Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Yu-chi Liu

Yu-chi Liu, first author of A methyltransferase trio essential for phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and growth

Current Position: Technical specialist, Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

Education: BS in Bioengineering, Tatung University, Taiwan. MS in Life Science, National Central University, Taiwan

Non-scientific Interests: Music appreciation (particularly in jazz), hiking, reading books.

Brief bio: I have a different career path than other people. After my master training, I was employed as a research assistant in Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica (AS). Rather than taking a PhD program, I enjoyed experiment and scientific research as being a professional technician. I joined Dr. Yuki Nakamura’s lab in Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica (IPMB) since 2011. In IPMB, my research interest focuses on how phospholipids, particularly phosphatidylcholine (PC), regulates plant development. Previously, we have demonstrated that PC regulates flowering time control in Arabidopsis through the physical binding of florigen FT protein and PC molecule. Recently, we have found that the deficiency of PC and its precursor, phosphocholine (PCho), caused several developmental defects such as dwarf plant size and abnormal vascular development in Arabidopsis, suggesting the critical role of PC and/or PCho biosynthesis in plant development. In the future, I will continue to investigate the mechanism how PC affects and regulates plant development.