"Flavonoid metabolites dye many plant organs such as flowers, fruits, seeds, leaves or tubers. Over the past 150 years, tracking flavonoid-related colour changes in plants has shaped the foundation of many modern biology questions. This includes ground-breaking discoveries such as Gregor Mendel’s law of inheritance (using white and purple pea flowers), Barbara McClintock’s identification of transposable elements (through her research on variably coloured maize kernels) or Carolyn Napoli’s description of co-suppression (based on her observations of altered and novel flower colouration in petunia). In recent decades, the intricate, diverse and finely tuned flavonoid pathway has been unravelled and the understanding of this pathway across various plant species owes much to the characterization of mutants disrupted in the biosynthesis, transport and storage of flavonoids that similarly displayed modified flower and seed pigmentation (Winkel-Shirley 2001; Koes et al. 2005; Lepiniec et al. 2006). The model plant A. thaliana provided a wealth of such mutants (transparent testa mutants, tt) exhibiting altered seedcoat colours (Fig. 1) (Koornneef 1990; Shirley et al. 1992; Lepiniec et al. 2006). Their characterization enabled researchers to associate genes or loci with flavonoid-related functions. However, although their visual and non-lethal phenotypes were easy to identify and offered insight into the disrupted gene functions, further investigation was required to confirm these functions. Beyond colour, to fully unravel this pathway, it has become essential to individually characterize the seed flavonoids, determine their spatial and temporal distribution, and their diversity. This laid the groundwork for validating locus functions, characterizing novel gene roles, and identifying as well as quantifying flavonoid accumulation in other plants".

Chemical interactions between plants and their environment: from the molecule to the field 23-25 September 2026 - IJPB, INRAE Ile-de-France - Versailles-Saclay The IJPB is organising the 3rd edition of its international symposium. Following the editions in 2018 and 2024, this event will take place in Versailles from 23 to 25 September 2026. Save the date! The IJPB Symposium 2026 is dedicated to "Chemical interactions between plants and their environment: from the molecule to the field", a booming research field in which IJPB develops integrative approaches bridging plant metabolism and its effect on biotic/abiotic interactions and vice versa. The symposium will comprise an opening lecture and four thematic sessions, each involving an international and an IJPB keynote speaker, as well as presentations from participants selected from submitted abstracts. The themes of each session are as follows: 1 - Identification/analysis of chemical signals involved in plant response to their environment  2 - Molecular and cellular mechanisms of chemical responses to biotic and abiotic stress: Perception and transduction of chemical signals 3 - Integration of chemical interactions in ecological communities and agroecosystems  4 - Agroecological innovations derived from the study of how plants interact with their environment This exciting meeting aims to foster collaborations and facilitate knowledge exchange among participants by bringing together renowned specialists in the field and a high level of interdisciplinary. The symposium will also feature a workshop on plant specialized metabolite analysis, conducted in collaboration with the Chemistry/Metabolism platform PO-Chem, and a tour of the Plant Facilities PO-Plants and the Phenoscope PO-Pheno, all three of which are part of the Plant Observatory (PO) of the IJPB. Ahead of the symposium, the ENVIE Network will hold its 5th plenary edition in Versailles from 21 to 23 September 2026, organised as part of a MULTISTRESS satellite workshop. We look forward to meeting you in Versailles! Further information will be available by November 2025. In connection with the research developed at the Institute Jean-Pierre Bourgin for Plant Sciences.

• LEC2 reprograms somatic epidermal cells into totipotent somatic embryo founder cells • LEC2 and SPCH co-activate local auxin biosynthesis by targeting TAA1 and YUC4 • GMC-auxin state marks stomatal cells shifting from differentiation to totipotency • Transcriptional rewiring and auxin signaling drive reprogramming of stomatal cells

  "ABA response is tightly modulated by nitrogen nutrition   NRT1.1B acts as a dual receptor to competitively bind ABA and nitrate   NRT1.1B-SPX4-NLP4 cascade underlies ABA signaling from the plasma membrane to the nucleus   NRT1.1B integrates compound environmental cues across different species in plants"

"Interspecific hybridization may trigger species radiation by creating allele combinations and traits. Cultivated potato and its 107 wild relatives from the Petota lineage all share the distinctive trait of underground tubers, but the underlying mechanisms for tuberization and its relationship to extensive species diversification remain unclear. Through analyses of 128 genomes, including 88 haplotype-resolved genomes, we revealed that Petota is of ancient hybrid origin, with all members exhibiting stable mixed genomic ancestry, derived from the Etuberosum and Tomato lineages ca. 8-9 million years ago. Our functional experiments further validated the crucial roles of parental genes in tuberization, indicating that interspecific hybridization is a key driver of this innovative trait. This trait, along with the sorting and recombination of hybridization-derived polymorphisms, likely triggered the explosive species diversification of Petota by enabling occupation of broader ecological niches. These findings highlight how ancient hybridization fosters key innovation and drives subsequent species radiation."

A single-cell multi-omics atlas of rice is revealed, providing insight into cell-type functions and molecular programs.

