Chuanyou Li

• PH.D
• Principal Investigator at Chinese Academy of Sciences

Mediator25 (MED25) has been ascribed as a signal-processing and -integrating center that controls jasmonate (JA)-induced and MYC2-dependent transcriptional output. A better understanding of the regulation of MED25 stability will undoubtedly advance our knowledge of the precise regulation of JA signaling-related transcriptional output. Here, we repo...

Pattern recognition receptor (PRR)-mediated perception of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) triggers the first line of inducible defenses in both plants and animals. Compared with animals, plants are sessile and regularly encounter physical damage by biotic and abiotic factors. A longstanding problem concerns how plants achieve a balance...

Plants frequently encounter wounding and have evolved an extraordinary regenerative capacity to heal the wounds. However, the wound signal that triggers regenerative responses has not been identified. Here, through characterization of a tomato mutant defective in both wound-induced defense and regeneration, we demonstrate that in tomato, a plant el...

Crop breeding for mechanized harvesting has driven modern agriculture. In tomato, machine harvesting for industrial processing varieties became the norm in the 1970s. However, fresh-market varieties whose fruits are suitable for mechanical harvesting are difficult to breed because of associated reduction in flavour and nutritional qualities. Here w...

Key message A practical approach for the rapid generation and feasible application of green hypocotyl male-sterile (GHMS) tm6 dfr lines in tomato hybrid breeding was established. Abstract Male sterility enables reduced cost and high seed purity during hybrid seed production. However, progress toward its commercial application has been slow in toma...

Male sterility can reduce cost and enable high seed purity during hybrid seed production. However, the commercial application of male sterility in hybrid seed production has not been widely used in tomatoes. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing can facilitate acceleration for the practical application of male sterility in hybrid seed production. Here,...

Ripe fruits are more susceptible to necrotrophic pathogens than unripe fruits. Although this phenomenon is widespread across different fruit species and results in substantial economic losses, the underlying mechanism is still poorly understood. Previous studies revealed that ethylene (ET) is a key signal controlling climacteric fruit ripening and...

Male sterility enables reduced cost and high seed purity during hybrid seed production. However, progress toward its commercial applicationhas been slow in tomato due to the disadvantages of most natural male-sterile mutants. Here, we developed a practical method for efficient tomato hybrid seed production using a male sterile system with visible m...

Fruit ripening relies on the precise spatiotemporal control of RNA polymerase II (Pol II)-dependent gene transcription, and the evolutionarily conserved Mediator (MED) coactivator complex plays an essential role in this process. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), a model climacteric fruit, ripening is tightly coordinated by ethylene and several key...

Fruit color is an important horticultural trait, which greatly affects consumer preferences. In tomato, fruit color is determined by the accumulation of different pigments, such as carotenoids in the pericarp and flavonoids in the peel, along with the degradation of chlorophyll during fruit ripening. Since fruit color is a multigenic trait, it take...

The plant hormone jasmonate regulates plant immunity and adaptive growth through orchestrating a genome-wide transcriptional program. Key regulators of jasmonate-responsive gene expression include the master transcription factor MYC2, which are repressed by the conserved Groucho/Tup1-like co-repressor TOPLESS (TPL) in the resting state. However, th...

The fungus Stemphylium lycopersici (S. lycopersici) is an economically important plant pathogen that causes grey leaf spot disease in tomato. However, functional genomic studies in S. lycopersici are lacking, and the factors influencing its pathogenicity remain largely unknown. Here, we present the first example of genetic transformation and target...

Grain number is a flexible trait and contributes significantly to grain yield. In rice, the zinc finger transcription factor DROUGHT AND SALT TOLERANCE (DST) controls grain number by directly regulating cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase 2 (OsCKX2) expression. Although specific upstream regulators of the DST–OsCKX2 module have been identified, the mec...

Root architecture is one of the most important agronomic traits that determines rice crop yield. The primary root (PR) absorbs mineral nutrients and provides mechanical support; however, the molecular mechanisms of PR elongation remain unclear in rice. Here, the two loss‐of‐function T‐DNA insertion mutants of root length regulator 4 (OsRLR4), osrlr...

Seedling emergence is critical for food security. It requires rapid hypocotyl elongation and apical hook formation, both of which are mediated by regulated cell expansion. How these events are coordinated in etiolated seedlings is unclear. Here, we show that biphasic control of cell expansion by the phytohormone auxin underlies this process. Shortl...

