Dong, Aiwu, Professor

E-mail: aiwudong@fudan.edu.cn

• 1989-1993: Jilin University, bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry,
• 1993-1996: Peking University, master’s degree in Biochemistry,
• 2000-2003: Fudan University, Ph.D. in Biochemistry.
• Since 1996, Aiwu Dong teaches in Fudan University as assistant professor, lecturer, associate professor and professor. She serves as the chair of Department of Biochemistry since 2008 and the head of Institute of Plant Biology since 2016. Since 2013, she is the Chinese director of the International Associated Laboratory of CNRS-Fudan-HUNAU on Plant Epigenome Research (LIA PER).

Research Interests

Dr. Aiwu Dong’s lab has a long standing interest in key proteins involved in chromatin assembly and histone modification such as nucleosome assembly proteins, chromatin remodeling factors and histone methyltransferases. They use approaches of biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, structure biology and bioinformatics to understand the molecular mechanisms on how these epigenetic regulators function in the dynamic change of chromatin, cell division and differentiation, and in plant growth and development.

Awards

2007, Chinese Young Women Scientists Award

Selected publications

1. Wei G, Liu K, Shen T, Shi J, Liu B, Han M, Peng M, Fu H, Song Y, Zhu J*, Dong A*, Ni T*. (2018) Position-specific intron retention is mediated by the histone methyltransferase SDG725. BMC Biol. 16(1):44. doi: 10.1186/s12915-018-0513-8
2. Zhu Y*, Rong L, Luo Q, Wang B, Zhou N, Yang Y, Zhang C, Feng H, Zheng L, Shen WH, Ma J*, Dong A*. (2017) The Histone Chaperone NRP1 Interacts With WEREWOLF to Activate GLABRA2 in Arabidopsis Root Hair Development. Plant Cell. doi: 10.1105/tpc.16.00719
3. Liu B, Wei G, Shi J, Jin J, Shen T, Ni T, Shen WH, Yu Y*, Dong A*. (2015) SET DOMAIN GROUP 708, a histone H3 lysine 36-specific methyltransferase, controls flowering time in rice. New Phytol. 210(2):577-88. doi: 10.1111/nph.13768
4. Jin J, Shi J, Liu B, Liu Y, Huang Y, Yu Y*, Dong A*. (2015) MRG702, a reader protein of H3K4me3 and H3K36me3, is involved in brassinosteroid-regulated growth and flowering time control in rice.  Plant Physiol. 168(4):1275-85. doi: 10.1104/pp.114.255737
5. Zhang C, Cao L, Rong L, An Z, Zhou W, Ma J, Shen WH, Zhu Y*, Dong A*. (2015) The chromatin-remodeling factor AtINO80 plays crucial roles in genome stability maintenance and in plant development.  Plant J. 82(4):655-68. doi: 10.1111/tpj.12840
6. Bu Z, Yu Y, Li Z, Liu Y, Jiang W, Huang Y, Dong A*. (2014) Regulation of Arabidopsis flowering by the histone mark readers MRG1/2 via interaction with CONSTANS to modulate FT expression. PLoS Genet. 10(9):e1004617. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004617
7. Weng M, Yang Y, Feng H, Pan Z, Shen WH, Zhu Y*, Dong A*. (2014) Histone chaperone ASF1 is involved in gene transcription activation in response to heat stress in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell Environ. 37(9):2128-38. doi: 10.1111/pce.12299
8. Sui P, Shi J, Gao X, Shen WH, Dong A*. (2013) H3K36 methylation is involved in promoting rice flowering. Mol Plant. 6(3):975-7. doi: 10.1093/mp/sss152
9. Sui P, Jin J, Ye S, Mu C, Gao J, Feng H, Shen WH, Yu Y*, Dong A*. (2012) H3K36 methylation is critical for brassinosteroid-regulated plant growth and development in rice. Plant J. 70(2):340-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2011.04873.x.
10. Zhu Y, Weng M, Yang Y, Zhang C, Li Z, Shen WH*, Dong A*. (2011) Arabidopsis homologues of the histone chaperone ASF1 are crucial for chromatin replication and cell proliferation in plant development. Plant J. 66(3):443-55. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2011.04504.x.