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The Plant Biology unit at ENS consists of three research groups led by Chris Bowler, Vincent Colot and Pascal Lopez. We work on higher plants, principally Arabidopsis thaliana, and marine diatoms.
Our work on Arabidopsis focuses on genome dynamics. We are interested to understand how environmental and developmental signals affect chromatin structure and epigenetic phenomena.
Diatoms are of extreme importance for global primary productivity and biogeochemical cycling of silicon. Bowler and Lopez have established Phaeodactylum tricornutum as a model species for exploring the novel aspects of diatom biology and are focusing their efforts on understanding diatom responses to environmental stimuli such as light and biotic stress, and on understanding silica-based nanopatterning and morphogenesis.
Highlighted papers, hot from the press :
- The Phaeodactylum genome reveals the evolutionary history of diatom genomes. Bowler C. et al, Nature. 2008, 456(7219):239-44. Epub 2008 Oct 15.
- A role for RNAi in the selective correction of DNA methylation defects. Teixeira FK, Heredia F, Sarazin A, Roudier F, Boccara M, Ciaudo C, Cruaud C, Poulain J, Berdasco M, Fraga MF, Voinnet O, Wincker P, Esteller M, Colot V. Science. 2009, 323(5921):1600-4.