Professor at the School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, and Ph.D. advisor. Selected for the Overseas High-level Talent Recruitment Program, Ministry of Science and Technology Young and Middle-aged Innovation Leading Talent, and “Leading Talent of Technological Innovation of Ten-Thousands Talents Program”
Received a Ph.D. from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2007; conducted postdoctoral research at Southwestern Medical Center and the University of Nebraska from 2007 to 2010; served as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Nebraska from January 2011 to August 2012; joined the Overseas High-level Talent Recruitment Program in September 2012 and has been working since.
Yong Ding's research group has long been engaged in the molecular regulatory mechanisms of plant histone modifications, focusing on the regulation of gene transcription and plant flowering time. Since establishing the lab in 2012, the group has systematically analyzed the unique regulatory mechanisms of plant histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) compared to mammals; discovered the plant-specific histone H2A serine 95 phosphorylation (H2AS95ph) modification and its novel regulatory mechanism; firstly reported drought memory and transcriptional memory in plants and their epigenetic regulation; revealed the intrinsic mechanism of long non-coding RNA regulation of histone H3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3), illustrated the relationship between the histone H3 threonine 11 phosphorylation (H11T11ph) and transcription activation. These studies have extended and expanded the biological connotations of histone modifications, revealing the uniqueness of plant histone modification sites and regulatory methods, highlighting the importance and necessity of studying plant histone modifications. The related research results have been published in academic journals such as Nature Plants, Science Advances, The Plant Cell, PNAS, Nature Communications, PLoS Genetics, New Phytologist, Plant Physiology, and Plant Journal. Several articles have been recommended by Faculty 1000 and reviewed by journals such as Cell and Plant Cell.
Yong Ding is the principal investigator of several major projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation, major projects, general projects, and strategic leading projects of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is currently a member of Chinese Genetics Society, the Epigenetics Branch of the Chinese Genetics Society, the Chromosome Branch of the Chinese Society for Cell Biology, and the Cell Biology Branch of the Chinese Society of Physiology and Biochemistry, and Vice President of the Anhui Genetics Association.
Main Research Interests
Epigenetic regulation in ambient temperature dependent flowering-time pathway.
Molecular mechanisms of histone modification establishment and maintenance
Awards for Group Students
2020: Ph.D. student Tian Yongke received the Excellent Award from the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
2019: Ph.D. student Tian Yongke received the National Scholarship for Graduate Students
2019: Ph.D. student Tian Yongke received the First Prize of the Hongyi Plant Science Scholarship
2019: Ph.D. student Tian Yongke received funding from the 2019 Doctoral Dissertation Excellence Program of the University of Science and Technology of China
2019: Ph.D. student Zhang Fei received the Third Prize of the Hongyi Plant Science Scholarship
2019: Ph.D. student Zheng Han received the Excellent Award from the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
2019: Ph.D. student Zheng Han received the Second Prize of the Hongyi Plant Science Scholarship
2019: Ph.D. student Zheng Han received a nomination for the Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award
2018: Ph.D. student Zheng Han received the National Scholarship for Graduate Students
2018: Ph.D. student Su Yanhua received the Excellent Award from the President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
2017: Ph.D. student Su Yanhua received the National Scholarship for Graduate Students
2015: Ph.D. student Tian Yongke received the Guanghua Scholarship
2015: Master's student Zhang Fei received the Guanghua Scholarship
2014: Master's student Su Yanhua received the Guanghua Scholarship
Publication Statistics Links
Google Scholar：https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v7mclSoAAAAJ&hl=zh-CN
ResearchGate：https://www.researchgate.net/lab/Yong-Dings-lab-Yong-Ding
Research papers after returning to China (corresponding author):
Hu P, Xu Y, Su Y, Wang Y, Xiong Y, and and Ding Y*. Nuclear-localized pyruvate kinases control phosphorylation of histone H3 on threonine 11. Nature Plants. 2024 Nov;10(11):1682-1697
Lu Q, Shi W, Zhang F#, and Ding Y*. ATX1 and HUB1/2 promote recruitment of the transcription elongation factor VIP2 to modulate the floral transition in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal. 2024 118(6):1760-1773.
Yang Y#, Zhang C#, Li H#, Yang Z, Xu Z, Tai D, Ni D, Wei P, Yi C, Yang J, and Ding Y*. An epi-allele of SMS causes Sanming dominant genic male sterility in rice. 2023. 66 (12) :2701-2710. Science China Life Science (Cover story).
ChenL#, Hu P#, LuQ, Zhang F, SuY, and Ding Y , Vernalization attenuates dehydration tolerance in winter-annual Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology. 2022. In press.
Xu Z, Li E, Xue G, Zhang C, Yang Y, and Ding Y . OsHUB2 inhibits function of OsTrx1 in heading date in rice. Plant Journal. 2022 in press.
Ikram A, # Zhang F#, Wang S, Su Y, and Ding Y . Chromatin remodeling factors OsYAF9 and OsSWC4 interact to promote internode elongation in rice. Plant Physiology. 2022. In press.
Wang S#, Zhang F#, Jiang P, Zhang H, Zheng H, Chen R, Xu Z, Ikram A, Li E, Xu Z,Fan J, Su Y, and Ding Y .SDG128 is involved in maize leaf inclination. Plant Journal. 2021 108(6):1597-1608.
Huang T#, Zhang H#, Zhou Y, Su Y, Zheng H, and Ding Y . Phosphorylation of Histone H2A at Serine 95 Is Essential for Flowering Time and Development in Arabidopsis. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2021 Nov 23;12:761008.
