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The jury will be composed of :

- Christel PEQUEUX ; Assistant Professor, University of Liège ; Rapporteur & Examiner
- Eric GUEDON ; Senior Research Director, INRAE-STLO, Rennes ; Rapporteur & Examiner
- Bernard MIGNOTTE ; Professor emeritus, UVSQ/Université Paris-Saclay ; Examiner
- Gwenola TOSSER-KLOPP ; Senior Research Director, INRAE-GenPhySe, Toulouse ; Examiner
- François LEFEVRE ; Research Director, INRAE-VIM, Jouy-en-Josas ; Examiner
- Anne GABORY ; Junior Research scientist, INRAE-BREED, Jouy-en-Josas ; Examiner

The defense PhD dissertation will be held in French.

Title: The mammary gland: Role of SOCS2 in its development and impact of inflammation during successive lactations

Keywords: epigenetics, inflammation, SOCS2, lactation, mammary gland

Abstract: Current breeding strategies and their consequences on animal health, their welfare and the environment are important societal concerns in terms of both ethics and sustainability. This thesis evaluates the molecular aspects involved in the compromise between animal health and milk production. The work presented is distributed in two sections.
In the first section, the effects of mammary inflammation on milk production during two successive lactations is evaluated in a mouse model. The presence and persistence of differentially methylated cytosines in mammary epithelial cells shows that this methylation depends on lactation rank, the presence of inflammation, and animal history (presence of previous inflammation).
In the second section, the effects of a SOCS2 R96C mutation on mammary development and function are evaluated in a mouse model. Mutated mice had a mammary duct branching defect, a lower epithelial/adipose tissue ratio, and bigger lipid droplets compared to controls.
Results are acquired in mouse models with the goal of knowledge transfer to farm animals. New avenues for research and questions raised by this body of work could result in the discovery of insights to ameliorate animal husbandry.