Research Interests
The long-term research interest of my laboratory is to understand the
molecular mechanisms underlying small RNA metabolism and function.
Small RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs),
are 20 to 24 nucleotide (nt) RNAs that function as sequence-specific
regulators of gene expression at both transcriptional and post-transcriptional
levels in eukaryotes. These small RNAs are involved in numerous cellular
processes including development, differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis,
and stress responses. We currently employ a combination of genetic, biochemical,
cell biological, and genomic approaches to identify and characterize components
involved in small RNA metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Recent Papers
Yu B, Liu B, Zheng B, Ji L, Agarwal M, Chevalie D, El-Shami M, Lagrange T, Walker JC,
Chen X (2008) The FHA domain proteins DAWDLE in Arabidopsis and SNIP1 in humans act
in small RNA biogenesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 105:10073-8.
Yang Z, Vilkaitis G, Yu B, Klimasauskas S, Chen X (2007) Approaches for Studying
MicroRNA and Small Interfering RNA Methylation In Vitro and In Vivo. Methods Enzymol.
427:139-54
Yu B, Chapman EG, Yang Z, Carrington JC, Chen X (2006) Transgenically expressed viral
RNA silencing suppressors interfere with microRNA methylation in Arabidopsis.
FEBS Lett 580:3117-20
Yang Z, Ebright YW, Yu B, Chen X (2006) HEN1 recognizes 21-24 nt small RNA duplexes
and deposits a methyl group onto the 2' OH of the 3' terminal nucleotide.
Nucleic Acids Res. 34:667-75
Xu C, Yu B, Cornish AJ, Froehlich JE, Benning C (2006) Phosphatidylglycerol biosynthesis
in chloroplasts of Arabidopsis mutants deficient in acyl-ACP glycerol-3- phosphate
acyltransferase. Plant J. 47:296-309
Li J, Yang Z, Yu B, Liu J, and Chen X (2005) Methylation protects miRNAs and siRNAs from a
3’ end uridylation activity in Arabidopsis. Current Biology 15:1501-1507.
Yu B*, Yang ZY*, Li JJ, Minakhina S, Yang MC, Padgett RW, Steward R, Chen X (2005)
Methylation as a crucial step in plant microRNA biogenesis. Science 307:932-5
(*: equal contribution)
Weber A, Oesterhelt C, Gross W, Bräutigam A, Imboden L, Krassovskaya I, Linka N, Truchina J,
Schneidereit J, Voll LM, Zimmermann M, Riekhof WR, Yu B, Garavito RM, Benning C. (2004)
EST-analysis of the thermo-acidophilic red microalga Galdieria sulphuraria reveals potential
for lipid A biosynthesis and unveils the pathway of carbon export from rhodoplasts.
Plant Mol. Biol. 55:17-32.
Yu B, Wakao S, Fan JL, Benning C. (2004) Loss of plastidic lysophosphatidate:acyl-ACP acyltransferase
activity causes embryo lethality in Arabidopsis. Plant & Cell Physiology 45:503-10
Yu B and Benning C. (2003) Anionic lipids are required for chloroplast structure and function
in Arabidopsis. Plant J. 36:762-70
Xu C, Hartel H, Wada H, Hagio M, Yu B, Eakin C, Benning C. (2002) The pgp1 mutant locus of Arabidopsis
encodes a phosphatidylglycerolphosphate synthase with impaired activity. Plant Physiol. 129:594-604.
Yu B, Xu C, Benning C. (2002) Arabidopsis disrupted in SQD2 encoding sulfolipid synthase is impaired
in phosphate-limited growth. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 99:5732-7.
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