Recognizing The Plant Cell first authors: Lu Li
Lu Li, first author of DGD1 SUPPRESSOR 1 is a subunit of mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system in Arabidopsis thaliana and affects mitochondrial biogenesis
Current Position: Postdoctor in School of life science, Shandong University, China
Education: PhD in Botany, School of life science, the Australia Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, La Trobe University, Australia
Non-scientific Interests: hiking, singing, puzzle games
Brief bio: My master degree study was carried out at Zhejiang University, China, where I focused on investigating the mechanism of cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) of Brassica juncea and generation of novel watermelon germplasm with high quality and disease-resistance. In 2014, I had the good fortune to know Prof. James Whelan and joined his laboratory, starting the journey to explore the function of novel mitochondrial outer-membrane proteins that are involved in mitochondrial biogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. My study demonstrated the mitochondrial outer membrane protein DGD1 SUPPRESSOR 1 (DGS1) is a novel subunit of the mitochondrial contact site and cristae organizing system (MICOS) in Arabidopsis, which has effects on mitochondrial biogenesis, organelle structure, and lipid homeostasis between different organelles. Also, a gain-of-function point mutation in DGS1 caused changes in whole plant physiology with enhanced tolerance to drought stress. The results provide a new way to investigate how mitochondria are coordinated with other organelles during biogenesis or stress stimulation.
姓名：李璐
现在职位：博士毕业，即将在山东大学生命科学学院开展博士后工作
教育经历：La Trobe大学, 大学生命科学学院, 澳大利亚科学委员会卓越中心-植物能源生物学，植物学博士
兴趣爱好：徒步，唱歌，智力游戏
简介：我在浙江大学读硕士期间主要参与榨菜细胞质雄性不育机理研究以及优质抗病西瓜种植创新的工作。在此期间，我非常有幸地结识了Jim Whelan教授。从2014年开始，我加入到他的研究团队，开始学习各项实验技能并致力于模式植物拟南芥中与线粒体生物发生密切相关的线粒体外膜蛋白的功能研究。当前的研究发现，在拟南芥中，线粒体外膜蛋白DGS1是MICOS复合体的一个亚基，其紊乱均会对线粒体生物发生、细胞器结构、脂类在不同细胞器中的构成产生影响。同时，DGS1功能获得性的单核苷酸突变改变了植物的整体生理状态并增强了植物的干旱抗性。研究结果为进一步探索线粒体如何与其它细胞器协作应对生物发生或环境胁迫的刺激，提供了一条新的思路。
