Montpellier Scientific Community



Ecophysiology of Plants under Environmental Stresses (LEPSE)

Director: Bertrand Muller

Research area
In a context of climate change and sustainable agriculture, the LEPSE (Ecophysiology of Plants under Environmental Stress) works towards understanding and providing tools to improve plant tolerance to abiotic stresses. The strategy relies on both the analysis and modelling of genotype x environment interaction and the identification of essential mechanisms which contribute to the control of plant growth, development and transpiration of plants facing environmental challenges. This is made possible by collaboration with geneticists, molecular biologists and mathematicians, and by integrating cellular, biophysical, physiological data as well as whole plant modelling approaches from cell to whole plant. The work is performed in three species: maize, grapevine and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Most of the research is performed in 3 phenotyping platforms (Phenodyn, Phenopsis and PhenArch), partly developed internally and now largely open to the community. Locally, this group is part of the LabEx Agronomy and Sustainable Development and is strongly committed in teaching via Montpellier SupAgro and University (UM2).
Research highlights

Development of phenotyping methodologies for dissecting and modelling whole plant responses (leaf and root development, water use) to challenging climate changes.

Identification of major processes accounting for genotypic differences using combination of genetic variation (mutants, natural variation) and manipulation of environment.

Combination of genetics with ecophysiological modelling, to simulate the behaviour of virtual genotypes in different climatic scenarios. Quantification of the impacts of allelic diversity on target traits
Staff profile
Resarch Org.
Researchers
Professors
Research Eng.
Techn. & admin. staff
PhD & Post doc
Mtp SupAgro - INRA
9

