chengshifeng.jpg

Shifeng Cheng

Professor/Principle Investigator
Director of Plant Genomics Center, AGIS, CAAS, China

Awarded as:

National Natural Funds for Excellent young talent
"Outstanding Young Talent" of CAAS
National leading talent at Shenzhen

Contact

 [email protected]

My research interest covers two aspects:

1) trait-based plant phylogenomics to explore the origin and diversification of a novel adaptive trait and its related gene or regulatory element discovery in a macroevolutionary level;

2) identify, catalogue and exploit new diversity and beneficial alleles underlying a wide range of agronomic traits in an extensive germplasm collection both for cereal and legume grains using quantitative genomics approaches, combing both the association and linkage study for gene-trait genetic dissection and gene discovery in a population level.

I have particular interest in two plant families:

Poaceae (cereals) and Fabaceae (legumes), the most two important resources in agriculture & food, also the two fundamental scientific questions in plant evolutionary biology: C4 photosynthesis and N-fixing root nodule symbiosis, and their crosstalk, integration and balance. Nodulation deals with what's happening below ground (soil nutrition, nitrogen via bacteria) and C3/C4 is above ground (with sun, and for Carbon). two of the most important processes for plant agriculture.

Our research approaches integrate evolutionary genomics, population genetics, and multi-omics.

Our vision is: borrow genes from biodiversity and evolution to 'real crops', for human's benefits.

Research Interest

  • Plant Comparative Evolutionary Genomics
  • Crop Population Quantitative Genomics
  • Cereals and C4 photosynthesis
  • Legume and N2-fixing Nodulation

Education

  • Ph.D. in Genomics-based Bioinformatics

    University of Hong Kong

Selected Publications

  1. Cheng S*, Wong G, Melkonian M.  Giant DNA viruses make big strides in eukaryote evolution.  Cell Host & Microbe(2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2021.01.008
  2. Cheng S*, Xian W, Fu Y, et al.  Genomes of Subaerial Zygnematophyceae Provide Insights into Land Plant Evolution.  Cell,  2019, 179(5): 1057-1067. e14.
  3. Griesmann M, Chang Y, Liu X, et al. Cheng S†.  Phylogenomics reveals multiple losses of nitrogen-fixing root nodule symbiosis.  Science,  2018, 361(6398): eaat1743.
  4. Cheng S*, Melkonian M, Smith SA, et al.  10KP: A phylodiverse genome sequencing plan.  Gigascience. 2018;7(3):1–9.
  5. Cheng S*, Gutmann B, Zhong X, et al.  Redefining the structural motifs that determine RNA binding and RNA editing by pentatricopeptide repeat proteins in land plants.  Plant J.  2016;85(4):532–547.
  6. Lin S, Cheng S*, Song B, et al.  The Symbiodinium kawagutii genome illuminates dinoflagellate gene expression and coral symbiosis.  Science. 2015;350(6261):691–694.
  7. Cheng S*, van den Bergh E, Zeng P, et al.  The Tarenaya hassleriana genome provides insight into reproductive trait and genome evolution of crucifers.  Plant Cell. 2013;25(8):2813–2830.
  8. Zhang, G., Liu, X., Quan, Z. Cheng S*. et al.   Genome sequence of foxtail millet (Setaria italica) provides insights into grass evolution and biofuel potential.  Nat Biotechnol 30, 549–554 (2012).
top