Professor HE Junxian

Address    (Office): G78B, Science Centre (South), CUHK
(Lab): G02/04, Run Run Shaw Science Building, CUHK 		                       People HJX 19 r1   
Phone   (Office): (852) 3943 6299
(Lab): (852) 3943 1271		    
Fax   (852) 2603 6382    
Email   This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.     
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Education

1986 BSc, Lanzhou University
1989 M.Sc, Lanzhou University
1993 PhD, Lanzhou University


Position

  • Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, CUHK
  • Investigator, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, CUHK


Research Interests

  • Hormone signal transduction and signaling cross-talks in plants;
  • Plant stress resistance and application in agriculture


Representative Publications

  • Li, N., Wong, W.S., Feng, L., Wang, C.M., Wong, K.S., Zhang, N., Yang, W., Jiang, Y., Jiang., L., He, J.-X*. (2023) The thylakoid membrane protein NTA1 is an assembly factor of the cytochrome b6f complex essential for chloroplast development in Arabidopsis. Plant Commun. 4:100509. doi: 10.1016/j.xplc.2022.100509.
  • Feng L, Li Y, Zhou YL, Meng GH, Ji ZL, Lin WH, He JX *. (2023) Integrative Transcriptomic and Proteomic Analyses Reveal a Positive Role of BES1 in Salt Tolerance in Arabidopsis. Frontiers Plant Sci. 14:1034393.
  • Shan Y, Zhang S, Li Y, Zhang J, Farag, MA, He J-X, Xiao J, Qu H, Duan X, Jiang Y. (2023) The roles of exogenous ATP in postharvest fruit and vegetable: A systematic meta-analysis. Postharv Biol Technol, 199, 112305.
  • Zhang YJ, Zhang Y, Zhang LL, He JX, Xue HW, Wang JW, Lin WH*. (2022) OsGATA6 regulates rice heading date and grain number per panicle. J Exp Bot. 73:6133-6149.
  • Ji ZL, Yu MH, Ding YY, Li J, Zhu F, He JX*, and Li-Na Yang*. (2021) Coiled-Coil N21 of Hpa1 in Xanthomonas oryzae oryzae promotes plant growth, disease resistance and drought tolerance in non-hosts via eliciting HR and regulation of multiple defense response genes. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 22, 203.
  • Jiang G, Zeng J, Li Z, Song Y, Yan H, He J, Jiang Y, Duan X*. (2020) Redox regulation of the NOR transcription Factor is involved in the regulation of fruit ripening in tomato. Plant Physiol. 183: 671-685.
  • Xie M, Chung CY, Li MW, Wong FL, Wang X, Liu A, Wang Z, Leung AK, Wong TH, Tong SW, Xiao Z, Fan K, Ng MS, Qi X, Yang L, Deng T, He L, Chen L, Fu A, Ding Q, He JX et al. (2019). A reference-grade wild soybean genome. Nat Commun. 2019,10: 1216.
  • Yu M.-H., Zhao Z.-Z., He J.-X*. Brassinosteroid Signaling in Plant–Microbe Interactions. J. Mol. Sci. 2018, 19, 4091.
  • Li Q.F., Lu J., Yu J.W., Zhang C.Q., He J.X.*, Liu Q.Q.* (2018) The brassinosteroid-regulated transcription factors BZR1/BES1 function as a coordinator in multisignal-regulated plant growth. Biochim Biophys Acta Gene Regul Mech.1861: 561-571.
  • Kuang J.F., Chen J.Y., Liu X.C., Han Y.C., Xiao Y.Y., Shan W., Tang Y., Wu K.Q., He J.X.*, Lu W.J.* (2017) The transcriptional regulatory network mediated by banana (Musa acuminata) dehydration-responsive element binding (MaDREB) transcription factors in fruit ripening. New Phytol 21: 762-781.
