Department of Biology
|
Lirong Zeng
Assistant Professor
(501) 569-3502
(501) 569-3271 (fax)
lxzeng@ualr.edu
|
Ph.D. (Molecular Plant Pathology) Ohio State University
M.S. (Biochemistry) Zhongshan University, China
Professional Training
Postdoc, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Cornell University
Teaching Interests
- Experimental Techniques in Plant Molecular Biology & Biotechnology
- Microbiology
- Current topics in plant biology
- Agricultural Genomics
Research Interests
My research focuses on the identification and characterization of genes and signal transduction pathways involved
in rice and tomato immunity, particularly the roles and molecular mechanism by which the ubiquitination system regulates
defense responses in these plants. Given that plant immunity is inextricably connected to plant development and environmental
factors, my research will also involve understanding the signaling crosstalk that orchestrates plant responses to different
intrinsic and extrinsic signals. The long-term goal of my laboratory is to gain in-depth understanding of how plants and pathogens
interact at the molecular level and use this knowledge to engineer crops with increased and durable resistance to diseases.
To this end, a combination of cellular, molecular, biochemical, genetic, and bioinformatics approaches are being used to address
relevant questions.
Publications
Peer-reviewed:
|
|
|
|
Zeng, L.*, Park, C.H.*, Venu, R.C., Gough, J. and Wang, G.L. (2008). Classification, Expression pattern, and E3 ligase activity assay of Rice U-box-containing proteins. Mol. Plant 1(5): 800-815 (* signifies co-first authors).
Vega-Sánchez, M.E.*, Zeng, L.*, Chen, S., Leung, H., and Wang, G.L. (2008). SPIN1, a K homology domain protein negatively regulated and ubiquitinated by the E3 ligase SPL11, is involved in flowering time control in rice. Plant Cell 20(6): 1456-1469. (* signifies co-first authors).
Rosebrock, T.R., Zeng, L., Brady, J.J., Abramovitch, R.B., Xiao, F., and Martin, G.B. (2007). A bacterial E3 ubiquitin ligase targets a host protein kinase to disrupt plant immunity. Nature 448(7151): 370-374.
Chen, S., Tao, L., Zeng, L., Vega-Sánchez, M.E., Umemura, K., and Wang, G.L. (2006). A highly efficient transient protoplast system for analyzing defence gene expression and protein-protein interactions in rice. Mol. Plant Pathol. 7, 417-427.
Zeng, L., Vega-Sánchez, M.E., Zhu, T., and Wang, G.L. (2006). Ubiquitination-mediated protein degradation and modification: an emerging theme in plant-microbe interactions. Cell Res. 16(5): 413-426.
Qu, S., Liu, G., Zhou, B., Bellizzi, M., Zeng, L.Dai, L., Han, B., and Wang, G.L. (2006). The broad-spectrum blast resistance gene Pi9 encodes a nucleotide-binding site-leucine-rich repeat protein and is a member of a multigene family in rice. Genetics 172(3): 1901-1914.
Zeng, L.., Qu, S., Bordeos, A., Yang, C., Baraoidan, M., Yan, H., Xie, Q., Nahm, B.H., Leung, H., and Wang, G.L. (2004). Spotted leaf11, a negative regulator of plant cell death and defense, encodes a U-box/armadillo repeat protein endowed with E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Plant Cell 16(10): 2795-2808.
Wang, G.L., Wu, C., Zeng, L.He, C., Baraoidan, M., de Assis Goes da Silva, F., Williams, C.E., Ronald, P.C., and Leung, H. (2004). Isolation and characterization of rice mutants compromised in Xa21-mediated resistance to X. oryzae pv. oryzae. Theor. Appl. Genet. 108(3): 379-384.
Zeng, L., Yin, Z., Chen, J., Leung, H., and Wang, G.L. (2002). Fine genetic mapping and physical delimitation of the lesion mimic gene Spl11 to a 160-kb DNA segment of the rice genome. Mol. Genet. Genomics 268(2): 253-261.
Liu, G., Lu, G., Zeng, L., and Wang, G.L. (2002). Two broad-spectrum blast resistance genes, Pi9(t) and Pi2(t), are physically linked on rice chromosome 6. Mol. Genet. Genomics 267(4): 472-480.
Yin, Z., Chen, J., Zeng, L., Goh, M., Leung, H., Khush, G.S., and Wang, G.L. (2000). Characterizing rice lesion mimic mutants and identifying a mutant with broad-spectrum resistance to rice blast and bacterial blight. Mol. Plant Microbe Interact. 13(8): 869-876.
Zeng, L., Zhang, E.X., Lin, Z., Yu, L., and Xiao, X. (1999). Studies on the stability of Cu, Zn-SOD in Grassostrea rivularis. J. Oceanography Taiwan Strait 18(1): 87-91.
Zeng, L., Zhang, E.X., Lin, Z., and Yu, L. (1998). Purification and Characterization of Copper-Zinc Superoxide Dismutase from Ostrea rivularis Gould. Chinese J. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 14(5): 583-588.
He, J., Dai, J., Zhou, Y., Zhang, H., Liu, X., Ou, S., Zhou, M., Yang Y., Zeng, L.. (1994). Theory of Ecological Heredity in Male sterility and two-line hybrid plants (II) General Procedures for the Selection of Ecological Male Sterile Wheat Lines Proc. Hunan Agricultural Univ. 5: 412-417.
Non-Peer-reviewed:
|
|
Liu, G., Qu, S., Zhou, B., Zeng, L., and Wang, G.L. (2004). Broad-spectrum resistance genes Pi2(t) and Pi9(t) are clustered on chromosome 6. in Proceedings of the 3rd International Rice Blast Conference Rice Blast: Interaction with Rice and Control (ed. Kawasaki, S.), pp. 79-86. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Zeng, L., Zhang, E.X. (1998). Edible and Medicinal Value of Ostrea and Its Exploitages. Chinese J. Nature 6: 322-325
|