Jiajia He: Plant Physiology First Author

Jiajia He, first author of “ECERIFERUM1-6A is required for the synthesis of cuticular wax alkanes and promotes drought tolerance in wheat”

Current Position: Master Student, Northwest A&F University, Xianyang, China

Education: Northwest A&F University (Bachelor); Northwest A&F University (Master)

Non-scientific Interests: Running and travel

Brief Bio: I joined Dr. Yong Wang’s lab at Northwest A & F University in 2020. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the major crops cultivated globally, of which the surfaces of the aerial portions are covered with cuticular wax. The wax components mainly consisted of fatty alcohols, alkanes, and diketones. I mainly carried out the research on the biosynthesis and drought resistance mechanism of wax alkanes in wheat cuticle. We identified a key alkane biosynthesis gene TaCER1-6A from wheat. TaCER1-6A specifically catalyzed the biosynthesis of C27–C33 alkanes in wheat leaves and enhanced the drought resistance of wheat. Because the overexpression and knockout of TaCER1-6A did not affect the agronomic traits of wheat plants, TaCER1-6A could be used to generate new drought-tolerant wheat cultivars through a transgenic breeding strategy in the future.

 姓名：贺佳佳

目前职位：西北农林科技大学在读硕士研究生

教育背景：

硕士：西北农林科技大学

学士：西北农林科技大学

兴趣爱好：跑步，旅行

个人简介：

本人于2020年加入西北农林科技大学农学院汪勇副教授课题组。小麦是世界上栽培面积最大、产量最高的粮食作物之一，其植株表面覆盖着丰富的蜡质层，其组分主要包括：脂肪醇、烷烃和二酮。我主要开展小麦表皮蜡质烷烃的生物合成和抗旱机制的研究。我们从小麦中鉴定到一个新的烷烃合成基因TaCER1-6A。TaCER1-6A特异地催化小麦叶片蜡质C27–C33烷烃的生物合成，并能增强小麦的抗旱性。由于TaCER1-6A转基因系并不影响小麦的株型等农艺性状，暗示TaCER1-6A在小麦分子育种改良中选育高烷烃含量的小麦抗旱新品种起着重要的作用。