Toward a molecular understanding of intraspecific plant-plant interactions
Résumé
Plants interact with other plants through specialized metabolites also refered to as
allelochemicals. Some of these allelochemicals can induce deleterious effects into neighboring
plants (a process known as allelopathy), while others can have positive effects. Although the
negative impacts of allelochemicals have been widely studied, we know far less about how
positive allelochemicals function in interspecific plant-plant interactions. By presenting
unpublished data, we unveil the significant role of a major class of maize root-exuded
allelochemicals in modulating gene expression and disease severity in neighboring rice plants
through a chromatin-based regulatory mechanism.
At the same time, positive interactions are also widespread in intraspecifc plant mixtures,
and recent evidence points toward a role for an allelochemical-independent mechanism
remaining unknown. By leveraging a multidisciplinary approach that combines forward
genetics, metabolomics, transcriptomics and reverse genetics, our team endeavors to unravel
the genes and the molecular mechanisms governing intraspecific plant-plant interactions in
hexaploid wheat, particularly those bolstering plant immunity against prominent infectious
threats. On the long-term, we hope to understand how plants recognize their intraspecific
neighbors at the molecular level, which could lead to the development of new biosolutions and
the optimization of mixtures at the field to foster agroecological crop farming.
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Licence |
Domaine public
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