Ely Oliveira-Garcia: The Plant Cell First Author

Ely Oliveira-Garcia, first author of “Clathrin-mediated endocytosis facilitates the internalization of Magnaporthe oryzae effectors into rice cells”

Current Position:  Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology & Crop Physiology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Education: Ph.D., Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.

Non-scientific Interests:  Gardening, kayaking, travelling, reading, and helping friends.

Brief bio: After obtaining my PhD degree in Plant Pathology, I had the great opportunity to join the research group of Dr. Barbara Valent at the Department of Plant Pathology, Kansas State University, where I conducted research on the functional characterization of Magnaporthe oryzae effectors. Being fascinated by live-cell imaging and blast effector research, I moved to Louisiana State University, where I started my career as Assistant Professor of Plant-Pathogen Interactions in the Department of Plant Pathology & Crop Physiology. My current research focuses on the functional characterization of effector proteins of M. oryzae and on the incorporation of novel resistance genes against blast disease into LSU AgCenter rice breeding lines.

Hongtao Zhang: Plant Physiology First Author

Hongtao Zhang, first author of “XAP5 CIRCADIAN TIMEKEEPER regulates RNA splicing and the circadian clock by genetically separable pathways”

Current Position:

Ph.D. candidate in Plant Biology, University of California, Davis

Education:

2014 – 2018, B.S. in Biological Science, Peking University


Non-scientific Interests:

Soccer, tennis, karaoke, hiking

Brief Bio:

I am interested in the amazing abilities of plants to respond to various environmental signals. As a Ph.D. student in Dr. Stacey Harmer’s lab, I started to conduct my thesis research focusing on the regulation of the circadian clock in plants. The approximate 24-h circadian rhythms help organisms to anticipate daily fluctuating environmental conditions caused by the earth’s rotation. However, the molecular oscillator that drives the clock has not yet been fully understood. I am using a combination of transcriptomic, genetic and biochemical approaches to increase our understanding of post-transcriptional regulation of the clock function in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this current work, we demonstrate unexpected genetically separable roles of XAP5 CIRCADIAN TIMEKEEPER (XCT) in pre-mRNA splicing and the clock system. Our work may thus provide us with new insights into connections between these two fundamental biological processes.

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论文:

XAP5 CIRCADIAN TIMEKEEPER regulates RNA splicing and the circadian clock by genetically separable pathways

 第一作者:

张弘韬

教育经历:

2014 – 2018,北京大学,生物科学,学士

2018 – 今,加州大学戴维斯分校,植物生物学,在读博士


兴趣爱好:

足球,网球,音乐,远足

 

个人简介:

我热衷于植物响应环境信号相关机制的研究。自从进入UC Davis Stacey Harmer教授课题组攻读博士学位以来,我的研究课题主要围绕在植物昼夜节律的调控。受地球自转的影响,地表的环境也会相应的以24小时为周期发生变化。在漫长的自然演化过程中,绝大多数生物都出现了能够预测这种周期性变化的生物节律现象。然而,目前人们对生物节律背后分子机制的认识还只是冰山一角。通过综合运用转录组学,遗传学和生物化学等研究方法,我正致力于探索转录后修饰对于拟南芥生物钟功能的影响。在本文的工作中,我们揭示了XCT这一基因通过作用于不同通路,分别在信使RNA前体剪接和生物节律调控中扮演的重要角色。我们希望这项研究能够为人们理解这两项基本生物学过程之间的联系提供新的思路。

 

 

Weichao Huang: The Plant Cell First Author

Weichao Huang, first author of “Chlamydomonas mutants lacking chloroplast TRIOSE PHOSPHATE TRANSPORTER3 are metabolically compromised and light-sensitive”

Current Position: Assistant Professor, Faculty of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, China

Education: PhD in Phycology at University of Konstanz, Germany; MSc in Hydrobiology at Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

 

Non-scientific Interests: traveling, outdoor activities, movies, cooking.

