Yu Chen: The Plant Cell First Author
Yu Chen, co-first author of “MOR1/MAP215 acts synergistically with katanin to control cell division and anisotropic cell elongation in Arabidopsis”
Current Position: Ph.D. candidate, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China
Education: Bachelor Degree from Hainan University, China
Non-scientific Interests: Amateur Astronomy, Road Trip
Brief Bio: I love plant biology because it is interesting and peaceful. After my undergraduate study, I worked for a little while and then decided to continue my study in the field of plant biology. I joined Dr. Fei Yu’s group at Northwest A&F University to pursue my Ph.D. degree. Research in our lab centers on the environmental adaptation mechanisms of plant growth and development. My work started with a forward genetics screen. I think the process of screening mutants is like the plot of a detective novel. With a careful design and meticulous observation, you can often find unexpected phenotypes and mutants. Combine the clues given by phenotypes and genome resequencing, you can determine the candidate mutation. Finally, restoring the mutant to “WT” phenotype with genetic complementation, just like the final catch of the criminal. We identified the Arabidopsis mor1-10 mutant by screening mutants that are hypersensitive to a microtubule destabilizing drug. MOR1 is a member of the MAP215 family of microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). Expressing a functional MOR1-GFP fusion complemented mor1-10 and also allowed us to directly observe the dynamic localizations of MOR1 in living cells. We next found genetic and physical interactions between MOR1 and the microtubule severing enzyme KTN1. With genetic analysis and live confocal imaging, we establish that MOR1 and KTN1 synergistically regulate cell division and cell expansion in Arabidopsis. In the future, I plan to explore additional functional interactions between plant MAPs.
论文：MOR1/MAP215 acts synergistically with katanin to control cell division and anisotropic cell elongation in Arabidopsis
姓名：陈煜
目前职位：西北农林科技大学，博士在读（遗传学）
教育背景：海南大学，农学学士（水产养殖学）
兴趣爱好：天文，自驾
个人简介：我喜爱有趣的植物科学研究。本科毕业和短暂的工作后，我决定继续深造。我加入了西北农林科技大学郁飞教授课题组攻读博士学位。我们课题组的主要研究方向是高等植物生长发育的环境适应机理。我的博士研究工作始于正向遗传筛选。对我而言，筛选突变体的过程就像是侦探小说情节一样，科学的实验设计和细致的观察常常能发现意想不到的突变体表型，结合表型线索与全基因组重测序结果确定候选突变，最终通过回复实验确认突变体中的突变基因时，就像最终捉到罪犯真相大白。整个过程虽不惊险却新奇有趣。在微管解聚药物超敏感突变体的筛选中，我们获得了mor1-10突变体。MOR1蛋白是MAP215微管结合蛋白家族成员。在mor1-10突变体背景中表达有功能的MOR1-GFP融合蛋白不仅回复了mor1-10突变体，也使我们能够直接在活体植物细胞中观察MOR1定位的动态特征。进一步地，我们发现了MOR1和微管切割蛋白KTN1之间的遗传和物理互作关系。通过遗传分析和活细胞共聚焦成像实验，发现MOR1和KTN1协同调控拟南芥细胞分裂和细胞扩张。接下来的研究中，我们将继续研究微管结合蛋白之间的功能互作关系。
