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Jiming Jiang

Professor of Horticulture

Lab Home Page:

Jiang Lab

Address:

409A Horticulture

Telephone:

262-1878

Email:

jjiang1@wisc.edu

Research Fields:

Plant Genetics

Gene Expression

Genomics

Research Interests

Research Description

The centromere is the most characteristic landmark of chromosomes in eukaryotic species. It is responsible for sister chromatid cohesion and is the site for the assembly of the kinetochore to which spindle fibers attach during cell division. Although the functions of centromeres are conserved in all eukaryotes, the DNA sequence that underlies centromeres has no discernable conservation among model eukaryotes, which has been one of the most intriguing enigmas in biology. We are interested in studying the structure and function of plant centromeres. We recently sequenced and characterized the entire centromere of rice chromosome 8 (Cen8), the first fully sequenced centromere from a multicellular eukaryote. Several active genes were discovered in the centromeric protein-binding domain of the Cen8. We are studying the expression and evolution of these centromeric genes that are located in a cytologically distinct and recombination-suppressed chromosomal domain.

We are also interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of resistance against potato late blight, which caused the Irish Potato Famine in 1845 and is still a major threat to the potato industry today. We cloned a resistance gene, RB, from a wild potato species. Transgenic potato containing the RB gene shows a broad-spectrum resistance to all known races of the late blight pathogen. We are using both genetic and genomic approaches to dissect the resistance pathway mediated by the RB gene and to understand the mechanisms of broad-spectrum plant disease resistance.

Representative Publications

• Yan, H.H., Ito, H., Nobuta, K., Ouyang, S., Jin, W.W., Tian, S.L., Lu, C., Venu, R.C., Wang, G.-L., Green, P.J., Wing, R.A., Buell, C.R., Meyers, B.C., and Jiang, J. 2006. Genomic and genetic characterization of rice Cen3 reveals extensive transcription and evolutionary implications of a complex centromere. Plant Cell. 18:2123-2133.
• Yan, H.H., Jin, W.W., Nagaki, K., Tian, S., Ouyang, S., Buell, C.R., Talbert, P.B., Henikoff, S., and Jiang, J. 2005. Transcription and histone modifications in the recombination-free region spanning a rice centromere. Plant Cell 17: 3227-3238.
• Nagaki, K., Cheng, Z.K., Ouyang, S., Talbert, P.B., Kim, M., Jones, K.M., Henikoff, S., Buell, C.R., and Jiang, J. 2004. Sequencing of a rice centromere uncovers active genes. Nat. Genet. 36: 138-145.
• Jin, W.W., Melo, J.R., Nagaki, K., Talbert, P.B., Henikoff, S., Dawe, R.K., and Jiang, J. 2004. Maize centromeres: Organization and functional adaptation in the genetic background of oat. Plant Cell 16: 571-581.
• Song, J.Q., Bradeen, J.M., Naess, S.K., Raasch, J.A., Wielgus, S.M., Haberlach, G.T., Liu, J., Kuang, H., Austin-Phillips, S., Buell, C.R., Helgeson, J.P., and Jiang, J. 2003. Gene RB cloned from Solanum bulbocastanum confers broad spectrum resistance to potato late blight. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 100: 9128-9133.