Lichao

2008 Ph.D. Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing (NIBS), China

2002 B.S. China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

2016-          East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

2008- 2016 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA, USA

Postdoctoral research conducted with Dr. Alice Cheung and Dr. H.-M. Wu

Dr. Chao Li established a research group in the Department of Botany at the School of Life Sciences in 2016, where he serves as a research professor and Ph.D. advisor. His research focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which plant peptide-receptor kinases regulate plant development, achieving significant progress in this field. His related research findings have been published in Science, Molecular Plant, eLife, PNAS, and Cell Research.

Dr. Li has received several prestigious awards, including the National Natural Science Foundation of China Key Project (2022), the Wei Zhi-Ming Young Innovator Award from the Chinese Society for Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology (2022), the Rising Star Award from the Shanghai Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2021), the Shanghai Eastern Scholar Elite Program, and the Purple River Youth Scholar (2016) and Outstanding Young Scholar (2021) awards from East China Normal University.

Dr. Li's laboratory is dedicated to excellence and personalized education, aiming to cultivate well-rounded, highly motivated, and first-class scientific and educational talent. To date, the lab has trained over thirty outstanding Ph.D., master's, and undergraduate graduates.

• 1. Senior Editorial Board Member of Seed Biology, 2023–2025; Editorial Board Member of Journal of Plant Physiology, 2020–2025

• 2. Board Member of the Shanghai Society for Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, December 2018 – December 2022; Vice President, 2023–2027

• 3. Member of the Professional Committee of Plant Structure and Reproductive Biology, Botanical Society of China, 2024–2027

• 4. Member of the Academic Committee of the Xinjiang Laboratory of Species Conservation and Regulation Biology in Special Environments, 2021–2026

• 5. Reviewer for international journals including Molecular Plant, Cell Reports, PLOS Genetics, New Phytologist, Plant Physiology, Plant & Cell Physiology, BMC Plant Biology, and Journal of Integrative Plant Biology

Dr. Chao Li has made significant progress in the study of the molecular mechanisms by which plant receptor kinases regulate plant development. His research findings have been published in renowned international journals such as Science, Molecular Plant, eLife, PNAS, and Cell Research. Dr. Li's research group focuses on Brassicaceae and mosses, employing a combination of genetics, molecular biology, cell biology, biochemistry, and bioinformatics to investigate the molecular mechanisms of plant development and their interactions with the environment. The current research directions are primarily focused on: the recognition mechanisms of pollen-stigma interactions in plants；the regulatory mechanisms of plant peptides and receptor kinases.

Graduate Required Courses:

• Advances in Botanical Research

• Fundamentals and Frontiers of Modern Biology

• Research Techniques and Methods in Botany

Undergraduate Restricted Elective Course:

• Advanced Plant Biology

Graduate Elective Courses:

• Plant Developmental Biology

• Life Sciences from Multiple Perspectives

• East China Normal University Double First-Class Initiative Start-up Fund

• 2018 National Natural Science Foundation of China General Project

• 2018 Key Laboratory of Cell Activity and Stress Adaptation, Ministry of Education Open Fund

• 2019 East China Normal University Pioneer Fund Research Project
  

• 2019 Ministry of Science and Technology National Key R&D Program Intergovernmental International Science and Technology Innovation Project

• 2020 National Natural Science Foundation of China General Project

• 2020 Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission Natural Science Foundation General Project

• 2022 National Natural Science Foundation of China Key Project

1. Lu, B., Wang, S., Feng, H., Wang, J., Zhang, K., Li, Y., Wu, P., Zhang M., Xia, Y., Peng, C., Li, C.^#(2024) FERONIA-mediated TIR1/AFB2 oxidation stimulates auxin signalling in Arabidopsis. Mol Plant. 2024, 17(5):772-787.

2. Cheng L., Li, C.^# (2023) Stigma receptors function as barriers between intraspecies and interspecies in Brassicaceae. Seed Biol. 2023,2:3

3. Gao S., Li, C.^# CrRLK1L receptor kinases-regulated pollen-pistil interactions. (2022) Reprod Breed. 2:113–118.

4. Cheung A., Duan Q., Li, C., Liu M., Wu, H.-M (2022) Pollen–pistil interactions: It takes two to tangle but a molecular cast of many to deliver. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 69:102279.

5. Wei, Q., Yang Y., Li H., Fu R., Feng H^#, Li, C.^# (2021) The xyloglucan galactosylation modulates the mechanical strength of pollen tube cell wall. Planta. 254:133.

