Address	(Office): Rm 286, Science Centre South Block (Lab): EG12 , Science Centre East Block
Phone	(Office): (852) 3943 6389 (Lab): (852) 3943 6280
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Web	www.epigenome.cuhk.edu.hk/lab

Education

Position

• 2019 Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences
• 2013 Assistant Professor, School of Life Sciences

Research Interests

• Epigenetics and genomics
• Hormone signaling network
• Fruit ripening
• Sequencing technology

Representative Publications

Full publication list

1. Tu X., Mejía-Guerra M.K., Franco J.V., Tzeng D., Chu P.Y., Shen W., Wei Y., Dai X., Li P., Buckler E and Zhong S. (2020) Reconstructing the maize leaf regulatory network using ChIP-seq data of 104 transcription factors. Nature Communications. 5089.
2. Dong, P., Tu X., Liang Z., Kang BH. and Zhong S. (2020) Plant and animal chromatin three-dimensional organization: similar structures but different functions. Journal of Experimental Botany. 71:5119-5128
3. Dong, P., Tu, X., Li, H., Zhang, J., Grierson, D., Li, P., and Zhong, S. (2020) Tissue-specific Hi-C analyses of rice, foxtail millet and maize suggest non-canonical function of plant chromatin domains. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. 62, 201-217.
4. Gao Y., Zhu N., Zhu X., Wu M., Jiang C., Grierson D., Luo Y., Shen W., Zhong S., Fu D., and Qu G. (2019) Diversity and redundancy of the ripening regulatory networks revealed by the fruitENCODE and the new CRISPR/Cas9 CNR and NOR mutants. Horticulture Research. 6:39.
5. Lv, P., Yu, S., Zhu, N., Chen, Y., Zhou, B., Pan, Y., Tzeng, D., Fabi, J., Argyris, J., Garcia-Mas5, J., Ye, N., Zhang, J., Grierson, D., Xiang, J., Fei, Z., Giovannoni, J., and Zhong S. (2018) Genome encode analyses reveal the basis of convergent evolution of fleshy fruit ripening. Nature Plants. 4:784-791.
6. Dong P., Tu X., Chu P.Y., Lv P., Zhu N., Grierson D., Du B., Li P., and Zhong S. (2017). 3D Chromatin Architecture of Large Plant Genomes Determined by Local A/B Compartments. Molecular Plant. 10, 1497-1509.
7. Zhong S, Fei Z, Chen YC, Zheng Y, Huang M, Vrebalov J, Gapper N, McQuinn R, Liu B, Xiang J, Shao, Y and Giovannoni J (2013) Single-base resolution methylomes of tomato fruit development reveal epigenome modifications associated with ripening. Nature Biotechnology. 31:154-159.
8. Tomato Genome Consortium (2012) The tomato genome sequence provides insights into fleshy fruit evolution. Nature. 485:635-641.
9. Zhong S., Li H., Bodi Z., Button J., Vespa L., Herzog M. and Fray, RG. (2008) MTA is an Arabidopsis messenger RNA adenosine methylase and interacts with a homolog of a sex-specific splicing factor. The Plant Cell. 20:1278-1288.
10. Zhong S., Lin Z. and Grierson D. (2008) Tomato ethylene receptor–CTR interactions: visualization of NEVER-RIPE interactions with multiple CTRs at the endoplasmic reticulum. Journal of Experimental Botany 59:965-972. 

Research Grants

• 2021: GRF, Investigate the single cell epigenome of tomato fruit, HK$ 1,394,799.
• 2020: GRF, Genome-wide demethylation and 3D chromatin structure alteration during early tomato fruit development, HK$ 1,320,623.
• 2019: GRF, Chasing the genetic and epigenetic origin of the tomato fruit ripening mechanism. HK$ 935,530
• 2018: GRF, Pan-epigenome Analysis of Fruit Ripening. HK$ 1,278,357.
• 2016: GRF, Use the ripening gas ethylene and tomato as a model to investigate the molecular mechanism of tissue-specific hormone signaling. $1,320,363.
• 2015: ITF-Tier3, Development of a plasma-based plant growth light for agricultural use. $1,390,350.
• 2015: GRF, Epigenome reprogramming and chromatin accessibility during tomato fruit development. $1,542,740.

Awards

• 2014: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Honor Award in the category of Increasing global food security.
• 2009: Human Frontier Science Program Long-term Fellowship Award.