Plant Pathology Lab

Research 研究方向

1.水稻抗病性的分子抗性研究

      Rice false smut is a severe and widespread disease in major rice-growing areas worldwide. Recently, with the wide use of high-yielding varieties and heavy application of nitrogen fertilizer in rice cultivation, rice false smut emerged as the most devastating grain disease in rice production. The fungus (Villosiclava virens) secrets ustiloxins which are able to not only inhibit tubulin polymerization in a concentration- dependent manner but also induce the depolymerization of preformed microtubules, hence, ustiloxins are toxic to humans and livestock. We are trying to construct genetic mapping populations to clone false smut resistance gene from rice variety, on the other hand, we also make ATMT library to screen fungal virulence factors, hoping to explore the molecular mechanisms of false smut resistance in rice. 

      本研究组主要以水稻稻曲病为研究对象，稻曲病是由真菌 (Villosiclava virens) 引起的一种水稻穗部病害，影响水稻的产量；稻曲病菌分泌的毒素能危害人、畜的健康。通过对水稻品种的接种鉴定，找到对稻曲病抗病及感病的品种，构建相应的遗传作图群体，期望对稻曲病的抗性基因进行定位。同时，我们还构建稻曲病菌的突变体库，希望找到稻曲病菌的致病因子。进一步通过对抗性基因及致病因子的作用机理的分析，使我们认识稻曲病的抗性机制，为水稻生产服务。 

2.MicroRNA 在杂交稻高产表现中的作用

      Although the importance of heterosis has apparently been recognized, and exploration of heterosis has benefited agriculture and society, the molecular mechanisms underlying this basic biological phenomenon still remain elusive. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small (21~25 nucleotides), endogenously expressed, noncoding RNAs that are processed by Dicer-like proteins from stem-loop regions of longer RNA precursors. MicroRNAs can play important regulatory roles in animals and plants by targeting mRNAs for cleavage or translational repression. We analyze the expression patterns of selected miRNAs in different developmental stages and different tissues in an elite rice hybrid and its parents to explain the roles of miRNAs in the heterosis of rice hybrid.  

      MicroRNA是一种非编码的21-25个核苷酸的小分子RNA，它通过对基因表达水平（转录后水平、翻译水平）上的调控，从而对植物生长发育、生理代谢等各个方面起调控作用。杂交稻在产量等其它性状上表现出超过亲本的特性，但这些高产背后的分子机理却一直没有得到合理的解释。我们期望研究miRNA 在杂交水稻不同发育时期、不同器官中的表达来解释miRNA对相关基因的调控作用在杂交稻高产表现中的作用。