Recognizing The Plant Cell first authors: Li Jiang

Li Jiang, c0-first author of A functional Allele of CsFUL1 Regulates Fruit Length Through Inhibiting CsSUP and Auxin Transport in Cucumber

Current Position: Assistant Professor, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China

Education: PhD in Vegetable Sciences (2010-2015), College of Horticulture, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

Non-scientific Interests: Climbing mountains, travelling, and watching movies

Brief bio: At the undergraduate stage, I majored in biological science. In 2010, I was very lucky to get into Xiaolan Zhang’s lab for a doctor’s degree, and carried out the research on the molecular mechanism of cucumber fruit development. This is my first real exposure to molecular biology. Dr. Zhang’s rigorous attitude to scientific research and solid experimental skills made me grow up quickly in the following time, and gradually became interested in scientific research. From the effects of heterologous transformation of CsFUL1 on fruit development in Arabidopsis to CsFUL1 regulating fruit length in transgenic cucumber, suggesting that CsFUL1 played an important role in the fruit development of cucumber. In the follow-up work, the model of cucumber fruit length regulation was put forward with the co-operative efforts of my labmates Jianyu Zhao and Gen Che. The results of this study have laid a foundation for further analysis of the mechanism of fruit development in cucumber, and also have certain theoretical guiding significance for the realization of high yield and superior quality in cucumber production. In my current position, my researches focus on the molecular mechanisms of floral pattern formation and flowering regulation in orchids, and I am also interested in the genetic improvement of flower color in Araceae plants.