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| Prof
Weichang YU
Address: |
G02A CSLB, CUHK (Office); |
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Molecular Biology and Transgenic Laboratory, G02-06 CSLB, CUHK (Lab) |
| Phone: |
(852)
3943-1270 |
| Fax: |
(852)
2603-6382 |
| E-mail: |
yuwc@cuhk.edu.hk |
| Education |
| 2002 |
PhD (Genetics Area Program), University of Missouri, USA |
| 1991 |
MSc (Plant Genetics), Institute of Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China |
| 1988 |
BSc (Plant Physiology and Biochemistry), Beijing University, China |
| Position |
| 2007-present
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Research Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong |
| 2002-2007 |
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, USA |
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| Professional
Activities |
| Membership in the following Professional Organizations: |
| The American Society of Plant Biologists |
| The Chinese Society for Plant Physiology |
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| Research
Interests |
Engineered minichromosomes in maize have been constructed as plant artificial chromosome platforms for future genetic engineering aiming at multiple gene or biochemical pathway expression to create crops with novel properties, such as those that would reduce, eliminate or manipulate the use of chemical fertilizers and herbicides, provide insect or microbial resistance, allow adaptation to new environments, improve cultivation techniques, increase yield, facilitate the development of biofuels or produce metabolic products and pharmaceuticals. We are interested in applying this technology to crops such as maize, rice, wheat, soybean, oilseeds, cotton, etc. In addition, we are also interested in traditional genetic engineering, gene expression and silencing, cytogenetics and chromosome engineering. |
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| Representative
Publications For the Past Five Years |
| 1. |
Vega, J.M., Yu, W., Han, F., Kato, A., Peters, E.M., Zhang, Z.J. and Birchler, J.A. (2008) Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of maize (Zea mays) with Cre-lox site specific recombination cassettes in BIBAC vectors. Plant Mol. Biol. (in press) |
| 2. |
Vega, J.M., Yu, W., Kennon, A.R., Chen, X. and Zhang, Z.J. (2008) Improvement of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in Hi-II maize (Zea mays) using standard binary vectors. Plant Cell Rep 27: 297-305. |
| 3. |
Han, F., Gao, Z., Yu, W. and Birchler, J.A. (2007) Minichromosome analysis of chromosome pairing, disjunction, and sister chromatid cohesion in maize. Plant Cell 19: 3853-3863. |
| 4. |
Han, F., Lamb, J.C., Yu, W., Gao, Z. and Birchler, J.A. (2007) Centromere function and nondisjunction are independent components of the maize B chromosome accumulation mechanism. Plant Cell 19: 524-533. |
| 5. |
Lamb, J.C., Yu, W., Han,F. and Birchler, J.A. (2007) Plant chromosomes from end to end: telomeres, heterochromatin and centromeres. Curr Opin Plant Biol 10: 116-122. |
| 6. |
Yu, W. and Birchler, J.A. (2007) Minichromosomes: The next generation technology for genetic engineering. Information Systems For Biotechnology News Report. http://www.isb.vt.edu/news/2007/Aug07.pdf. |
| 7. |
Yu, W., Han, F. and Birchler, J. A. (2007) Engineered minichromosomes in plants. Current Opinion in Biotechnology 18: 425-431. |
| 8. |
Yu, W., Han, F., Gao, Z., Vega, J. M. and Birchler, J. A. (2007) Construction and behavior of engineered minichromosomes in maize.Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104: 8924-8929. |
| 9. |
Yu, W., Lamb, J.C., Han, F. and Birchler, J.A. (2007) Cytological visualization of transposable elements and transpositions in somatic cells of maize. Genetics 175: 31-39. |
| 10. |
Lamb, J.C., Kato, A., Yu, W., Han, F., Albert, P.S. and Birchler, J.A. (2006) Cytogenetics and chromosome analytical techniques. In Floriculture, Ornamental and Plant Biotechnology. Volume IV. Global Science Book, UK. |
| 11. |
Yu, W. (2006) Chloroplast transformation. In: Xuexian Peng (ed), Handbook of Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Chemical Industry Press. Beijing, China, pp. 239-241. |
| 12. |
Yu, W. (2006) Chromosomal localization of transgenes by FISH. In: Xuexian Peng (ed), Handbook of Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Chemical Industry Press. Beijing, China, pp. 276-282. |
| 13. |
Yu, W., Lamb, J.C., Han, F. and Birchler, J.A. (2006) Telomere-associated chromosomal truncation in maize. PNAS 103: 17331-17336. |
| 14. |
Yu, W., Han, F., Kato, A. and Birchler, J.A. (2006) Characterization of a maize isochromosome 8SĦE8S. Genome 49: 700-706. |
| 15. |
Yu, W., Su, X., Xiang, Y., Tang, W. and Zhang, Z. (2006) Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. In: Xuexian Peng (ed), Handbook of Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Chemical Industry Press. Beijing, China, pp. 177-202. |
| 16. |
Yu, W., Murfett, J. and Schoelz, J.E. (2003) Differential induction of symptoms in Arabidopsis by P6 of Cauliflower mosaic virus. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 16: 35-42. |
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| Patent |
| 2007 |
Weichang Yu and James A. Birchler. Plant Artificial Chromosome Platforms via Telomere Truncation. Serial No.: 11/746,558. Patent pending. |
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| Research
Grants |
Direct Grants of the Research Committee, CUHK |
| 2008-2009 |
Telomere-mediated chromosomal truncation in rice. (principal investigator) |
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