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HE Yuehui
(Assistant Professor)
Contact information:
Department of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Science
National University of Singapore
Science Drive 4
Singapore 117543
Tel: 65-6516-2716
Fax: 65-6779-2486
Email: dbshy@nus.edu.sg |
Research Areas:
Epigenetic regulation of gene expression; gene silencing; plant molecular development.
Research Interests:
Our laboratory investigates regulation of gene expression by chromatin modification and developmental timing in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana.
In a eukaryotic nucleus, the long strands of DNA wrap around histones to form chromatin. Histones can be reversibly modified by acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, sumolation or ubiquitination and these modifications regulate chromatin structure and gene expression. The expression state of a gene is determined not only by cis-regulatory elements within the gene and their interacting trans-proteins, but also is dependent on the chromatin environment where the gene is embedded (the so-called epigenetic effects). Currently we are studying how gene expression in the experimental model plant Arabidopsis is regulated by chromatin modification such as histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, siRNA-directed silencing modifications and DNA methylation.
We are also interested in how developmental timing in plants is controlled at molecular levels. The post-embryonic development in most flowering plants occurs in two temporal phases: a vegetative phase and a reproductive phase. The transition from a vegetative to a reproductive phase (i.e. initiation of flowers or flowering) is a major developmental switch in the plant life cycle that must be properly timed to ensure maximal reproductive success. Flowering time (when to flower) is genetically controlled by discrete pathways that monitor the developmental status of a plant and its environmental cues. FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC), a MADS box transcription factor, plays a central role in the flowering-time control in Arabidopsis; FLC expression is repressed by FLOWERING LOCUS D (FLD), a putative histone demethylase. Currently our laboratory is investigating how FLD and other chromatin-modifying components regulate the
FLC expression using biochemical, molecular and genomic tools.
Selected Publications:
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Jiang,
D., Yang, W., He, Y. (correspond. author) and
Amasino, R. (2007) Arabidopsis relatives of the human Lysine-Specific
Demethylase 1 repress the expression of FWA and FLOWERING
LOCUS C and thus promote the floral transition. Plant
Cell, 19:2975-87.
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Sung,
S., He, Y. (co-first author), Eshoo, T., Tamada,
Y., Johnson, L., Nakahigashi, K., Goto, K., Jacobsen, S., and
Amasino, R. (2006) Epigenetic maintenance of the vernalized
state in Arabidopsis thaliana requires LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN
PROTEIN 1. Nature Genetics, 38:706-10.
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He,
Y.,
Michaels, S. and Amasino, R. (2003) Regulation of flowering
time by histone acetylation in Arabidopsis. Science, 302:1751-54.
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He,
Y., Doyle,
M. and Amasino, R. (2004) PAF1 complex-mediated histone
methylation of FLOWERING LOCUS C chromatin is required
for the vernalization-responsive, winter-annual habit in
Arabidopsis. Genes and Development, 18:2774-84.
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Searle,
I., He, Y., Turck, F., Vincent, C., Fornara,
F., Krober, S., Amasino, R. and Coupland, G. (2006) The transcription
factor FLC confers a flowering response to vernalization by
repressing meristem competence and systemic signaling in Arabidopsis. Genes
and Development, 20:898-912.
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Kim,
S., He, Y., Jacob, Y., Noh, Y., Michaels, Y.,
and Amasino, R. (2005) Establishment of the vernalization-responsive,
winter-annual habit in Arabidopsis requires a putative histone
H3 methyl transferase. Plant Cell, 17:3301-10.
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He,
Y. and
Amasino, R. 2005. Role of chromatin modification in flowering-time
control. Trends in Plant Science, 10:30-35.
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Liu,
J., He, Y., Amasino, R. and Chen, X. (2004) siRNAs
targeting an intronic transposon in
the regulation of natural flowering behavior in Arabidopsis. Genes
and Development,
18: 2873-8.
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Michaels,
S., He, Y., Scortecci, K. and Amasino, R. (2003)
Attenuation of FLOWERING LOCUS C activity as a mechanism for
the evolution of summer-annual flowering behavior in Arabidopsis. Proceedings
of National Academy of Sciences USA, 100:10102-7.
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Xie,
M., He, Y. (co-first author) and Gan, S. (2001)
Bidirectionalization of polar promoters in plants. Nature
Biotechnology, 19:677-9.
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