Nelissen Hilde

Nelissen Hilde - Group leader
Joined the group in 1997

My research career has focused on the central biological question: How do growth processes determine final plant organ size? Initially, I approached this using molecular biology studying Arabidopsis leaf development. As my interest shifted towards applied research, I redirected my focus to maize. What started as translational research to bring knowledge from Arabidopsis to crops and from the lab to the field, gradually developed into a research line with the goal to decipher the instructor networks that govern leaf size, organ growth and ultimately yield in maize. Because plant organ size control is an important yield component that is also severely impacted by climate change, our ultimate goal is to deepen our understanding of the growth-regulatory networks to enhance our success rate to achieve climate-resilient crops.

As lecturer of ‘Plant Research Technologies’ and ‘Plant Yield’ within the Advanced Master in Plant Biotechnology, I get the opportunity to enthuse Master students about the possibilities of plant biotechnology to change agriculture.

My team and I set out to create an inclusive atmosphere that stimulates critical thinking, creativity, team work, personal development, job satisfaction, personal fulfillment, mutual respect, scientific transparency and research ethics.

66. Maize mutant screens: from classical methods to new CRISPR‐based approaches

Christian Damian Lorenzo, David Blasco‐Escámez, Arthur Beauchet, Pieter Wytynck, Matilde Sanches, Jose Rodrigo Garcia del Campo, Dirk Inzé, Hilde Nelissen

(2024) - New Phytologist

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65. Best practices for the execution, analysis, and data storage of plant single-cell/nucleus transcriptomics

Carolin Grones, Thomas Eekhout, Dongbo Shi, Manuel Neumann, Lea S Berg, Yuji Ke, Rachel Shahan, Kevin L Cox, Jr, Fabio Gomez-Cano, Hilde Nelissen, Jan U Lohmann, Stefania Giacomello, Olivier C Martin, Benjamin Cole, Jia-Wei Wang, Kerstin Kaufmann, Michael T Raissig, Gergo Palfalvi, Thomas Greb, Marc Libault, Bert De Rybel

(2024) - The Plant Cell

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64. MINI‐AC: inference of plant gene regulatory networks using bulk or single‐cell accessible chromatin profiles

Nicolás Manosalva Pérez, Camilla Ferrari, Julia Engelhorn, Thomas Depuydt, Hilde Nelissen, Thomas Hartwig, Klaas Vandepoele

(2024) - The Plant Journal

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63. PhenoWell®—A novel screening system for soil‐grown plants

Ji Li, Michael A. C. Mintgen, Sam D'Haeyer, Anne Helfer, Hilde Nelissen, Dirk Inzé, Stijn Dhondt

(2023) - Plant-Environment Interactions

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62. Combining multiplex gene editing and doubled haploid technology in maize

Lennert Impens, Christian D. Lorenzo, Wout Vandeputte, Pieter Wytynck, Kevin Debray, Jari Haeghebaert, Denia Herwegh, Thomas B. Jacobs, Tom Ruttink, Hilde Nelissen, Dirk Inzé, Laurens Pauwels

(2023) - New Phytologist

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61. Cytokinin Promotes Jasmonic Acid Accumulation in the Control of Maize Leaf Growth

Aimee N. Uyehara, Angel R. Del Valle-Echevarria, Charles T. Hunter, Hilde Nelissen, Kirin Demuynck, James F. Cahill, Zachary Gorman, Georg Jander, Michael G. Muszynski

(2023) - Plants

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60. BREEDIT: a multiplex genome editing strategy to improve complex quantitative traits in maize

Christian Damian Lorenzo, Kevin Debray, Denia Herwegh, Ward Develtere, lennert impens, Dries Schaumont, Wout Vandeputte, Stijn Aesaert, Griet Coussens, Yara De Boe, Kirin Demuynck, Tom Van Hautegem, Laurens Pauwels, Thomas B. Jacobs, Tom Ruttink, Hilde Nelissen, Dirk Inzé

(2023) - The Plant Cell

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59. Burning questions for a warming and changing world: 15 unknowns in plant abiotic stress

Paul Verslues, Julia Bailey-Serres, Craig Brodersen, Thomas N. Buckley, Lucio Conti, Alexander Christmann, Jose Dinneny, Erwin Grill, Scott Hayes, Robert W Heckman, Po-Kai Hsu, Thomas Juenger, Paloma Mas, Teun Munnik, Hilde Nelissen, Lawren Sack, Julian Schroeder, Christa Testerink, Stephen Tyerman, Taishi Umezawa, Philip Anthony Wigge

(2023) - The Plant Cell

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58. Monitoring of drought stress and transpiration rate using proximal thermal and hyperspectral imaging in an indoor automated plant phenotyping platform.

