Dr. Weijie Huang
Principal investigator
CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences / Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology
300 Feng Lin Road,
Shanghai 200032, China
wjhuang@cemps.ac.cn
Research Areas
Education
Sep 2008 – June 2015
PhD: Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, CAS
Sep 2004 - July 2008
Bachelor: Department of life science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
Experience
Work Experience
May 2017 – June 2022
Postdoctoral researcher at John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK
July 2015 – April 2017
Postdoctoral researcher at Warwick University, Coventry, UK
Publications
(1) Weijie Huang; Allyson M. MacLean; Akiko Sugio; Abbas Maqbool; Marco Busscher; Shu-Ting Cho; Sophien Kamoun; Chih-Horng Kuo; Richard G.H. Immink; Saskia A. Hogenhout ; Parasitic modulation of host development by ubiquitin-independent protein degradation, CELL, 2021, 184(20): 5201-5214.
(2) Qun Liu; Abbas Maqbool; Federico G. Mirkin; Yeshveer Singh; Clare E. M. Stevenson; David M. Lawson; Sophien Kamoun; Weijie Huang; Saskia A. Hogenhout ; Bimodular architecture of bacterial effector SAP05 that drives ubiquitin-independent targeted protein degradation,Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2023, 120(49).
(3) Weijie Huang; Paola Reyes-Caldas; Marina Mann; Shirin Seifbarghi; Alexandra Kahn; Rodrigo P.P. Almeida; Laure Beven; Michelle Heck; Saskia A. Hogenhout; Gitta Coaker ; Bacterial Vector- Borne Plant Diseases: Unanswered Questions and Future Directions, Molecular Plant, 2020, 13(10): 1379-1393.
(4) Wei-Jie Huang; Hai-Kuan Liu; Sheila McCormick; Wei-Hua Tang ; Tomato Pistil Factor STIG1
Promotes in Vivo Pollen Tube Growth by Binding to Phosphatidylinositol 3-Phosphate and the Extracellular Domain of the Pollen Receptor Kinase LePRK2, Plant Cell, 2014, 26(6): 2505- 2523.
(5) Yalu Li; Xiao-Hua Yan; Yanzhi Liu; Shen-Chian Pei; Chih-Horng Kuo; Weijie Huang ; Complete Genome Sequence of “Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia” TB2022, a Plant Pathogen Associated with Sweet Potato Little Leaf Disease in China, Microbiology Resource Announcements, 2023, 12(7).
Research Interests
Insects pose a major threat to agriculture, carrying a variety of diseases that harm crops and threaten food security. While traditional methods rely heavily on insecticides, their use raises concerns about environmental pollution and pesticide residues. Recently, diseases caused by phloem-limited bacteria have become especially problematic. Examples include Huanglongbing (citrus greening) and various phytoplasma diseases, both spread by insects and affecting the nutrient transport system (phloem) of plants.
Our understanding of how plants defend themselves against different phloem invaders, and the complex interactions among plants, insects, and microbes, remains limited. This lack of knowledge hinders the development of eco-friendly solutions to control these diseases.
Phytoplasmas, a type of bacteria transmitted by phloem-feeding insects, are a prime example of insect-borne plant pathogens. Interestingly, phytoplasmas drastically alter plant development, causing flowers to turn into leaves (phyllody) or creating dense, stunted growth (witches' broom). These "zombie plants" become breeding grounds for both the phytoplasmas and their insect carriers. Studying these interactions offers a valuable model system to understand plant immunity in the phloem and the complex plant-microbe-insect interactions.
Our research team aims to tackle these challenges through a multidisciplinary approach, combining microbiology, entomology, plant biology, immunology, and breeding. Our key research areas include:
- Unveiling how phytoplasmas manipulate plant development and plant-insect interactions.
- Understanding how phytoplasmas infect insects and influence their behavior.
- Deciphering the plant's immune response mechanisms within the phloem.
- Developing strategies to engineer plants resistant to phloem-based diseases and insect pests.
- Elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which phytoplasmas manipulate plant development through unique protein degradation pathways.
Through this research, we hope to provide a theoretical foundation and novel methods for the prevention and control of phloem-limited diseases and insect pests, ultimately contributing to sustainable agriculture and food security.