Research Field

Plant hormones and their interactions play a key role in various developmental stages and environmental adaptations. Therefore, it is very important to explore in depth the mechanism of plant hormones in regulating plant growth and development. At the same time, these findings will also provide a theoretical basis for improving crop economic traits. We used Arabidopsis and soybean as research objects, and our research work focuses on the following contents:
1. Mechanism of Gibberellin Regulating Plant Growth and Adversity Stress

Gibberellin (GA) is an important plant hormone in plants and closely related to various aspects of plant life cycle, including seed germination, stem elongation, flower development, defense and stress response. Our interest lies in revealing the molecular mechanism of the gibberellin signaling pathway and ultimately elucidating how gibberellin works in plants.

Embryonic development, as the beginning of the plant life cycle, is a key stage for plant development. Embryonic development begins with double fertilization and ends with seed dormancy. Although GA has been suggested to have a potential role in embryo, the specific physiological roles and molecular mechanisms are unclear. Since the seed quality is directly related to the grain yield and seed germination. We will strive to explore the important role of GA in embryo growth and seed maturation, to reveal its molecular mechanism.

2. The function of key genes in soybean seed development

Soybean seeds, rich in oil and protein, are an important source of human edible vegetable protein and oil nutrients. As the population increases, crop production also needs to be continuously increased to meet the growing needs. In soybean breeding, yield is the most important agronomic trait. The grain size of soybean not only determines the quality of the soybean, but also to a certain degree has influence on the seed germination and determines the final soybean yield. The grain size is a quantitative trait coordinated by various aspects，such as the seed embryo, the endosperm, and the parental ovule. Many factors such as ubiquitin receptor protein, hormone receptor protein, and Polycomb family proteins are involved in grain size determination, but detailed mechanisms are still unclear. Therefore, we will focus on the functional research of soybean seed development key genes, reveal their molecular regulatory mechanisms, and provide important theoretical instructions for improving soybean crop yield and grain quality.