This paper introduces AGR, a pipeline to infer paleogenomes from modern species by using inter-species chromosomal synteny and hierarchical clustering.

bioRxiv · Apr 16, 2026 · PreprintGenomics

Plant Mobile Domain protein-DNA motif modules counteract Polycomb silencing to stabilize gene expression

Thierry Pélissier, Lucas Jarry, Margaux Olivier, Gabin Dajoux, Marie-Noëlle Pouch-Pélissier, Charles Courtois, Julie Descombin, Nathalie Picault, Guillaume Moissiard, Olivier Mathieu

The paper shows that PMD-C proteins in Arabidopsis counteract Polycomb silencing by targeting specific DNA motifs to maintain gene expression.

Nature Plants · Oct 3, 2025Peer-reviewedPlant Biology

RTEL1 is required for silencing and epigenome stability

Margaux Olivier, Amy Hesketh, Marie-Noëlle Pouch-Pélissier, Thierry Pélissier, Ying Huang, David Latrasse, Moussa Benhamed, Olivier Mathieu

This study shows RTEL1 is essential for transcriptional silencing and maintaining epigenetic marks in Arabidopsis, with loss of RTEL1 leading to altered H3K27me3 and DNA methylation patterns.

Nucleic Acids Research · Jul 10, 2023Peer-reviewedGenomics

Crosstalk between H2A variant-specific modifications impacts vital cell functions

Anna Schmücker, Bingkun Lei, Zdravko J. Lorković, Matías Capella, Sigurd J Braun, Pierre Bourguet, Olivier Mathieu, Karl Mechtler, Frédéric Berger

The paper investigates how PTMs on H2A variants in Arabidopsis affect cell functions and DNA damage response through motif-specific cross-talk.

PLoS Genetics · Jun 4, 2021Peer-reviewedSynthetic Biology

The histone variant H2A.W and linker histone H1 co-regulate heterochromatin accessibility and DNA methylation

Pierre Bourguet, Colette Lafontaine Picard, Ramesh Yelagandula, Thierry Pélissier, Zdravko J. Lorković, Suhua Feng, Marie-Noëlle Pouch-Pélissier, Anna Schmücker, Steven E. Jacobsen, Frédéric Berger, Olivier Mathieu

This study shows that H2A.W and H1 co-regulate heterochromatin accessibility and DNA methylation in flowering plants by modulating H1 deposition and non-CG methylation.

Nature Communications · May 11, 2021Peer-reviewedGenomics

DNA polymerase epsilon is a central coordinator of heterochromatin structure and function in Arabidopsis

Pierre Bourguet, Leticia López‐González, Ángeles Gómez‐Zambrano, Thierry Pélissier, Amy Hesketh, Magdalena E. Potok, Marie-Noëlle Pouch-Pélissier, Magali Perez, Olivier Da Ines, David Latrasse, Charles I. White, Steven E. Jacobsen, Moussa Benhamed, Olivier Mathieu

This study shows that DNA polymerase epsilon subunit POL2A is essential for maintaining heterochromatin structure and function in Arabidopsis by preventing replicative stress and regulating epigenetic marks.

Genome biology · Nov 24, 2020Peer-reviewedGenomics