Seed development in Arabidopsis thaliana is largely controlled by a set of transcription factors (TFs) called LAFL, including LEAFY COTYLEDON 2 (LEC2). In this study, we investigated the structure/function relationships of the protein LEC2 outside the well-described B3 DNA-binding domain. The results presented here unveil the presence of transcription activation domains (ADs) within the unstructured ends of the protein that are conserved in eudicots. Expression in both yeast and moss protoplasts of deleted and mutated versions of LEC2 confirmed the transcriptional activity of these ADs. Surprisingly, the expression of LEC2 variants lacking their ADs restored a wild-type seed phenotype in lec2 mutant, showing that these ADs are not essential for LEC2 function in seed development. Moreover, ZmAFL2/ZmABI19, a maize B3 factor related to LEC2 but deprived of N-ter AD, can also complement lec2 seed phenotype and induce abnormal vegetative development when overexpressed in Arabidopsis, supporting this observation. This work suggests that LEC2 can act both as a classical transcriptional activator or without transactivation activity, probably through its interaction with the pioneer factor LEC1. Taken together, the results provide important insights into the function of the LAFL master regulators during seed development, from cell differentiation to storage accumulation in seed.   https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70380

Les OGM sont-ils sûrs ? Ont-ils des effets néfastes à long terme sur la santé ? Il y a treize ans, l’étude Séralini l’affirmait, avant d’être rétractée. Aujourd’hui, une recherche de long terme menée ...

Les plantes dans un environnement à fort CO2 : contraintes et opportunités Ce colloque vise à dresser un état des connaissances et des enjeux de l'influence exercée par l’élévation du CO2 atmosphérique sur le monde végétal.   Inscriptions à venir ! Colloque académique destiné à un public scientifique ou non scientifique éclairé. Le dérèglement climatique engendré par l’élévation du CO2 atmosphérique et autres gaz à effet de serre aggrave les contraintes abiotiques exercées sur les plantes : sécheresse, chaleur, événements climatiques extrêmes, mettant en danger leur productivité et même leur survie. Par ailleurs, et de manière singulière par rapport aux autres organismes vivants, une concentration plus élevée de CO2 stimule la croissance de la plupart des végétaux, du fait d’une photosynthèse accrue. Cet effet positif, dénommé « fertilisation CO2 », a également un impact important sur le transfert de carbone dans les sols, les plantes contribuant ainsi à l’atténuation du changement climatique.  Organisé conjointement par l'Académie des sciences et l'Académie d'agriculture de France, ce colloque abordera l’état des connaissances multidisciplinaires dans ces domaines et fera la synthèse des contraintes et opportunités que représente pour les plantes et les agroécosystèmes associés une élévation du CO2 atmosphérique.   Organisateurs Christophe Maurel, membre de l'Académie des sciences, directeur de recherche au CNRS, directeur de l'Institut des sciences des plantes de Montpellier (IPSiM - CNRS/Inrae/Université de Montpellier) Alain Gojon, membre correspondant de l’Académie d’agriculture de France, directeur de recherche honoraire d’Inrae, ancien directeur (2012-2020) du laboratoire de Biochimie et physiologie moléculaire des plantes (B&PMP - CNRS/Inrae/Université de Montpellier/Institut Agro),  devenu l’Institut des sciences des plantes de Montpellier (IPSiM). Philippe Gate, membre de l’Académie d’agriculture de France, ex-directeur scientifique d’Arvalis-Institut du végétal (2009-2021)   Intervenants (programme détaillé à venir) Marie-Odile Bancal, maître de conférences à AgroParisTech, laboratoire Écologie fonctionnelle et écotoxicologie des agroécosystèmes (Ecosys – Université Paris-Saclay/Inrae/AgroParisTech) Claire Chenu, membre correspondant de l’Académie d’agriculture de France, membre de l’Académie des technologies, directrice de recherche à Inrae, professeure consultante à AgroParisTech, laboratoire Écologie fonctionnelle et écotoxicologie des agroécosystèmes (Ecosys – Université Paris-Saclay/Inrae/AgroParisTech) Philippe Ciais, membre de l’Académie des sciences, membre de l'Académie d'agriculture de France, directeur de recherche au CEA, Laboratoire des sciences du climat et de l’environnement (LSCE - CEA/CNRS/Université Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) de l’Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace. Pierre Crozet, maître de conférences à Sorbonne Université, laboratoire de Biologie computationnelle, quantitative et synthétique (CQSB – CNRS/Sorbonne Université) Meije Gawinowski, chargée de recherche à Inrae, laboratoire Écologie fonctionnelle et écotoxicologie des agroécosystèmes (Ecosys – Université Paris-Saclay/Inrae/AgroParisTech) Xenie Johnson, directrice de recherche au CEA, responsable adjointe de l’équipe Photosynthèse et Environnement Nathalie Leonhardt, directrice de recherche au CEA, responsable de l’équipe Plant Environmental Physiology and Stress Signaling (PEPSS), Institut Biosciences et Biotechnologies d'Aix - Marseille (BIAM – Aix-Marseille Université/CEA/CNRS) David Makowski, directeur de recherche, Inrae/AgroParisTech/Université Paris-Saclay, Département AgroEcosystem Antoine Martin, directeur de recherche au CNRS, responsable de l’équipe Signalisation nitrate et régulation par l’environnement (Sirene), Institut des sciences des plantes de Montpellier (IPSiM – CNRS/Inrae/Université de Montpellier)