Brief bio:

My research is focused on developing a more informed understanding of central metabolism in microalgae that can be applied to sustainable bioenergy technologies. My research topics range from initial carbon fixation by photosynthesis, through metabolite shuttling between chloroplasts and other subcellular compartments, to downstream bio-production pathways of the high value compounds in eukaryotic microalgae, such as lipids (transformed as biofuels, bioplastics, nutrient supplements), starch (transformed as novel food, bioethanol, bioplastics), β -1,3- glucan (transformed as immune supplements, functional foods, and beverages).

I am especially fascinated by the complicated metabolite trafficking network between different subcellular compartments, and how the network helps microalgae acclimate to the changing environments. As a postdoc with the support from Prof. Arthur Grossman, at Plant Biology Department, Carnegie Institution for Science, I initiated and worked on the analysis of metabolite trafficking between different subcellular compartments using the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model system. Our studies showed triose phosphate (triose-P)/phosphate (Pi) translocator 3 (TPT3) served as a major exporter for both fixed carbon and reductants between chloroplast and cytosol. This work provides strong foundation for studying the feature of the chloroplast transporters, the ways in which they are regulated, and how their functions are integrated in response to the changing environment. In addition to working on carbon trafficking, I also systematically analyzed the biosynthetic pathway of storage polysaccharide (named as chrysolaminarin) in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, which showed the key role for chrysolaminarin metabolism in chloroplast homeostasis, during my Ph.D., under the supervision of Prof. Peter Kroth at University of Konstanz.

I’m now an assistant professor at Faculty of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, and focus on a comprehensive analysis of subcellular metabolism, which provides new strategies for reprogramming metabolic pathways and enhancing the yield for the compounds of high value in microalgae.

姓名: 黄伟超

当前职位: 助理教授,深圳理工大学合成生物学院

教育背景: 博士在德国康斯坦茨大学,藻类学专业;硕士在中国科学院水生生物研究所,水生生物学专业

兴趣爱好: 旅游, 户外运动, 电影, 做饭.

简介:

我的研究长期目标是深入理解微藻中心碳与能量代谢及其适应多变自然环境的生物学机制,一直致力于微藻碳运输、分配、储藏及其对抗胁迫环境的研究。在卡内基研究所植物系做博后期间,在 Arthur Grossman教授的支持下,探究了绿藻莱茵衣藻亚细胞区室间代谢物运输机制,率先发现磷酸丙糖转运蛋白 3 (TPT3) 是叶绿体和细胞质之间固定碳和还原剂的主要输出渠道,揭示了微藻与陆生植物叶绿体碳转运体系的不同。此项工作为进一步解析微藻叶绿体糖转运网络及其调控机制奠定了基础。除了碳转运机制的研究,我在攻读博士学位期间,在康斯坦茨大学Peter Kroth 教授指导下,系统解析了三角褐指藻碳与能量储存及其调控机制的研究,揭示了液泡中储藏多糖代谢对维持叶绿体稳态的关键作用。

现为深圳理工大学合成生物学院助理教授,研究聚焦于全面解析亚细胞代谢途径及其与环境的响应机制,为重新编程微藻代谢途径和改善高附加值化合物产量提供新策略。

 

Nicholas Karavolias: Plant Physiology First Author

Nicholas Karavolias, first author of “Paralog editing tunes rice stomatal density to maintain photosynthesis and improve drought tolerance”

Current Position: Ph.D. candidate, UC Berkeley

Education: Bachelor of Science from Cornell University in Agricultural Sciences with a minor in plant breeding.

