The main focus of the Cell Signaling group is to unravel the mechanisms behind cell-cell communication in plants.

Plant growth and development are regulated by interactions between the environment and endogenous developmental programs. The “Cell Signaling” lab is interested in identifying the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind signal transduction and cell-cell communication in plants. We use Arabidopsis thaliana, an ideal organism for integrative biology, genetics, and molecular investigations of signaling networks.

The plasma membrane plays a critical role in regulating exchanges between the intra- and extracellular milieu and in controlling cell-to-cell communication. The aim of our group is to understand what makes the plasma membrane unique with regard to other membrane compartments and as such competent for signaling. We want to understand how signaling domains are being defined at the plant plasma membrane, both at the level of the cell (e.g., polar domains) but also at the nanometer scale (e.g., membrane nanodomains). We also plan to address how these signaling domains evolve during the course of signaling and what are their functional roles during cell-cell communication.

Anionic phospholipids (e.g. phosphoinositides, PIPs) are minor lipids in membranes but they have a huge impact on cell signaling and organelle identity. They not only recruit proteins to specific cellular compartments, but they also deeply impact membrane biophysics properties. Furthermore, their production is tightly and dynamically regulated during development and interaction with the environment.

We now want to address :
 What are the anionic lipids involved in plasma membrane organization and how?
 What are the functions of anionic lipids and their interacting proteins in hormone signaling? (e.g. brassinosteroid and auxin signaling)
 How are anionic lipids orchestrating membrane trafficking and cell polarity?
How is anionic lipids homeostasis regulated by changes in the environment and contribute to plant adaptation

Main publications:

  • Lebecq A, Doumane M, Fangain A, Bayle V, Leong JX, Rozier F, Marques-Bueno MD, Armengot L, Boisseau R, Simon ML, Franz-Wachtel M, Macek B, Üstün S, Jaillais Y#, & Caillaud MC#. 2022. The Arabidopsis SAC9 enzyme is enriched in a cortical population of early endosomes and restricts PI(4,5)P2 at the plasma membrane. eLife, 11, e73837.
  • Noack LC, Bayle V, Armengot L, Rozier F, Mamode-Cassim A, Stevens FD, Caillaud MC, Munnik T, Mongrand S, Pleskot R, Jaillais Y#. 2021. A nanodomain-anchored scaffolding complex is required for the function and localization of phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase alpha in plants. Plant Cell May 19:koab135
  • Doumane M, Lebecq A, Colin L, Fangain A, Stevens FD, Bareille J, Hamant O, Belkhadir Y, Munnik T, Jaillais Y#, Caillaud MC#. 2021. Inducible depletion of PI(4,5)P2 by the synthetic iDePP system in Arabidopsis. Nature Plants7 587-597, 7(5):585-597
  • Marquès-Bueno MM, Armengot L, Noack LC, Bareille J, Rodriguez L, Platre MP, Bayle V, Liu M, Opdenacker D, Vanneste S, Möller BK, Nimchuk ZL, Beeckman T, Caño-Delgado AI, Friml J and Jaillais Y#. 2021. Auxin-Regulated Reversible Inhibition of TMK1 Signaling by MAKR2 Modulates the Dynamics of Root Gravitropism. Current biology, 31(1):228-237.e10
  • Platre MP, Bayle V, Armengot L, Bareille J, Marquès-Bueno M, Creff A, Maneta-Peyret L, Fiche JB, Nollmann M, Miège C, Moreau P, Martinière A, and Jaillais Y#. 2019. Developmental control of plant Rho GTPase nano-organization by the lipid phosphatidylserine. Science, 364(6435):57-62
  • Bayle V*, Fiche JB*, Burny C, Platre MP, Nollmann MP, Martinière A# and Jaillais Y#. Single-particle tracking Photo-Activated Localization Microscopy of membrane proteins in living plant tissues. Nature protocols. 2021. Feb 24. doi: 10.1038/s41596-020-00471-4.
  • Platre MP, Noack LC, Doumane M, Bayle V, Simon MLA, Maneta-Peyret L, Fouillen L, Stanislas T, Armengot L, Pejchar P, Caillaud MC, Potocky M, Copic A, Moreau P and Jaillais Y#. 2018. A combinatorial lipid code shapes the electrostatic landscape of plant endomembranes. Developmental Cell, 21;45(5):645-480.e11
  • Simon MLA, Platre MP, Marquès-Bueno MM, Armengot L, Stanislas T, Bayle V, Caillaud MC# and Jaillais Y#. 2016. A PI4P-driven electrostatic field controls cell membrane identity and signaling in plants. Nature Plants, 2:16089