Prof. Dr. George Coupland

We aim to understand how plants make the developmental decision to start producing flowers at the apex of the shoot and thereby initiate reproduction. Most plants in nature and in agriculture flower at defined times of year in response to environmental cues such as daylength or temperature. We use Arabidopsis thaliana and related perennial species to study how these environmental signals alter the shape and developmental identity of shoot meristems as the first step in forming flowers. Gene regulatory networks of transcription factors and microRNAs have been defined that act in shoot meristems to regulate flower development, and we study how these networks are activated by environmental cues or the age of the plant, and how they diverge during the evolution of annual and perennial life history. In addition, and of particular interest to CEPLAS, the activity of these networks is influenced by the availability of sugars, providing a direct link between carbon metabolism and developmental decision making.

1. Cerise M, Falavigna VD, Rodríguez-Maroto G, Signol A, Severing E, Gao H, van Driel A, Vincent C, Wilkens S, Iacobini FR, Formosa-Jordan P, Pajoro A, Coupland G (2023) Two modes of gene regulation by TFL1 mediate its dual function in flowering time and shoot determinacy of Arabidopsis. Development 150(23). doi: 10.1242/dev.202089.
2. Gao H, Song W, Severing E, Vayssieres A, Huettel B, Franzen R, Richter R, Chai J, Coupland G (2022) PIF4 enhances DNA binding of CDF2 to co-regulate target gene expression and promote Arabidopsis hypocotyl cell elongation. Nat Plants 8(9):1082-1093. doi: 10.1038/s41477-022-01213-y.
3. O'Maoileidigh DS, van Driel AD, Singh A, Sang Q, Le Bec N, Vincent C, de Olalla EBG, Vayssieres A, Romera Branchat M, Severing E, Martinez Gallegos R, Coupland G (2021) Systematic analyses of the MIR172 family members of Arabidopsis define their distinct roles in regulation of APETALA2 during floral transition. PLoS Biol 19(2):e3001043. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001043.
4. Kinoshita A, Vayssieres A, Richter R, Sang Q, Roggen A, van Driel AD, Smith RS, Coupland G (2020) Regulation of shoot meristem shape by photoperiodic signaling and phytohormones during floral induction of Arabidopsis. Elife 9. doi: 10.7554/eLife.60661.
5. Hyun Y, Vincent C, Tilmes V, Bergonzi S, Kiefer C, Richter R, Martinez-Gallegos R, Severing E, Coupland G (2019) A regulatory circuit conferring varied flowering response to cold in annual and perennial plants. Science 363(6425):409-412. doi: 10.1126/science.aau8197.