研究方向（Research）：
盐胁迫是危害我国及世界粮食产量的主要非生物胁迫之一。大多数的主粮作物如水稻、玉米、土豆及大豆等对盐胁迫都十分敏感，植株生长发育及产量受到其严重影响。根系是植物吸收水分及氮、磷等营养元素的首要器官，也是植物应对盐害等复杂土壤环境的第一道防线。本实验室围绕植物如何通过根系与环境互作这一科学问题，以水稻等作物为研究对象，利用遗传学、分子生物学、发育生物学及计算生物学等交叉学科技术方法，研究植物根系生长发育响应盐害等环境因子的分子机制。实验室目前主要的研究方向为：
1.植物根系可塑性生长响应盐害等胁迫条件的分子机制；
2.植物激素独脚金内酯参与根系生长及逆境应答的分子机制；
3.植物根冠通讯响应胁迫的分子机制。
Environmental Control of Crop Root System Biology
Soil salinity is one of the major abiotic factors negatively affecting global crop production. Major crop species such as rice, maize, potato and soybean are very sensitive to salinity stress. Optimal root growth is crucial for plants to absorb water and nutrients to achieve high yields in the ever-changing climate. Research in Crop Root Biology Lab led by Dr. Yanxia Zhang in College of Agriculture, SCAU focuses on understanding how plants thrive under stress conditions through their root systems. We aim to understand the following questions to contribute to the field: (1) the molecular mechanisms of root system growth regulation in response to salinity; (2) how phytohormones, in particular strigolactones, mediate stress response and root growth; (3) how roots and shoots communicate in response to stress signals. We study major crops from monocotyledonous Oryza species to dicotyledonous Solanaceae to provide molecular knowledge to aid crop engineering for stress resilience.
教育经历（Education）：
学士(B.sc)生物科学2006.6佳木斯大学
硕士(M.sc)植物学2009.1北京林业大学 （导师：刘玉军教授）
博士(Ph.D)植物生理学2014.9 Wageningen University& Research（导师：Harro Bouwmeester院士）
工作经历( Positions and Roles)：
2014.9 - 2016.7博士后(postdoc) Wageningen University& Research
2016.8 - 2018.2博士后(postdoc) University of Amsterdam
2018.3 - 2022.11博士后研究员(researcher)Wageningen University& Research
2023.1 -至今首聘教授华南农业大学农学院
学术任职(other academic positions)
荷兰国家植物研究生院（EPS）博士生导师（2018年至今）
Frontiers in Plant Science评审编辑
Nature plants、PNAS、Plant Physiology等期刊审稿人
代表性论文著作(Selected publications):#Equal contribution;*correspondence author
1.H Yang#, K Song#, H Yu, X Zhu, Y Guo, Z Pan, B Guo,W Tu, R Wang, Z Li, Y Hu, Nora Gigli-Bisceglia, Hai Zhou, Jian Sun, C Chu*, X Liu*,Y Zhang* (2026).The OsGSK1-OsBZR3-OsJAZ4 module integrates nitrate signaling with brassinosteroid and jasmonic acid crosstalk to drive cell wall remodeling for salt recovery in rice,Plant communications,DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2026.101874
2.Y Liang; R Zheng; N Wang; Z Wu; D Wang;Zhang Y*.(2026). Dual-Guided Asymmetric MP-former for Rice Root Instance Segmentation,Plant Phenomics, 8(1):100177
3.Zhang Y*, Wang N, Chu C* (2025). Optimizing plant growth in suboptimal environments: Deciphering TOR-mediated root plasticity.The Innovation,6(2): 100762.
4. Lamers J,Zhang Y, van Zelm E., Leong C.K., Meyer A.J., de Zeeuw T., Verstappen F., Veen M., Deolu-Ajayi A.O., Gommers C.M.M., Testerink C*. (2025)Abscisic acid signaling gates salt-induced responses of plant roots, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America，122 (6) e2406373122.
