Research

Shoot Meristem Development

SHOOTMERISTEMLESS (STM) signaling networks and meristem development

I have developed integrated transcriptional networks on meristem development and stress signaling pathways in Arabidopsis thaliana. However, it is important to understand how genotype and phenotype correlate for meristem development in accordance to the environmental cues. My lab will combine genomic, genetics, and systems biology approaches to link meristem and stress-associated traits to the gene regulatory networks that control them.

Jesus Preciado, Kevin Begcy, Liu T. (2022) The Arabidopsis ABIG1 is an Adaxial Regulator During Leaf Development. Journal of Experimental Botany. DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erab523

Nidhi Sharma, Jesus Preciado, Tie Liu. (2021) KNOX HOMOLOGS SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) and KNAT6 are epistatic to CLAVATA3 (CLV3) during embryonic meristem development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular Biology Reports. 48(9):6291-6302. doi: 10.1007/s11033-021-066224

Liu T, Longhurst A, Talavera-Rauh F, Hokin S, and Barton MK. (2016) The Arabidopsis transcriptionalrepressor ABIG1 relays ABA signaled inhibition of growth and drought induced senescence. eLife. 5,e13768.

Postharvest senescence

**Postharvest senescence in broccoli (Brassica oleracea)**

The cultivated Brassica species, which are the group of crops most closely related to Arabidopsis. Previous comparative research between Brassica oleracea and Arabidopsis thaliana genome identified numerous one-to-one segmental relationships and genome duplications. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism of postharvest senescence in broccoli. My lab will focus on identifying genes that are involved in postharvest senescence in Brassica oleracea and the other Brassica species .

Yogesh Ahlawat, Song Li, Eleni D. Pliakoni, Jeffrey Brecht, and Tie Liu. (2022) Identifying gene regulatory networks of senescence in postharvest broccoli (Brassica oleracea). Postharvest Biology and Technology. 183, 111729. https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0925-5214(21)00268-4.
https://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2021.02.18.431815v1
Xiaolei Guo, Yogesh Ahlawat,  Alina Zare, Tie Liu (2022) Evaluation of Postharvest Senescence in Broccoli Via Hyperspectral Imaging. The Plant Phenomics. https://spj.sciencemag.org/journals/plantphenomics/2022/9761095/

Taehoon Kim, Shafina Samraj, Juan Jimenez, Celina Gomez, Liu T, Kevin Begcy.  (2021) Surveying the lettuce genome: Genome-wide identification of Hsfs and Hsps in response to different light conditions. BMC Plant Biology. 21, 185.
https://bmcplantbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12870-021-02959-x

Yogesh Ahlawat,  Tie Liu (2020) Varied expression of senescence-associated and ethylene-related genes during postharvest storage of Brassica vegetables. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22(2), 839; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22020839.

Fruit ripening and development

Muscadine grape ripening

The gene regulatory networks in fruit ripening

Chang Y, Yogesh Ahlawat, Ali Sarkhosh, and Liu T. (2022) Spatiotemporal transcriptome mapping of muscadine berry development and ripening. Frontier in Plant Sciences.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.949383

Fariborz Habibi, Liu T, Kevin Folta, Ali Sarkhosh. (2022) Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Aspects of Grafting in Fruit Trees. Horticulture Research. https://academic.oup.com/hr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/hr/uhac032/6532224

Chilling injury in tropical and subtropical fruit

The mechanisms of chilling injury in tropical and subtropical plants

Cell wall changes and softening in small fruits after harvest

We are interested in understanding the molecular mechanisms of cell wall changes during fruit ripening and how cell wall breakdown causes postharvest fruit softening in blueberry

.