Mertens S, Verbraeken L, Sprenger H, De Meyer S, Demuynck K, Cannoot B, Merchie J, De Block J, Vogel JT, Bruce W, Nelissen H, Maere S, Inzé D, Wuyts N

(2023) - Plant methods

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57. Spatial transcriptomics of a lycophyte root sheds light on root evolution.

Yang X, Poelmans W, Grones C, Lakehal A, Pevernagie J, Van Bel M, Njo M, Xu L, Nelissen H, De Rybel B, Motte H, Beeckman T

(2023) - Current biology : CB

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56. Predicting yield of individual field-grown rapeseed plants from rosette-stage leaf gene expression.

De Meyer S, Cruz DF, De Swaef T, Lootens P, De Block J, Bird K, Sprenger H, Van de Voorde M, Hawinkel S, Van Hautegem T, Inzé D, Nelissen H, Maere S

(2023) - PLoS computational biology

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55. MINI-AC: Inference of plant gene regulatory networks using bulk or single-cell accessible chromatin profiles

Manosalva Pérez N, Ferrari C, Engelhorn J, Depuydt T, Nelissen H, Hartwig T, Vandepoele K

(2023) -

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54. The cutting edge of grass leaves.

Zhang J, Nelissen H

(2023) - Nature plants

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53. Improving crop yield potential: Underlying biological processes and future prospects

Alexandra J Gibbs, Céline Masclaux-Daubresse, Guenter Strittmatter, Weber APM, Samuel Taylor, Jeremy Harbinson, Xinyou Yin, Stephen Long, Matthew Paul, Peter Westhoff, Francesco Loreto, Aldo Ceriotti, Mathias Pribil, Philippe Nacry, Lars Scharff, Poul Erik Jensen, BERTRAND MULLER, Jean-Pierre COHAN, John Foulkes, Peter Rogowsky, Philippe Debaeke, Christian Meyer, Hilde Nelissen, Dirk Inzé, René Klein Lankhorst, Martin Parry, Erik Murchie, Alexandra Baekelandt

(2023) - Food and Energy Security

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52. Increasing yield on dry fields: molecular pathways with growing potential

Rubén Tenorio Berrío, Hilde Nelissen, Dirk Inzé, Marieke Dubois

(2022) - The Plant Journal

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51. The translatability of genetic networks from model to crop species: lessons from the past and perspectives for the future

Dirk Inzé, Hilde Nelissen

(2022) - New Phytologist

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50. Modeling reveals posttranscriptional regulation of GA metabolism enzymes in response to drought and cold.

Band LR, Nelissen H, Preston SP, Rymen B, Prinsen E, AbdElgawad H, Beemster GTS

(2022) - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

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49. Modulation of the DA1 pathway in maize shows that translatability of information from Arabidopsis to crops is complex.

Gong P, Demuynck K, De Block J, Aesaert S, Coussens G, Pauwels L, Inzé D, Nelissen H

(2022) - Plant science : an international journal of experimental plant biology

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48. Mini-Review: Transgenerational CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing in Plants.

Impens L, Jacobs TB, Nelissen H, Inzé D, Pauwels L

(2022) - Frontiers in genome editing

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47. An in situ sequencing approach maps PLASTOCHRON1 at the boundary between indeterminate and determinate cells.

Laureyns R, Joossens J, Herwegh D, Pevernagie J, Pavie B, Demuynck K, Debray K, Coussens G, Pauwels L, Van Hautegem T, Bontinck M, Strable J, Nelissen H

(2022) - Plant physiology

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46. SAMBA controls cell division rate during maize development.

Gong P, Bontinck M, Demuynck K, De Block J, Gevaert K, Eeckhout D, Persiau G, Aesaert S, Coussens G, Van Lijsebettens M, Pauwels L, De Jaeger G, Nelissen H

(2022) - Plant physiology

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45. Identification of growth regulators using cross-species network analysis in plants

Pasquale Luca Curci, Jie Zhang, Niklas Mähler, Carolin Seyfferth, Chanaka Mannapperuma, Tim Diels, Tom Van Hautegem, David Jonsén, Nathaniel Street, Torgeir R Hvidsten, Magnus Hertzberg, Ove Nilsson, Dirk Inzé, Hilde Nelissen, Klaas Vandepoele

(2022) - Plant Physiology

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44. A forward genetics approach integrating genome‐wide association study and expression quantitative trait locus mapping to dissect leaf development in maize (Zea mays)

Mara Miculan, Hilde Nelissen, Manel Ben Hassen, Fabio Marroni, Dirk Inzé, Mario Enrico Pè, Matteo Dell’Acqua

(2021) - The Plant Journal

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43. Root engineering in maize by increasing cytokinin degradation causes enhanced root growth and leaf mineral enrichment.