Zhang Y.*, Li Y., de Zeeuw T., Duijts K., Kawa D., Lamers J., Munzert K. S., Li H., Zou Y., Meyer A.J., Yan J., Verstappen F., Wang Y., Gijsberts T., Wang J., Gigli-Bisceglia N., Engelsdorf T., van Dijk A. D. J., Testerink C.* (2024). Root branching under high salinity requires auxin-independent modulation ofLATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY DOMAIN 16 function.The Plant Cell, 36(4): 899-918
5. Zou Y., Gigli-Bisceglia N.,van Zelm E., Kokkinopoulou P., Julkowska M., Besten M., Nguyen T.P., Li H., Lamers J., de Zeeuw T., Dongus J.A., Zeng Y., Cheng Y., Koevoets I.T., Jørgensen B., Giesbers M., Vroom J., Ketelaar T., Petersen B.L., Engelsdorf T., Sprakel J.,Zhang Y.*, Testerink C.*(2024). Arabinosylation of cell wall extensin is required for the directional response to salinity in roots,The Plant Cell, koae135, https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koae135
6. Liu C., Mao B.,Zhang, Y., Tian L., Ma B., Chen Z., Wei Z., Li A., Shao Y., Cheng G., et al. (2024). The OsWRKY72–OsAAT30/OsGSTU26 module mediates reactive oxygen species scavenging to drive heterosis for salt tolerance in hybrid rice.Journal of Integrative Plant Biology. 66: 709-730
7. Li H, Duijts K, Pasini C, van Santen E. J, Lamers J, de Zeeuw T, Verstappen F, Wang N, Zeeman C. S, Santelia D,Zhang Y*, Testerink C* (2023) Effective root responses to salinity stress include maintained cell expansion and carbon allocation.New Phytologist, 238(5):1942-1956
8. Li H, Testerink C.*,Zhang Y* (2021) How roots and shoots communicate through stressful times.Trends in Plant Science, 26 (9), 940-952
9. Zou Y.,Zhang Y., Testerink C.(2021) Root dynamic growth strategies in response tosalinity.Plant, Cell & Environment,45(3):695-704
10. Van Zelm E.#,Zhang Y.#, Testerink C. (2020) Salt tolerance mechanisms of plants.Annual Review of Plant Biology, 71, 403-433
11.Zhang Y, Cheng X, Wang Y, Díez-Simón C, Flokova K, Bimbo A, Bouwmeester HJ, Ruyter-Spira C (2018) The tomato MAX1 homolog,SlMAX1, is involved in the biosynthesis of tomato strigolactones from carlactone.New Phytologist, 219, 297–309
12. Visentin I, Vitali M, Ferrero M,Zhang Y, Ruyter-Spira C, Novák O, Strnad M,Lovisolo C, Schubert A, Cardinale F (2016) Low levels of strigolactones in roots as a component of the systemic signal of drought stress in tomato.New Phytologist, 212, 954-963
13.Zhang Y, Ruyter-Spira C, Bouwmeester HJ (2015) Engineering the plant rhizosphere.Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 32, 136-142
14.Zhang Y, van Dijk ADJ, Scaffidi A, Flematti GR, Hofmann M, Charnikhova T, Verstappen F, Hepworth J, van der Krol S, Leyser O, Smith SM, Zwanenburg B, Al-Babili S, Ruyter-Spira C, Bouwmeester HJ (2014) Rice cytochrome P450MAX1 homologs catalyse distinct steps in strigolactone biosynthesis.Nature Chemical Biology,10, 1028-1033
15. Cardoso C#,Zhang Y#, Jamil M#, Hepworth J#, Charnikhova T, Dimkpa SON, Meharg C, Wright MH, Liu JW, Meng XB, Wang YH, Li JY, McCouch SR, Leyser O, Price AH, Bouwmeester HJ, Ruyter-Spira C (2014) Natural variation of rice strigolactone biosynthesis is associated with the deletion of two MAX1 orthologs.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111: 2379
16. Liu Q#,Zhang Y#, Matusova R, Charnikhova T, Amini M, Jamil M, Fernandez-Aparicio M, Huang K, Timko MP, Westwood JH, Ruyter-Spira C, van der Krol S. Bouwmeester HJ (2014)Striga hermonthica MAX2 restores branching but not the Very Low Fluence Response in the Arabidopsis thalianamax2 mutant.New Phytologist, 202: 531-541
承担科研项目(Grants):
国家自然基金委面上项目(项目负责人，2024-2028)
广东省重点研发计划(项目负责人，2025-2031)
广东省自然科学基金面上项目（项目负责人，2024-2027）
科技创新2030，农业生物资源高效利用新基因挖掘与育种价值评价（2023ZD04072010），子任务负责人
Rooting in salt: gene regulatory networks that guide root developmental plasticity,荷兰科学组织(NWO) Open Competition Domain Science Klein项目（OCENW.KLEIN.421），350k€，2021-2025，结题，参与主持
Global analysis of the salt stress-induced transcriptome and RNA degradome in Arabidopsis roots,荷兰健康研究与发展组织（ZonMW）青年项目（435004012），29.99k€，2018-2019，结题，主持
课题组长期欢迎有创新思维、有合作精神、积极主动投身科研的青年科研人员加入团队共同发展！
