People

AssociateProfessorat Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology. She received her Ph.D from South China Agricultural University and subsequentlyconductedpostdoctoral research at Hunan University and Zhejiang University. In September 2026, she jointed SUAT as a Associate Professor at the Institute of Emerging Agricultural Technology.

During her doctoral studies, she focused on plant hormone signal transduction, elucidating the molecular mechanism by which cytosolic receptor-like protein kinases (RAKs) precisely regulate the activity and stability of RopGEF1 through phosphorylation, thereby activating the ROP switch and controlling auxin-dependent developmental processes.This discovery fills a critical missing link in the cell-surface signaling pathway between auxin signaling and ROP, representing an important breakthrough in the field of plant hormone signal transduction.The related work was also selected as one of the Important Research Advances in Plant Science in China in 2025.During her postdoctoral research, she mainly studied Brassicaceae plants (vegetables) to investigate the mechanisms underlying distant hybridization barriers.Herresearch findings have been published as first author (including co-first author) in internationally renowned journals such as Nature Plants, Molecular Plant, Plant Cell, and New Phytologist.

Auxin Signaling: Investigating auxin signal transduction and its applications in agricultural synthetic biology.Current research directions include:

1. Auxin signal transduction and its applications in agricultural synthetic biology;

2. Molecular mechanisms of plant hormones in embryo development and stem cell maintenance;

3. PlantSynthetic Biologyresearch.

Education Background

Bachelor’s Degree (September2010–June2014):JiningUniversity

Master’s Degree (September 2014–June2017):South China AgricultureUniversity

Ph.D. (September 2017–December2022):South China AgricultureUniversity

Professional Experience

2026.09–Present:AssociateProfessor, Faculty ofInstitute of Emerging Agricultural Technology,Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology

2023.12–2026.05: Postdoctoral Fellow,Hunan University

2022.12-2023.06：Research Assistant，South China Agriculture University

1.General Programof the National Natural Science Foundation of China,2024/01-2027/12，Ongoing, Participant;

2. Key Program of Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province,2026/01-2028/12，Ongoing, Participant.

1.ZhangX,JiangH,ZhuG,ChenF,YuanW,LiY,ZhangW,WuD,LiuH,WuH-M,Cheung Y.A, and Tao L-Z.*(2025)RLCKs phosphorylate RopGEFs to control auxin-dependent Arabidopsis development. Nature plants, 11(10), 2130–2144.

2. Qin C#,Zhang X#,Zhu G#,Zhang R,He S, Liang K, Zhao X, Amir G-R, Haseeb J, Xu B, Pan S,Yang J, Chen N, Lin S, Li X, Zhang P, He Y, Duan Q, Cao J, Huang L*, and Huang J-B*. (2026)Single-nucleus transcriptome atlas of Brassica developing seeds provides cellular andmolecular insights into embryo abortion in interspecific hybrids.Molecular Plant. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2026.09.016.

3.LiuH#, HuangJ#,ZhangX,LiuG, LiangW, ZhuG, DongM, LiM, ZhangJ, YangW, XiaoW, CheungY.A, and Tao L-Z.*(2022)The RAC/ROP GTPase activator OsRopGEF10 functions in crown root development by regulating cytokinin signaling in rice. The Plant Cell,35(1): 453-468.

4.ZouY,ZhangX,TanY, Huang J-B, Zheng Z,and TaoL-Z*.(2019)Phosphoethanolamine N-methyltransferase 1 contributes to maintenance of root apical meristem by affecting ROS and auxin-regulated cell differentiation in Arabidopsis. New Phytologist, 224: 453-468.

5.LiuG#,Yang W#,ZhangX,PengT, ZouY, ZhangT,WangH, LiuX-C, and TaoL-Z*.(2019)Cystathionine beta-lyse is crucial for embryo patterning and the maintenance of root stem cell niche in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal, 99: 536-555.

6.HuangJ-B#, ZouY#,ZhangX,WangM, DongQ, and TaoL-T*.(2020)RIBOSE PHOSPHATE ISOMERSASE 1 influences root development by acting on cell wall biosynthesis, actin organization, and auxin transport in Arabidopsis. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2020, 10: 1641.

7.ZhuG#, WangJ#, HeS, LiangK, ZhangR, HuangJ-B, YangX*and ZhangX*.(2024)Comprehensive Analysis of BrDUF506 Genes Across the Brassica rapa Genome Uncovers Potential Functions in Sexual Reproduction and Abiotic Stress Tolerance. International Journal of Molecular Science, 25, 11087.

8.ZhangX,GhishkoriN, HussainI, Haseeb J, ZhuG, HuangJ-B*, and Amir G*.(2026)Genome-Wide Identification of PSK Gene Family and Effects of Abscisic Acid (ABA) in Regulating Antioxidant Activity and ROS Signaling Under Drought Stress in Brassica napus. International Journal of Molecular Science, 27, 1064.

(#Co-first author, *Corresponding author)