Non-scientific Interests: dancing, roller skating, visiting vintage markets, reading literary fiction

Brief bio:

My career in plants began with a love of food and farming. A child of restaurant owners and a grandchild of farmers, agriculture has always been in my narrative. I began exploring my own take on this generational pursuit by conducting research as an undergraduate at Cornell University where I worked in the lab of Susan McCouch. There, I studied rice aluminum tolerance using quantitative genetics approaches. After graduating, I was eager to continue exploring mechanisms to study genetics in crops and was especially eager to make use of the cutting-edge CRIPSR/Cas technology. Shortly thereafter, I found my way to the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley, a leading research hub for gene editing, where I have been working on my Ph.D. in plant biology.  I have been exploring how gene editing can be applied to crops for climate change adaptation. Our recent publication in Plant Physiology falls within this pursuit as we make use of CRISPR/Cas9 to edit genes associated with stomatal development with the goal of establishing increased drought resilience in rice. Beyond research, I also actively participate in advocacy and education towards the democratization of CRISPR technologies on the global stage. My goal is to enable the use of these tools in establishing a more equitable food system. I am grateful for the support of many incredible mentors, collaborators, and funding agencies in making my career possible.

Ju-Chen Chia: The Plant Cell First Author

Ju-Chen Chia, first author of “Loss of OPT3 function decreases phloem copper levels and impairs crosstalk between copper and iron homeostasis and shoot-to-root signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana

Current Position: Research Associate at Plant Biology Section, School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, USA

Education: Ph.D. in Biochemical Science and Technology & M.S. in Horticulture, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

 

Non-scientific Interests: Reading, knitting and crocheting

Brief bio:

I have always been fascinated by the resilience of plants and how they survive environmental changes. This translates to my research interests and long-term goals: to understand how plants react to stresses and use that knowledge to improve crop performance and achieve agricultural sustainability. During my Ph.D. program under the supervision of Dr. Rong-Huay Juang, I studied how plants cope with heavy metal stress, using Arabidopsis as a model. Continuing my research in metal homeostasis, I joined Dr. Olena K. Vatamaniuk’s group lab at Cornell University as a postdoc to understand the essential role of copper in plant fertility and the network that regulates copper delivery into the reproductive tissues. My research involves various tools like functional genomics, proteomics and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence. I found that SXRF is an excellent imaging system for analyzing the spatial distribution of elements. In collaboration with Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source and National Synchrotron Light Source II, we have developed methods at micro- and nanoscales for using SXRF in plant biology.

Xiangui Zhou: The Plant Cell First Author

Xiangui Zhou, co-first author of “Phosphorylation and ubiquitination of OsWRKY31 are integral to OsMKK10-2-mediated defense responses in rice”

Current Position: visiting scholar, Shenzhen university, China

Education:

2006-2010 BS in Huazhong agricultural university, Wuhan, China;

2010-2017 Ph. D in China agricultural university, Peking, China;

Non-scientific Interests: Basketball, Reading books, Writing

Brief bio:

I obtained my bachelor’s degree from Huazhong Agricultural University in 2010. In the same year, I entered the laboratory of Professor Guo Zejian of China Agricultural University for joined study of master and doctoral degree, where I was mainly engaged in researches on the interaction and phosphorylation between MAP kinase and WRKY transcription factor, and rice disease resistance. After graduation with a doctoral degree in 2017, I entered the laboratory of academician Deng Xingwang, Peking University to carry out post-doctoral research, in which my major research direction was the regulation and control of light and gravity on plant growth and development. At present, I continue to engage in the role of protein post-translational modifications in plant biotic and abiotic stress in Shenzhen University.

 

   名:周先贵

发表论文:Phosphorylation and ubiquitination of OsWRKY31 are integral to OsMKK10-2-mediated pathogen defense responses in rice

目前职位:访问学者 深圳大学

教育背景:2006-2010 华中农业大学 本科

2010-2017 中国农业大学 硕博连读

兴趣爱好:篮球,阅读,写作

个人简介:

我于2010年在华中农业大学获得本科学位,同年进入中国农业大学郭泽建教授实验室硕博连读,主要从事MAPK激酶与WRKY转录因子的相互作用和磷酸化以及水稻抗病研究。2017年博士毕业后,进入北京大学邓兴旺院士实验室开展博士后研究,主要研究方向为光和重力对植物生长发育的调控。目前在深圳大学继续从事蛋白翻译后修饰在植物生物胁迫和非生物胁迫中的作用研究。