Carotenoid pigments confer photoprotection and visual attraction and serve as precursors for many important signaling molecules. Herein, the orange-fruited phenotype of a tomato elite inbred line resulting from sharply reduced carotenoid levels and an increased β-carotene-to-lycopene ratio in fruit was shown to be controlled by a single recessive g...

Fruit softening indicated by firmness determines the texture, transportability, and shelf life of tomato products. However, the regulatory mechanism underlying firmness formation in tomato fruit is poorly understood. Here, we report the regulatory role of SlBES1, an essential component of brassinosteroid hormone signaling, in tomato fruit softening...

Seedling emergence is critical for food security. It requires rapid hypocotyl elongation and apical hook formation, both of which are mediated by regulated cell expansion. How these events are coordinated in etiolated seedlings is unclear. Here, we show that biphasic control of cell expansion by the phytohormone auxin underlies this process. Shortl...

MED25 has been implicated as a negative regulator of the abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway. However, it is unclear whether other Mediator subunits could associate with MED25 to participate in the ABA response. Here, we used affinity purification followed by mass spectrometry to uncover Mediator subunits that associate with MED25 in transgenic p...

Lead (Pb) is a heavy metal with high toxicity to plants. Root is the major organ to respond to Pb stress. However, little is known about how plant roots perceive Pb stress signaling. Here, we describe the transcriptome of Arabidopsis root tips under Pb stress using the RNA-seq assay. A total of 703 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identif...

Interactions between plant hormones and environmental signals are important for the maintenance of root growth plasticity under ever-changing environmental conditions. Here, we demonstrate that arsenate (AsV), the most prevalent form of arsenic (As) in nature, restrains elongation of the primary root through transcriptional regulation of local auxi...

Upon perception by plant cells, the immunity hormone jasmonate (JA) triggers a genome-wide transcriptional program, which is largely regulated by the master transcription factor MYC2. The function of MYC2 depends on its physical and functional interaction with MED25, a subunit of the Mediator transcriptional co-activator complex. In addition to int...

Shade triggers important adaptive responses such as the shade-avoidance syndrome (SAS), which enable plants to respond to the depletion of photosynthetically active light. The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTORS (PIFs) play a key role in the SAS network by regulating the biosynthesis of multiple phyto...

Proper regulation of homeotic gene expression is critical for stem cell fate in both plants and animals. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the WUSCHEL (WUS)-RELATED HOMEOBOX 5 (WOX5) gene is specifically expressed in a group of root stem cell organizer cells called the quiescent center (QC) and plays a central role in QC specification. Here, we report that...

Upon perception by plant cells, the immunity hormone jasmonate (JA) triggers a genome-wide transcriptional program, which is largely regulated by the master transcription factor MYC2. The function of MYC2 depends on its physical and functional interaction with MED25, a subunit of the Mediator transcriptional co-activator complex. In addition to int...

Elevated ozone (O3) modulates phytohormone signals, which subsequently alters the interaction between plants and herbivorous insects. It has been reported that elevated O3 activates the plant abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathway, but its cascading effect on the performance of herbivorous insects remains unclear. Here, we used the ABA-deficient tom...

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are plant‐specific steroid hormones which regulate plant growth, development, and adaptation. Transcriptional regulation plays key roles in plant hormone signaling. A mediator can serve as a bridge between gene‐specific transcription factors and the RNA polymerase machinery, functioning as an essential component in regulating...

Incorporating male sterility into hybrid seed production reduces its cost and ensures high varietal purity. Despite these advantages, male‐sterile lines have not been widely used to produce tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) hybrid seeds. We describe the development of a biotechnology‐based breeding platform that utilized genic male sterility to produce...

JASMONATE ZIM-DOMAIN (JAZ) transcriptional repressors are key regulators of jasmonate (JA) signaling in plants. At the resting stage, the C-terminal Jas motifs of JAZ proteins bind the transcription factor MYC2 to repress JA signaling. Upon hormone elicitation, the Jas motif binds the hormone receptor COI1, which mediates proteasomal degradation of...

Background: While virus-vector-host interactions have been a major focus of both basic and applied ecological research, little is known about how different levels of plant defense interact with prior herbivory to affect these relationships. We used genetically-modified strains of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) varying in the jasmonic acid (JA) plan...

Background: While virus-vector-host interactions have been a major focus of both basic and applied ecological research, little is known about how different levels of plant defense interact with prior herbivory to affect these relationships. We used genetically-modified strains of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) varying in the jasmonic acid (JA) pla...

