Recognizing The Plant Cell first authors: Shaoqun Zhou

Shaoqun Zhou, first author of Metabolome-scale genome-wide association studies reveal chemical diversity and genetic control of maize specialized metabolites

Current Position: Associate Scientist – Postdoctoral Fellow, Elo Life Systems, Inc.

Education: Ph.D., Plant Biology, Cornell University; B.Sci., Biology, University of Washington

Non-scientific Interests:  piano, anime

Brief Bio: My interests in plant specialized metabolites started with the everyday use of Chinese medicinal plants in my family when I was a child. Through my education in China and U.S., I have learned to appreciate the important functions of specialized metabolites in plant-environment interactions. For my Ph.D. thesis research in Georg Jander’s group at the Boyce Thompson Institute, I focused on the genetic and physiological regulation of specialized metabolism in maize, as well as its function in disease and insect herbivore resistance. In this paper, we present a metabolome-scale association mapping resource that makes it possible to link metabolite abundance to maize genetic loci on a global scale. We also include an analysis of the chemical diversity, genetic architecture of metabolic traits, and genome-wide distribution of genetic loci regulating specialized metabolism. Currently at Elo Life Systems, my colleagues and I strive to promote human health and wellbeing by creating healthier and more nutritious food through modern biotechnology.

 

第一作者： 周绍群

目前的职位： 博士后副研究员，Elo Life Systems, Inc.

教育背景：博士，植物生物学，康奈尔大学；学士，生物学，华盛顿大学

兴趣爱好：钢琴，动漫

简介：我对植物次生代谢物的兴趣源于小时候家中常备的中草药。经过在中美两国的教育，我得以认识到次生代谢在植物与环境互作中扮演的重要角色。我在汤普森研究所Georg Jander实验室开展的博士课题研究专注于玉米次生代谢的遗传学及生理学调控机制，及其在植物抗病抗虫领域的应用。在这篇论文中，我们建立了玉米幼苗叶片的全代谢组关联定位资源，从而在组学尺度上将代谢物丰度与具体基因位点进行了关联。这篇论文同时也分析了玉米次生代谢物的化学多样性，代谢性状的遗传学构造，以及在全基因组范围内次生代谢调控位点的分布情况。在Elo Life Systems，我与我的同事们致力于通过现代生物技术手段为社会提供更加健康且富有营养食品。