|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Teva VERNOUX
teva.vernoux
(33) 4 72 72 86 01
DR CNRS
Publications
Pradeep DAS
pradeep.das
(33) 4 72 72 89 37
MC ENS
Fabrice BESNARD
fabrice.besnard
(33) 4 72 72 89 82
CR INRAe
Publications
Yoan COUDERT
yoan.coudert
(33) 4 72 72 89 82
CR CNRS
Publications
Géraldine BRUNOUD
geraldine.brunoud
(33) 4 72 72 86 04
IR CNRS
Publications
Stéphanie HALLET
stephanie.hallet
(33) 4 72 72 86 03
TR INRAe
Jonathan LEGRAND
jonathan.legrand
(33)4 72 72 86 04
IR CNRS
Publications
Alexis LACROIX
alexis.lacroix
(33) 4 72 72 89 86
IE CNRS
Carlos GALVAN-AMPUDIA
carlos.galvan-ampudia
(33) 4 72 72 86 14
IR CNRS
Eline Balland
eline.balland
IR (ENS de Lyon)
Elisa Oassel
elisa.oassel
IE (Explor’ae funded)
Collaborateur IGFL
Enric BERTRAN GARCIA de OLALLA
enric.bertran
Post-Doc (EMBO)
Geoffrey SCHIVRE
goeffrey.schivre
Post-Doc (ERC-funded)
Gül HATINOGLU
gul.hatinoglu
Postdoc (ERC-funded)
Hugo CAUMON
hugo.caumon
ATER (ENS de Lyon)
John THAMPI
john.thampi
Ph.D student (ERC-funded)
Juriaan RIENSTRA
juriaan.rienstra
Post-Doc (EMBO)
Priyanka PATRA
priyanka.patra
Post-Doc (ANR-funded)
Valentine Bellaton
valentine.bellaton
Ph.D student
2026
Journal articles
Preprints, Working Papers, ...
2025
Journal articles
Preprints, Working Papers, ...
2024
Journal articles
2023
Journal articles
2022
Journal articles
Book sections
Preprints, Working Papers, ...
2021
Journal articles
Preprints, Working Papers, ...
2020
Journal articles
2019
Journal articles
Book sections
2018
Journal articles
Preprints, Working Papers, ...
2017
Journal articles
2016
Journal articles
Preprints, Working Papers, ...
2015
Journal articles
Book sections
2014
Journal articles
2013
Journal articles
2012
Journal articles
2011
Journal articles
2010
Journal articles
2009
Journal articles
2006
Journal articles
Team Leader: Teva VERNOUX
The SIGNAL team addresses a fundamental question in developmental biology: How do multicellular organisms build reproducible and robust architectures?
Plants are uniquely suited to explore this question due to their iterative development. Our overarching goal is to uncover the design principles underlying plant architecture, focusing on two key processes: phyllotaxis—the geometric arrangement of leaves, branches, and flowers along stems—and lateral branching. Both processes are central to the 4D construction of plant bodies and emerge from the regulation of patterning and cellular activities at shoot apical meristems, the specialized tissues at the tip of shoot axes that continuously produce lateral organs.
To link genotypes to phenotypes during plant development, we integrate functional genetics, genomics, synthetic biology and quantitative phenotyping across scales using single-cell omics, live confocal imaging, and whole-plant 3D architecture imaging. We also employ computational modeling to test and predict how biological properties emerge from molecular to organismal scales.
By studying flowering plants and bryophytes, we aim to reveal both conserved and divergent principles that have shaped plant architecture since their emergence on land 500 million years ago.
We develop our research through three specific research themes :
– Signal distribution and integration in space and time
– Probing the link between gene regulatory networks and shoot developmental robustness
– Evolution of signal integration in shoot developmental patterns
Project leader: Teva Vernoux
Other permanent staff involved: Géraldine Brunoud (CNRS Research Engineer), Pradeep Das, Carlos Galván-Ampudia (CNRS Research Engineer), Jonathan Legrand (CNRS Research Engineer)
Non-permanent staff involved : Enric Bertran Garcia de Olalla (Postdoc, EMBO fellowship), Hugo Caumont (ATER ENS de Lyon), Gül Hatinoglu (Postdoc, ERC-funded), Priyanka Patra (Postdoc, ANR-funded), Juriaan Rienstra (Postdoc, EMBO fellowship), Goeffrey Schivre (Postdoc, ERC-funded), John Thampi (PhD student, ERC-funded)
Here, we investigate how spatio-temporal distribution of hormonal signals and hormone signalling properties contribute to plant developmental dynamics and in particular to reiterative patterning at shoot apical meristems in Arabidopsis thaliana.
