Our group is broadly interested in plant-microbe interactions under different environmental conditions and the application of this knowledge to crop improvement. Using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, we explored the fundamental mechanisms of membrane receptors and ion channels in modulating plant immune response against bacterial and fungal pathogens. To extend the application potential of these genes, their homologs in crop plants are also under investigation!

Like human, plants get sick upon the infection of pathogenic bacteria, fungi, viruses and etc. We are broadly interested in exploring how plants defense themselves by activating specific molecular pathways, including the perception of pathogen-associated molecular patterns via membrane receptors, defense signaling mediated by phytohormones, and the transcriptional control by different families of transcription factors.