Thomas Blein

How plants adjust root growth, branching and nodulation to nutrient availability and environmental conditions, and how this plasticity supports adaptation to the soil. We combine genetics, quantitative imaging, phenotyping and transcriptomics to link root architecture to gene regulation, including non-coding RNAs.

How long non-coding RNAs control transcription, chromatin organisation and alternative splicing in plants. We identify their target genes and protein partners to understand their modes of action in development and environmental responses.

How long non-coding RNAs diverge across species and accessions despite weak sequence conservation, and which features—structure, expression, genomic position—are preserved. We combine comparative genomics, transcriptomics and functional approaches to understand how lncRNA evolution contributes to plant adaptation.

This project aims to explore the potential of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) to enhance rice resilience to climate change-induced stress. By using AI to analyze lncRNA patterns in rice and Arabidopsis, the goal is to identify key molecules involved in stress response and apply this knowledge to develop RNA-based solutions, like synthetic lncRNAs, to improve crop tolerance without genetic modification.

The first objective of this project is to characterize the roles of the CUC genes during Arabidopsis root development. The second objective is to establish the CUC gene regulatory network (GRN) and determine its possible modulation by the developmental context. The third objective is to determine to what extent the apparently diverse developmental roles of the CUC genes may in fact hide a unique still-to-identify fundamental role.

The multidisciplinary RESOLAT project aims to understand the impact of lncRNAs on the gene network regulating lateral root development in Brassicaceae. Using time-series RNA-seq data, we propose to reconstruct the gene regulatory network controlling lateral root development in eight Brassicaceae, integrating coding and non-coding genes (small and long).