Chen Chen-Agricultural College of Yangzhou University

PUBLISHED: December 17, 2018READING:

Family Name	Chen	Given name	Chen
Title	Special-term professor of Yangzhou University
Telephone No.	+86-514-87153385
Email	chenchen@yzu.edu.cn
Fax	+86-514-8799-6817
Organization and contact information	College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University Rm. 110, Bldg. 22, Wenhui Road Campus, Yangzhou, China, 225009
Research Interests	Our lab is currently focusing on the genetic and molecular control of early seed and endosperm development. Endosperm is essential for proper plant seed development. In addition, the endosperm of many crops, such as rice, maize and wheat, provides a large portion of the calories consumed by humans and livestock. Proper development of the endosperm at early stage after fertilization determines seed viability and final grain yield. However, the underlying genetic and molecular control is largely unknown. One goal of our research is identification of the key genes involving rice endosperm early development. Previous studies indicate that genomic imprinting is essential for endosperm development. Another research interest of our lab is to search rice putative imprinted genes and study their biological significance for endosperm development. We are also interested in how the unfavorable environmental conditions, such as high temperature, influence rice seed development. We isolated an introgression line showing heat induced split hull phenotype. Two indispensable genes, Heat induced smile (HIS) and HIS’ essential relative (HER), were found to take responsibilities for the heat induced developmental defects through genetic interaction. By isolation and characterization of these genes, our ultimate goal is providing genes which can be used for crop improvement. Our researches are supported by The National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0100902), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31571623) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20150446).
Education and professional experience	2015.5-present, College of Agronomy, Yangzhou University 2013.8-2015.4, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA, , 2011.8-2013.7, Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Plant Biology, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, USA 2006.9-2011.7, Ph.D, Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences 2003.9-2006.7, M.S, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences 1999.9-2002.7, B.S, Agronomy, Yangzhou University
Selected publications	1. Chen C, E Z, Lin HX. Evolution and Molecular Control of Hybrid Incompatibility in Plants, Frontiers in Plant Science. 2016, 7:1208. (Corresponding author) 2. Chen C, Begcy K, Liu K, Folsom JJ, Wang Z, Zhang C, Walia H. Heat stress yields a unique MADS box transcription factor in determining seed size and thermal sensitivity, *Plant Physiology, 2016, 171:606-622. 3. Chen C, Chen H, Lin YS, Shen JB, Shan JX, Qi P, Shi M, Zhu MZ, Huang XH, Feng Q, Han B, Jiang L, Gao JP, Lin HX. A two-locus interaction causes interspecific hybrid weakness in rice, *Nature Communications, 2014, 5:3357. (Equal contribution) 4. Chen C, Chen H, Shan JX, Zhu MZ, Shi M, Gao JP, Lin HX. Genetic and physiological analysis of a novel type of interspecific hybrid weakness in rice, *Molecular Plant, 2013, 6:716-728. 5. Chen C, Xiao YG, Li X, Ni M, Light-regulated stomatal aperture in Arabidopsis, Molecular Plant*, 2012, 5:566-572