Development of New Breeding Techniques and Mining of Genic Resources
Research Teams
Team name
Development of New Breeding Techniques and Mining of Genic Resources
Principal Investigator
Research Objectives
l Characterizing the structure of phytochrome A/B in plants by cryo-electron microscopy.
l Dissecting the molecular mechanisms underlying plant photomorphogenesis.
l Research on mechanism of heterosis in single cell level.
l We also study how chloroplasts cope with light stresses, thus providing a theoretical foundation for cultivating light stress-resistant crop varieties, optimizing seedling emergence management, and enhancing crop adaptability to light.
Team members
l Mei Yang, Ph.D. in Molecular Life Sciences, associate research fellow, photosynthesis regulation and responding mechanisms of chloroplast to light stress.
l Xiaoli Lin, Ph.D. Genetics, assistant research fellow, phytochrome structure and function analysis.
l Yongting Liu, Ph.D. Biology, assistant research fellow, plant photomorphogenesis.
l Nan Wang, Ph.D. Crop genetics and Breeding, assistant research fellow, Research on mechanism of heterosis.
l Linhua Sun, Ph.D. in Integrated Life Sciences, associate research fellow, 3D chromatin structure and gene regulations, bioinformatics and NGS sequencing.
l Zhu Li, Ph.D. candidate, single-cell multiomics and 3D genomics.
l Xiao Xu, M.S. in Bioengineering, research assistant, genetics and NGS sequencing.
l Jingru Zhou, M.S. in crop cultivation and farming system, research assistant, genetics and NGS sequencing.
l Xiaoli Yang, M.S. in Light Industry Technology and Engineering, administration assistant, responsible for account submission and meeting arrangement, etc.
Research Projects
1. Research on the Current Status and Development Trends of Global Agricultural Extreme Weather and Cultural Hazards Risk for Prof. Xing Wang Deng
2. Project supportedby Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundationfor Prof. Xing Wang Deng
Research Achievements
For multicellular plants, the responses of different organs and tissues to light signals are very different. How light signals accurately regulate different cell types of plants is an important basic problem that scientists have never stopped exploring. In order to analyze this problem, our research group has completed the study of cell development during the dark to light process of seedlings, and successfully promoted the field of light signaling to the single-cell level.
In this study, single-cell transcriptome sequencing was performed on the aboveground and underground parts of Arabidopsis seedlings treated with continuous dark growth for 5 days, dark to light for 1 hour, 6 hours, 24 hours, and continuous light growth for 5 days, respectively, to construct the single-cell level dark to light time series expression characteristics, and identify spatiotemporal specific expression genes. The study first found that the cell composition and cell state of the root did not change significantly in the process of dark to light, but the cell map of the aboveground part changed greatly. The development trajectories of vascular cells and epidermal cells after dark and light exposure are described in detail. After the seedlings see light, the protocambial cells receive light signals and fine regulate the cell composition of the vascular system by coordinating the expression of developmental factors, facilitating the top-down transportation of photosynthetic products. The dark stomata completed cell differentiation through a different developmental pattern from that under light. This study also identified the core regulatory factors of the development process under light and dark, which opened a new perspective for light regulation of stomatal development. Finally, by comparing the profiles of skotomorphogenesis regulator mutant (pifQ), this study inferred that light signal could accurately regulate different cell development processes by acting on cell type specific developmental regulators. This achievement was published in nature plants（ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01544-4 ）.
Selected Publications
1. Yuxuan Zhang#; Xiaoli Lin#; Chengying Ma#; Jun Zhao#; Xiaojin Shang; Zhengdong Wang; Bin Xu; Ning Gao; Xingwang Deng*; Jizong Wang*. (2023). Structural insights into plant phytochrome A as a highly sensitized photoreceptor. Cell Res. 33, 806-809.
2. Xue Han#; Yilin Zhang#; Zhiying Lou; Jian Li; Zheng Wang; Chunlei Gao; Yi Liu; Zizheng Ren; Weimin Liu; Bosheng Li; Wenbo Pan; Huawei Zhang; Qing Sang; Miaomiao Wan; Hang He*; Xing Wang Deng*. (2023). Time series single-cell transcriptional atlases reveal cell fate differentiation driven by light in Arabidopsis seedlings. Nature Plants 9, 2095–2109.
3. Linhua Sun#, Yuxin Cao#, Zhu Li#, Yi Liu, Xiaochang Yin, Xing Wang Deng*, Hang He*, Weiqiang Qian*. Conserved H3K27me3-associated chromatin looping mediates physical interactions of gene clusters in plants. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. 65, 1966–1982 (2023).
4. Xue Han#; Yilin Zhang#; Qiong Zhang#; Ni Ma; Xiaoying Liu; Wenjing Tao; Zhiying Lou; Caihong Zhong; Xing Wang Deng*; Dawei Li*; Hang He*. Two haplotype-resolved, gap-free genome assemblies for Actinidia latifolia and Actinidia chinensis shed light on the regulatory mechanisms of vitamin C and sucrose metabolism in kiwifruit. Molecular Plant. 16: 452–470 (2023).
5. Linhua Sun#, Jingru Zhou#, Xiao Xu#, Yi Liu, Ni Ma, Yutong Liu, Wenchao Nie, Ling Zou, Xing Wang Deng*, Hang He* (2024). Mapping nucleosome-resolution chromatin organization and enhancer-promoter loops in plants using Micro-C-XL. Nature Communications. 15, 35.
Patents
None
Honorables and Awards
None