Su-Ying Yeh: Plant Physiology First Author

Su-Ying Yeh, co-first author of “Maize Golden2-like transcription factors boost rice chloroplast development, photosynthesis and grain yield”

Current Position: postdoctoral fellow at Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Education: Ph.D. in Natural Sciences, Biotechnology of Natural Products of Technical University of Munich, Germany; M.S. in Horticulture Science, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.

Non-scientific Interests: traveling and jogging

Brief bio: Upon completion of my doctoral degree, I have since been working on rice improvement project under the supervision of Dr. Wen-Hsiung Li (Biodiversity Research Center, Academia Sinica) and Dr. Maurice S. B Ku (Bioagricultural Science, National Chiayi University). As photosynthesis is the most important metabolic process for plant growth and productivity, our efforts to engineer C₄-like photosynthesis in rice with a Kranz-type leaf anatomy is expected to boost its photosynthetic efficiency and productivity and world food security. A pair of Golden 2-like (GLK) transcription factor genes is known to regulate chloroplast development in higher plants. In this study, we demonstrate that transforming the two maize GLK genes with their own promoters into the rice genome significantly increases rice chloroplast development in both mesophyll and bundle sheath cells, photosynthesis and grain yield with enhanced stress tolerance. A first step toward engineering C₄-like rice has been achieved.