Background: While virus-vector-host interactions have been a major focus of both basic and applied ecological research, little is known about how different levels of plant defense interact with prior herbivory to affect these relationships. We used genetically-modified strains of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) varying in the jasmonic acid (JA) pla...

Dietary anthocyanins are important health-promoting antioxidants that make a major contribution to the quality of fruits. It is intriguing that most tomato cultivars do not produce anthocyanins in fruit. However, the purple tomato variety Indigo Rose, which combines the dominant Aft locus and the recessive atv locus from wild tomato species, exhibi...

Background While virus-vector-host interactions have been a major focus of both basic and applied ecological research, little is known about how different levels of plant defense interact with prior herbivory to affect these relationships. We used genetically-modified strains of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) varying in the jasmonic acid (JA) plant...

Groucho/Thymidine uptake 1 (Gro/Tup1) family proteins are evolutionarily conserved transcriptional coregulators in eukaryotic cells. Despite their prominent function in transcriptional repression, little is known about their role in transcriptional activation and the underlying mechanism. Here, we report that the plant Gro/Tup1 family protein LEUNI...

Background: While virus-vector-host interactions have been a major focus of both basic and applied ecological research, little is known about how different levels of plant defense interact with prior herbivory to affect these relationships. We used genetically-modified strains of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) varying in the jasmonic acid (JA) plant...

The lipid-derived hormone jasmonate (JA) regulates plant immunity and adaptive growth by triggering a genome-wide transcriptional programme. In Arabidopsis thaliana, JA-triggered transcriptional programming is largely orchestrated by the master transcription factor MYC2. The function of MYC2 is dependent on its physical interaction with the MED25 s...

The Mediator complex is an essential, multisubunit, transcriptional coactivator that is highly conserved in eukaryotes. Mediator interacts with gene-specific transcription factors, the RNA polymerase II transcriptional machinery as well as several other factors involved in transcription, and acts as an integral hub to regulate various aspects of tr...

Plants are sessile and have to cope with environmentally induced damage through modification of growth and defense pathways. How tissue regeneration is triggered in such responses and whether this involves stem cell activation is an open question. The stress hormone jasmonate (JA) plays well-established roles in wounding and defense responses. JA a...

Significance Plants respond to herbivory and pathogenic infection with the synthesis of various defense compounds, including volatile compounds that are emitted into the environment. These volatiles can be perceived by neighboring plants and “prime” them for an attack by the specific attacker. We found that whitefly-infested tomato plants release v...

In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), as with in other plants, the immunity hormone jasmonate (JA) triggers genome-wide transcriptional changes in response to pathogen and insect attack. These changes are largely regulated by the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor MYC2. The function of MYC2 depends on its physical interaction with the M...

Plants have evolved an array of responses that provide them with protection from attack by microorganisms and other predators. Many of these mechanisms depend upon interactions between the plant hormones jasmonate (JA) and ethylene (ET). However, the molecular basis of these interactions is insufficiently understood. Gene expression and physiologic...

SHORTROOT (SHR) is essential for stem cell maintenance and radial patterning in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) roots, but how its expression is regulated is unknown. Here, we report that the Elongator complex, which consists of six subunits (ELP1 to ELP6), regulates the transcription of SHR Depletion of Elongator drastically reduced SHR express...

In rice, there are five members of the auxin carrier AUXIN1/LIKE AUX1 (AUX1/LAX) family, however, the biological functions of the other four members besides OsAUX1 remains unknown. Here, by using Crispr/cas9 we constructed two independent OsAUX3 knock‐down lines, osaux3‐1 and osaux3‐2, in wild‐type rice, Hwayoung (WT/HY) and Dongjin (WT/DJ). osaux3...

Toxin‐antitoxin (TA) systems are regarded as genetic modules that facilitate bacterial survival under stress conditions. In this study, a novel TA system in M. tuberculosis H37Rv chromosome was identified, termed as mt‐PemIK, which consists of antitoxin mt‐PemI and toxin mt‐PemK (Rv3098A). Induction of mt‐PemK leads to growth arrest in M. smegmatis...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.00764.].

Objective: To identify potential serum biomarkers for distinguishing between latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and active tuberculosis (TB). Methods: A proteome microarray containing 4,262 antigens was used for screening serum biomarkers of 40 serum samples from patients with LTBI and active TB at the systems level. The interaction network an...

Elevated ozone (O3) can alter the phenotypes of host plants particularly in induction of leaf senescence, but few reports examine the involvement of phytohormone in O3-induced changes in host phenotypes that influence the foraging quality for insects. Here, we used an ethylene (ET) receptor mutant Nr and its wild-type to determine the function of t...

