Ph.D. University
of Goettingen, Germany
RESEARCH
AREAS:
Fish
Developmental Genetics, Stem cells, sex and fertility, evolution.
RESEARCH
INTERESTS:
Stem
Cells
Stem
cells have enormous potential in regenerative medicine and biotechnology.
We focus on (1) pluripotency maintenance, restriction and cell
fate decisions during embryogenesis; (2) embryonic stem (ES)
cell self-renewal and differentiation; and (3) Adult stem cells & niche.
Sex
and fertility
The
key for human reproduction is the development of sexes & gametogenesis
producing eggs & sperm for fertility. Molecular and cellular
defects in these processes lead to infertility. We focus on (1)
germ cell development and cultivation for reproductive medicine/engineering;
(2) germ-soma interactions in sex, gametogenesis & fertility;
(3) meiosis entry & progression; (4) test-tube sperm production;
and (5) artificial reproductive technologies.
Medakafish
as model
The
fish medaka is the model. This fish features a small size (4
cm), small genome (1/4 human), short generation time (10 weeks),
numerous eggs, external embryogenesis, various inbred lines & mutant
strains, good genetics, transgenic lines, transparency throughout
life, and many experimental tools. Most importantly, medaka is
a unique lower vertebrate that has several stem cell lines, including
recently established haploid ES cell lines capable of producing
fertile nuclear transplants, the fish “Dolly”, providing unique
opportunities for analyzing recessive phenotypes in various cell
lineages. We are interested in transcriptional regulation in
stem cells and translation regulation in germ cells. Our approaches
include cell culture, embryo microinjection & gene transfer
in culture and embryos.
MAJOR
HIGHLIGHTS:
First
ES cell lines besides mouse
First
normal vertebrate spermatogoinal cell line from adult medaka
testis
First
test-tube sperm from medaka spermatogonial cell line
First
haploid ES cell lines from medaka
'Holly'
the first semi-cloned fish by medaka haploid ES cell nuclear
transfer
Top
100 scientists, Chinese Academy of Science & Technology
2005
NUS Outstanding Researcher Award.
SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS:
-
Yi
M, Hong N, Hong Y. 2009. Generation of medaka fish
haploid embryonic stem cells. Science 326: 430-3.
-
Xu
H, Li Z, Li M, Wang L, Hong Y. 2009. boule is present in fish
and bisexually expressed in adult and embryonic germ cells of
Medaka. PLoS ONE 4:e6097.
-
<>Yan
Y, Du J, Chen T, Yi M, Li M, Wang S, Li CM, Hong Y. 2009. Establishment
of medakafish as a model for stem cell-based gene therapy:
Efficient gene delivery and potential chromosomal integration
by baculoviral vectors. Exp Cell Res 315: 2322-31.
-
Li
M, Hong N, Xu H, Yi M, Li C, Gui J, Hong Y. 2009. Medaka
vasa is required for migration but not survival of primordial
germ cells. Mechanisms of Development126:366-81.
-
Lo
L, Zhang Z, Hong N, Peng J, Hong Y. 2008. 3640
unique EST clusters from the medaka testis and their potential
use for identifying conserved testicular gene expression in fish
and mammals. PLoS ONE. 3:e3915.
-
Hong
Y, Liu T, Zhao H, Xu H, Wang W, Liu R, Chen T, Deng J, Gui J. 2004.
Establishment of a normal medakafish spermatogonial cell line capable
of sperm production in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101,
8011-6.
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