Shuai Wang: The Plant Cell First Author

Shuai Wang, co-first author of “Phosphorylation and ubiquitination of OsWRKY31 are integral to OsMKK10-2-mediated defense responses in rice”

Current Position: Ph.D. at College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University,China

Education: M.A. at College of plant Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agricultural,China

Non-scientific Interests: Sports and Reading

Brief bio: The undergraduate and master level preliminary contact with molecular biology experiments, which gave me a strong interest in the molecular mechanism of plant disease resistance regulation. In 2017, I had the honor to be a doctoral student of Professor Guo Zejian, and began to engage in the research of rice WRKY transcription factors in regulating disease resistance. Our group identified OsWRKY31, a positive regulator of resistance to M. oryzae and found that OsWRKY31, OsMPK3 and OsMKK10-2 interact in the nucleus and function in a complex. Activation of OsMKK10-2 is able to increase the accumulation of jasmonic acid and salicylic acid, thereby enhancing M. oryzae resistance and inhibiting plant growth by reducing the level of indole-3-acetic acid. Whereas, as a downstream transcription factor of OsMKK10-2, knockout of OsWRKY31 impairs OsMKK10-2-mediated defense responses. Phosphorylated form of OsWRKY31 not only enhanced protein stability but also had high DNA binding activity and enhanced resistance to M. oryzae. Moreover, OsWRKY31 also undergo ubiquitination through the E3 ubiquitin ligase OsREIW1 to regulate the self- stability. Currently, I am studying for a PhD and my current research is to further explore the interactive response of OsWRKY31 in phosphorylation and ubiquitination in disease resistance, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the precise regulation of defense and growth balance.

姓名:王帅

目前职位:中国农业大学,博士研究生

教育经历:北京农学院,硕士

兴趣爱好:运动,阅读

个人简介:本科和硕士阶段初步接触分子生物学实验,使我对植物抗病调控的分子机理产生了浓厚的兴趣。2017年,我有幸成为郭泽建教授的博士研究生,开始从事水稻WRKY转录因子参与调控抗病性相关研究。我们课题组发现了一个对水稻稻瘟病菌抗性的正调控因子OsWRKY31,研究发现OsWRKY31、OsMPK3和OsMKK10-2以复合体形式互作于细胞核并发挥功能。OsMKK10-2的激活能够增加茉莉酸和水杨酸的积累,从而增强水稻稻瘟病菌抗性,并且通过降低吲哚-3-乙酸水平来抑制植株生长。而作为OsMKK10-2的下游效应因子,敲除OsWRKY31会损害OsMKK10-2介导的防御反应。拟磷酸化形式的OsWRKY31不仅增强了蛋白稳定性,还具有较高的DNA结合活性,并增强了对稻瘟病菌的抗性。此外, OsWRKY31还通过E3泛素连接酶OsREIW1发生泛素化作用以调控自身蛋白稳定性。目前,我正在攻读博士学位,我当前的研究是进一步探究OsWRKY31参与的磷酸化修饰与泛素化修饰在抗病过程中的交互应答,以期在精细调控防御和生长平衡方面取得更深入的了解。

Huan Long: Plant Physiology First Author

Huan Long, first author of “Structural and functional regulation of Chlamydomonas lysosome-related organelles in response to environmental changes” 

Current Position: Associate professor, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430072, China.

Education:

2005/09–2011/06, Ph.D. from Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China. (2009/09–2010/09, joint PhD student, University of Freiburg, Germany)

2001/09–2005/06, BSc. from Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.

