Professor

　　    State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany

　　　　Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences

　　    20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan

　　    Beijing 100093, China

　　    Tel: 86-10-62836085; Fax: 86-10-62836095　    　E-mail: chaoying@ibcas.ac.cn

　　　　Members:

　　　　Dr. Chaoying He, Professor, Principle Investigator

　　　　Dr. Li Wang, Associate Professor

　　　　Dr. Pichang Gong, Associate Professor

　　　　Dr. Yan Wang,

　　　　Dr. Ying Tian, Post-doctoral Researcher (2008-2010)

　　　　Dr. Jiangjie Lu, Post-doctoral Researcher (2017-)

　　　　Graduate students:

　　　　Jisi Zhang Ph.D (2008-2012)

　　　　Lingli He Master-Ph.D (2008-2013)

　　　　Zhichao Li Master-Ph.D (2008-2013)

　　　　Pichang Gong Ph.D (2009-2014)

　　　　Man Zhao Master-Ph.D (2009-2014)

　　　　Shaohua Zhang Master (2011-2014)

　　　　Hui Quan Master-Ph.D (2009-2015)

　　　　Jing Zhao Master-Ph.D (2010-2015)

　　　　Yongzhe Gu Master-Ph.D (2010-2017)

　　　　Jing Li Master-Ph.D (2011-2017)

　　　　Wenchao He Master (2014-2017)

　　　　Chunjing Song Master (2013-2018)

　　　　Huihui Gao Master-Ph.D (2012-2019)

　　　　Weiwei Zhu Master-Ph.D (2015-)

　　　　Lixin Yan Master (2016-)

　　　　Qiaoru Li Ph.D (2017-)

　　　　Siming Wei Ph.D (2017-)

　　　　Meifang Luo Master (2017-)

　　　　Zhonghui Sun Master (2017-)

　　　　Peigang Li Ph.D (2018-)

　　　　Bin Yong Ph.D (2018-)

　　　　Xueyang Liu Master (2018-)

　　　　Mingshu Zhang Master (2018-)

　　　　Lanfeng Wu Master (2018-)

　　　　PI''s biography:

　　　　Positions held

　　　　Professor, Principle investigator (2008-), State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

　　　　Co-Group leader (2006-2008), Research associate (2004-2006) and Postdoc (2001-2004) of Functional Evolution, Department of Molecular Plant Genetics, Max-Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany

　　　　Education

　　　　PhD (1998-2001) of Molecular Biology and Molecular Genetics, Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

　　　　Master Degree (1995-1998) of Plant Genetics and Breeding, Genetics and Breeding Laboratory, Institute of Subtropical Forestry, the Chinese Academy of Forestry, China

　　　　Bachelor Degree (1991-1995) of Education of Life Sciences, Department of Life Sciences, Northwest Normal University, China

　　　

　　　　Research Interests:

　　　　Our research emphasis is on functional evo-devo and functional genomics in plants. The group aims at elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying evolution of morphological novelties and characterizing the genes involved in domestication of important traits in plants. The origin of morphological novelties and domesticated traits is a long-standing problem in evolutionary biology. Their understanding demands elucidation of developmental and genetic mechanisms that produce such new traits in which heterochrony or heterotopy of the existing regulatory functions might be recruited during evolution or domestication. We are also interested in revealing the genetic control of natural variation of some important agricultural traits, e.g. fruit size. The ultimate goal is to understand the mechanisms on evolution of biodiversity. Currently the group has collected substantial number of Solanaceae from all over the world and generated a mutant library of Physalis floridana. Reverse genetics is used to reveal the roles of some important regulatory genes in morphogenesis within Solanaceae, for example, the MADS-box genes. Meanwhile, some evolutionary informative Physalis mutants are being dissected molecularly. Related morphology and underlying molecular interacting networks will be compared between non-model species like Physalis and model species like rice, Arabidopsis and tomato.

　　　　

　　　　Selected publications (* Corresponding author):

　　　　He CY*, Wang L, Yan LX, Li QR, Yong B, Zhu WW. (2019). Evolutionary developmental mechanisms underlying the origin and diversification of the fruits (in Chinese). Sci Sin Vitae, 49(4): 301-319.

　　　　Li J, Song CJ, He CY* (2019). Chinese lantern in Physalis is an advantageous morphological novelty and improves plant fitness. Sci. Rep. 9: 596.

　　　　Li QX*, Wang J, Zheng S, Yang N, Sun K*, He CY (2019). Virus-induced gene silencing in Nicotiana benthamiana trigged by the heterologous gene sequence from Viola philippica. Biol. Plantarum 63(1): 153-163.

　　　　Gong PC, Li J, He CY* (2018). Exon junction complex (EJC) core genes play multiple developmental roles in Physalis floridana. Plant Mol. Biol. 98:545-563.

　　　　Gao HH, Wang Y, Li W, Gu YZ, Lai YC, Bi YD, He CY* (2018). Transcriptomic comparison reveals genetic variation potentially underlying seed developmental evolution of soybeans. J. Exp. Bot. 69(21):5089-5104.

