Brief Introduction of Research

    Age is one of the basic characteristics of multicellular organisms.With the increase of age, the physiology and characteristics of the living body change accordingly.Common changes include morphological differences, decreased regenerative capacity, similarities and differences in metabolites, and changes in environmental sensitivity.Compared with animals, the age strategy of plants shows diversity.     According to the life cycle can be divided into: annual,biennial and perennial.Using the annual herbs Arabidopsis thaliana and cruciferous perennial herbs as models, the laboratory uses genetics, reverse genetics, single-cell sequencing and cell lineage tracing techniques to answer the following scientific questions:
    1) How a plant develops from a single-cell zygote into a multicellular individual through cell division and differentiation;
    2) The irreversible molecular mechanism of age;
    3) How age regulates plant regeneration ability and stability of stem cell genome;
    4) Genetic basis of natural variation of plant life habits;
    5) The life habits of perennial plants and the molecular mechanisms underlying the long-term maintenance of their stem cells.

Award and Honour

  • EMBO long-term fellowship
  • 2012 Excellent Young Scholars, NSFC, CHINA
  • 2014 Outstanding Talents Award for Science & Technology Innovation, CAS
  • 2015 Outstanding Academic Leaders Award, SHANGHAI, CHINA
  • 2015 Distinguished Young Scholars, NSFC, CHINA
  • 2016 Young Talents Award in Science & Technology, SHANGHAI, CHINA
  • 2016 Science & Technology Award for Young and Middle-aged Talents, CHINA
  • 2017 Leading Talents Award in Science & Technology, MOST, CHINA

Professional Experience

  • 2014– present

    Joint Professor, Shanghai Tech University

  • 2011– present

    Principle investigator, Professor, National Key Lab of Plant Molecular Genetics (NKLPMG), Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), CAS

  • 2005- 2011

    Postdoc, Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular Biology, Tuebingen, Germany

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Results published in internationally renowned journals: Show only recently published articles, see list for more information

Chromatin Accessibility Dynamics and a Hierarchical Transcriptional Regulatory Network Structure for Plant Somatic Embryogenesis

By Fu-xiang Wang, Guan-dong Shang on September 28, 2020

Full PDF link Summary Plant somatic embryogenesis refers to a phenomenon where embryos develop from somatic cells in the absence of fertilization. Previous studies have revealed that the phytohormone auxin plays a crucial role in somatic embryogenesis by inducing a cell totipotent state, although its underlying mechanism is poorly understood. Here, we show that auxin rapidly rewires the cell totipotency network by altering chromatin accessibility. The analysis of chromatin accessibility dynamics further reveals a hierarchical gene regulatory network underlying somatic embryogenesis.

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The Crosstalk between MicroRNAs and Gibberellin Signaling in Plants

By Sha Yu on August 26, 2020

Full PDF link Abstract Gibberellin (GA) is an integral phytohormone that plays prominent roles in controlling seed germination, stem elongation, leaf development and floral induction. It has been shown that GA regulates these diverse biological processes mainly through overcoming the suppressive effects of the DELLA proteins, a family of nuclear repressors of GA response. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which have been identified as master regulators of gene expression in eukaryotes, are also involved in a wide range of plant developmental events through the repression of their target genes.

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AP2/ERF Transcription Factors Integrate Age and Wound Signals for Root Regeneration

By Bin-Bin Ye, Guan-Dong Shang on October 24, 2019

Full PDF link Abstract Age and wounding are two major determinants for regeneration. In plants, the root regeneration is triggered by wound-induced auxin biosynthesis. As plants age, the root regenerative capacity gradually decreases. How wounding leads to the auxin burst and how age and wound signals collaboratively regulate root regenerative capacity are poorly understood. Here, we show that the increased levels of three closely-related miR156-targeted Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN-LIKE (SPL) transcription factors, SPL2, SPL10, and SPL11, suppress root regeneration with age by inhibiting wound-induced auxin biosynthesis.

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The role of miR156 in rejuvenation in Arabidopsis thaliana

By Bin‐Bin Ye ,Ke Zhang on July 15, 2019

Full PDF link Summary Rejuvenation refers to the process enabling plants to regain physiological and molecular characteristics lost after entering the adult phase. The underlying molecular mechanism is poorly understood. Previous studies have revealed that microRNA156 (miR156) is highly accumulated at juvenile stage and maintains juvenile traits by repressing a group of SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN‐LIKE (SPL) transcription factors. Here, we found that induction of miR156 expression in adult leaves can only restore some aspects of juvenile traits, such as loss of epidermal leaf hairs on the lower side of leaves and absence of serration at the leaf edges, but is incapable of delaying flowering and promoting adventitious root production.

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