6. Liu, C., Shen, L.P., Xiao, Y., Vyshedsky, D., Peng, C., Sun, X., Liu, Z., Cheng, L., Zhang, H., Han, Z., Chai, J., Wu, H.-M., Cheung, A., Li, C.^#(2021) Pollen PCP-B peptides unlock a stigma peptide–receptor kinase gating mechanism for pollination. Science. 372, 171-175. (Recommended by Faculty Opinions, Spotlight commentary by Trends in Plant Science & Chinese bulletin of Botany, Web of Science Top 1% cited paper). 

7. 孙翔，程丽军，刘志文，李超^#.小肽激素调控植物生殖发育的研究进展. (2021)自然杂志. 43(2),105-111.

8. Feng, H., Liu, C., Fu, R., Zhang, M., Li, H., Shen, L.,Wei, Q., Sun, X., Xu, L., Ni, B.,Li, C.^# (2019) LORELEI-LIKE GPI-ANCHORED PROTEINS 2/3 regulate pollen tube growth as chaperones and co-receptors for ANXUR/BUPS receptor kinases in Arabidopsis. Mol. Plant.12, 1612–1623.

9. Li, H., Luo. N., Wang, W., Liu Z., Chen, J., Zhao, L., Qin, Y, Li, C., Xu, T., Yang Z. (2018) The REN4 rheostat spatiotemporally coordinates the dynamic apical and lateral domains of Arabidopsis pollen tubes. Nature Commu. Jul 3;9(1):2573.

10. 冯寒骞，李超. (2018) 生长素信号转导研究进展.生物技术通报. 34(7):24-30.

11. Li, C., Cheung, A.Y., Wu, H.-M. (2016) FERONIA and her pals: functions and mechanisms. Plant Physiol.171(4):2379-92.

12. Li, C., Ye, F. L., Cheung, A. Y.^#, Duan, Q.,Kita, D., Liu, M.-Z., Mannan, J., Luu, J. E., Wu, B. W., Gates, L., Jalal, M., Kwong, A., Carpenter, H., Wu, H.-M.^# (2015) Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored proteins act as chaperones and co-receptors for FERONIA receptor kinase signaling in Arabidopsis. eLife.2015;4:e06587. ^(#, corresponding author) (Recommended by F1000 Prime, Web of Science Top 1% cited paper)

13. Cheung, A. Y., Li, C., Wu, H.-M. (2014)Glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchoring: control through modification. Plant Physiol. 166(2):748-50.

14. Li, C.^*,#, Xu, J.*, Li, J., Li, Q., Yang, H. (2014) Involvement of Arabidopsis histone acetyltransferase HAC family genes in the ethylene signaling pathway. Plant Cell Physiol.55(2): 426-435. (*, these authors contribute equally to this work; ^#, corresponding author)

15. Li, C.^*,#, Xu, J.*, Li, J., Li, Q., Yang, H. (2014) Involvement of ArabidopsisHAC family genes in pleiotropic developmental processes. Plant Signal Behav. 9(2).(*, these authors contribute equally to this work; ^#, corresponding author)

16. Duan, Q., Kita, D., Li, C., Cheung, A.Y., Wu, H.-M. (2010) FERONIA receptor-like kinase regulates RHO GTPase signaling of root hair development. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA107:17821-17826. （Web of Science highly cited paper）

17. Wang, X.*, Niu, Q.*, Teng, C., Li, C., Mu, J., Chua, N. H., and Zuo, J. (2009) Overexpression of PGA37/MYB118 and MYB115 promotes vegetative-to-embryonic transition in Arabidopsis. Cell Res. 19:224-235.

18. Chen, R.*, Sun, S.*, Wang, C.*, Li, Y.*, Liang, Y.*, An, F., Li, C., Dong, H., Yang, X., Zhang, J., and Zuo, J. (2009) The Arabidopsis PARAQUAT RESISTANT2 gene encodes an S-nitrosoglutathione reductase that is a key regulator of cell death. Cell Res. 19:1377-1387.

19. Zhang, J.*, Xy, J.*, Kong, Y*, Ji, Z.*, Wang, X.*, An, F.*, Li, C.*, Sun, J., Zhang, S., Yang, X., Mu, J., Liu, X., Xue, J., Zuo, Y., Zou, J. (2005) Generation of Chemical-inducible Activation Tagging T-DNA Insertion Lines of Arabidopsis thaliana. J. Genet. Genomics.32:1082-1088 (*, these authors contributed equally)

2016 East China Normal University Purple River Youth Scholar

2021 East China Normal University Purple River Outstanding Youth Scholar

2021 Shanghai Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Rising Star Award

2021 East China Normal University Outstanding Academic Contribution Award and Excellent Mentor Award

2022 Chinese Society for Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology Wei Zhi-Ming Young Innovator Award

2023 Shanghai Eastern Scholar Elite Program