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 Our laboratory mainly focuses on the genetic, molecular and biochemical mechanisms underlying the variations of plant organ shape and size, especially the Solanaceous fruits.
Fruits from domesticated Solanaceous crops, such as tomato, display vast variations in size and shape compared to their wild species. These domesticated traits are rich resources not only for breeding but also for our understanding on plant domestication. The size and shape of tomato are controlled by quantitative trait loci (QTLs); few of these QTLs have been cloned. We recently cloned a tomato fruit shape QTL, sun, regulating directional cell division of the fruit and also exerting effect on leaf morphology and seed size as well (Xiao et al 2008). SUN encodes a member of the newly discovered plant specific IQD protein family, and is hypothesized to be involved in auxin-related pathway. However, except SUN in tomato and the Arabidopsis gene AtIQD1, functions of other IQD members are unknown. AtIQD1 plays an important role in regulation of glucosinolate biosynthesis in Arabidopsis, involving in plant defense against herbivores. Since tomato is a non-glucosinolate plant, it is likely that functional diversification of these IQD genes has evolved in tomato and Arabidopsis.
Current research projects in our laboratory include functional analysis of several SUN homologues in tomato, identification of new genetic loci controlling fruit and seed development, and comparative analysis of fruit development in several Solanaceous crops, including eggplant and pepper.
Principal Investigator: Han Xiao, PhD. Professor., Professor. Email: hanxiao@sibs.ac.cn
Staff: Lin Weng, Research Associate; Hui-Fang Ma, Research Assistant
Graduate Students: Lu-Lu Bi; Hong Zhang
CV:
Education Background
2003: PhD in Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, CAS.
1995: M.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics, Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.
1990: B.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics, Jiangxi Agricultural University.
Academic Experience
2009.06-present: Principal Investigator, Professor, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, SIPPE/SIBS. Shanghai, China
2004.01-2009.06: Post-doctoral researcher, Ohio State University. Ohio, USA.
1999.09-2000.06: Visiting Scholar, University of Florida. Gainsville, USA.
1995.08-1999.08: Research Scientist/assistant professor, China National Rice Research Institute. Hangzhou, China.
1996.04-1996.10: Visiting Scholar, Scripps Research Institute. California, USA.
1990.08-1992.07: Technician, Agricultural Extension Program of Shangyou County. Jiangxi, China.
Major Publications:
Jiang N., Gao D., Xiao H., van der Knaap E. (2009) Genome organization of the tomato sun locus and characterization of the unusual retrotransposon Rider. Plant J. 60(1):181-193 Xiao H*., Radovich C*., Welty N*., Hsu J., Li D. Meulia T., van der Knaap E. (2009) Integration of tomato reproductive developmental landmarks and expression profiles, and the effect of SUN on fruit shape. BMC Plant Biology. 9:49. (*, co-first author) Xiao H*., Tang J*., Li Y*., Wang W., Li X., Jin L., Xie R., Luo H., Zhao X., He G., Zhu L. (2009) STAMENLESS 1, encoding a zinc finger protein of C2H2 type, regulates rice floral organ identity. Plant J. 59(5):789-801. (*, co-first author) Xiao H., Jiang N., Schaffner E., Stockinger EJ., van der Knaap E. (2008) A retrotransposon-mediated gene duplication underlies morphological variation of tomato fruit. Science. 319:1527-1530 (cover story)
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