Introduction

　　Dr. Yong Xiang, Principal Investigator， deputy director of Center for Plant Genomics Research, chief scientist of Green Super Rice Molecular Design and Whole Genome Breeding Innovation Team. He has been honored “Young Talents of CAAS” and “Shenzhen Overseas Senior Talents”. His group mainly focuses on characterization of genes that control seed dormancy and germination and their applications in crops. And his research results were  published on the Plant Cell, Plant Physiology, Current Opinion in Plant Biology.

　　Research Interest

　　Xiang Lab focused on characterization genes control seed vigor (dormancy, longevity, and germination ability under stress conditions) in rice and Arabidopsis through genomics, genetics, molecular biology approaches, and their applications for direct seeding rice breeding.

　　Major Achievements

　　1) Genome-wide association study (GWAS) seed dormancy loci in rice using re-sequenced 3000 rice germplasm and recombinant inbred lines.

　　2) Reduced Dormancy 5 (RDO5), a novel gene that controls seed dormancy, was identified through the mutagenesis screen and map-based cloning in Arabidopsis. RDO5 encodes a nuclear-localized PP2C protein phosphorylase. The loss-of-function of RDO5 caused complete loss of seed dormancy, and overexpression of RDO5 significantly increased seed dormancy.

　　Selected Publication

　　1.  Liu, F., Zhang, H., Ding, L., Soppe, W.J.J., and Xiang, Y*. (2020). REVERSAL OF RDO5 1, a Homolog of Rice Seed Dormancy4, Interacts with bHLH57 and Controls ABA Biosynthesis and Seed Dormancy in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 32: 1933–1948.

　　2.  Nee, G#; Xiang, Y#; Soppe, WJ. (2017). The Release of Dormancy, a Wake-up Call for Seeds to Germinate. Current Opinion in Plant Biology, 35:8-14. (#, co-first author)

　　3.  Xiang Y, Song B, Née G, Kramer K, Finkemeier I, Soppe WJJ. (2016). Sequence polymorphisms at the REDUCED DORMANCY 5 pseudophosphatase underlie natural variation in Arabidopsis dormancy. Plant Physiology, 171:2659-2670.

　　4.  Xiang Y, Nakabayashi K, Ding J, He F, Bentsink L, Soppe WJ. (2014). REDUCED DORMANCY 5 encodes a protein phosphatase 2C that is required for seed dormancy in Arabidopsis. Plant cell. 26：4362-4375.

　　5.  Xiang Y, Tang N, Du H, Ye H, Xiong L. (2008).  Characterization of OsbZIP23 as a key player of the basic leucine zipper transcription factor family for conferring abscisic acid sensitivity and salinity and drought tolerance in rice. Plant Physiology, 148(4):1938-1952.

　　6.  Xiang Y, Huang Y, Xiong L. (2007).  Characterization of stress-responsive CIPK genes in rice for stress tolerance improvement. Plant Physiology, 144(3):1416-1428.