The colonization of emerged lands by plants around 500 million years ago, a process known as terrestrialization, marked a major turning point in the history of life. How did these organisms overcome the challenges of living outside water? What molecular and biochemical strategies enabled them to adapt to the constraints of the terrestrial environment?
The research led by Hugues Renault, head of the “Biochemistry of Evolution and Adaptation” team at IBMP, provides new insights into these fascinating questions. His work was recently highlighted in a popular science article published by the Journal du CNRS.
By studying the biochemical mechanisms that allowed the first land plants to break free from aquatic environments, his team explores how some ancestral adaptations persist in modern plants and contribute to their resilience in the face of environmental changes.
Photo credits: Antonio Morillas / Unsplash
