Meristem Development and Organ Senescence
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            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.

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                                   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 .

Utsab Ghimire, Eleni Pliakoni, Fahong Yu, Jeffrey K. Brecht, Liu T (2023) Identifying genes regulated during natural, on-plant senescence in broccoli (Brassica oleracea) in contrast to postharvest senescence.  Postharvest Biology and Technology. 1206, 112535. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2023.112535
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.

Kathryn ChaseG, Catherine Belisle, Yogesh Ahlawatf, Fahong Yu, Gérman Sandoya, Kevin Begcy, and Liu T.(2024) Examining preharvest genetic and morphological factors contributing to lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) shelf life during natural senescence in broccoli (Brassica oleracea). Scientific Report.

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Habibi F, Liu T, Muhammad S, Schaffer B, Sarkhosh A. (2023)  Physiological, Biochemical, and Molecular Responses of Fruit Trees to Rootzone Hypoxia. Environmental Experimental Botany. 206. February, 2023. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2022.105179
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

The meristem for potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum) serve as an excellent model system to study meristem development in response to a changing environment because their meristems are large in size and have continued transcriptional activity despite dormancy.

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Xiaolei Guo g, Chiwah Tseung&, Alina Zare, Liu T. (2023) Hyperspectral Image Analysis for the Evaluation of Chilling Injury in Avocado Fruit during Cold Storage. Postharvest Biology and Technology.
​https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2023.112548.



Garcia EG., Koh J., Wu X., Sarkhosh A, and Liu T. (2024) Tissue-specific proteome profile analysis reveals regulatory and stress-responsive networks in passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) during storage. Scientific Report.

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 small fruit crops 


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