Professor Li Xu
Xu Li, Professor, Ph.D. in Science, Dr. Xu Li is a distinguished researcher in the field of plant light signal transduction. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Hunan University in 2006 and her Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from Hunan University in 2012. From 2008 to 2010, she conducted research as a visiting Ph.D. student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Li has held positions at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, serving as an Assistant Researcher (2012-2014), Associate Researcher (2015-2021), and Researcher (2022-2023).
Dr. Li is a member of the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2018-2021) and an Outstanding Member (2023-2025). She has been engaged in long-term research in the field of plant light signal transduction and has led multiple research projects, including:
• National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund
• Two NSFC General Programs
• Shanghai Natural Science Foundation Youth Program
As a core team member, she has also contributed to two key projects under the National Key R&D Program.
Dr. Li has published over 20 papers in high-impact international journals such as PNAS, The Plant Cell, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Nature Communications, Nature Plants, and Developmental Cell.
Recent Research Project
• Title: “Molecular Mechanism of the Novel Light and Temperature Node BTR9 in Regulating Plant Growth and Development”
• Funding Agency: National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) General Program
• Grant Number: 32170247
• Duration: 2022-2025
Publications:
[1] Li X, Liang T, Liu HT*.(2022) How plants coordinate their development in response to light and temperature signals. The Plant Cell. 2022 Mar 4;34(3):955-966. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koab302.
[2] Li X#, Liu CC. # , Zhao ZW, Ma DB, Zhang JY, Yang Y, Liu YW, Liu HT*.(2020) COR27 and COR28 are Novel Regulators of the COP1-HY5 Regulatory Hub and Photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell.32:3139–3154. doi: 10.1105/tpc.20.00195.
[3] Shao K#, Zhang X#, Li X#, Hao Y, Huang X, Ma M, Zhang M, Yu F, Liu H*, Zhang P*. (2020) The oligomeric structure of plant cryptochromes. Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 27(5):480-488. doi: 10.1038/s41594-020-0420-x.
[4] Li X#, Ma DB# , Lu SX#, Hu XY, Huang RF, Liang T, Xu TD, Tobin EM, Liu HT*. (2016) Blue light and low temperature regulated COR27 and COR28 play roles in the Arabidopsis circadian clock. The Plant Cell. 28(11):2755-2769. DOI: 10.1105/tpc.16.00354.
[5] Ma DB#, Li X#, Guo YX, Chu JF, Fang S, Yan CY, Noel JP, and Liu HT*. (2016) Cryptochrome 1 interacts with PIF4 to regulate high temperature-mediated hypocotyl elongation in response to blue light. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA.113, 224-229. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1511437113.
[6] Hao Y , Zeng Z , Zhang X, Xie D, Li X, Ma L , Liu M and Liu H*.(2023).Green means go: Green light promotes hypocotyl elongation via brassinosteroid signaling. The Plant Cell. 35(5):1304-1317. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koad022.
[7] Zhao, Z., Dent, C., Liang, H., Lv, J., Shang, G., Liu, Y., Feng, F., Wang, F., Pang, J., Li, X., Ma LB, Li B, Sureshkumar S, Wang JW, Balasubramanian SK, and Liu HT*. (2022) CRY2 interacts with CIS1 to regulate thermosensory flowering via FLM alternative splicing. Nat Commun 13:7045. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34886-2.
[8] Ma LB, Li X, Zhao ZW, Hao YH, Shang RX, Zeng DS, Liu HT*.(2021) Light-Response Bric-A-Brack/Tramtrack/Broad proteins mediate cryptochrome 2 degradation in response to low ambient temperature. The Plant Cell, 33(12):3610-3620. doi: 10.1093/plcell/koab219.
[9] Zhang N#, Meng Y#, Li X, Zhou Y, Ma L, Fu L, Schwarzlander M, Liu H, Xiong Y*. (2019) Metabolite-mediated TOR signaling regulates the circadian clock in Arabidopsis. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.USA. 116(51):25395-25397. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1913095116.
[10] Wang J#, Chen S#, Jiang N#, Li N, Wang X, Li Z, Li X, Liu H, Li L, Yang Y, Ni T, Yu C, Ma J, Zheng B, Ren G*. (2019) Spliceosome disassembly factors ILP1 and NTR1 promote miRNA biogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nucleic Acids Res. 47(15):7886-7900. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkz526.
[11] Liu YW#, Li X, Ma D, Chen Z, Wang JW, Liu H*.(2018) CIB1 and CO interact to mediate CRY2 regulation of flowering. EMBO Reports. 19(10):e45762. doi: 10.15252/embr.201845762.
[12] Liang T#, Mei S, Shi C, Yang Y, Peng Y, Ma L, Wang F, Li X, Huang X, Yin Y, Liu H*.(2018) UVR8 interacts with BES1 and BIM1 to regulate transcription and photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis. Developmental Cell. 44(4):512-523.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2017.12.028.
[13] Yang Y#, Liang T, Zhang L, Shao K, Gu X, Shang R, Shi N, Li X, Zhang P, Liu H*.(2018) UVR8 interacts with WRKY36 to regulate HY5 transcription and hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis. Nature Plants. 4(2):98-107. doi: 10.1038/s41477-017-0099-0.
[14] He RQ#, Li XM#, Zhong M#, Yan JD, Ji RH, Li X, Wang Q, Wu D, Sun MX, Tang DY, Lin JZ, Li HY, Liu B, Liu HT, Liu XM*, Zhao XY*, Lin CT.(2017) A photo-responsive F-box protein FOF2 regulates floral initiation by promoting FLC expression in Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal. 91(5):788-801. doi: 10.1111/tpj.13607.
[15] Li L#, Li X, LIU YW, LIU HT*.(2016) Flowering responses to light and temperature. Sci China Life Science. 59(4):403-8. doi: 10.1007/s11427-015-4910-8.