Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Lili Zhang

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Lili Zhang, first author of SEED CAROTENOID DEFICIENT Functions in Isoprenoid Biosynthesis via the Plastid MEP Pathway

Current Position: Technician, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests in the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Education: 2010.9- 2017.6, Ph.D., China Agricultural University, Beijing, China; 2006.9–2010.7, B.S., China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

Non-scientific Interests: reading, cooking, swimming, tennis, badminton

Brief bio: After getting my BS degree from China Agricultural University, I was lucky to join the group of Dr, Jiansheng Li and Dr. Xiaohong Yang to pursue my PhD degree. During this period, an interesting mutant with seed carotenoid deficiency (scd) was found and made me curious about the regulatory mechanism beneath the phenotype. Finally, I identified the candidate gene using forward genetics approach and confirmed that the mutation in the gene SCD, encoding 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate synthase in MEP pathway, resulted in impaired plant growth and development and the decrease of some MEP-derived isoprenoids. This work enhances our understanding of the transcriptomic and metabolic regulatory roles of the enzymes in the MEP pathway and its downstream isoprenoid pathways in various plant tissues. I am now a technician in Dr. Wende Liu’s Lab in Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for studying the molecular mechanism of plant-fungal interaction. I hope to continue studying in plant development and plant-microbe interaction interactions in the future.

第一作者简介: SEED CAROTENOID DEFICIENT Functions in the Plastid MEP Pathway to Produce Isoprenoids in Maize

第一作者：张丽丽

目前职位：植物病虫害生物学国家重点实验室，中国农业科学院植物保护研究所，科研助理

教育经历：2010.09-2017.06，中国农业大学，作物遗传育种专业，博士. 2006.09- 2010.07，中国农业大学，农学专业，本科

兴趣爱好：阅读、烹饪、游泳、网球、羽毛球

个人简历：本科毕业后，我有幸加入中国农业大学李建生、杨小红课题组攻读博士学位。博士期间，在来源于综3和豫87-1组配的重组自交系中，本课题组发现了一个玉米籽粒类胡萝卜素缺陷自然突变体。鉴于对类胡萝卜素等萜类化合物合成调控机制的解析有助于深入理解植物光合作用，尤其是光形态建成的遗传机制，我利用正向遗传学手段进行了图位克隆，鉴定到了控制这一突变的候选基因SCD，并发现在SCD基因第八内含子上发生了7.6 kb反转录转座子的插入。结合多种功能验证方法，我们证实了SCD基因编码MEP途径倒数第二步的HMBPP合成酶。它的功能缺失影响了MEP途径及其下游产物的合成，并进一步破坏了植株的正常生长发育。这一研究扩展了我们对多个植物组织中MEP及其下游途径基因在转录水平和代谢水平调控机制的理解。目前，我在中国农业科学院刘文德课题组从事植物-真菌互作分子机制的研究。未来，我也希望能继续从事植物发育以及植物与微生物互作方面的科学研究。