  • Yang XY, Chen L, He JX*, Yu WC*. Knocking out of carotenoid catabolic genes in rice fails to boost carotenoid accumulation, but reveals a mutation in strigolactone biosynthesis. Plant Cell Rep. 2017, 36: 1533-1545
  • He J.X.* (2016) Signalling: Ying-yang hormonal crosstalk. Nature Plants 2, Article number: 16023. doi:10.1038/nplants.2016.23.
  • Li Q.F., He J.X.* (2016) BZR1 interacts with HY5 to mediate brassinosteroid- and light-regulated cotyledon opening in Arabidopsis in darkness. Mol Plant 9:113–125.
  • Zhang Y, Liu Z, Chen Y, He J*, Bi Y*. (2015) PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 5 (PIF5) positively regulates dark-induced senescence and chlorophyll degradation in Arabidopsis. Plant Sci. 237:57-68.
  • Zhang Y., Liu Z., Wang J., Chen Y., Bi Y., He J.X.* (2015) Brassinosteroid is required for sugar promotion of hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis in darkness. Planta 242:881-893.
  • Yang X, Li J, Chen L, Louzada ES, He J*, Yu W*. Stable mitotic inheritance of rice minichromosomes in cell suspension cultures. Plant Cell Rep 34(6):929-41, 2015.
  • Wang X., Bian Y., Cheng K., Gu L.F., Ye M.L., Zou H.F., S.S.M. Sun and He J.X.* (2013) A Large-scale protein phosphorylation analysis reveals novel phosphorylation motifs and phosphoregulatory networks in Arabidopsis. J Proteomics 78:486-98.
  • Li Q.F., C Wang, L Jiang, S Li, S.S.M Sun*. and J.X. He*. (2012) An interaction between BZR1 and DELLAs mediates direct signaling crosstalk between brassinosteroids and gibberellins in Arabidopsis. Sci Signal 5:ra72. (Summary/Abstract/Reprint/FullText) (Highlight by Nature Reviews)
  • Jiang L, Y. Wang, Q.F. Li, L.O. Björn, J.X. He* and S.S. Li*. (2012) Arabidopsis STO/BBX24 negatively regulates UV-B signaling by interacting with COP1 and repressing HY5 transcriptional activity. Cell Res 22:1046-1057. (Evaluated by Faculty 1000)
  • Wang X., Y.Y. Bian, K. Cheng, H.F. Zou*, S.S.M Sun* and J.X. He*. (2012) A comprehensive proteomic study of nitrogen deprivation in Arabidopsis reveals complex regulatory network of plant nitrogen responses. J Proteome Res 11:2301-2315.
  • Gampala, S.L., Kim, T.W., He, J.X., Tang, W.Q., Bai, M., Guan, S., Sun, Y., Gendron, J.M., Chen, J., Ferl, J., Ehrhardt, D., Chong, K., Burlingame, A.L., and Wang, Z.Y. (2007) An essential role for 14-3-3 proteins in brassinosteroid signal transduction in Arabidopsis. Dev Cell 13, 177–189.
  • He, J.X., Gendron, J.M., Sun, Y., Gampala, S.L., Gendron, N., Sun, C.Q., and Wang, Z.Y. (2005) BZR1 is a transcriptional repressor with dual roles in brassinosteroid homeostasis and growth responses. Science 307:1634-1638.
  • Wang, Z.Y. and He, J.X. (2004) Brassinosteroid signal transduction – choices of signals and receptors. Trends in Plant Sci 9: 91-96.
  • He, J.X., Fujioka, S., Li, T.C., Kang, S.G., Seto, H., Takatsuto, S.,Yoshida, S., and Jang, J.C. (2003) Sterols regulate development and gene expression in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol 131:1258-1269.
  • He, J.X., JM Gendron, Y. Yang, J. Li, Z.Y. Wang. (2002) The GSK3-like kinase BIN2 phosphorylates and destabilizes BZR1, a positive regulator of the brassinosteroid signaling pathway in Arabidopsis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99:10185-90.


