bertrand, A., and Claessens, A. Selection for summer growth and late fall dormancy in different alfalfa varieties. Poster presentation. Cow-Forage Gentec Tour. August 22, 2017. Lacombe Research and Development Centre. Lacombe, AB.

    2017 - View publication details

  3. Bertrand, A., Claessens, A., Thivierge, M.-N., and Rocher, S. 2017. Breeding for cell wall characteristics linked to improved saccharification efficiency in alfalfa. Plant Biology 2017, Honolulu, June 24-28 2017.

    2017 - View publication details

  4. Annick Bertrand, Gilles Bélanger, Annie Claessens, Gaëtan Tremblay, Guillaume Jégo, Patrice Audy, Marie-Noëlle Thivierge, Solen Rocher et Julie Lajeunesse. Forage crop persistence. Journée portes ouvertes-Agropur-Field day. CRD de Sherbrooke. 7 juin 2017

    2017 - View publication details

  5. Gaëtan Tremblay, Gilles Bélanger, Annie Claessens, Annick Bertrand, Guillaume Jégo, Marie-Noëlle Thivierge, Solen Rocher et Julie Lajeunesse. 2017. Nutritive value of forage crops. Valeur nutritive des plantes fourragères. Journée portes ouvertes-Agropur-Field day. CRD de Sherbrooke. 7 juin 2017

    2017 - View publication details

  6. Annick Bertrand, Annie Claessens, Solen Rocher, Julie Lajeunesse, Philippe Seguin. 2017. Amélioration génétique de la digestibilité et du contenu en énergie chez la luzerne. Tournée plantes fourragères du CRAAQ. 31 mai 2017

    2017 - View publication details

  7. Claessens, A, Langevin, F, Bertrand, A, Rocher, S. 2017. Amélioration de la compétitivité économique et de la durabilité de la production de bioénergie à l’aide de culture fourragères pérennes. Tournée plantes fourragères du CRAAQ. St-Augustin, 31 mai 2017.

    2017 - View publication details

  8. Claessens, A. Baron, V., Bertrand, A., Lajeunesse, J. Schellenberg, M. 2017.Prolongation de la productivité des pâturages en fin de saison. Tournée plantes fourragères du CRAAQ. Saint Augustin, 31 mai 2017.

    2017 - View publication details

  9. Crépeau, M., Khelifi, M., Vanasse, A., Bertrand, A., Aider, M., Seguin, P. (2017). Impact of Storage Time on the Juice and Sugars Extracted from Chopped and Whole Stalk Sweet Pearl Millet and Sweet Sorghum Biomass. BioEnergy Research, [online] 10(1), 74-85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12155-016-9777-4

    2017 - View publication details

  10. Rocher, S., Michaud, J., Castonguay, Y., Bertrand, A. and Claessens, A. 2017.Identification of transcript-derived sequences that vary in abundance during cold acclimation in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) by SRAP-cDNA.XXV Plant and Animal Genome Conference San Diego 2017/01/14 - 2017/01/18

    2017 - View publication details

  11. Bertrand, A., Bipfubusa, M., Dhont, C., Chalifour, F.P., Drouin, P., Beauchamp, C.J. (2016). Rhizobial strains exert a major effect on the amino acid composition of alfalfa nodules under NaCl stress. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, [online] 108 344-352. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plaphy.2016.08.002

    2016 - View publication details

  12. Bipfubusa, M., Rocher, S., Bertrand, A., Castonguay, Y., Renaut, J. (2016). Dataset of protein changes induced by cold acclimation in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) populations recurrently selected for improved freezing tolerance, 8 570-574. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2016.06.003

    2016 - View publication details

  13. Thivierge, M.-N., Jégo, G., Bélanger, G., Bertrand, A., Tremblay, G.F., Baron, V., Rotz, C.A., and Qian, B. 2016. Forage crop yield and nutritive value under climate change in Canada. Proceedings of the 26th European Grassland Federation General Meeting, Trondheim, Norway, August 4–8, 2016. In Grassland Science in Europe, vol. 21, pp. 826–828.

    2016 - View publication details

  14. Claessens, A., Thivierge, M,-N., Bertrand, A and Castonguay, Y. 2016.Breeding for stem cell wall digestibility in alfalfa. NAAIC Madison 2016/07/12 - 2016/07/14

    2016 - View publication details

  15. Claessens, A., Castonguay, Y., Bertrand, A., Bélanger, G., Tremblay, G.F. 2015. Breeding for improved nonstructural carbohydrates in alfalfa. In: Roldan-Ruiz, I, Baert, J., Reheul, D. (eds)Breeding in a world of scarcity. Springer. pp.231-235

    2016 - View publication details

  16. M. Crépeau, M. Khelifi, A. Vanasse, M. Aider, A. Bertrand. 2016. Effect of storage time on the sugars concentration in sweet pearl millet and sweet sorghum juices. Canadian Society for Bioengineering (CSBE/SCGAB) Annual General Meeting and Technical Conference. Halifax July 2016

    2016 - View publication details

  17. Brito, A.F., Tremblay, G.F., Bertrand, A., Castonguay, Y., Bélanger, G., Michaud, R., Lafrenière, C., Martineau, R., Berthiaume, R. (2016). Performance and nitrogen use efficiency in mid-lactation dairy cows fed timothy cut in the afternoon or morning. Journal of Dairy Science (JDS), [online] 99(7), 5445-5460. http://dx.doi.org/10.3168/jds.2015-10597

    2016 - View publication details

  18. Bélanger, G., Tremblay, G.F., Bertrand, A., Mongrain, D., Parent, G., Savoie, P., Massé, D., Gilbert, Y., Babineau, D. (2016). Reed canarygrass crop biomass and silage as affected by harvest date and nitrogen fertilization. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, [online] 96(3), 413-422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjps-2015-0245

    2016 - View publication details

  19. Gagné-Bourque, F., Bertrand, A., Claessens, A., Aliferis, K.A., Jabaji, S. (2016). Alleviation of drought stress and metabolic changes in timothy (Phleum pratense L.) colonized with Bacillus subtilis B26. Frontiers in Plant Science, [online] 7(MAY2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00584

    2016 - View publication details

  20. Bertrand, A., Bipfubusa, M., Castonguay, Y., Rocher, S., Szopinska-Morawska, A., Papadopoulos, Y., Renaut, J. (2016). A proteome analysis of freezing tolerance in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.). BMC Plant Biology, [online] 16(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12870-016-0751-2

    2016 - View publication details

Research facility

2560 Hochelaga Boulevard
Québec, QC G1V 2J3
Canada

Affiliations

Adjunct professor Université Laval

Adjunct professor McGill University

Language

English
French

Other languages

Spanish