Seminars

Plants need to adapt to a myriad of combined signals coming from i) their environment and ii) their own metabolism [1]. Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) leading to these adaptations and signal integration are the central point of our research. Here, I will show that by focusing on Nitrate (NO3-) regulated transcription factors (TFs) and their genome wide activity, using a technique called TARGET (Transient Assay Reporting Genome wide Effect of Transcription factors[2]), we were able to identify several important signaling cross-talks between NO3-, Phosphate (PO43-)[3] and Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) pathways[4]. These studies open perspectives at the same time on i) applied biotechnology [since we discovered genotypes with an enhanced NO3- transport activity] [4], as well as on ii) basic understanding of large GRN function, dynamics[5], emerging properties, and topology in plants[6]. These recent works will be presented and discussed. Finally, I will present basic principles of machine learning and applied Artificial Intelligence to biological questions.