Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Feng Xiong

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Feng Xiong, co-first author of IMPORTIN β4 mediates nuclear import of GIFs to control ovule development in Arabidopsis

Current Position: Ph.D. student in State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, China

Education: M.S. in State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, College of Life Sciences, Shandong Agricultural University, China

Non-scientific Interests: Reading, playing basketball and watching movies.

Brief Bio: Starting from my graduate study, I‘ve developed interests in understanding the molecular function of RNA-splicing factors in plants. After I finished my M.S. study, I transferred to the group of Prof. Yan Zhang at Shandong Agricultural University as a PhD student. My current projects are focused on understanding how RNA splicing apparatus affects embryogenesis in Arabidopsis and how plant reproductive development is regulated by importin family members. In this Plant Physiology paper, we demonstrated a key role of IMPORTIN β4 in integument growth. Furthermore, we showed that the transcriptional co-activator GRF-INTERACTING FACTORS (GIFs) rely on IMB4 for their nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. Our work uncovers a novel genetic pathway regulating ovule development and reveals the upstream regulator of GIFs.

姓名：熊峰

职位：山东农业大学生命科学学院，作物生物学国家重点实验室，博士研究生

教育经历：2017年至今，山东农业大学细胞生物学，博士研究生

兴趣爱好：阅读，打篮球，看电影

个人简介：在研究生期间，我对植物剪接复合体的分子及生物学功能产生了浓厚的兴趣，并开始了相关的研究。在完成了硕士阶段的学习后，我转入山东农业大学张彦教授实验室开始进行博士阶段的学习。目前，我主要从事以下两个方向的研究：1，植物剪接复合体是如何调控胚形态建成的。2，核输入蛋白IMPORTIN家族成员如何调控植物的有性生殖。在我们最近的一项研究中，我们发现核输入蛋白IMPORTIN β4 可以通过介导GRF-INTERACTING FACTORS (GIFs) 的入核进而调控拟南芥胚珠外层珠被的发育。未来，我希望能继续从事植物科学方面的研究，尤其是对植物胚形态建成相关调控机制的研究。