Hsin-Hung Lin: Plant Physiology First Author

Hsin-Hung Lin, co-first author of “Maize Golden2-like transcription factors boost rice chloroplast development, photosynthesis and grain yield”

Current Position: Assistant Professor at Department of Horticulture and Biotechnology, Chinese Culture University, Taiwan.

Education: Ph.D. in Institute of Plant Biology, National Taiwan University, Taiwan; M.S. in Department of Botany, National Taiwan University, Taiwan; B.S. in Department of Horticulture, Chinese Culture University, Taiwan.

Non-scientific Interests: playing basketball, gardening, and traveling

Brief bio: I got my Ph.D. at the laboratory of Dr. Shih-Tong Jeng with extensive experiences in wound signaling pathways of sweet potato leaves. After completing my doctoral degree, I have been participating in the project on rice improvement under the supervision of Dr. Wen-Hsiung Li (Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica) and Dr. Maurice S. B Ku (Bioagricultural Science, National Chiayi University). Photosynthesis takes place in chloroplasts and is the most important metabolic process for plant growth and productivity. Therefore, we focus on engineering C₄-like photosynthesis in rice with a Kranz-type leaf anatomy to improve the photosynthetic efficiency and productivity. Golden 2-like (GLK) transcription factors are known as chloroplast development regulators in plants. In this study, a pair of maize GLK genes were transformed into rice genome under the control of their own promoters. As a result, rice chloroplast development is significantly increased in both mesophyll and bundle sheath cells, which boost photosynthesis efficiency, stress tolerance, and grain yield. This study takes a first step towards engineering C₄-like rice. You can find more information about me here: https://crfdhb.pccu.edu.tw/files/11-1116-11034-1.php?Lang=zh-tw