1
3
13
10
Research teams
  • Analysis and modelling of the genotype x environment interaction (Modélisation et Analyse de l'interaction Génotype Environnement - MAGE)
  • Analysis and Modelling of Plant Integrated Phenotypes (Modélisation et Analyse du Phénotype Intégré des plantes - MAPI)
  • Integrated Processes, Plant Growth and Environmental Stresses (Stress environnementaux et Processus Intégrés du contrôle de la Croissance - SPIC)
Platforms and other tools
Phenotyping platforms : Phenodyn, Phenopsis and PhenoArch phenotyping platforms, installed in greenhouses or growth chambers are devoted to continuous measurement of plant or leaf growth rate but also transpiration using sensor and imaging tools. Photosynthesis, leaf temperature (Infra-Red imaging) in response to soil water deficit and constant or fluctuating environmental conditions. Platforms can accommodate simultaneously 400 cereals plants in Phenodyn; 3 x 500 Arabidopis plants in Phenopsis and 1700 large plants (cereals, grape) in PhenoArch. Biophysical, process based models, gene-to-phenotype models and architectural models are developed, enabling simulation of plant responses to the environment
Most important international partnerships
Southern partnerships: mainly through international research centres (IRRI, CIMMYT, CIRAD), universities (Queensland, Australia) and national programmes (Kenya and India). French partnership through several ANR programs European partnership through 2 large programs devoted to Arabidopsis (Agron-Omics, coll. Max Planck, Univ Ghent, John Innes center) and cereals (DROPS, coll. Univ Louvain, Bologna, Lancaster).
Facts and figures
Publications in international ranking journals
2010: 18
2009: 9
2008: 25
2007: 11
2006: 14
2005: 9
Representative publications
1. Tardieu F, Simonneau T. 1998. Variability among species of stomatal control under fluctuating soil water status and evaporative demand: modelling isohydric and anisohydric behaviours. Journal of Experimental Botany 49, 419-432. (183 citations)
2. Reymond M, Muller B, Leonardi A, Charcosset A, Tardieu F. 2003. Combining quantitative trait loci analysis and an ecophysiological model to analyze the genetic variability of the responses of maize leaf growth to temperature and water deficit. Plant Physiology 131, 664-675. (107 citations)
3. Tardieu F. 2003. Virtual plants: modelling as a tool for the genomics of tolerance to water deficit. Trends in Plant Science 8, 9-14. (101 citations)
4. Tardieu F, Granier C, Muller B. 1999. Modelling leaf expansion in a fluctuating environment: are changes in specific leaf area a consequence of changes in expansion rate? New Phytologist 143, 33-44. (77 citations)
5. Muller B, Pantin F, Génard M, Turc O, Freixes S, Piques M, Gibon Y (2011) Water deficits uncouple growth from photosynthesis, increase C content, and modify the relationships between C and growth in sink organs, Journal of Experimental Botany 62: 1715-1729
6. Christophe A, Letort V, Hummel I, Cournede P-H, de Reffye P, Lecoeur J. 2008. A model-based analysis of the dynamics of carbon balance at the whole-plant level in Arabidopsis thaliana. Functional Plant Biology 35, 1147-1162.
7. Collins NC, Tardieu F, Tuberosa R. 2008. Quantitative Trait Loci and Crop Performance under Abiotic Stress: Where Do We Stand? Plant Physiology 147, 469-486.
8. Dosio GAA, Tardieu F, Turc O. 2010. Floret initiation, tissue expansion and carbon availability at the meristem of the sunflower capitulum as affected by water or light deficits. New Phytologist, doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2010.03445.x.
9. Ehlert C, Maurel C, Tardieu F, Simonneau T. 2009. Aquaporin-mediated reduction in maize root hydraulic conductivity impacts cell turgor and leaf elongation even without changing transpiration. Plant Physiology 150, 1093-1104.
10. Fuad-Hassan A, Tardieu F, Turc O. 2008. Drought-induced changes in anthesis-silking interval are related to silk expansion: a spatio-temporal growth analysis in maize plants subjected to soil water deficit. Plant, Cell & Environment 31, 1349-1360.
11. Granier C, Tardieu F. 2009. Multi-scale phenotyping of leaf expansion in response to environmental changes: the whole is more than the sum of parts. Plant Cell and Environment 32, 1175-1184.
12. Hummel I, Pantin F, Sulpice R, Piques M, Rolland G, Dauzat M, Christophe A, Pervent M, Bouteille M, Stitt M, Gibon Y, Muller B. 2010. Arabidopsis Plants Acclimate to Water Deficit at Low Cost through Changes of Carbon Usage: An Integrated Perspective Using Growth, Metabolite, Enzyme, and Gene Expression Analysis. Plant Physiology 154, 357-372.
13. Louarn G, Lecoeur J, Lebon E. 2008. A three-dimensional statistical reconstruction model of grapevine (Vitis vinifera) simulating canopy structure variability within and between cultivar/training system pairs. Annals of Botany 101, 1167-1184.
14. Massonnet C, Vile D, Fabre J, Hannah MA, Caldana C, Lisec J, Beemster GTS, Meyer RC, Messerli G, Gronlund JT, Perkovic J, Wigmore E, May S, Bevan MW, Meyer C, Rubio-Diaz S, Weigel D, Micol JL, Buchanan-Wollaston V, Fiorani F, Walsh S, Rinn B, Gruissem W, Hilson P, Hennig L, Willmitzer L, Granier C. 2010. Probing the Reproducibility of Leaf Growth and Molecular Phenotypes: A Comparison of Three Arabidopsis Accessions Cultivated in Ten Laboratories. Plant Physiology 152, 2142-2157.
15. Muller B, Bourdais G, Reidy B, Bencivenni C, Massonneau A, Condamine P, Rolland G, Conejero G, Rogowsky P, Tardieu F. 2007. Association of specific expansins with growth in maize leaves is maintained under environmental, genetic, and developmental sources of variation. Plant Physiology 143, 278-290.
16. Parent B, Hachez C, Redondo E, Simonneau T, Chaumont F, Tardieu F. 2009. Drought and ABA effects on aquaporin content translate into changes in hydraulic conductivity and leaf growth rate: a trans-scale approach. Plant Physiology 149, 2000-2012.
17. Pellegrino A, Gozéb E, Lebon E, Wery J 2006. A model-based diagnosis tool to evaluate the water stress experienced by grapevine in field sites. European Journal of Agronomy 25, 49-59
18. Pradal C, Dufour-Kowalski S, Boudon F, Fournier C, Godin C. 2008. OpenAlea: a visual programming and component-based software platform for plant modelling. Functional Plant Biology 35, 751-760.
19. Tardieu F, Tuberosa R. 2010. Dissection and modelling of abiotic stress tolerance in plants. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 13, 206-212.
20. Tisne S, Reymond M, Vile D, Fabre J, Dauzat M, Koornneef M, Granier C. 2008. Combined Genetic and Modelling Approaches Reveal That Epidermal Cell Area and Number in Leaves Are Controlled by Leaf and Plant Developmental Processes in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology 148, 1117-1127.
21. Welcker C, Boussuge B, Bencivenni C, Ribaut JM, Tardieu F. 2007. Are source and sink strengths genetically linked in maize plants subjected to water deficit? A QTL study of the responses of leaf growth and of Anthesis-Silking Interval to water deficit. Journal of Experimental Botany 58, 339-349.

Total annual budget
(in Euros) 2009 2010 2011
520 000(1) 859 000(1) To be completed
External contracts: ANR 157 000 275 000 250 227
EU 14 000 196 000 112 293
Private sector 14 000 27 000 73 373
Others (IFR, French region LR...) 130 000 220 000