The team of maize genetics and germplasm enhancement is mainly engaged in the basic research, focusing on the collection and identification of maize germplasms, QTL mapping and gene cloning of disease resistance, genetic and epigenetic analysis of important traits of maize. In the past five years, the team has been supported by scientific research grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China, and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, etc. The team is consisting of two laboratories, including the laboratory of maize genetics and germplasm enhancement, and the laboratory of plant epigenetics.
Prof. Xiquan Gao (Principle Investigator, maize genetics and germplasm enhancement):
Prof. Xiquan Gao’s research interest is centered on the molecular functional study of maize resistance to diverse plant diseases, such as coning of resistance genes using forward genetics and genome wide association analysis, identification of molecular markers, function validation of disease resistance genes, and dissection of molecular mechanisms underlying the resistance to fungal pathogens. The long term goal is to create novel maize varieties with enhanced disease resistance via molecular-assisted selection breeding program. The research work in Prof. Gao’s lab has been financially supported by the grants from The National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFD0101002), National Science Foundation of China (No. 31671702, No. 31471508), Technology Foundation for Selected Overseas Chinese Scholar, Ministry of Personnel of China (No. G0101500090), and that from Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production (JCIC-MCP).
Representative publications (last five years):
(1) Guangfei Zhou, Shunfa Li, Liang Ma, Fang Wang, Fuyan Jiang, Yali Sun, Xinsen Ruan, Yu Cao, Qing Wang, Yingying Zhang, Xingming Fan, Xiquan Gao* (2021) Mapping and validation of a stable quantitative trait locus conferring maize resistance to Gibberella ear rot. Plant Disease (in press).
(2) Yali Sun#, Xinsen Ruan#, Qing Wang#, Yu Zhou, Fang Wang, Liang Ma, Zhenhua Wang, and Xiquan Gao*. Integrated gene co-expression analysis and metabolites profiling highlight the important role of ZmHIR3 in maize resistance to Gibberella stalk rot. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.664733.
(3) Liang Ma#, Yali Sun#, Xinsen Ruan, Pei-Cheng Huang, Shi Wang, Shunfa Li, Yu Zhou, Fang Wang, Yu Cao, Qing Wang, Zhenhua Wang, Michael V. Kolomiets, Xiquan Gao*. Genome-Wide Characterization of Jasmonates Signaling Components Reveals the Essential Role of ZmCOI1a-ZmJAZ15 Action Module in Regulating Maize Immunity to Gibberella Stalk Rot. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2021, 22, 870.
(4) Kilemi Jessee Nguvo and Xiquan Gao*. Weapons hidden underneath: bio-control agents and their potentials to activate plant induced systemic resistance in controlling crop Fusarium diseases. Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection. June 2019, 126 (3): 177-199.
(5) Xiquan Gao*, Xinsen Ruan, Yali Sun, Xiue Wang, Baomin Feng*. BAKing up to survive a battle: functional dynamics of BAK1 in plant programmed cell death. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2019 doi: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01913.
(6) Man Wang, Zhibing Chen, Huairen Zhang, Huabang Chen* and Xiquan Gao*. Transcriptome analysis provides insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying gametophyte factor 2-mediated cross-incompatibility in maize. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018, 19: 1757; doi:10.3390/ijms19061757
(7) Yali Sun, Xinsen Ruan, Liang Ma, Fang Wang, and Xiquan Gao*. Rapid screening and evaluation of maize seedling resistance to stalk rot caused by Fusarium spp.. Bio-Protocol. 2018, 8(10): DOI:10.21769/BioProtoc.2859.
(8) Shi Wang, Yong-Soon Park, Yang Yang, Eli J. Borrego, Thomas Isakeit, Xiquan Gao*, Michael V. Kolomiets*. Seed-Derived Ethylene Facilitates Colonization but Not Aflatoxin Production by Aspergillus flavus in Maize. Front Plant Sci. (2017) 8:415. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00415.
Prof. Wenli Zhang (Principle Investigator, plant epigenetics):
Prof. Wenli Zhang’s research interests are focusing on plant epigenetics, mainly including: 1) Identification and application of functional cis-regulatory DNA elements in crop genomes; 2) Epigenetic mechanisms and regulatory networks responsible for biotic and abiotic stresses in rice and maize; and 3) Functional characterization of non-B DNA structures like R-loop, G-quadruplexes (G4s) and i-motif in plants. His previous research interests were also involving Chromatin Biology and Epigenomes of Plants. Prof. Zhang has been funded my multiple research grants, including those from National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, and Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Modern Crop Production (JCIC-MCP).
