Education

Ph.D. in Crop Genetics and Breeding, Huazhong Agricultural University, 1990

Current position

Vice president of Huazhong Agricultural University
Vice director of National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement
Chair of Cotton Science Group
College of Plant Science and Technology
Huazhong Agricultural University
Research focus: Embryogenesis and plant regeneration in cotton; Genetic transformation in cotton; Molecular marker-assisted selection in cotton breeding;Cotton fiber development mechanism;The mechanism of cotton resistance to Verticillium wilt;The mechanism of cotton resistance to abiotic stress.

Publications (since 2010)

1. Gao, W., Long, L., Zhu, L.^*, Xu, L., Gao, W., Sun, L., Liu, L. and Zhang, X.^* (2013). Proteomic and virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) analyses reveal that Gossypol, Brassinosteroids and Jasmonic acid contribute to the resistance of cotton to Verticillium dahliae. Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.
   
2.  Min, L., Zhu, L., Tu, L., Deng, F., Yuan, D. and Zhang, X.^* (2013). Cotton GhCKI disrupts normal male reproduction by delaying tapetum programmed cell death via inactivating starch synthase. Plant J 75(5): 823-835.
   
3.  Tan, J., Tu, L., Deng, F., Hu, H., Nie, Y. and Zhang, X.^* (2013). A Genetic and Metabolic Analysis Revealed that Cotton Fiber Cell Development Was Retarded by Flavonoid Naringenin. Plant physiology 162(1): 86-95.
   
4.  Yang, X., Wang, L., Yuan, D., Lindsey, K. and Zhang, X.^* (2013). Small RNA and degradome sequencing reveal complex miRNA regulation during cotton somatic embryogenesis. J Exp Bot 64(6): 1521-1536.
   
5.  Hao, J., Tu, L., Hu, H., Tan, J., Deng, F., Tang, W., Nie, Y. and Zhang, X.^* (2012). GbTCP, a cotton TCP transcription factor, confers fibre elongation and root hair development by a complex regulating system. J Exp Bot 63(17): 6267-6281.
   
6.  Yang, X., Zhang, X.^*, Yuan, D., Jin, F., Zhang, Y. and Xu, J. (2012). Transcript profiling reveals complex auxin signalling pathway and transcription regulation involved in dedifferentiation and redifferentiation during somatic embryogenesis in cotton. BMC Plant Biol 12: 110.
   
7.  Jin, S., Zhang, X. and Daniell, H.^* (2012). Pinellia ternata agglutinin expression in chloroplasts confers broad spectrum resistance against aphid, whitefly, Lepidopteran insects, bacterial and viral pathogens. Plant biotechnology journal 10(3): 313-327.
   
8.  Deng, F., Tu, L., Tan, J., Li, Y., Nie, Y. and Zhang, X.^* (2012). GbPDF1 is involved in cotton fiber initiation via the core cis-element HDZIP2ATATHB2. Plant physiology 158(2): 890-904.
   
9.  Xu, L., Zhu, L., Tu, L., Liu, L., Yuan, D., Jin, L., Long, L. and Zhang, X.^* (2011). Lignin metabolism has a central role in the resistance of cotton to the wilt fungus Verticillium dahliae as revealed by RNA-Seq-dependent transcriptional analysis and histochemistry. Journal of experimental botany 62(15): 5607-5621.
   
10.  Hu, L., Yang, X., Yuan, D., Zeng, F. and Zhang, X.^* (2011). GhHmgB3 deficiency deregulates proliferation and differentiation of cells during somatic embryogenesis in cotton. Plant Biotechnol J 9(9): 1038-1048.
    
11.  Yu, Y., Yuan, D., Liang, S., Li, X., Wang, X., Lin, Z. and Zhang, X.^* (2011). Genome structure of cotton revealed by a genome-wide SSR genetic map constructed from a BC1 population between gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense. BMC Genomics 12: 15.
    
12. Yang, X. and Zhang, X.^* (2010). Regulation of somatic embryogenesis in higher plants. Critical Reviews in Plant Science 29(1): 36-57.
    
13.  Munis, M. F., Tu, L., Deng, F., Tan, J., Xu, L., Xu, S., Long, L. and Zhang, X.^* (2010). A thaumatin-like protein gene involved in cotton fiber secondary cell wall development enhances resistance against Verticillium dahliae and other stresses in transgenic tobacco. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 393(1): 38-44.
    
14.  Li, Y., Liu, D., Tu, L., Zhang, X.^*, Wang, L., Zhu, L., Tan, J. and Deng, F. (2010). Suppression of GhAGP4 gene expression repressed the initiation and elongation of cotton fiber. Plant Cell Rep 29(2): 193-202.
    

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