Guillaume Tena

London

Senior Editor at Nature Plants

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Articles

Mycorrhizal CLE mimicry - Nature Plants

1 month ago | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

Since the discovery of systemin in tomato in the past century, small peptides have become ubiquitous in plant signalling pathways. Various families with increasingly funny names each contain dozens of individual peptides: PEP, RALF, CEP, IDA, PSK, PSY, SCOOP, SCREW and so on. The CLE family (named after CLV3 and ESR) consists of secreted peptides that are 12–14 amino acids in length, which are perceived locally or systemically by leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinases.
The sweet smell of ionones - Nature Plants

Mar 14, 2025 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

Unlike usual studies that use a single molecule, the team used freshly picked roses from ten different cultivars that are known for their strong perfumes. A panel of participants was asked to rate various sensory characteristics of the smell, and these quantified responses were associated with a precise gas chromatography analysis of the many hundreds of volatiles emitted by the flowers. The first emotional response was overwhelmingly positive.
Calcium beats for better crops - Nature Plants

Feb 13, 2025 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

The researchers characterized dominant mutations in two CNGC15 paralogues that enhanced root nodule symbiosis and nutrient acquisition. The resulting alterations are located in the first transmembrane helices, and probably induce a conformational rearrangement that influences channel opening. As a consequence, constitutive low-frequency calcium oscillations were observed in the nucleus even without Nod factors. The presence of high-frequency oscillations depended on DMI1.
Yoda screams again - Nature Plants

Dec 8, 2024 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

Symmetric cell divisions are boring; they only maintain or expand an existing tissue. The more interesting asymmetric divisions give rise to novel cell types with diverging fates. Two examples during Arabidopsis development have attracted the attention of researchers over the years. The first one marks the entry into the stomatal lineage, when the meristemoid mother cell divides to produce, at the end of the cycle, a pair of guard cells flanked by pavement cells.
Translation and cytokinin for robust shapes - Nature Plants

Oct 9, 2024 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

As with other biological processes, genetics can be used to disrupt and then understand these mechanisms. Assessing shapes carefully and quantitatively leads to the identification of mutants that have less-regular organs, displaying higher phenotypical variability. One of the organs that is now used as a model for this type of research is the tiny sepal that is produced during flower development in Arabidopsis to protect the delicate buds.
Share the meat | Nature Plants

Aug 13, 2024 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

Plants from the Drosera genus, commonly known as sundews, look like alien organisms from a vintage science-fiction film. Their modified leaves resemble tentacles with hundreds of translucent sticky glands perched on top of long stalks. What looks to insects like a drop of delicious nectar is in fact sticky mucilage filled with deadly digesting hydrolases. A recent study led by Isheng J.
No transgene needed - Nature Plants

Jul 16, 2024 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

One alternative approach is to create targeted genetic variability from within, with no need to transfer genes from other species. The best tool for this is CRISPR-based mutagenesis. Although the targets of mutations can be gene-coding sequences, a promising approach is to modify cis-regulatory sequences or promoters. This approach leads to fewer off-target, pleiotropic or epistasis unwanted perturbations, and can produce a wide range of quantitative phenotypes.
Loving salt | Nature Plants

Jun 16, 2024 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

The authors first show that high levels of salt spectacularly improve the growth of Salicornia bigelovii. The plant can accumulate impressive concentrations of ions in its tissues. Genome, transcriptome and membrane proteome were obtained and compared with other species, with a particular focus on the NHX family of sodium/proton antiporters.
Two steps beyond - Nature Plants

May 20, 2024 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

Zygnematophyceae are a class of freshwater green algae with a unique particularity: they are the closest living relatives of land plants. Both lineages separated about 550 million years ago. A first study recently published in Nature Genetics analyses the genomes of four strains of multicellular Zygnema algae. Comparison with other plant and algal genomes elucidates the evolutionary changes that have occurred, for example in enzymes involved in cell wall building and restructuring.
Interacting with both sides - Nature Plants

Apr 10, 2024 | nature.com | Guillaume Tena

Asymmetric division is a fundamental biological process that both ensures existing tissue maintenance and also creates new cell types. It is necessary to establish correct patterning, an important characteristic for stomata. In this lineage, many intracellular factors influence development, including receptors, MAP kinases, peptides, transcription factors, scaffolding proteins and so on.