Olivier Voinnet’s discoveries on RNA silencing as a mechanism for immunity against viruses paved the way for a brand new approach of Molecular Biology and Virology.

Against viruses, silence is golden 

To battle viral infections, the best weapon a cell holds is microRNA - small RNA molecules that target viral RNA, stick to it by sequence complementarity and launch a destruction signal through double-stranded RNA recognition. That destruction mechanism is called RNA silencing and has been found to fight against intracellular parasites in both plants and animals. Olivier Voinnet has shown that the process is not cell-individual. 

Awarded the Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Life Sciences as recognition for his discoveries in Plant Biology, he has revealed a mechanism for immunity against viruses that goes well beyond Botanics. Indeed, the defensive microRNA he has found to be capable of propagation from one Plant cell to the next upon localized viral infection exist in Mammals as well. In addition, those microRNA play a pivotal role in protection against cancer and other serious diseases. Olivier Voinnet also paid attention to the viruses’ response to RNA silencing and discovered that they are able to protect themselves against it by producing inhibitory proteins. The Prize has been crucial for keeping Lionel Navarro and Peter Brodersen at work in Dr. Voinnet’s laboratory. Their work as post-doctoral fellows led to the publication of 12 scientific articles of the highest quality.

Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Life Sciences

The Liliane Bettencourt Prize for Life Sciences rewards each year a researcher under the age of 45 for the excellence of their work and their remarkable contribution to their field of scientific research. This prize is awarded, depending on the year, to a researcher based in France or working in another European country. Twenty-seven winners have been awarded since 1997. From 2023, prize rewards the laureate up to 100,000 euros.

All the award-winners