Ramireddy E, Nelissen H, Leuendorf JE, Van Lijsebettens M, Inzé D, Schmülling T

(2021) - Plant molecular biology

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42. Drought affects the rate and duration of organ growth but not inter-organ growth coordination.

Verbraeken L, Wuyts N, Mertens S, Cannoot B, Maleux K, Demuynck K, De Block J, Merchie J, Dhondt S, Bonaventure G, Crafts-Brandner S, Vogel J, Nelissen H

(2021) - Plant physiology

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41. The dynamics of maize leaf development: Patterned to grow while growing a pattern.

Strable J, Nelissen H

(2021) - Current opinion in plant biology

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40. An RNA in situ hybridization protocol optimized for monocot tissue.

Zöllner NR, Bezrutczyk M, Laureyns R, Nelissen H, Simon R, Frommer WB

(2021) - STAR protocols

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39. Proximal Hyperspectral Imaging Detects Diurnal and Drought-Induced Changes in Maize Physiology.

Mertens S, Verbraeken L, Sprenger H, Demuynck K, Maleux K, Cannoot B, De Block J, Maere S, Nelissen H, Bonaventure G, Crafts-Brandner SJ, Vogel JT, Wuyts N

(2021) - Frontiers in plant science

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38. Turgor-time controls grass leaf elongation rate and duration under drought stress.

Coussement JR, Villers SLY, Nelissen H, Inzé D, Steppe K

(2021) - Plant, cell & environment

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37. How grass keeps growing: an integrated analysis of hormonal crosstalk in the maize leaf growth zone

Dirk De Vos, Hilde Nelissen, Hamada AbdElgawad, Els Prinsen, Jan Broeckhove, Dirk Inzé, Gerrit T. S. Beemster

(2020) - New Phytologist

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36. From laboratory to field: yield stability and shade avoidance genes are massively differentially expressed in the field

Hilde Nelissen, Heike Sprenger, Kirin Demuynck, Jolien De Block, Tom Van Hautegem, Alex De Vliegher, Dirk Inzé

(2020) - Plant Biotechnology Journal

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35. Modification of the Expression of the Aquaporin ZmPIP2;5 Affects Water Relations and Plant Growth

Lei Ding, Thomas Milhiet, Valentin Couvreur, Hilde Nelissen, Adel Meziane, Boris Parent, Stijn Aesaert, Mieke Van Lijsebettens, Dirk Inzé, François Tardieu, Xavier Draye, François Chaumont

(2020) - Plant Physiology

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34. Using single-plant-omics in the field to link maize genes to functions and phenotypes.

Cruz DF, De Meyer S, Ampe J, Sprenger H, Herman D, Van Hautegem T, De Block J, Inzé D, Nelissen H, Maere S

(2020) - Molecular systems biology

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33. Tapping into the maize root microbiome to identify bacteria that promote growth under chilling conditions.

Beirinckx S, Viaene T, Haegeman A, Debode J, Amery F, Vandenabeele S, Nelissen H, Inzé D, Tito R, Raes J, De Tender C, Goormachtig S

(2020) - Microbiome

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32. Understanding plant organ growth: a multidisciplinary field.

Nelissen H, Gonzalez N

(2020) - Journal of experimental botany

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31. Comparative transcriptomics enables the identification of functional orthologous genes involved in early leaf growth.

Vercruysse J, Van Bel M, Osuna-Cruz CM, Kulkarni SR, Storme V, Nelissen H, Gonzalez N, Inzé D, Vandepoele K

(2019) - Plant biotechnology journal

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30. Source-Sink Regulation in Crops under Water Deficit.

Rodrigues J, Inzé D, Nelissen H, Saibo NJM

(2019) - Trends in plant science

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29. Unravelling the genetic basis of Fusarium seedling rot resistance in the MAGIC maize population: novel targets for breeding.

