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Legumes form root nodules that can contain a huge number of beneficial bacteria. Members of TULIP from the Laboratory of Plant-Microbe Interactions (LIPM, UMR INRAE / CNRS) demonstrated in an article published in Current Biology in January 2020 that these symbiotic nodular organs are vulnerable to pathogen infection and that their defense program is affected. However, their results also indicate that the pathogen is restricted in specific areas of the nodules, thereby preventing it from spreading to non-symbiotic parts of the plant.

In a recent article published in December 2019 in Current Biology, researchers from the Plant Science Research Laboratory (LRSV - UMR University of Toulouse / CNRS / UPS) and the Station of Theoretical and Experimental Ecology (SETE - UMR CNRS / UPS) propose a guide for structuring comparative biology approaches with the aim of understanding plant diversity.

In a new study published in Nature, a group of researchers including ornithologists, evolutionary biologists and mathematicians with participations of researchers from the University of Paul Sabatier (EDB Laboratory UMR 5174 CNRS UPS IRD) quantified, for the first time, the dependence of colonization, speciation, and extinction processes on the area and isolation of the island.

Since plants started to live on lands 450 million years ago, they have evolved multiple beneficial symbiotic associations with their microbiota. In its most intimate form, certain beneficial microbes are hosted inside the cells of the plant. In a recent article published in the journal Nature Plants, researchers from the Plant Science Research Laboratory (LRSV) involved in TULIP and their colleagues from five other countries analysed the genome sequence of more than 400 plant species and discovered a common genetic basis for all these symbiosis, reinforcing the idea of a common origin.

In an article published in May 2020, several researchers from the Host-Pathogen-Environment Interactions unit (UMR 5244 UPVD, CNRS, Ifremer, UM), provide the first complete transcriptomic analysis of innate immune priming in Crassostrea gigas, an oyster of commercial interest. They reveal that the protection is based on regulation of the immune genes that control subsequent viral infection by conferring an enhanced immunity for 4 months.

The detection of ethylene and ethanol is important for the germination, growth and development of the plant. Two articles published in the journals Plant Science and Horticulture Research increase our knowledge on this detection and the induced responses. These articles are the result of a collaboration between researchers from the Genomics and Biotechnology of Fruit unit (UMR 990 INRAE / ENSAT) and Brad Binder (University of Tennessee), a researcher whom they were able to invite thanks to a TULIP "Visiting Scientist" grant.

Global warming is pushing many animal and plant species to migrate to more favorable environments. According to a study conducted by the EDB laboratory (UMR CNRS/UPS/IRD) and SETE (UPR CNRS), researchers have found that marine species adapt more quickly than their terrestrial counterparts. The two research units, components of the TULIP LabEx, published their results in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution in May.

What if the trophic cascade mechanism was not just a matter of species? A team of researchers from EDB (UMR CNRS/UPS/IRD) has demonstrated the extent to which phenotype variations within species can influence the intensity of trophic cascades. How? By organizing a large banquet on broad beans, with special guests such as ladybug larvae and aphids adapted to alfalfa or clover.

For plants, adaptation means having the ability to evolve their genome. With the rapid changes in their environments, plants are struggling to keep up with this frantic pace: the rapid evolution of genes is, therefore, a major challenge. In a study notably conducted by the LGDP (UMR CNRS/UPVD), researchers have shown the possibility of accelerating the duplication of chromosome portions, which promotes the evolution and adaptability of plants.

An international study conducted on the Arabidopsis thaliana plant shows that the PMD/PP7L protein complex, formed by the interaction of the MAIN and MAIL1 proteins with the PP7L protein (a phosphoprotein phosphatase), is an essential link in the repression of transposable elements (TEs) and the correct expression of genes. This mechanism thus makes it possible to preserve cellular integrity. The results of this research, notably conducted by the LGDP (UMR CNRS/UPVD), were published in April 2020 in the journal PLoS Genetics.