Significance SHORTROOT (SHR) and SCARECROW (SCR) orchestrate a transcriptional program that is essential for ground tissue patterning. The regulation of the transcriptional output of SHR/SCR remains unclear. We show that MED31, a subunit of the plant Mediator coactivator complex, bridges the communication between SHR/SCR and the RNA polymerase II g...

Botrytis cinerea (B. cinerea) attacks many crops of economic importance, represents one of the most extensively studied necrotrophic pathogens. Inoculation of B. cinerea and phenotypic analysis of plant resistance are key procedures to investigate the mechanism of plant immunity. Here we describe a protocol for B. cinerea inoculation on medium and...

SHORTROOT (SHR) is essential for stem cell maintenance and radial patterning in Arabidopsis thaliana roots, but how its expression is regulated is still unknown. Here, we report that Elongator regulates the transcription of SHR . The depletion of Elongator drastically reduced SHR expression and led to defective root stem cell maintenance and radial...

The brassinosteroids (BRs) represent a class of phytohormones, which regulate numerous aspects of growth and development. Here, a det2-9 mutant defective in BR synthesis was identified from an EMS mutant screening for defects in root length, and was used to investigate the role of BR in root development in Arabidopsis. The det2-9 mutant displays a...

Effect of ethylene on cell length and cell number in RAM. (A) Cortical cell length in the maturation zone of five day-old WT and det2-9 seedlings when treated with AgNO3 or ACC. Data shown are mean±SE (n = 25), Different letters associated with values indicate a significant difference (P<0.01). (B) Cell number in the proliferation domain of five da...

Transcription of genes encoding peroxidase in det2-9 and WT, assayed by qRT-PCR. (TIF)

List of primer sequences used in this paper. (XLSX)

GUS expression in five-day old sr5 seedling carrying the transgene pDET2::DET2-GFP-GUS. Bar = 50 μm. (TIF)

Relative transcript abundance of ACC synthase genes (ACS2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11) in dark-grown seedlings of WT and det2-9. **: means significant difference compared to control (P<0.01). (TIF)

Neither BES1 nor BZR1 interact directly with the ACO1 or ACO3 promoters, as indicated by a yeast one-hybrid binding assay. (TIF)

Different expression genes related to ethylene in det2-9. (XLSX)

Relative transcript abundance of BR induced genes in seedlings of WT, det2-9 and det2-1. (TIF)

The det2-9 mutant accumulates more ethylene than WT when grown in darkness. Ethylene production by five day-old seedlings of various BR-related transgenic and WT seedlings exposed to either eBL(10 nM) or propiconazole (2 μM) in dark conditions. Data shown are mean±SE (n = 5). **: means significant difference compared to control (P<0.01). (TIF)

A qRT-PCR analysis of genes involved in ethylene production in BR mutants. Relative transcript abundance of ACC synthase genes (ACS6, 7, 9, 11) in WT, det2-9, bri1-116 and bin2-1 when treated with or without eBL (10 nM). (TIF)

The production of H2O2 in the det2-9 mutant and WT five-day-old seedlings. WT and det2-9 roots are stained by DAB to quantify H2O2 levels. Bar = 50 μm. (TIF)

The BR-mediated inhibition of superoxide anion synthesis does not operate through the NADPH oxidase pathway. (A) Transcription of RBOH genes, assayed by qRT-PCR in WT and det2-9 seedlings. (B) Relative root length in the mutants rbohD, rbohF and rbohD/F in the presence or absence of propiconazole (2 μM). Data shown are mean±SE (n = 30). (C) NBT sta...

NBT staining of root of WT, p35S::EIN3-GFP and ein3/eil1-1 plants exposed to eBL(10 nM) or propiconazole (2 μM). Bar = 50 μm. (TIF)

Positional cloning of the gene underlying the sr5 mutation. (A) The mutated gene maps to chromosome 2. The sr5 allele sequence differs from the WT allele of At2g38050 by a point mutation causing a shift from G to A at position 107. (B) Phenotype of five day-old sr5 and det2-1 seedlings exposed to eBL (10 nM) either under lit or non-lit conditions....

Primary root length of WT and det2-9 seedlings when exposed to inhibitors of peroxidase. (TIF)

Transcription of genes encoding ACC synthase (ACS) and ACC oxidase (ACO) when treated or not with MV, assayed by qRT-PCR. **: means in treated seedling significantly differ from untreated samples (P<0.01). (TIF)

As a major immunity hormone, the jasmonate family of oxylipins promote plant defense to mechanical wounding, chewing insects, and necrotrophic pathogens. In addition, jasmonates generally repress vegetative growth while promoting reproductive development. Molecular genetic studies, mainly conducted in the model systems of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis t...