Research Grants

  • 2022-2024: Mechanistic study of an atypical plant U-box-like protein LPR in regulating primary root growth in Arabidopsis. RGC-GRF (Project code: 14104521), HK$1,125,732. (PI)
  • 2018-2019, 國家重點研發計劃—"港澳台科技創新合作” 重點專項RMB$980,000 (Co-PI)
  • 2018-2021: NSFC-RGC Joint Scheme. Mechanisms by which brassinosteroids regulate plant photomorphorgenesis through GATA and MYB transcription factors. (Project code: N_CUHK452/17), HK$1,250,000. (PI)
  • 2017-2025: Hong Kong UGC-AoE Grant, Center for Genomic Studies on Plant-Environment Interaction for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. (Project code: AoE/M-403/16), HK$75.59 M. (Co-PI)
  • 2017-2019: Research Grant Council (RGC) GRF, Functional study of a new MYB-like transcription factor in secondary cell wall formation in Arabidopsis. (Project code: 14148916), HK$1,072,55. (PI)
  • 2016-2018: Research Grant Council (RGC) GRF, Characterization and gene functional study of a new albino mutant in Arabidopsis. (Project code: 14121915), HK$1,014,975. (PI)
  • 2014-2018: Hong Kong UGC-AoE Grant, Center for Organelle Biogenesis and Function. (Project code:  AoE/M-05/12), HK$47.25 M. (Co-I)
  • 2013-2015: Research Grant Council (RGC) GRF, Mechanistic studies of brassinosteroid-induced stress resistance in Arabidopsis. HK$1,200,000. (PI)
  • 2011-2013: Research Grant Council (RGC) GRF, Identify new regulators of brassinosteroid signaling and plant development through the bzr1-1D suppressor mutant screen in Arabidopsis. HK$1,000,000. (PI)
  • 2010-2012: Research Grant Council (RGC) GRF, Identify new downstream signaling components in the brassinosteroid signal transduction pathway in Arabidopsis - Functional characterization of two BZR1 interacting proteins ZIP1 and ZIP2. HK$944,700. (PI)
  • 2012-2015: National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Genomic study of drought tolerance mechanisms in plants. RMB3.0M. (PI)
  • 2012-2016: Shenzhen ‘Peacock’ Project, Applied basic researches of plant molecular biotechnologies and their applications in modern agriculture. RMB30.0M. (Co-I, core member)
  • 2011-2013: National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), Functions and mechanisms of the Arabidopsis STO gene in plant UV-B signaling. RMB360,000. (Co-I)
  • 2009-2010: National Transgenic Project of China, Development of transgenic corn with high nitrogen use efficiency. RMB4.37M. (Sub-project PI)
  • 2009-2010: National Transgenic Project of China, Discovery and mechanistic study of genes important for crop yield, nutrition and stress resistance. RMB 2.96M. (Co-I)


Professional Activities

          Editorship:

  • Associate Editor, Frontiers in Plant Science (2021-)
  • Editorial Board Member, Acta Botanica Sinica (2009-).
  • Editorial Board Member/Reviewing Editor, Frontiers in Plant Science (2015-)
  • Editorial Board Member/Reviewing Editor, Scientific Reports (2016-)
  • Editorial Board Member/Reviewing Editor, Plant Science (2018-)
  • Editorial Board Member/Reviewing Editor, J of Plant Growth Regulation (2016-2017)

          Peer reviewer:

  • Nature Communications, Nature Plants, PNAS, Plant Cell, Plant Physiol, Mol Plant, Mol Cell Proteomics, Scientific Reports, Plant & Cell Environ, J Exp Bot, Frontiers in Plant Sci, Plant Science, J Genetics and Genomics (JGG), Plant Cell Reports, Planta, J Integr Plant Biol, Protoplasma, J Proteome Res, J Proteomics, PloS One, etc.

Other Impact

  • In 2022, Prof. JX He was listed among the world’s top 2% of the most cited scientists (single year citation category) by Stanford University.