Septiani P, Lanubile A, Stagnati L, Busconi M, Nelissen H, Pè ME, Dell'Acqua M, Marocco A

(2019) - Scientific reports

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28. Functional analysis of Arabidopsis and maize transgenic lines overexpressing the ADP-ribose/NADH pyrophosphohydrolase, AtNUDX7.

Njuguna E, Coussens G, Neyt P, Aesaert S, Storme V, Demuynck K, Vanhaeren H, Dhondt S, Van Haver Y, Paul L, Inzé D, Nelissen H, Van Lijsebettens M

(2019) - The International journal of developmental biology

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27. Growth rate rather than growth duration drives growth heterosis in maize B104 hybrids

Kim Feys, Kirin Demuynck, Jolien De Block, Anchal Bisht, Alex De Vliegher, Dirk Inzé, Hilde Nelissen

(2018) - Plant, Cell & Environment

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26. GS^yellow, a Multifaceted Tag for Functional Protein Analysis in Monocot and Dicot Plants

Nienke Besbrugge, Jelle Van Leene, Dominique Eeckhout, Bernard Cannoot, Shubhada R. Kulkarni, Nancy De Winne, Geert Persiau, Eveline Van De Slijke, Michiel Bontinck, Stijn Aesaert, Francis Impens, Kris Gevaert, daniel van damme, Mieke Van Lijsebettens, Dirk Inzé, Klaas Vandepoele, Hilde Nelissen, Geert De Jaeger

(2018) - Plant Physiology

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25. Recent Trends in Plant Protein Complex Analysis in a Developmental Context.

Bontinck M, Van Leene J, Gadeyne A, De Rybel B, Eeckhout D, Nelissen H, De Jaeger G

(2018) - Frontiers in plant science

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24. The reduction in maize leaf growth under mild drought affects the transition between cell division and cell expansion and cannot be restored by elevated gibberellic acid levels.

Nelissen H, Sun XH, Rymen B, Jikumaru Y, Kojima M, Takebayashi Y, Abbeloos R, Demuynck K, Storme V, Vuylsteke M, De Block J, Herman D, Coppens F, Inzé D

(2017) - Plant biotechnology journal

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23. Altered expression of maize PLASTOCHRON1 enhances biomass and seed yield by extending cell division duration.

Sun X, Cahill J, Van Hautegem T, Feys K, Whipple C, Novák O, Delbare S, Versteele C, Demuynck K, De Block J, Storme V, Claeys H, Van Lijsebettens M, Nelissen H

(2017) - Nature communications

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22. Up-to-Date Workflow for Plant (Phospho)proteomics Identifies Differential Drought-Responsive Phosphorylation Events in Maize Leaves.

Vu LD, Stes E, Van Bel M, Nelissen H, Maddelein D, Inzé D, Coppens F, Martens L, Gevaert K, De Smet I

(2016) - Journal of proteome research

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21. Combined Large-Scale Phenotyping and Transcriptomics in Maize Reveals a Robust Growth Regulatory Network.

Baute J, Herman D, Coppens F, De Block J, Slabbinck B, Dell'Acqua M, Pè ME, Maere S, Nelissen H, Inzé D

(2016) -

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20. Overexpression of GA20-OXIDASE1 impacts plant height, biomass allocation and saccharification efficiency in maize.

Voorend W, Nelissen H, Vanholme R, De Vliegher A, Van Breusegem F, Boerjan W, Roldán-Ruiz I, Muylle H, Inzé D

(2016) -

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19. Leaf growth in dicots and monocots: so different yet so alike.

Nelissen H, Gonzalez N, Inzé D

(2016) - Current opinion in plant biology

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18. Dynamic Changes in ANGUSTIFOLIA3 Complex Composition Reveal a Growth Regulatory Mechanism in the Maize Leaf

Hilde Nelissen, Dominique Eeckhout, Kirin Demuynck, Geert Persiau, Alan Walton, Michiel van Bel, Marieke Vervoort, Jasper Candaele, Jolien De Block, Stijn Aesaert, Mieke Van Lijsebettens, Sofie Goormachtig, Klaas Vandepoele, Jelle Van Leene, Michael Muszynski, Kris Gevaert, Dirk Inzé, Geert De Jaeger

(2015) - The Plant Cell

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17. RNA Interference Knockdown of BRASSINOSTEROID INSENSITIVE1 in Maize Reveals Novel Functions for Brassinosteroid Signaling in Controlling Plant Architecture

Gokhan Kir, Huaxun Ye, Hilde Nelissen, Anjanasree K. Neelakandan, Andree S. Kusnandar, Anding Luo, Dirk Inzé, Anne W. Sylvester, Yanhai Yin, Philip W. Becraft

(2015) - Plant Physiology

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16. Genetic properties of the MAGIC maize population: a new platform for high definition QTL mapping in Zea mays.