　　　　Hao ZZ, Gong PC, He CY*, Lin JX* (2018). Peptide aptamers to inhibit protein function in plants. Trends Plant Sci. 23(4):281-284.

　　　　Gu YZ, Li W, Jiang HW, Wang Y, Gao HH, Lai YC, Chen QS, He CY* (2017). Differential expression of a WRKY gene between wild and cultivated soybeans correlates to seed size. J. Exp. Bot. 68(11): 2717-2729.

　　　　Gong PC, Ao X, Liu GX, Cheng F-Y*, He CY* (2017). Duplication and whorl-specific downregulation of the obligate AP3-PI heterodimer genes explain the origin of Paeonia lactiflora plants with spontaneous corolla mutation. Plant Cell Physiol. 58(3): 411-425.

　　　　Wang Y, Gu YZ, Gao HH, Qiu LJ, Chang RZ, Chen SY, He CY* (2016). Molecular and geographic evolutionary support for the essential role of GIGANTEAa in soybean domestication of flowering time. BMC Evol. Biol. 16: 79.

　　　　Gu YZ, Xing SL, He CY* (2016). Genome-wide analysis indicates lineage-specific gene loss during Papilionoideae evolution. Genome Biol. Evol. 8(3): 635-648.

　　　　Zhao M, Gu YZ, He LL, Chen QS, He CY* (2015). Sequence and expression variations suggest an adaptive role for the DA1-like gene family in the evolution of soybeans. BMC Plant Biol. 15: 120.

　　　　Zhou H, Cheng F-Y*, Wu J, He CY* (2015) Isolation and functional analysis of Flowering Locus T gene in tree peonies (PsFT). J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 140(3): 265-271.

　　　　Wang L, Li J, Zhao J, He CY* (2015) Evolutionary developmental genetics of fruit morphological variation within the Solanaceae. Front. Plant Sci. 6: 248.

　　　　Li ZC, He CY* (2015) Physalis floridana Cell Number Regulator1 encodes a cell membrane-anchored modulator of cell cycle and negatively controls fruit size. J. Exp. Bot. 66(1): 257-270.

　　　　Zhang SH, Zhang JS, Zhao J, He CY* (2015) Distinct subfunctionalization and neofunctionalization of the B-class MADS-box genes in Physalis floridana. Planta 241: 387-402.

　　　　Gong PC, Quan H, He CY* (2014) Targeting MAGO proteins with a peptide aptamer reinforces their essential roles in multiple rice developmental pathways. Plant J. 80: 905-914.

　　　　Wang L, He LL, Li J, Zhao J, Li ZC, He CY* (2014) Regulatory change at Physalis Organ Size 1 locus correlates to natural variation in tomatillo reproductive organ size. Nat. Commun. 5: 4271.

　　　　Gong PC, He CY* (2014) Uncovering divergence of rice EJC core heterodimer gene duplication reveals their essential role in growth, development and reproduction. Plant Physiol. 165(3): 1047-1061.

　　　　Zhao M, He LL, Gu YZ, Wang Y, Chen QS, He CY* (2014) Genome-wide analyses of a plant-specific LIM-domain gene family implicate its evolutionary roles in plant diversification. Genome Biol. Evol. 6 (4): 1000-1012.

　　　　Zhang JS, Li ZC, Zhao J, Zhang SH, Quan H, Zhao M, He CY* (2014) Deciphering the Physalis floridana double-layered-lantern1 mutant provides insights into functional divergence of the GLOBOSA duplicates within the Solanaceae. Plant Physiol. 164 (2): 748-764.

　　　　Zhang JS, Zhao J, Zhang SH, He CY* (2014) Efficient gene silencing mediated by tobacco rattle virus in an emerging model plant Physalis. PLoS ONE 9(1): e85534

　　　　Gong PC, Zhao M, He CY* (2014) Slow co-evolution of the MAGO and Y14 protein families is required for the maintenance of their obligate heterodimerization mode. PLoS ONE 9(1): e84842.

　　　　Zhao J, Tian Y, Zhang JS, Zhao M, Gong PC, Riss S, Saedler R, He CY* (2013) The euAP1 protein MPF3 represses MPF2 to specify floral calyx identity and displays crucial roles in ‘Chinese lantern’ development in Physalis. Plant Cell 25(6): 2002-2021.

　　　　He LL, Zhao M, Wang Y, Gai JY, He CY* (2013) Phylogeny, structural evolution and functional diversification of the plant PHOSPHATE1 gene family: a focus on Glycine max. BMC Evol. Biol. 13: 103.

　　　　Zhou H, Cheng F-Y*, Wang R, Zhong Y, He CY* (2013) Transcriptome comparison reveals key candidate genes responsible for the unusual reblooming trait in tree peonies. PLoS ONE 8(11): e79996.

　　　　Wang L, Li ZC, He CY* (2012) Transcriptome-wide mining of the differentially expressed transcripts for natural variation of floral organ size in Physalis philadelphica. J. Exp. Bot. 63(18): 6457-6465.