There are many endogenous signaling and regulatory molecules which can influence the growth, development and physiology of plants. Hormones are produced specifically for signaling. They are often transported from sites of synthesis to distant sites of action and they operate at very low concentrations. In contrast, some other chemicals may provide...

Auxin gradients are sustained by series of influx and efflux carriers whose subcellular localization is sensitive to both exogenous and endogenous factors. Recently the localization of the Arabidopsis thaliana auxin efflux carrier PIN ‐ FORMED ( PIN ) 6 was reported to be tissue‐specific and regulated through unknown mechanisms. Here, we used genet...

Plant Hormones: Biosynthesis and Mechanisms of Action is based on research funded by the Chinese government's National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). This book brings a fresh understanding of hormone biology, particularly molecular mechanisms driving plant hormone actions. With growing understanding of hormone biology comes new outlook...

Perception of the plant hormone jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) involves the formation of a co-receptor complex between COI1, the F-box subunit of a SCF-type E3 ubiquitin ligase, and its substrates, a group of jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) transcriptional repressors. In recent studies, we show that MED25, a subunit of the Arabidopsis Mediator, physicall...

Systemin ( SYS ), an octadecapeptide hormone processed from a 200‐amino‐acid precursor (prosystemin, PS ), plays a central role in the systemic activation of defense genes in tomato in response to herbivore and pathogen attacks. However, whether PS mRNA is transferable and its role in systemic defense responses remain unknown. We created the transg...

Significance Sensing of the plant hormone jasmonate (JA) by the F-box protein CORONATINE INSENSITIVE 1 (COI1) triggers profound transcriptional changes that are regulated by the master regulator MYC2. However, it remains unclear how COI1 communicates with the general transcription machinery and chromatin. Here, we show that MED25, a subunit of the...

How appendages, such as plant leaves or animal limbs, develop asymmetric shapes remains a fundamental question in biology. Although ongoing research has revealed the genetic regulation of organ pattern formation, how gene activity ultimately directs organ shape remains unclear. Here, we show that leaf dorsoventral (adaxial-abaxial) polarity signals...

The hormone jasmonate (JA), which functions in plant immunity, regulates resistance to pathogen infection and insect attack through triggering genome-wide transcriptional reprogramming in plants. We show that the basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor (TF) MYC2 in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) acts downstream of the JA receptor to orchestrate...

Although many vector‐borne plant pathogens can alter vector behaviour to the pathogen's benefit, how plants might counter such manipulation is unknown. In the Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (‘ TYLCV ’)– Bemisia tabaci –tomato interaction, TYLCV ‐mediated changes in Bemisia feeding improves viral uptake and transmission. We tested how jasmonic acid (...

Background: Anterior dental implant surgery has a deep impact on aesthetic zone, and preoperative anxiety as a common clinical presentation effect the evaluation of patients in postoperative satisfaction. It is necessary tostudy the preoperative anxiety association with the postoperative satisfaction in anterior dental implant surgery. Methods: A t...

The elevated atmospheric O3 level may change the interactions of plants and insects, which potentially affects direct and indirect plant defences. However, the underlying mechanism of the impact of elevated O3 on indirect plant defence, namely the efficacy of natural enemies, is unclear. Here we tested a hypothesis that linked the effects of elevat...

RGF1, a secreted peptide hormone, plays key roles in root meristem development in Arabidopsis. Previous studies indicated that a functional RGF1 needs to be sulfated at a tyrosine residue by a tyrosylprotein sulfotransferase and that RGF1 regulates the root meristem activity mainly via two downstream transcription factors, PLETHORA 1 (PLT1) and PLT...

Significance Mediator complex relays the information from transcription factors to RNA polymerase II. Our results show that Mediator transmits auxin-dependent transcription through its compositional change in lateral root formation. The AUXIN/INDOLE 3-ACETIC ACID 14 (IAA14) transcriptional repressor inhibits the transcriptional activity of its bind...

Organ growth is determined by a coordinated combination of cell proliferation and cell growth and differentiation. Endoreduplication is often coupled with cell growth and differentiation, but the genetic and molecular mechanisms that link endoreduplication with cell and organ growth are largely unknown. Here we describe UBIQUITIN-SPECIFIC PROTEASE1...