个人简历

工作经历
2016 ~ 至今 南方科技大学 副教授
2013 ~ 2016 加州大学洛杉矶分校 博士后 导师: 美国科学院Steve E. Jacobsen院士
学习经历
2008 ~ 2013 植物基因组学博士，美国特拉华大学 导师: Blake C. Meyers教授
2011 ~ 2013 生物信息学硕士，美国特拉华大学
2009 ~ 2011 统计学硕士，美国特拉华大学
2005 ~ 2008 遗传学硕士，中国科学院遗传与发育生物学研究所 导师: 中国科学院曹晓风院士
2001 ~ 2005 生命科学学士，中国科学技术大学

研究领域

专注于植物表观遗传学领域的研究，结合分子生物学、遗传学、高通量测序以及生物信息学分析等方法研究植物中小分子RNA的功能和代谢，DNA甲基化和组蛋白修饰机理，以及染色体高级结构的调节。
主要研究内容：
1.植物遗传重组事件频率和分布的表观遗传调控机制；
2.通过大规模组学方法研究农作物生长发育中表观遗传通路的调控机理

近期论文

Groth M, Moissiard G, Wirtz M, Wang H, GarciaSalinas G, Ramos-Parra PA, Bischof S, Feng S, Cokus SJ, John A, Smith DC, Zhai J, Hale CJ, Long JA, Hell R, Garza RID, Jacobsen SE (2016) MTHFD1 controls DNA methylation in Arabidopsis. Nature Communication (in press)
Wang H, Beyene G, Zhai J, Feng S, Fahlgren N, Taylor N, Bart R, Carrington JC, Jacobsen SE, Ausin I (2015) CG gene body DNA methylation changes and evolution of duplicated genes in cassava. PNAS 112(44):13729-34
Yan Z, Hossain MS, Valdés-López O, Hoang NT, Zhai J, Wang J, Libault M, Joshi T, Brechenmacher L, Findley S, Qiu L, Sherrier DJ, Meyers BC, Xu D, Stacey G (2015) Identification and functional characterization of soybean root hair microRNAs expressed in response to Bradyrhizobium japonicum infection. Plant Biotechnology Journal 10.1111/pbi.12387
Tu B, Xu C, Liu L, Zhai J, Li S, Lopez MA, Zhao Y, Yu Y, Ren G, Yu B, Li S, Meyers BC, Mo B, Chen X (2015) Distinct and cooperative activities of HESO1 and URT1 nucleotidyl transferases in microRNA turnover in Arabidopsis. PLoS Genetics 11(4): e1005119
Yan Z, Hossain MS, Arikit S, Valdé O, Zhai J, Wang J, Libault M, Ji T, Qiu L, Meyers BC, Stacey G (2015) Identification of MicroRNAs and their mRNA targets during soybean nodule development: Functional analysis of the role of miR393* in soybean nodulation. New Phytologist 10.1111/nph.13365
Zhao M, Cai C, Zhai J, Lin F, Li L, Shreve J, Thimmapuram J, Hughes TJ, Meyers BC, Ma J (2015) Coordination of MicroRNAs, PhasiRNAs, and NB-LRR Genes in Immune Responses: Insights from Analyses of Soybean Rps Gene Near-Isogenic Lines. The Plant Genome 10.3835
Cantó-Pastor A, Mollá-Morales A, Ernst E, Dahl W, Zhai J, Yan Y, Meyers BC, Shanklin J, Martienssen RA (2015) Efficient transformation and artificial miRNA gene silencing in Lemna minor. Plant Biology 10.1111/plb.12215
Arikit S, Xia R, Kakrana A, Huang K, Zhai J, Yan Z, Valdés-López O, Prince S, Musket TA, Nguyen HT, Stacey G, Meyers BC (2014) An atlas of soybean small RNAs demonstrates regulation by phased siRNAs of hundreds of coding genes. The Plant Cell 26: 4584-4601
Feng S, Cokus SJ, Schubert V, Zhai J, Pellegrini M, Jacobsen SE (2014) Genome-wide Hi-C analyses in wild type and mutants reveal high-resolution chromatin interactions in Arabidopsis. Molecular Cell 55(5):694-707
Wong J, Gao L, Yang Y, Zhai J, Arikit S, Yu Y, Duan S, Xiong Q, Yan J, Li S, Liu R, Wang Y, Tang G, Meyers BC, Chen X, Ma W (2014) Roles of Small RNAs in Soybean Defense against Phytophthora sojae Infection. The Plant Journal 10.1111/tpj.12590
Creasey KM, Zhai J, Borges F, Van EF, Meyers BC, Martienssen RA (2014) miRNAs trigger widespread epigenetically-activated siRNAs from transposons in Arabidopsis. Nature 508 (7496):411-5
Wei L, Gu L, Song X, Cui X, Lua Z, Zhou M, Wang L, Hu F, Zhai J, Meyers BC, Cao X (2014) Dicer-like 3 produces transposable element-associated 24-nt siRNAs that control agricultural traits in rice. PNAS 111(10):3877-82
Schapire A, Bologna NG, Moro B, Zhai J, Meyers BC, Palatnik JF (2013) Construction of Specific Parallel Amplification of RNA Ends (SPARE) libraries for the systematic identification of plant microRNA processing intermediates. Methods doi:10.1016/j.ymeth.2013.08.032
Jeong DH, Schmidt SA, Rymarquis LA, Park S, Ganssmann M, German MA, Accerbi M, Zhai J, Paoli ED, Fahlgren N, Fox SE, Garvin DF, Mockler TC, Carrington JC, Meyers BC, and Green PJ (2013) Parallel Analysis of RNA Ends enhances global investigation of microRNAs and target RNAs of Brachypodium distachyon. Genome Biology 14(12):R145
Amborella Genome Project. (2013) The Amborella Genome and the Evolution of Flowering Plants. Science 342(6165):1241089
Jeong DH, Thatcher SR, Brown RS, Zhai J, Park S, Meyers BC, Green PJ (2013) Comprehensive investigation of miRNAs enhanced by analysis of sequence variants, expression patterns, AGO loading and target cleavage. Plant Physiology 162(3):1225
Raman V, Simon SA, Romag A, Demirci F, Mathioni SM, Zhai J, Meyers BC, Donofrio NM (2013) Physiological stressors and invasive plant infections alter the small RNA transcriptome of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. BMC Genomics 14:326
Bologna NG, Schapire AL, Zhai J, Chorostecki U, Boisbouvier J, Meyers BC, Palatnik J (2013) Multiple RNA recognition patterns during microRNA biogenesis in plants. Genome Research (10):1675-89
Arikit S, Zhai J, Meyers BC (2013) Biogenesis and function of rice small RNAs from non-coding RNA precursors. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 16(2):170-9.
Lee TF, Gurazada SG, Zhai J, Li S, Simon SA, Matzke MA, Chen X, Meyers BC (2012) RNA polymerase V-dependent small RNAs in Arabidopsis originate from small, intergenic loci including most SINE repeats. Epigenetics 7(7):781-95