Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Keji Yu

Keji Yu, first author of VvLAR1 and VvLAR2 are bi-functional enzymes for proanthocyanidin biosynthesis in grapevine

Current Position: Ph.D. candidate, Center for Viticulture and Enology, China Agricultural University

Education: B.E. in Food Bioengineering, China Agricultural University

Non-scientific Interests: Tennis, music, stage performance

Brief bio: I am currently a Ph.D. candidate under the supervision of Prof. Changqing Duan at Center for Viticulture and Enology, China Agricultural University. Since I joined Duan Lab, I have been working on the biosynthesis of proanthocyanidins (PAs), a group of polyphenols that greatly affect the mouth-feel of red wine and have beneficial health effects for humans and ruminant animals. From Sep. 2017 to Dec. 2018, I visited Prof. Richard A. Dixon Lab as a joint Ph.D. student at BioDiscovery Institute, University of North Texas – this was great experience for me and we discovered a new PA extension unit precursor, as well as LAR1 and LAR2 activities for regulating the composition and degree of polymerization of PAs in grapevine. Hope our findings can provide new insights into wine grape breeding for ideal PA composition.

第一作者：于可济

目前职位：中国农业大学 葡萄与葡萄酒研究中心 在读博士

教育背景：中国农业大学 食品生物工程专业 工学学士

兴趣爱好：网球、音乐、表演

简介：我目前在中国农业大学葡萄与葡萄酒研究中心攻读博士学位，师从段长青教授，主要研究原花色素（PA, 又称缩合单宁）的生物合成。原花色素是一类多酚化合物，决定着红葡萄酒的口感（涩感、苦味），同时也有益于人类和反刍动物的健康。博士学习期间，我有幸以联合培养博士身份加入美国北德克萨斯大学BioDiscovery研究所Richard A. Dixon教授实验室完成了为期15个月的访问学习。期间，我们发现了一种新的PA延伸单元前体，同时证实了葡萄中两个LAR在调控PA组成和聚合度方面的双重功能。希望该工作的结果能为选育具有优质PA成分的酿酒葡萄提供新思路。