Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Jiaqi Sun

Jiaqi Sun, first author of LUNAPARK Is an E3 Ligase that Mediates Degradation of ROOT HAIR DEFECTIVE3 to Maintain a Tubular ER Network in Arabidopsis

Current Position: Post-Doc Research Fellow, Biology Department, McGill University

Education: B. Sc. in Agriculture from Zhejiang University, China; Ph.D. in Cell Biology from McGill University, Canada

Non-scientific Interests: movie, running, cooking

Brief bio: I did my Ph.D in plant cell biology in the Zheng lab at McGill University, where I investigated the molecular mechanism of the formation of the tubular ER network in Arabidopsis. I am interested in the functional regulation of an ER membrane fusogen, RHD3. I dissected the functional meaning of different domains of RHD3 and found that the dimerization of RHD3 and the amphipathic helix in the C-terminal are required for the RHD3 mediated ER fusion. After my Ph.D, I continued my research as a post-doc in the Zheng Lab, further exploring the action and regulation of RHD3. I have identified that LUNAPARKs act as a new E3 ligase in mediating the degradation of RHD3 so to maintain the ER homeostasis. In the future, I would like to continue my study on the formation and maintaining of the functional ER morphology and their impact on cell development.