Applied Chromosome Biology

Research goals

The independent research group Applied Chromosome Biology (ACB) studies the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms of meiosis and gametogenesis, which are essential for genome stability and fertility. Meiosis and gametogenesis are very susceptible to climate change. Hence, we are especially interested in how conditions influence the above processes. Elucidating underlying mechanisms will allow us to harness sensitivity and enhance tolerance for crop improvement.

We use Arabidopsis as the model plant to address fundamental biological questions. Meanwhile, we also apply our knowledge on cereal crops and economic vegetables.

Our research is embedded in the department of Breeding Research, and we contribute to the IPK research theme FSP3 "Mechanisms of Reproduction".

Selected Projects:

Combining epigenomic, proteomic, and forward genetic approaches, we aim to understand how plants maintain genome stability and fertility during reproductive development, especially under climate change. Currently, we are working on the following topics:

  1. Identifying the role of epigenetic regulation in meiosis and gametogenesis
  2. Elucidating the mechanisms of unreduced gamete formation in plants
  3. Understanding the genetic and epigenetic basis of reproductive thermo-tolerance

Publications

Author
Title
Publications 2025

Ma Y:

Dissecting the mechanism of nuclear restitution in Arabidopsis male meiosis. (PhD Thesis) Halle/S., Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät III Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften, Geowissenschaften und Informatik (2025) 131 pp.

Ma Y, Jiang H:

Actin filaments drive spindle positioning in Arabidopsis meiosis II. New Phytol. 248 (2025) 2187-2191. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.70625

Publications 2024

Göbel A-M, Zhou S, Wang Z, Tzourtzou S, Himmelbach A, Zheng S, Pradillo M, Liu C, Jiang H:

Mutations of PDS5 genes enhance TAD-like domain formation Arabidopsis thaliana. Nat. Commun. 15 (2024) 9308. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53760-x

Li L, Yang H, Zhao Y, Hu Q, Zhang X, Jiang T, Jiang H, Zheng B:

ARID1 is required to regulate and reinforce H3K9me2 in sperm cells in Arabidopsis. Nat. Commun. 15 (2024) 7078. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51513-4

Xu L, Zheng S, Witzel K, Van De Slijke E, Baekelandt A, Mylle E, Van Damme D, Cheng J, De Jaeger G, Inzé D, Jiang H:

Chromatin attachment to the nuclear matrix represses hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nat. Commun. 15 (2024) 1286. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-45577-5

Publications 2023

Kuhlmann M, Jiang H, Catoni M, Johannes F:

Editorial: DNA methylation in plants associated with abiotic stress, volume II. Front. Plant Sci. 14 (2023) 1203806. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1203806

Piskorz E W, Xu L, Ma Y, Jiang H:

Double-haploid induction generates extensive differential DNA methylation in Arabidopsis. J. Exp. Bot. 74 (2023) 835-847. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac397

Wang N, Wang Z, Tzourtzou S, Wang X, Bi X, Leimeister J, Xu L, Sakamoto T, Matsunaga S, Schaller A, Jiang H, Liu C:

The plant nuclear lamina disassembles to regulate genome folding in stress conditions. Nat. Plants 9 (2023) 1081-1093. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41477-023-01457-2

Xu L:

Insights into the role of an Arabidopsis nuclear matrix binding protein AHL22 in chromatin regulation and hypocotyl growth. (PhD Thesis) Halle/S., Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät III Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften, Geowissenschaften und Informatik (2023) 98 pp.

Yi J, Kradolfer D, Brownfield L, Ma Y, Piskorz E, Köhler C, Jiang H:

Meiocyte size is a determining factor for unreduced gamete formation in Arabidopsis thaliana. New Phytol. 237 (2023) 1179-1187. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.18473

Publications 2022

Cheng J:

H3K9 demethylation is required for reproduction in Arabidopsis. (PhD Thesis, kumulativ) Halle/S., Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät III Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften, Geowissenschaften und Informatik (2022) 111 pp.

Cheng J, Xu L, Bergér V, Bruckmann A, Yang C, Schubert V, Grasser K D, Schnittger A, Zheng B, Jiang H:

H3K9 demethylases IBM1 and JMJ27 are required for male meiosis in Arabidopsis thaliana. New Phytol. 235 (2022) 2252-2269. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.18286

Cheng J, Zhang G, Xu L, Liu C, Jiang H:

Altered H3K27 trimethylation contributes to flowering time variations in polyploid Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes. J. Exp. Bot. 73 (2022) 1402-1414. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab470

Piskorz E:

Elucidating mechanisms of unreduced gamete formation in Arabidopsis thaliana. (PhD Thesis, kumulativ) Halle/S., Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät III Agrar- und Ernährungswissenschaften, Geowissenschaften und Informatik (2022) 95 pp.

Xu L, Cheng J, Jiang H:

Mutation of histone H3 serine 28 to alanine influences H3K27me3-mediated gene silencing in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiol. 190 (2022) 2417–2429. https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiac409

Zhong Z, Wang Y, Wang M, Yang F, Thomas Q A, Xue Y, Zhang Y, Liu W, Jami-Alahmadi Y, Xu L, Feng S, Marquardt S, Wohlschlegel J A, Ausin I, Jacobsen S E:

Histone chaperone ASF1 mediates H3.3-H4 deposition in Arabidopsis. Nat. Commun. 13 (2022) 6970. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34648-0

Publications 2021

Chandra J R:

Functional analysis of H3K9 demethylases in Arabidopsis. (Master Thesis) Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (2021) 43 pp.

Kuhlmann M, Jiang H, Catoni M, Johannes F:

Editorial: DNA methylation in plants associated with abiotic stress. Front. Plant Sci. 12 (2021) 778004. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.778004

Kuhlmann M, Jiang H, Catoni M, Johannes F (Eds.):

Front. Plant Sci., Frontiers Research Topic “DNA Methylation in Plants Associated with Abiotic Stress." Lausanne: Frontiers Media SA (2021)

Publications 2020

Wang Y, Jiang H, Wang G:

PHERES1 controls endosperm gene imprinting and seed development. Trends Plant Sci. 25 (2020) 517-519. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2020.03.004

Wang Y, Zhong Z, Zhang Y, Xu L, Feng S, Rayatpisheh S, Wohlschlegel J A, Wang Z, Jacobsen S E, Ausin I:

NAP1-RELATED PROTEIN1 and 2 negatively regulate H2A.Z abundance in chromatin in Arabidopsis. Nat. Commun. 11 (2020) 2887. https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16691-x

Xu L, Jiang H:

Writing and reading histone H3 lysine 9 methylation in Arabidopsis. Front. Plant Sci. 11 (2020) 452. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00452

Yang S:

ldentifying the role of AHL22-complex in organ size regulation in Arabidopsis. (Master Thesis) Kiel, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (2020) 39 pp.

Publications 2019

Zhang G:

Flowering time variation in autopolyploid Arabidopsis thaliana. (Master Thesis) Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Fakultät für Agrarwissenschaften (2019) 60 pp.