Prof. Dr. Raphaël Mercier

The capacity to reproduce and transmit genetic information is one of the few key features that define life. Both natural selection and breeding can optimize genetic information. They enable plants to adapt to the environment and confer beneficial characteristics for agriculture. The Department of Chromosome Biology aims to understand how genetic information is transmitted and modified through generations. A major focus of our research is meiosis and meiotic recombination.

1. Capilla-Pérez, L., Durand, S., Hurel, A., Lian, Q., Chambon, A. Taochy, C., Solier, V., Grelon, M., Mercier, R. (2021): The synaptonemal complex imposes crossover interference and heterochiasmy in Arabidopsis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.; 118: e2023613118.

2. Khanday, I., Skinner, D., Yang, B., Mercier, R., Sundaresan, V. (2019): A male-expressed rice embryogenic trigger redirected for asexual propagation through seeds. Nature; 565

3. Fernandes, J.B., Séguéla-Arnaud, M., Larchevêque, C., Lloyd, A.H., Mercier, R. (2018):Unleashing meiotic crossovers in hybrid plants. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A; 115:2431

4. Crismani, W., Girard, C., Froger, N., Pradillo, M., Santos, J.L., Chelysheva, L., Copenhaver, G.P., Horlow, C., Mercier, R. (2012): FANCM limits meiotic crossovers. Science; 336:1588–90.

5. D’Erfurth, I., Jolivet, S., Froger, N., Catrice, O., Novatchkova, M., Mercier, R. (2009): Turning meiosis into mitosis. PLoS Biol; 7:e1000124.