The Plant Cell Features April First Authors
Behind the manuscripts are researchers, professors, professionals and students dedicated to advancing the field of plant science. You’ve seen our First Authors on Twitter and Facebook— now, read more about why they chose to pursue plant sciences and click on the links to read their articles.
Yutao Wang
Yutao Wang (he/his) is the First Author of Arabidopsis transcription factor TCP4 controls the identity of the apical gynoecium published 06 April 2024.
Wang is a PostDoctor at School of Life Sciences and Peking University.
Education background includes 2022 Ph.D Cell biology at China Agricultural University and a 2017 BSc Biology Northeast Forestry University.
Research interests include Transcriptional regulation, Abiotic stress.
Personal interests include Music and basketball.
“Thanks to Professor Qin Genji for his guidance on this topic. Thanks to my collaborator Wang Ning for her important contribution to this topic.”
Ying-Gang Wang
Ying-Gang Wang（he/him) is the First Author The Y locus encodes a REPRESSOR OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC GENES protein that represses carotenoid biosynthesis via interaction with APRR2 in carrot published 9 April 2024.
He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Nanjing Agricultural University. Education background includes a 2019 MS at Nanjing Agricultural University and a 2015 BS at Nanjing Agricultural University.Research interests include Plant secondary metabolism. Personal interests include Photography.
“During my postgraduate period, I joined the Apiaceae Vegetable Crop Germplasm Innovation Laboratory in the College of Horticulture at Nanjing Agricultural University for academic research. Under the careful guidance of my supervisor, Professor Zhi-Sheng Xu, I developed a strong interest in the diversity of carrot colors and conducted research on the mechanism behind the variation/domestication of carrot root colors regulated by the Y gene. During my doctoral period, I was mentored by Academician Xue-Xiao Zou and focused on the unique capsaicin in peppers, continuing to carry out research on carotenoid biosynthesis.”
Yu-Min Zhang
Yu-Min Zhang (she/her) is the First Author of The Y locus encodes a REPRESSOR OF PHOTOSYNTHETIC GENES protein that represses carotenoid biosynthesis via interaction with APRR2 in carrot published 9 April 2024.
She is a Ph.D. candidate at Nanjing Agricultural University; Education background includes a 2019 MS at Nanjing Agricultural University and a 2015 BS at Nanjing Agricultural University. Research interests include Plant secondary metabolism. Personal interests include hiking and tourism.
“I have always been curious about the growth, development, and genetic laws of plants. During my postgraduate period, I conducted research on the molecular mechanism of color change in carrot roots in Zhi-Sheng Xu’s research group at Nanjing Agricultural University. My research mainly focused on the roles of Y and OR gene in carotenoid synthesis and chromoplast formation in carrot. During my doctoral period, I continued my research work on the chrysanthemum in Bao-Qing Ding’s research group at Nanjing Agricultural University.”
Khong-Sam Chia
Khong-Sam Chia (he/his)is the First Author of The N-terminal domains of NLR immune receptors exhibit structural and functional similarities across divergent plant lineages published 10 April 2024.
He is a PostDoctoral Scientist at John Innes Centre. Education background includes a 2021 Ph.D Biology at Gregor Mendel Institute, Vienna; 2015 MSc Plant Pathology and Microbiology at National Taiwan University, Taiwan; 2009 Bsc Plant Pathology and Microbiology at National Taiwan University, Taiwan. Research interests include evoMPMI, NLR biology. Personal interests include weight lifting, and hiking.
“I’m fascinated by how plants’ immune systems are capable of dealing with different pathogens.”
Martin Kovacik
Martin Kovacik (he/his) is the First Author of The transcriptome landscape of developing barley seeds published 18 April 2024.
Kovacik is a Doctoral student at Institute of Experimental Botany of the AS CR.
Education background includes 2018 – MSc in Experimental Biology at University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic and 2016 – BSc at University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic. Research interests include Seed development, Epigenetics, Genomic imprinting, Barley. Personal interests include Cycling, Yoga, Mindfulness.
“As a bioinformatician, I enjoy work with real plants. Plant science is full of fresh green colors, which are calming and relaxing.”
Clara Groot Crego
Clara Groot Crego (she/her) is the First Author of CAM evolution is associated with gene family expansion in an explosive bromeliad radiation published 30 April 2024.
She is a PhD candidate at University of Vienna and the Vienna Graduate School of Population Genetics.
Education background includes 2019 – Present Ph.D in Life Sciences at the University of Vienna (Austria); 2016 – 2018: Master Erasmus Mundus in Evolutionary Biology (MEME) at Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich (Germany) and the University of Montpellier (France); 2013 – 2016: Bsc in Biology at KU Leuven (Belgium).
Research interests include Speciation, Adaptive Radiation, Genome Evolution. Personal interests include Creative Writing, Reading, Hiking, Cooking, Music.
