Direction:

My primary focus lies in investigating a fundamental question in botany: how do compound leaf forms develop, and what is the basis for their diversity?  Over the past five years, I have achieved four significant academic milestones outlined below. Utilizing the model legume Medicago truncatula, I have (1) elucidated how the stemness activity of early compound leaf primordia is finely tuned to determine the final leaflet number and arrangement. Additionally, I have (2) uncovered the molecular mechanisms responsible for coordinating leaflet initiation and boundary formation during compound leaf development. Furthermore, (3) I have revealed the molecular mechanisms by which auxin and brassinosteroids (BRs) respectively regulate the vascular development and the delicate structures of organs within the compound leaf in later developmental stages. By studying the important leguminous crop chickpea, I have (4) elucidated the molecular regulatory mechanisms underlying the pattern formation of typical pinnate compound leaves. These findings have been published in esteemed international academic journals such as Nature Plants (as first author), Nature Communications (as last/corresponding author), Plant Cell (as first author), and New Phytologist (one co-first authorship, one co-corresponding authorship).  I aim to further delve into exploring the conserved or special regulatory mechanisms underlying the development of different compound leaf forms and the molecular mechanisms governing compound leaf plasticity and the conversion of different forms. This pursuit aims to elucidate the causes of compound leaf morphological diversity at the cellular and molecular levels. The outcomes of this research will enrich the theoretical understanding of legume plant morphogenesis and provide guidance and genetic resources for designing plant architecture and improving varieties of leguminous crops.

Achievements:

Article:

(#Co-first authors, *Co-corresponding authors):  1.  Ye Liu, Yuanfan Yang, Ruoruo Wang, Mingli Liu, Xiaomin Ji, Yexin He, Baolin Zhao, Wenju Li, Xiaoyu Mo, Xiaojia Zhang, Zhijia Gu, Bo Pan, Yu Liu, Million Tadege*, Jianghua Chen*, Liangliang He*, Control of compound leaf patterning by MULTI-PINNATE LEAF1 (MPL1) in chickpea. Nature Communications, 14(1): 8088, 2023.  2.  Liangliang He#, Ye Liu#, Yawen Mao#, Xinyuan Wu#, Xiaoling Zheng, Weiyue Zhao, Xiaoyu Mo, Ruoruo Wang, Qinq Wu, Dongfa Wang, Youhan Li, Yuanfan Yang, Quanzi Bai, Xiaojia Zhang, Shaoli Zhou, Baolin Zhao, Changning Liu, Yu Liu, Million Tadege, Jianghua Chen*, PINNATE-LIKE PENTAFOLIATA2, encoding a GRAS transcription factor, controls compound leaf morphogenesis by directly repressing SGL1/MtLEAFY activity in Medicago truncatula. The Plant Cell, 36(5): 1755–1776, 2024.  3.  Zhuo Yuan, Xiaoting Xie, Mingli liu, Yexin He, Liangliang He*, Mutations of PsPALM1a and PsPALM1b associated with the afila Phenotype in Pea. Physiologia Plantarum. 176(3), e14310, 2024.  4.  Liangliang He#, Yu Liu#, Hua He, Ye Liu, Jinfeng Qi, Xiaojia Zhang, Youhan Li, Yawen Mao, Shaoli Zhou, Xiaoling Zheng, Quanzi Bai, Baolin Zhao, Dongfa Wang, Jiangqi Wen, Kirankumar S. Mysore, Million Tadege, Yongmei Xia, Jianghua Chen*, A molecular framework underlying the compound leaf pattern of Medicago truncatula, Nature Plants, 6(5): 511-521, 2020.  (Cover story)  5.  Xiaoyu Mo#, Liangliang He#*, Ye Liu, Dongfa Wang, Baolin Zhao, and Jianghua Chen*. The Genetic Control of the Compound Leaf Patterning in Medicago truncatula. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12: 749989, 2022.  6.  Yating Yang, Zhuo Yuan, Conghui Ning, Baoling Zhao, Ruoruo Wang, Xiaoling Zheng, Yu Liu, Jianghua Chen*, Liangliang He*. The Pea R2R3-MYB Gene Family and Its Role in Anthocyanin Biosynthesis in Flowers. Frontiers in Genetics, 13:936051, 2022.  7. Mingli Liu, Wenju Li, Xiaoling Zheng, Zhuo Yuan, Yueqiong Zhou, Jing Yang, Yawen Mao, Dongfa Wang, Qing Wu, Yexin He, Liangliang He*, Dan Zong* and Jianghua Chen* Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of the PHD Finger Gene Family in Pea (Pisum sativum). Plants; 13(11): 1489, 2024.  8. Weiyue Zhao, Quanzi Bai, Baolin Zhao, Qing Wu, Chaoqun Wang, Ye Liu, Tianquan Yang, Yu Liu, Hua He, Shanshan Du, Million Tadege, Liangliang He*, and Jianghua Chen*. The geometry of the compound leaf plays a significant role in the leaf movement of Medicago truncatula modulated by mtdwarf4a. New phytologist, 230: 475-484, 2021.  9.  Xiaoling Zheng#, Liangliang He#, Ye Liu, Yawen Mao, Chaoqun Wang, Baolin Zhao, Youhan Li, Hua He, Shiqi Guo, Liangsheng Zhang, Harald Schneider, Million Tadege, Fang Chang, Jianghua Chen*, A study of male fertility control in Medicago truncatula uncovers an evolutionarily conserved recruitment of two tapetal bHLH subfamilies in plant sexual reproduction, New Phytologist, 228: 1115-1133, 2020.  10.  Shiqi Guo#, Xiaojia Zhang#, Quanzi Bai, Weiyue Zhao, Yuegengwang Fang, Shaoli Zhou, Baolin Zhao, Liangliang He*, Jianghua Chen*, Cloning and Functional Analysis of Dwarf Gene Mini Plant 1 (MNP1) in Medicago truncatula. International journal of molecular sciences, 21(14): E4968, 2020.  11.  Baolin Zhao#, Liangliang He#, Chuan Jiang#, Ye Liu, Hua He, Quanzi Bai, Shaoli Zhou, Xiaoling Zheng, Jiangqi Wen, Kirankumar S. Mysore, Million Tadege, Yu Liu, Renyi Liu* and Jianghua Chen*, Lateral Leaflet Suppression 1 (LLS1), encoding the MtYUCCA1 protein, regulates lateral leaflet development in Medicago truncatula, New Phytologist, 227: 613-628, 2020.  12.  Yueying Li#, Liangliang He#, Jing Li, Jianghua Chen* and Changning Liu*. Genome-Wide Identification, Characterization, and Expression Profiling of the Legume BZR Transcription Factor Gene Family. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9: 1332, 2018.

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