(2003/03—2005/06, second BSc. from Wuhan University)

Non-scientific Interests: reading, cooking

Brief bio:

Since July 2011, I was engaged in the research of algae cell biology in the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. I joined Professor Sabeeha Merchant’s laboratory at UC Berkeley as a visiting scholar during July 2019 to July 2020. I mainly focus on the formation and function of subcellular organelles (such as cilia, ciliary ectosomes, lysosome-related organelles and gas vesicles), and the transformation mechanism of heavy metals by microalgae. This study first optimized a method for purifying lysosome-related organelles (LROs) from two populations of cells. It was proved that the LROs of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii are heterogeneous organelles, which have different morphology and protein composition in response to different environmental conditions. It was further proved that LROs is an important storage site and regulation center for the intracellular phosphorus and metal ions. These results provide a framework for studying the biogenesis of LROs and the mechanisms by which they participate in regulating metal ion metabolism, and provide a new direction for developing microalgae as a material for bioremediation of heavy metal pollution in the environment.

龙欢博士简介

论文:Structural and functional regulation of Chlamydomonas lysosome-related organelles in response to environmental changes

姓名:龙欢

当前职位:中国科学院水生生物研究所,副研究员

教育经历

2005.09–2011.06

华中农业大学,生物化学与分子生物学专业,理学博士

(其间:2009.09–2010.09  德国弗莱堡大学, 国家公派留学联合培养博士生)

2001.09–2005.06

华中农业大学生物技术专业国家理科基地班,理学学士

(其间:2003.03–2005.06  武汉大学法学院,法学学士<辅修>)

兴趣爱好:阅读、美食

个人简介:2011年7月至今,在中国科学院水生生物研究所从事藻类细胞生物学方向研究工作;其间于2019年7月至2020年7月在美国加州大学伯克利分校Sabeeha Merchant教授实验室做访问学者。主要研究细胞器(纤毛、纤毛囊泡、溶酶体相关细胞器、气囊等)的形成与功能及微藻对重金属的吸收和转化机理。本研究成功分离纯化了两种细胞状态下莱茵衣藻的溶酶体相关细胞器(LROs),证明衣藻LROs是一种异质性细胞器,其响应外界的不同环境具有不同的形态结构和蛋白组成;进一步证明LROs是固存胞内的磷和金属离子并调控其代谢的重要位点。研究结果为进一步研究LROs的形成及其调控金属离子代谢的机制打下基础,为研究微藻作为生物修复环境重金属污染的材料提供了新的方向。

Runaway transcription makes plants sensitive to heat stress

Kim et al. investigate the role of a heat shock protein in thermotolerance.

https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac351

By Minsoo Kim and Elizabeth Vierling at UMass Amherst

Background: Plants can survive heat stress by producing heat shock proteins (HSPs) that protect and rescue other proteins. One HSP, the ATP-dependent protein disaggregase HSP101, is essential for tolerance to severe heat. However, a semi-dominant mutation in HSP101 makes the protein toxic, so mutant plants cannot survive even a mild heat stress that does not require HSP101.

Questions: How does HSP101 work at the molecular level and what other players are important for heat stress tolerance? We isolated Arabidopsis mutant plants that suppress toxicity of this HSP101 mutant.

Findings: One suppressor mutant has a point mutation in CstF77, which functions in termination of gene transcription. Interestingly, the cstf77 mutant protein loses activity only at high temperatures when many HSPs, including HSP101, are produced. Thus, the cstf77 mutant cannot properly terminate transcription of the toxic HSP101. This results in lower accumulation of the toxic HSP101, which rescues sensitivity of the mutant plants to mild heat stress. However, the cstf77 mutation makes plants more sensitive to extreme heat stress because CstF77 is required for proper termination and expression of many genes important for heat stress tolerance.

Next steps: The activity of CstF77 appears limited to a small group of heat-induced genes during heat stress, and the mechanism responsible for this effect requires investigation. It is also important to identify other genes responsible for overcoming the toxic HSP101. Understanding molecular mechanisms of heat stress tolerance will allow us to engineer plants that are more resistant to heat stress.

Minsoo Kim, John Swenson, Fionn McLoughlin, and Elizabeth Vierling. (2023). Mutation of the polyadenylation complex subunit CstF77 reveals that mRNA 3’ end formation and HSP101 levels are critical for a robust heat stress response. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koac351