Yang Y, Li J, Li H, Xu Z, Qin R, Wu W, Wei P, Ding Y. Yang, J. SDF5 encoding P450 protein is required for internode elongation in rice. Rice Science. 2021 28 (4): 313-316
Tiang Y#, Zheng H#, Zhang F#, Wang S, Ji X, Xu C, He Y, Ding Y. PRC2 recruitment and H3K27me3 deposition at FLC require FCA binding of COOLAIR. Science Advances. 2019 24; 5 (4): eaau7246.F1000 comments: https://f1000.com/prime/735606638
Jiang P, Wang S, ZhengH, Li H, Zhang F, Su Y , Xu Z, Lin H , Qian Q, Ding Y. SIP1 participates in regulation of flowering time in rice by recruiting OsTrx1 to Ehd1. New Phytologist. 2018. 219(1): 422-435.
Jiang P, Wang S, Jiang H, Cheng B, Wu K, Ding Y. The COMPASS-like complex promotes flowering and panicle branching in rice. Plant Physiology. 2018. 176 (4): 2761-2771.
Jiang P, Wang S, Ikram A, Xu Z Jiang H, Cheng B, Ding Y.SDG721 and SDG705 are required for rice growth. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology.2018. 60 (7): 530-535. (Cover story)
Zheng H,Zhang F,Wang S,Su Y, Ji X, Jiang P, Chen R, Hou S, Ding Y.MLK1 and MLK2 coordinate RGA and CCA1 activity to regulate hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell. 2018 30 (1): 67-82.
Su Y, Wang S, Zhang F, Zheng H, Liu Y, Huang T, Ding Y. Phosphorylation of histone H2A at serine 95: A plant-specific mark involved in flowering time regulation and H2A.Z deposition. Plant Cell.2017 29 (9): 2197-2213.Highlighted in Brief: Know Your histone (zip) code: flowering time and phosphorylation of histone H2A on serine 95. Plant Cell. 2017 29 (2): 2084-2085.
Lu C#, Tian Y#, Wang S, Su Y, Mao T, Huang T, Chen Q, Xu Z, Ding Y. Phosphorylation of SPT5 by CDKD;2 is required for VIP5 recruitment and normal flowering in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell. 2017 29 (2): 277-291.
Ding Y, Virlouvet L, Liu N, Riethoven JJ, Fromm M, Avramova Z. Dehydration stress memory genes of Zea mays; comparison with Arabidopsis thaliana. BMC Plant Biololgy. 2014 14: 141.
Ding Y, Liu N, Virlouvet L, Riethoven JJ, Fromm M, Avramova Z. Four distinct types of dehydration stress memory genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. BMC Plant Biololgy. 2013 13: 229.
Song Z, Sun L, Lu S, Tian Y, Ding Y, Liu J. Transcription factor interaction with COMPASS-like complex regulates histone H3K4 trimethylation for specific gene expression in plants. PNAS. 2015 112 (9): 2900-5.
Virlouvet L, Ding Y, Liu N, Avramova Z, Fromm M. ABA Signaling is necessary but not sufficient for RD29B transcriptional memory during successive dehydration stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Journal. 2014 79 (1): 150-61.
Liu N, Ding Y, Fromm M, Avramova Z. Different gene-specific mechanisms determine the ‘revised-response’ memory transcription patterns of a subset of A. thaliana dehydration stress responding genes. Nucleic Acids Research. 2014 42 (9): 5556-66.
Ding Y, Ndamukong I, Xu Z, Lapko H, Fromm M, Avramova Z. ATX1-generated H3K4me3 Is required for efficient elongation of transcription, not Initiation, at ATX1-regulated genes. PLoS Genetics. 2012 8 (12): e100311.
Selected major papers published before returning to China
Ding Y, Fromm M, Avramova Z. Multiple exposures to drought 'train' transcriptional responses in Arabidopsis.Nature Communications. 2012 13 (3): 740.F1000 comments: http://f1000.com/14267187
Ding Y, Ndamukong I, Zhao Y, Xia Y, Riethoven JJ, Jones DR, Divecha N, Avramova Z.Divergent functions of the myotubularin (MTM) homologs AtMTM1 and AtMTM2 in Arabidopsis thaliana: evolution of the plant MTM family.The Plant Journal. 2012; 70 (5): 866-78.
Ding Y, Avramova Z, Fromm M. The Arabidopsis Trithorax-like factor ATX1 functions in dehydration stress responses via ABA-dependent and ABA-independent pathways. The Plant Journal 2011 66 (5): 735-44.
Ding Y, Avramova Z, Fromm M. Two distinct roles of Arabidopsis homolog of Trithorax (ATX1), at promoters and within transcribed Regions of ATX1 regulated Genes. The Plant Cell 2011 23 (1): 350-63.F1000 comments: https://f1000.com/prime/9929957.
Ding Y, Wang X, Su L, Zhai J, Cao S, Zhang D, Liu C, Bi Y, Qian Q, Cheng Z, Chu C, Cao X. SDG714, a histone H3K9 methyltransferase, is involved in Tos17 DNA methylation and transposition in rice. The Plant Cell, 2007 19 (1): 9-22. Comments: Connecting the dots between histone methylation and DNA methylation. Cell 2007 128 (3): 633.
Recruitment
The lab is hiring research assistants (associate researchers) and continually recruiting postdoctoral fellows and visiting graduate students. We welcome outstanding students interested in plant flowering time, histone epigenetics, biochemistry, and drought stress memory mechanisms to join us. We also warmly welcome undergraduates interested in our research areas to pursue a Ph.D.
Contact
E-mail: dingyong@ustc.edu.cn (internal),
Phone: 0551-63601337