Zhiwu Dan: Plant Physiology First Author

Zhiwu Dan, first author of “The metabolomic landscape of rice heterosis highlights pathway biomarkers for predicting complex phenotypes”

Current Position: Postdoctoral, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

Education: PhD in Genetics, Wuhan University

Non-scientific Interests: gardening, fishing, running

Brief bio:  I started to investigate the mechanisms of heterosis for rice agronomic traits since 2011 and obtained my PhD in genetics under the mentorship of Academician Yingguo Zhu. Now I, as a postdoctoral in the State Key Laboratory of Hybrid Rice, am seeking the molecular mechanisms underlying complex phenotypes using technologies of systems biology. In my research, I identified heterosis-associated analytes for different traits and developed pathway biomarkers for yield heterosis with machine learning methods using an untargeted metabolite profiling strategy. The exploration of precise biomarkers that have high predictability across populations and environments for complex phenotypes contributes to the breeding of heterotic and adaptive hybrid crops. In the long run, my goal is to display a comprehensive molecular landscape for complex phenotypes and identifying robust biomarkers (without considering discrepancies in populations, environments, and developmental stages) for accelerating the establishment of precision design programs. Furthermore, I am also interested in the molecular evolution of rice.

姓名：但志武

目前职位：博士后, 武汉大学

教育背景：遗传学博士, 武汉大学

兴趣爱好：园艺、垂钓、跑步

科研经历简介：

我于2011年开始进行水稻农艺性状杂种优势机理的研究，随后在朱英国院士的指导下取得了遗传学博士学位。作为杂交水稻国家重点实验室的一名博士后，我目前正致力于采用系统生物学技术，探寻复杂表型的分子生物学基础。在借助机器学习分析非靶向代谢谱的研究中，我鉴定了不同性状的杂种优势相关代谢分析物，并开发了产量杂种优势的代谢通路生物标志物。鉴定可跨群体和跨环境对复杂表型进行准确预测的生物标志物，有利于强优势和强适应性杂交作物的选育。从长远看，我的目标是全面地展示复杂表型的分子生物学景观，并为复杂表型鉴定适用于不同群体、环境和发育时期的稳健生物标志物，以促进精准设计项目的建立。此外，我也对水稻的分子进化感兴趣。