“Transposable elements as key drivers of gene expression evolution in plants”
Our research aims at deciphering the mechanisms that control TE activity in plants and analyzing the impact of TEs in plant genome evolution. Our main projects at present aim at uncovering the mechanisms of retrotransposon target site selection, the impact of TEs in the structure of crop genomes such as peach and almond, and on the evolution of transcriptional regulation and adaptation in rice. In this talk, after a brief introduction on the importance of TEs for plant genomes, I will discuss recent data on the impact of TEs on rice trait variability and on the selection of TE insertions affecting gene expression accompanying the domestication and adaptation of rice varieties.
Some recent works:
– Castanera R, Vendrell-Mir P, Bardil A, Carpentier MC, Panaud O, Casacuberta JM. Amplification dynamics of miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements and their impact on rice trait variability. Plant J. 2021 Jul;107(1):118-135.
– Alioto et al. Transposons played a major role in the diversification between the closely related almond and peach genomes: results from the almond genome sequence. Plant J. 2020 Jan;101(2):455-472.
