Plant natural products play essential roles in biological defense, signal transduction, and environmental adaptation, while also serving as key resources for drug development, crop improvement, and sustainable agriculture. Given their remarkable structural diversity and functional versatility, systematic elucidation of their biosynthetic networks and regulatory mechanisms is of fundamental scientific importance and offers significant potential for diverse applications.

Our research focuses on the biosynthesis, enzymatic functions, and evolutionary patterns of plant small-molecule natural products. In particular, we investigate the pathways of key terpenoids and phenylpropanoids to elucidate their roles in plant development and stress responses. Building on these insights, we have developed elite germplasm with significant agricultural value.

Leveraging interdisciplinary approaches such as synthetic biology and bioinformatics, we are developing tunable modules for natural product biosynthesis. Through rational design and targeted application, we aim to enable more efficient utilization of phytochemical resources and open new avenues for their practical use.

Sep. 2013 – Dec. 2018 | Ph.D., Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, CAS / University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Sep. 2009 – Jul. 2013 | B.S., College of Life Sciences, Shandong Normal University

Nov. 2023 – Present | Principal Investigator / Professor, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Oct. 2021 – Nov. 2023 | Assistant / Associate Investigator, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Jan. 2019 – Sep. 2021 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Postdoctoral Positions

Our laboratory has ongoing openings for postdoctoral fellows with backgrounds in organic chemistry, molecular biology, bioinformatics, or metabolomics. We offer competitive compensation packages and excellent opportunities for career development.

Prospective Graduate Students

We welcome highly motivated prospective Master's and Ph.D. students who are interested in plant natural products and synthetic biology to join our group. Please send your CV in advance to Prof. Jinquan Huang at huangjinquan@cemps.ac.cn.

1. Lin, Jia-Ling; Wu, Wen-Kai; Nie, Gui-Bin; Li, Jian-Xu; Fang, Xin; Sheng, Yin-Guo; Wang, Meng-Meng; Zheng, Qi-Yue; Guo, Xiao-Xiang; Huang, Jia-Fa; Ma, Li-Ying; Wang, Ling-Jian; Liu, Jia-Xin; Wang, Shan-Shan; Xu, Bao-Fu; Gao, Yi-Qun; Li, Yan; Wang, Dong; Martin, Cathie; Chen, Xiao-Ya; Huang, Jin-Quan*. (2025). A dirigent protein redirects extracellular terpenoid metabolism for defense against biotic challenges. Nature Communications.20;16(1):9270. doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-64323-zIF: 15.7 Q1 .
2. Hui-Xian Zhu; Jia-Fa Huang; Jun-Feng Cao; Ling-Jian Wang; Jin-Quan Huang*. (2025). SPL1 positively regulates cuticular ridge wax biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Plant Stress. 6:100872. doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2025.100872IF: 6.9 Q1
3. Wu WK#, Nie GB#, Lin JL#, Huang JF#, Guo XX, Chen M, Fang X, Mao YB, Li Y, Wang LJ, Tao XY, Gao Y, Yang ZR, Huang JQ*. Regulation of glandular size and phytoalexin biosynthesis by a negative feedback loop in cotton. Adv Sci. 2024 Aug;11(30):e2403059.2.
4. Gao YQ#, Huang JQ#, Reyt G, Song T, Love A, Tiemessen D, Xue PY, Wu WK, George MW, Chen XY, Chao DY*, Castrillo G*, Salt DE*. A dirigent protein complex directs lignin polymerization and assembly of the root diffusion barrier. Science. 2023 Oct 27;382(6669):464-471.
5. Lin JL, Fang X, Li JX, Chen ZW, Wu WK, Guo XX, Liu NJ, Huang JF, Chen FY, Wang LJ, Xu B, Martin C, Chen XY*, Huang JQ*. Dirigent gene editing of gossypol enantiomers for toxicity-depleted cotton seeds. Nat Plants. 2023 Apr;9(4):605-615.
6. Lin JL#, Chen L#, Wu WK, Guo XX, Yu CH, Xu M, Nie GB, Dun JL, Li Y, Xu B, Wang LJ, Chen XY, Gao W*, Huang JQ*. Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals a hierarchical transcriptional regulatory network of terpenoid biosynthesis in cotton secretory glandular cells. Mol Plant. 2023 Dec 4;16(12):1990-2003.
7. Huang JQ and Chen XY. Removing the toxic enantiomer from crop products with selective gene editing. Nat Plants. 2023 Apr;9(4):513-514.
8. Huang JQ#, Li DM#, Tian X, Lin JL, Yang L, Xu JJ, Fang X. Side products of recombinant Amorpha-4,11-diene synthase and their effect on microbial Artemisinin production. J Agric Food Chem. 2021 Feb 24;69(7):2168-2178.
9. Huang JQ, Li DM, Li JX, Lin JL, Tian X, Wang LJ, Chen XY, Fang X. 1,10/1,11-Cyclization catalyzed by diverged plant sesquiterpene synthases is dependent on a single residue. Org Biomol Chem. 2021 Aug 5;19(30):6650-6656.
10. Huang JQ#, Fang X#, Tian X, Chen P, Lin JL, Guo XX, Li JX, Fan Z, Song WM, Chen FY, Ahati R, Wang LJ, Zhao Q, Martin C, Chen XY*. Aromatization of natural products by a specialized detoxification enzyme. Nat Chem Biol. 2020 Mar;16(3):250-256.
11. Huang JQ, Lin JL, Guo XX, Tian X, Tian Y, Shangguan XX, Wang LJ, Fang X, Chen XY. RES transformation for biosynthesis and detoxification. Sci China Life Sci. 2020 Sep;63(9):1297-1302.
12. Huang G, Huang JQ, Chen XY, Zhu YX. Recent advances and future perspectives in cotton research. Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2021 Jun 17;72:437-462.
13. Cao JF, Huang JQ, Liu X, Huang CC, Zheng ZS, Zhang XF, Shangguan XX, Wang LJ, Zhang YG, Wendel JF, Grover CE, Chen ZW. Genome-wide characterization of the GRF family and their roles in response to salt stress in Gossypium. BMC Genomics. 2020 Aug 24;21(1):575.
14. Tian X, Fang X, Huang JQ, Wang LJ, Mao YB, Chen XY. A gossypol biosynthetic intermediate disturbs plant defence response. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2019 Mar 4;374(1767):20180319.
15. Tian X#, Ruan JX#, Huang JQ#, Yang CQ#, Fang X, Chen ZW, Hong H, Wang LJ, Mao YB, Lu S, Zhang TZ, Chen XY. Characterization of gossypol biosynthetic pathway. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Jun 5;115(23):E5410-E5418.
16. Fang X, Li JX, Huang JQ, Xiao YL, Zhang P, Chen XY. Systematic identification of functional residues of Artemisia annua amorpha-4,11-diene synthase. Biochem J. 2017 Jun 16;474(13):2191-2202.
17. Tian X, Ruan JX, Huang JQ, Fang X, Mao YB, Wang LJ, Chen XY, Yang CQ. Gossypol: phytoalexin of cotton. Sci China Life Sci. 2016 Feb;59(2):122-9.