Montpellier Scientific Community



Diversity and Adaptation of Cultivated Plants (DIAPC)

Director: Serge Hamon
Research area
The JRU Diversity and Adaptation of Cultivated Plants (DIAPC) focuses on the use of plant biodiversity to boost productivity and to meet a variety of challenges currently faced in world agriculture, including problems of climate change and soil erosion. Research is dedicated to understanding the evolutionary process of adaptation to the environment and to the domestication process in several Mediterranean genera (Triticum, Medicago, Zea, Helianthus, Vitis) and tropical genera (Coffea, Dioscorea, Pennisetum and various members of the families Casuarinaceae and Arececeae [Palmae]). Much of the work relates to large germplasm collections that often constitute an international reference material and sometimes result from collection and prospection operations performed over a long period of time (e.g. in the case of Vitis vinifera). On this basis, the Unit is interested in: i) the evolutionary and selective origin of species, varieties and ecotypes; ii) the process of adaptation to abiotic stress; and iii) prediction of future changes based on new consumer demands, on biodiversity management methods and on climate change predictions.

Research highlights
Population genetics and evolution
  • Distribution, shape and clonal growth of rare endemic tree Olea europea in the Saharan mountains of Niger
  • Evaluation of the reliability of Structure Outputs in case of relatedness between individuals - Genetic basis of species differentiation in Coffea species
  • Genetic diversity of the two cultivated rice species (Oryza sativa and O. glaberrima) in Maritime Guinea
  • Grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization
  • Phylogenic relationships of cultivated neotropical palms - Role of seed flow on the pattern and dynamics of pearl millet genetic diversity (Pennisetum glaucum)
Adaptative processes / domestication / breeding
  • Adaptative evolution of the symbiotic gene Nork/SymRK in Medicago and Casuarina
  • Generation of a common set of markers to assist selection in grapevine breeding
  • Grinding up wheat: a massive loss of nucleotide diversity since domestication
  • Investigation of the demographic and selective forces shaping nucleotide diversity in Medicago
  • Regional assessment of the impact of climate change on the distribution of tropical conifers
  • Response of epidermal phenolic compounds to light acclimation
Flower / seeds / roots: structure and functional genomics
  • Auxin-dependent regulation of lateral root positioning
  • Characterization of Vitis vinifera somatic variants exhibiting abnormal flower patterns
  • Determination of flower structure and functional characterization of MADS box genes in oil palm Elaeis guineensis
  • Influence of desiccation and rehydration on seed survival
  • Molecular characterization of an ethylene receptor gene (CcETR1) in coffee trees, relationships with fruit development
  • Characterization of an oil palm APETALA2 gene (EgAP2-1) potentially involved in early embryonic development
Staff profile
Total permanent staff Total Scientists Scientists with "HDR"[1] Post-doc fellows PhD
154
51
21
10
15
[1] French university degree for confirmed thesis supervisor
Research teams
E1 - Diversity / E2 - Dynadiv / E3 - Grapevine genetic diversity and genomics / E4 - Comparative genomics and functional adaptation / E5 - Palm development and reproduction / E6 - Rhizogenesis
Platforms and other tools
Molecular marker technical facility
Most important international partnerships
AVESTHAGEN, Plant Genome Laboratory, Bangalore, India
CNRA, Plant breeding and Genetics, Côte d'Ivoire
CSIRO Plant Industry, Canberra, Australia
ICRISAT and Univ. Abou Moumoumi, Niger
John INNES Centre, Dept of cell and developmental biology, UK
PUCE, Molecular lab, Ecuador
University of Nottingham, Division of Plant Science,
UK University of Aarhus, Bioinformatics Research Centre, Denmark
University of Gent, Dept of Plant System Biology
University of Kenangsann, School of bioscience and biotechnology, Malaysia
UNQ (Universidad Nacional de Quilmes), Argentina
Facts and figures
Publications in international ranking journals
2007: 45
2006: 61
Representative publications
Adam, H. et al (2007) Functional characterization of MADS box genes involved in the determination of oil palm flower structure. J. Exp. Bot. 58: 1245-1259.

De Mita, S. et al (2007) Adaptive evolution of the symbiotic gene NORK is not correlated with shifts of rhizobial specificity in the genus Medicago. BMC Evol. Biol. 7: 210-

De Smet, I. et al (2007) Auxin-dependent regulation of lateral root positioning in the basal meristem of Arabidopsis. Development 134: 681-690.

Jaillon, O. et al (2007) The grapevine genome sequence suggests ancestral hexaploidization in major angiosperm phyla. Nature 449: 463-465.

Jouannic, S. et al (2007) A class I KNOX gene from the palm species Elaeis guineensis (Arecaceae) is associated with meristem function and a distinct mode of leaf dissection. New Phytologist 174: 551-568.

Laplaze, L. et al (2007) Cytokinins act directly on lateral root founder cells to inhibit root initiation. Plant Cell 19: 3889-3900.

Mahesh, V. et al (2007) Functional characterization of two p-coumaroyl ester 3'-hydroxylase genes from coffee tree: evidence of a candidate for chlorogenic acid biosynthesis. Plant Mol. Biol. 64: 145-159.

Obertello, M. et al (2007) Functional analysis of the metallothionein gene CgMT1 isolated from the actinorhizal tree Casuarina glauca. MPMI 20: 1231-1240.

Peret, B. et al (2007) Auxin influx activity is associated with Frankia infection during actinorhizal nodule formation in Casuarina glauca. Plant Physiol. 144: 1852-1862.

Verdeil, J. et al (2007) Pluripotent versus totipotent plant stem cells: dependence versus autonomy? Trends in Plant Science 12: 245-250.