Montpellier Scientific Community



Diversity, Adaptation and Development of Cultivated Plants (DIADE)

Director: Serge Hamon
Research area
This new Joint Research Unit aims to understand the structural and functional diversification mechanisms in the genomics of tropical plants, and of their populations during speciation and adaptation to natural variations or anthropic changes. The approaches are based on genetics, epigenetics, developmental biology, physiology, systematics and evolution. It has started to develop quite recently, new approaches such as remote sensing, modelling and functional genomics. The study systems go from model plants (Arabidopsis, rice, tomato) to crops of agronomic or ecological interest (coffee, casuarina trees, yams, corn, palm trees and millet).

The unit considers different levels of analysis, from cells to complexes of species. It looks at (1) the fine regulation of the expression of key genes in development; (2) the control of developmental transitions; (3) the evolutionary history of gene families; (4) the molecular determinants (genes or gene networks) of the phenotypic variation of traits of agronomic or ecological interest; and (5) the dynamics and plasticity of genomes, the dynamics and diversity of populations in response to ecological and human factors (structuring of genetic diversity, adaptation to changes environment, domestication) and biological factors (genomic shocks).
Research highlights
Height research teams work on specific topics:
  1. Epigenetic rules and the development of seeds;
  2. Rhizogenesis, i.e., understanding processes that lead to the adaptation of plant root systems to degraded and mineral-poor;
  3. Biology of palm tree growth, focusing on Arecaceae family; focusing on some key aspects of their reproductive development relevant to emerging countries;
  4. Rice genome development / variability;
  5. Genome dynamics and evolution;
  6. Anthropization and dynamics of the genetic diversity of plants;
  7. Plant desiccation tolerance mechanisms
  8. Secondary metabolism: activities, regulation in tropical plants
Staff profile
Research org.Researchers Professors Research Eng.

Techn. & admin. staff

PhD
UM2, IRD
 45 6 3

23

 19
Facts and figures
Publications in international ranking journals
2009: 40
2008: 68
2007: 58
2006: 53
2005: 45
Representative publications
1. Beulé T., Camps C., Debiesse S.E, Tranchant C., Dussert S., Sabau X., Jaligot E., Alwee SSRS, Tregear J., (2011). Transcriptome analysis reveals differentially expressed genes associated with the mantled homeotic flowering abnormality in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis). Tree Genetics and Genomes, 7, 169-182
2. Cavel E., Pillot M., Pontier D., Lahmy S., Bies-Etheve N., Vegaa D., Grimanelli D., Lagrange T., (2011). A plant-specific transcription factor IIB-related protein, pBRP2, is involved in endosperm growth control. Plos One, 6: e17216.
3. Chair H., Duroy P.O., Cubry P., Sinsin B., Pham JL, (2011). Impact of past climatic and recent anthropic factors on wild yam genetic diversity. Molecular Ecology 20, 1612-1623
4. Engelmann F., (2011). Use of biotechnologies for the conservation of plant biodiversity. In Vitro Cell Developmental Biology-Plant, 47, 5-16. 5. Guyot R., Garavito A., Gavory F., Samain S., Tohme J., Ghesquière A., Lorieux M., (2011). Patterns of sequence divergence and evolution of the S-1 orthologous regions between Asian and African cultivated rice species. Plos One, 6 (3) : e17726.
6. Hamon P, Duroy P. O., Tranchant C., Mafra D'Almeida Costa P., Duret C., Razafinarivo N.J., Couturon E., Hamon S., de Kochko A., Poncet V. Guyot R., (2011). Two novel Ty1-copia retrotransposons isolated from coffee trees can effectively reveal evolutionary relationships in the Coffea genus (Rubiaceae) Molecular Genetics & Genomics. Doi 10.1007/s00438-011-0617-0
7. Hocher V, Alloisio N, Auguy F, Fournier P, Doumas P, Pujic P, Gherbi H, Queiroux C, Da Silva C, Wincker P, Normand P, Bogusz D, (2011). Transcriptomics of actinorhizal symbioses reveals homologs of the whole common symbiotic signaling cascade. Plant Physiology. Doi 10.1104 : 111.174151
8. Lucas M., Laplaze L., Bennett M. J, (2011). Plant systems biology : network matters. Plant Cell and Environment, 34, 535-535
9. Mariac C, Jehin L., Saidou A-A, Thuillet A-C, Couderc M., Sire P., Jugde H., Adam H, Bezançon G, Pham J-L, Vigouroux Y, (2011). Genetic basis of pearl millet adaptation along an environmental gradient investigated by a combination of genome scan and association mapping. Molecular Ecology, 20, 80-91
10. Privat, I., Bardil, A., Gomez, A., Severac, D., Dantec, C., Fuentes, I., Mueller, L., Joet, T., Pot, D., Foucrier, S., Dussert, S., Leroy, T., Journot, L., de Kochko, A., Campa, C., Combes, M.-C., Lashermes, P. and Bertrand, B. (2011). The ‘PUCECAFE' Project: the First 15K Coffee Microarray, a New Tool for Discovering Candidate Genes correlated to Agronomic and Quality Traits. BMC Genomics, 12, 5. Doi:10.1186/1471-2164-12-5
11. Sabot F., Picault N., El-Baidouri M , Llauro C., Chaparro C., Piegu, B. Roulin A., Guiderdoni E., Delabastide M., McCombie R., Panaud O., 2011. Transpositional landscape of the rice genome revealed by paired-end mapping of high-throughput re-sequencing data. The Plant Journal, 66, 241-246.
12. Singh M., Goel S., Meeley R.B., Dantec C., Parrinello H., Michaud C., Leblanc O. and Grimanelli D., (2011). Production of Viable Gametes without Meiosis in Maize Deficient for an ARGONAUTE Protein. Plant Cell, 23, 443-458
13. Sutka M., LI G. W., Boudet J., Boursiac Y., Doumas P., Maurel C., (2011). Natural variation of root hydraulics in Arabidopsis grown in normal and salt-stressed conditions. Plant Physiology, 155, 1264-1276.
14. Tranbarger T. J., Dussert S., Joët T., Argout X., Summo M., Champion A., Cros D., Omore A., Nouy B, and Morcillo F., (2011). Regulatory mechanisms underlying oil palm fruit mesocarp maturation, ripening and functional specialization in lipid and carotenoid metabolism. Plant Physiology. Doi 10.1104.111.175141
15. Yu Q., Guyot R., de Kochko A., Byers A., Navajas-Pérez R., Langston B.J., Dubreuil-Tranchant C., Paterson A.H., Poncet V., Nagai C., Ming R., (2011). Microcolinearity and genome evolution in the vicinity of an ethylene receptor gene of cultivated diploid and allotetraploid coffee species (Coffea). The Plant Journal. Doi 10.1111/j.1365-313x.2011.04590.
Total annual budget
(In euros) 2010
Total annual budget 600 000
External contract 1 100 000
Total 1 700 000