Representative publications (last five years):
(1) Zhang PY, Gao JJ, Li XX, Feng YL, Shi ML, Shi YN, Zhang WL*. 2021. Interplay of DNA and RNA N6-methyladenine with R-loops in regulating gene transcription in Arabidopsis. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants. D oi.org/10.1007/s12298 021 01010 5 (*correspondence)
(2) Tao ST, Lin KD, Zhu QQ, Zhang WL*. 2020. MH-seq for functional characterization of open chromatin in plants. Trends Plant Sci., 25: 618-619. (*correspondence)
(3) Zhao HN #, Zhang WL#*, Zhang T #, Lin Yuan; Hu YD; Fang C; Jiang JM*. 2020. Genome wide MNase hypersensitivity assay unveils distinct classes of open chromatin associated with H3K27me3 and DNA methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana, Genome Biol., 21: 24. (#co-first, *co-correspondence)
(4) Zhang PY #, Feng YL#, Wei HY*, Zhang WL*. 2019 . R loop Identification and Profiling in Plants. Trends in Plant Sci. 24: 971 972. (*correspondence)
(5) Li ZJ #, Wang MY #, Lin KD #, Xie YL#, Guo JY, Ye LH, Zhuang YL, Teng W, Ran XJ, Tong YP, Xue YB, Zhang WL*, Zhang YJ*. 2019 . The bread wheat epigenome map reveals distinct chromatin architectural and evolutionary features of functional genetic elements. Genome Biol. 20: 139. (*correspondence)
(6) Fang Y #, Chen LF#, Lin KD, Feng YL, Zhang PY, Pan XC, Sanders J, Wu YF, Wang XE, Su Z, Chen CY, Wei HY*, Zhang WL*. 2019 Characterization of functional relationships of R loops with gene transcription and epigenetic modification in rice. Genome Res. 29: 1287 1297. (*correspondence)
(7) Zheng DY #, Wang L #, Chen LY #, Pan XC #, Lin KD, Fang Y, Wang XE, Zhang WL*. 2019. Salt--response genes are differentially regulated at response genes are differentially regulated at the chromatin levels between seedlings and roots in rice. Plant Cell Physiol.60:1790--1803. (*correspondence)
(8) Chen LF, Wang XM, Wang L, Fang Y, Pan XC, Gao XQ, Chen LF, Wang XM, Wang L, Fang Y, Pan XC, Gao XQ, Zhang WL*. 2019. Functional characterization of c. Functional characterization of chloroplast transit peptide in proplast transit peptide in the small subunit of Rubisco in maize. J. Plant Physiol., 237:237:1212--20. (*correspondence)
(9) Zhao HN #*, Zhang WL#*, Chen LF, Wang L, Marand AP, Wu YF, and Jiang JM *. 2018. Proliferation of regulatory DNA elements derived from transposable elements in the maize genome. Plant physiol., 176: 2789-2803. (#co-first, *co-correspondence)
(10) Pan XC#, Fang Y#, Yang XM, Zheng DY, Chen LF, Wang L, Xiao J, Wang XE, Wang K, Cheng ZK, Yu HX, and Zhang WL*. 2017. Chromatin states responsible for the regulation of differentially expressed genes under 60Co~γ ray radiation in rice. BMC genomics, 18: 778. (*correspondence)
(11) Liu Y#, Zhang WL#, Zhang K, Yiu Q, Yan HY, Jiao YN, Jiang JM, Xu WY, Su Z. 2017. Genome-wide mapping of DNase I hypersensitive sites reveals chromatin accessibility changes in Arabidopsis euchromatin and heterochromatin in regions under extended darkness. Scientific reports, 7: 4093. (#co-first)
(12) Zhang K, Xu WY, Wang CC, Yi X, Zhang WL*, Su Z*. 2017. Differential deposition of H2A.Z in combination with histone modifications within related genes in rice callus and seedling. Plant J, 89: 264-277. (*co-correspondence)
(13) Fang Y, Wang L, Wang XM, You Q, Pan XC, Xiao J, Wang XE, Wu YF, Su Z*, Zhang WL*. 2016. Histone modifications facilitate the coexpression of bidirectional promoters in rice. BMC genomics, 17: 768. (*co-correspondence)
(14) Fang Y, Wang XM, Wang L, Pan XC, Xiao J, Wang XE, Wu YF, Zhang WL*. 2016. Functional characterization of open chromatin in bidirectional promoters of rice. Scientific Reports, 6: 32088. (*correspondence)
