Molecular, genetic and developmental aspects of flower evolution
Aspects moléculaires, génétiques et développementaux de l'évolution de la fleur
Résumé
The first flower, that appeared around 250 million years ago, is generally seen as a key evolutionary innovation. Indeed, this reproductive structure is particularly efficient, in particular because it attracts pollinators, which ensures cross-pollination and the maintenance of genetic diversity important for species survival. The flower is, on the one hand, a robust structure at the intra-specific scale, since its organization does not vary within a single species, and on the other hand, a plastic structure at the inter-specific scale, since a very large diversity of floral morphologies can be found in flowering plants. The flower is highly evolvable, which fascinated Darwin who qualified the emergence and rapid radiation of flowering plants as an “abominable mystery”. Throughout my research career, I have studied flower evolution under its molecular, genetic and developmental aspects, using a wide range of approaches in different model species. During my PhD, I investigated the biochemical evolution of LEAFY, a key regulator of flower formation, but still present in other land plants that do not form flowers. During my post-doc, I got interested in the genetic and developmental basis for floral bauplan robutness, through the study of variable petal loss in Cardamine. Now, I am investigating the process of petal development in Petunia, and in particular the role of cell layers in petal final morphology. These different steps of my research career have given me a large vision on plant evolutionary and developmental processes.
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