Liang Ma: The Plant Cell First Author

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Liang Ma, co-first author of “Phytochromes enhance SOS2-mediated PIF1 and PIF3 phosphorylation and degradation to promote Arabidopsis salt tolerance”

and

“SALT OVERLY SENSITIVE2 stabilizes phytochrome-interacting factors PIF4 and PIF5 to promote Arabidopsis shade avoidance”

Current Position: Postdoc, China Agricultural University, China

Education: Ph.D., China Agricultural University, China

Non-scientific Interests: Travelling, reading and sports

Brief bio:

During my doctoral and postdoctoral training under the supervision of Prof. Yan Guo, I have been engaged in exploring the signaling mechanisms underlying plant responses to saline-alkali stress. In particular, I have been exploring the interplay between light and salt stress pathways, an exciting project in collaboration with Prof. Jigang Li and his team. Our study demonstrated that photoactivated phyA/phyB can significantly enhance salt-induced SOS2 kinase, while the highly activated SOS2 phosphorylates PIF1 and PIF3 to facilitate their rapid turnover under salt stress in the light, thus relieving their repressive effect on plant salt tolerance. This study revealed the central role of the phy-SOS2-PIF module in balancing plant growth and salt tolerance when seedlings are emerging from salinity soil into sunlight, thus providing insights into the understanding of how plants adapt to salt stress according to their dynamic light environment. In the companion study by Han et al. (2023), on which I was the co-first author, we also uncovered that salt-activated SOS2 regulates the coordinated response of plants to salt stress and shade by modulating the phyB-PIF module. I will aim at improving plant saline-alkali tolerance in future research, and hope that my research will contribute to the breeding of new varieties of saline-alkali tolerant crops.

姓名：马亮

目前职位：中国农业大学 博士后

教育经历：中国农业大学 博士

兴趣爱好：旅游，阅读，运动

在郭岩教授的指导下，我博士及博士后期间一直从事植物响应盐碱胁迫信号转导机制的探究。尤其激动人心的一个课题是研究植物光信号和盐胁迫响应通路之间的交叉互作机制，该课题得到了李继刚教授及其团队的大力支持与指导。我们发现光激活的phyA/phyB能够显著增强盐胁迫诱导的SOS2激酶活性，而高活性的SOS2通过磷酸化PIF1/PIF3蛋白，促进其在光下降解，从而解除它们对植物耐盐的负调控作用。本研究揭示了phy-SOS2-PIF模块在平衡植物生长和耐盐过程中的关键调控作用，表明植物会根据不断变化的光环境调整其耐盐策略。此外，我作为共同第一作者发表在The Plant Cell的背靠背论文 (Han et al., 2023) 揭示了盐激活的SOS2通过调控phyB-PIF模块，介导植物对盐和遮荫双重胁迫的协同响应。在未来研究中我的目标是提高植物的耐盐碱能力，期望我的研究能为耐盐碱作物新品种的培育作出贡献。