In particular, we study how protein-protein interactions between effectors from different hormone signaling pathway contribute to coupling hormonal signals processing and ask how this contributes to signal integration during development.
We investigate how auxin distribution dynamics emerge from a spatio-temporal control of auxin biosynthesis and from the expression, activity and polarity of auxin transporters. We also explore the molecular mechanisms involved in auxin-controlled transcription using a combination of structural biology, biochemistry and functional genomics, in order to understand the processing properties of this pathway central to plant development.
One key focus of our research is on the temporal properties of the auxin pathway. We test the hypothesis that, in the shoot apical meristem, cells can register their exposure to auxin over time, through regulation of chromatin properties. We further analyze the developmental effect of this cellular memory of auxin exposure across scales.
Project leaders: Fabrice Besnard and Teva Vernoux
Other permanent staff involved: Stéphanie Hallet (INRAe Research technician), Alexis Lacroix (CNRS Engineer), Jonathan Legrand (CNRS Research Engineer)
Non-permanent staff involved: Arthur Luciani (Engineer, ANR-funded)
Shoot apical meristems iteratively build shoots by stacking repetitive units—phytomers—each composed of a lateral organ, a stem segment, and meristematic tissues. The spatial and temporal regulation of these units determines shoot architecture. The robustness of the developmental system—and of the gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that underpin it—is then reflected in both the invariance of phytomer development and the precision of transitions between distinct phytomer types, such as those occurring during the floral transition.
Here, we leverage both natural and induced genetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana—with or without a priori hypotheses—to screen for developmental instabilities between phytomers. Our goal is to identify perturbations in GRNs (including hormone signaling pathways) that govern robust developmental outcomes at the shoot apical meristem.
This research theme requires whole-plant phenotyping capabilities. To address this, we developed and use a low-cost, open-source robot for automated 3D reconstructions of shoots, enabling precise measurements of Arabidopsis thaliana phyllotaxis. We are further expanding our phenotyping toolkit with continuous 3D+t (spatio-temporal) acquisition. Finally, we explore whether AI-driven conversion of 3D plant reconstructions into virtual, L-System-encoded models can enhance phenotyping performance and reveal novel developmental rules.
Project leader: Yoan Coudert, Teva Vernoux
Other permanent staff involved: Stéphanie Hallet (INRAe Research technician), Alexis Lacroix (CNRS Engineer), Jonathan Legrand (CNRS Research Engineer)
Non-permanent staff involved: Valentine Bellaton (PhD student, INRAe/WUR-funded), Laure Mancini (Postdoc, HFSP-funded), Jovanka Vladejic (Postdoc)
Unlike vascular plant meristems, bryophyte meristems contain a single apical stem cell, whose division patterns determine phyllotaxis. Moreover, at the whole-plant level, branch distribution relies on precise spatio-temporal control of new apical cell formation in leaf axils. Using the moss Physcomitrium patens and the hornwort Anthoceros agrestis, we investigate the regulatory mechanisms underlying phyllotaxis and branch patterning, aiming at highlighting conservation and divergence from vascular plants.
Building on 4D imaging, cutting edge genomic and developmental genetic approaches, we quantitatively characterize moss phyllotaxis and examine how auxin-controlled processes influence mechanical properties and division orientation at the apex to establish robust patterns. We have also identified key transcription factors, which act via plant hormones such as auxin and cytokinin, to promote the formation of new stem cells in leaf axils.
By dissecting these gene regulatory modules, we seek to uncover how plant architecture emerges through signal integration at local and global scales and how it diversified since the emergence of land plants about 500 million years ago.
– Martin-Arevalillo et al., 2025, Cell
European Union | European Research Council
|
European Molecular Biology Organization
|
Human Frontier Science Program
|
Agence Nationale de la Recherche
|
Explor’ae | Inrae
|
You can freely access the accepted version of the Manuscript and to the Main Figures.
Supplementary materials are: Supplementary Figures: PDF Tables S1 & S5: PDF Table S2: XLSX Table S3: XLSX Table S4: XLSX Table S6: XLSX
CC BY-NC-ND
DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.028