Dell'Acqua M, Gatti DM, Pea G, Cattonaro F, Coppens F, Magris G, Hlaing AL, Aung HH, Nelissen H, Baute J, Frascaroli E, Churchill GA, Inzé D, Morgante M, Pè ME

(2015) -

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15. Correlation analysis of the transcriptome of growing leaves with mature leaf parameters in a maize RIL population.

Baute J, Herman D, Coppens F, De Block J, Slabbinck B, Dell'Acqua M, Pè ME, Maere S, Nelissen H, Inzé D

(2015) -

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14. LEAF-E: a tool to analyze grass leaf growth using function fitting.

Voorend W, Lootens P, Nelissen H, Roldán-Ruiz I, Inzé D, Muylle H

(2014) -

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13. Translational research: from pot to plot.

Nelissen H, Moloney M, Inzé D

(2014) -

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12. Differential methylation during maize leaf growth targets developmentally regulated genes.

Candaele J, Demuynck K, Mosoti D, Beemster GT, Inzé D, Nelissen H

(2014) -

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11. Kinematic analysis of cell division in leaves of mono- and dicotyledonous species: a basis for understanding growth and developing refined molecular sampling strategies.

Nelissen H, Rymen B, Coppens F, Dhondt S, Fiorani F, Beemster GT

(2013) -

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10. Histone H2B monoubiquitination is required to reach maximal transcript levels of circadian clock genes in Arabidopsis.

Himanen K, Woloszynska M, Boccardi TM, De Groeve S, Nelissen H, Bruno L, Vuylsteke M, Van Lijsebettens M

(2012) -

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9. CORNET 2.0: integrating plant coexpression, protein-protein interactions, regulatory interactions, gene associations and functional annotations.

De Bodt S, Hollunder J, Nelissen H, Meulemeester N, Inzé D

(2012) -

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8. A local maximum in gibberellin levels regulates maize leaf growth by spatial control of cell division.

Nelissen H, Rymen B, Jikumaru Y, Demuynck K, Van Lijsebettens M, Kamiya Y, Inzé D, Beemster GT

(2012) -

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7. Plant Elongator regulates auxin-related genes during RNA polymerase II transcription elongation.

Nelissen H, De Groeve S, Fleury D, Neyt P, Bruno L, Bitonti MB, Vandenbussche F, Van der Straeten D, Yamaguchi T, Tsukaya H, Witters E, De Jaeger G, Houben A, Van Lijsebettens M

(2010) -

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6. Cytological investigations of the Arabidopsis thaliana elo1 mutant give new insights into leaf lateral growth and Elongator function.

Falcone A, Nelissen H, Fleury D, Van Lijsebettens M, Bitonti MB

(2007) -

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5. The Arabidopsis thaliana homolog of yeast BRE1 has a function in cell cycle regulation during early leaf and root growth.

Fleury D, Himanen K, Cnops G, Nelissen H, Boccardi TM, Maere S, Beemster GT, Neyt P, Anami S, Robles P, Micol JL, Inzé D, Van Lijsebettens M

(2007) -

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4. Impact of Core Histone Modifications on Transcriptional Regulation and Plant Growth

Hilde Nelissen, Tommaso Matteo Boccardi, Kristiina Himanen, Mieke Van Lijsebettens

(2007) - Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences

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3. The TORNADO1 and TORNADO2 genes function in several patterning processes during early leaf development in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Cnops G, Neyt P, Raes J, Petrarulo M, Nelissen H, Malenica N, Luschnig C, Tietz O, Ditengou F, Palme K, Azmi A, Prinsen E, Van Lijsebettens M

(2006) -

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2. The elongata mutants identify a functional Elongator complex in plants with a role in cell proliferation during organ growth.

Nelissen H, Fleury D, Bruno L, Robles P, De Veylder L, Traas J, Micol JL, Van Montagu M, Inzé D, Van Lijsebettens M

(2005) -

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1. DRL1, a homolog of the yeast TOT4/KTI12 protein, has a function in meristem activity and organ growth in plants.

Nelissen H, Clarke JH, De Block M, De Block S, Vanderhaeghen R, Zielinski RE, Dyer T, Lust S, Inzé D, Van Lijsebettens M

(2003) -

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