　　　　Zhang JS, Khan MR, Tian Y, Li ZC, Simone R, He CY* (2012) Divergences of MPF2-like MADS-domain proteins have an association with the evolution of the inflated calyx syndrome within Solanaceae. Planta 236 (4): 1247-1260.

　　　　Khan MR*, Hu J, He CY* (2012) Plant hormones including ethylene are recruited in calyx inflation in Solanaceous plants. J. Plant Physiol. 169(10): 940-948.

　　　　He LL, Zhao J, Zhao M, He CY* (2011). Current development and application of soybean genomics. Front. Biol. 6(4): 337-348.

　　　　Zhang JS, Tian Y, Wang L, He CY* (2010) Functional evolutionary developmental biology (evo-devo) of morphological novelties in plants. J. Syst. Evol. 48 (2): 94-101.

　　　　Wunder J, He CY, Hu J, Li M, Varotto C, Saedler H* (2010) Evolution of plant biodiversity. Acta Hort. 849: 21-32.

　　　　He CY*, Tian Y, Saedler R, Efremova N, Riss S, Khan MR, Yephremov A, Saedler H (2010) The MADS-domain protein MPF1 of Physalis floridana controls plant architecture, seed development and flowering time. Planta 231: 767-777.

　　　　Khan MR, Hu J, Riss S, He CY, Saedler H* (2009) MPF2-like-A MADS-box genes control the inflated calyx syndrome in Withania (Solanaceae): roles of Darwinian’s selection. Mol. Biol. Evol. 26(11): 2463-2473.

　　　　He CY*, Sommer H, Grosardt B, Huijser P, Saedler H* (2007) PFMAGO, a MAGO NASHI-like factor, interacts with the MADS-box protein MPF2 from Physalis floridana. Mol. Biol. Evol. 24(5): 1229-1241.

　　　　He CY, Saedler H* (2007) Hormonal control of the inflated calyx syndrome, a morphological novelty, in Physalis. Plant J. 49(5): 935-946.

　　　　He CY*, Saedler H (2007) Molecular evolution of a morphological novelty in Solanaceae, the Inflated-Calyx-Syndrome (ICS) in Physalis. Acta Hort. 745: 171-182.

　　　　He CY, Saedler H* (2005) Heterotopic expression of MPF2 is the key to the evolution of the Chinese lantern of Physalis, a morphological novelty in Solanaceae. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102 (16): 5779-5784.

　　　　He CY, Münster T, Saedler H* (2004) On the origin of floral morphological novelties. FEBS Lett. 567: 147-151.

　　　　Wang BJ, Wang YJ, Wang Q, Luo GZ, Zhang ZG, He CY, He SJ, Zhang JS, Gai JY, Chen SY* (2004) Characterization of an NBS-LRR resistance gene homologue from soybean. J. Plant Physiol. 161(7): 815-822.

　　　　Zhang WK, Wang YJ, Luo GZ, Zhang JS, He CY, Wu XL, Gai JY, Chen SY* (2004) QTL mapping of ten agronomic traits on the soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) genetic map and their association with EST markers. Theor. Appl. Genet. 108: 1131-1139.

　　　　Wang BJ, Zhang ZG, Li XG, Wang YJ, He CY, Zhang JS, Chen SY* (2003) Cloning and analysis of a disease resistance gene homolog from soybean. Act. Bot. Sin. 45(7): 864-870.

　　　　He CY, Tian AG, Zhang JS, Zhang ZY, Gai JY, Chen SY* (2003) Isolation and characterization of a full-length resistance gene homolog from soybean. Theor. Appl. Genet. 106: 786-793.

　　　　He CY, Zhang JS, Chen SY* (2002) A soybean gene encoding a proline-rich protein is regulated by salicylic acid, an endogenous circadian rhythm and by various stresses. Theor. Appl. Genet. 104: 1125-1131.

　　　　He CY, Wang WQ, Dongfang Y, Zhang JS, Chen SY* (2002) Transcritption regulation of soybean ribulose-1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit gene by external factors. Chinese Sci. Bulletin 47(1): 37-43.

　　　　He CY, Wu XL, Zhang JS, Gai JY, Chen SY* (2001) Isolation and characterization of a mitochondrial atp6 gene from soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr]. Act. Bot. Sin. 43(1): 51-58.

　　　　He CY, Wu XL, Zhang JS, Dongfang Y, Du BX, Zhang ZY, Chen SY* (2001) Isolation and characterization of a new defense gene from soybean. Sci. in China (C) 44(4): 409-420.

　　　　He CY, Zhang ZY, Chen SY* (2001) Isolation and characterization of soybean NBS analogs. Chinese Sci. Bulletin 46(23): 1984-1988.

　　　　Li QX, Huo QD, Wang J, Zhao J, Sun K*, He CY* (2016). Expression of B-class MADS-box genes in response to variations in photoperiod is associated with chasmogamous and cleistogamous flower development in Viola philippica. BMC Plant Biol. 16: 151.