Faculty

Education

2007 - 2012, PhD, Biology, Duke University
2003 - 2007, BS, Biotechnology, Fudan University

Professional Experience

2018 - present, Principal Investigator, School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Center for Life Sciences
2014 - 2018, Assistant Professor, Iowa State University
2013 - 2014, Postdoctoral Associate, Duke University

Research Interests

    For basic research, our main focus is on the elucidation of the formation mechanism, biological function and evolutionary significance of plant stress granules. Stress granules are an important post-transcriptional and translational regulatory mechanism. Studies on mammalian cells have shown that stress granules are closely related to neurodegenerative diseases, apoptosis of tumor cells, viral invasion, immunity, and inflammatory responses. However, the function of stress granules in plants remains to be dissected. We integrated cell biology, molecular biology, proteomics, genomics and bioinformatics approaches to discover the molecular mechanism of plant-induced stress granule formation, catalogue the protein components of plant stress granules and explore their biological functions.
    For research on crop plants, we mainly focus on the molecular mechanism of the interactions between the soybean root circadian clock and the soybean cyst nematode. In recent years, in-depth studies on the plant circadian clock have established its key role in antagonizing leaf pathogens. However, little is known about the interactions between the plant circadian clock and root pathogens. Therefore, investigation of the interactions between the plant root circadian clock and cyst nematodes and the associated signaling pathways will fill this critical gap. Cyst nematodes are currently the most important pests and diseases limiting soybean production. It causes billions of dollars of economic losses globally every year. Understanding the mechanism of interactions between cyst nematode and the soybean root circadian clock will help to identify new biological targets to combat cyst nematode infestation.

Representative Peer-Reviewed Publications

1 Fu, M., Zhou, Y., Zhang, X., Yang, K., Xu, Y., Wang, X., Chen, Z., Wang, Y., Shi, Y., Ma, L., Liu, H., Deng, Y., Cheng, S., Chu, J., Song, J., Sun, T., Wang, Y., Wang, W. & Zhou, M. A pathogen effector HaRxL10 hijacks the circadian clock component CHE to perturb both plant development and immunity. Nature Communications 16, 1538 (2025).
2 Xie, Z., Zhao, S., Tu, Y., Liu, E., Li, Y., Wang, X., Chen, C., Zhai, S., Qi, J., Wu, C., Wu, H., Zhou, M. & Wang, W.* Proteasome resides in and dismantles plant heat stress granules constitutively. Molecular Cell 84, 3320-3335 (2024). (*corresponding author)
3 Wu, C., Wang, X., Li, Y., Zhen, W., Wang, C., Wang, X., Xie, Z., Xu, X., Guo, S., Botella, J.R., Zheng, B., Wang, W., Song, C.-P. & Hu, Z. Sequestration of DBR1 to stress granules promotes lariat intronic RNAs accumulation for heat-stress tolerance. Nature Communications 15, 7696 (2024).
4 Xie, Z., Zhao, S., Li, Y., Deng, Y., Shi, Y., Chen, X., Li, Y., Li, H., Chen, C., Wang, X., Liu, E., Tu, Y., Shi, P., Tong, J., Gutierrez-Beltran, E., Li, J., Bozhkov, P.V., Qian, W., Zhou, M.* & Wang, W.* Phenolic acid-induced phase separation and translation inhibition mediate plant interspecific competition. Nature Plants 9, 1481-1499 (2023). (*corresponding author)
5 Wang, X., Hu, Y. & Wang, W.* Comparative Analysis of Circadian Transcriptomes Reveals Circadian Characteristics between Arabidopsis and Soybean. Plants 12, 3344 (2023). (*corresponding author)
6 Feng, S., Yu, Y., Ma, J., Wang, X., Song, X., Xu, H., Li, Y., Mo, K., Liu, P., Song, X., Xie, Z., Wang, Y.*, Su, X.-d.*, Wang, W.* & Chen, C.* High-affinity aptamers enable the rapid optical detection and differentiation of three SARS-CoV-2 VOCs. Microchemical Journal 195, 109508 (2023). (*corresponding author)
7 Chen, C., Song, X., Yu, Y., Wang, X., Xu, H., Ji, W., Ma, J., Zhao, C., Feng, S.*, Wang, Y.*, Su, X.-d.* & Wang, W.* Aptamer-based nanointerferometer enables amplification-free ultrasensitive detection and differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 variants. Analytica Chimica Acta 1260, 341207 (2023). (*corresponding author)
8 Zhou, M. & Wang, W.* SOS1 safeguards plant circadian rhythm against daily salt fluctuations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119, e2212950119 (2022). (*corresponding author)
9 Wang, W.* & Gu, Y.* The emerging role of biomolecular condensates in plant immunity. Plant Cell 34, 1568-1572 (2022). (*corresponding author)
10 Tong, J., Ren, Z., Sun, L., Zhou, S., Yuan, W., Hui, Y., Ci, D., Wang, W., Fan, L.-M., Wu, Z. & Qian, W. ALBA proteins confer thermotolerance through stabilizing HSF messenger RNAs in cytoplasmic granules. Nature Plants 8, 778-791 (2022).
11 Wang, X., Xu, Y., Zhou, M.* & Wang, W.* in Modeling Transcriptional Regulation: Methods and Protocols (ed Shahid Mukhtar) 215-225 (Springer US, 2021). (*corresponding author)
12 Feng, S., Chen, C., Song, C., Ding, X., Wang, W. & Que, L. Optical Aptamer-Based Sensors for Detecting Plant Hormones. IEEE Sensors Journal 21, 5743-5750 (2021).
13 Li, M., Cao, L., Mwimba, M., Zhou, Y., Li, L., Zhou, M., Schnable, P. S., O`Rourke, J. A., Dong, X.* & Wang, W.* Comprehensive mapping of abiotic stress inputs into the soybean circadian clock. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116, 23840-23849 (2019). (*corresponding author)
14 Chen, C., Feng, S., Zhou, M., Ji, C., Que, L.* & Wang, W.* Development of a structure-switching aptamer-based nanosensor for salicylic acid detection. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 140, 111342 (2019). (*corresponding author)
15 Zhou, M. & Wang, W.* Recent Advances in Synthetic Chemical Inducers of Plant Immunity. Front Plant Sci 9, 1613 (2018). (*corresponding author)
16 Feng, S., Chen, C., Wang, W.* & Que, L.* An aptamer nanopore-enabled microsensor for detection of theophylline. Biosensors and Bioelectronics 105, 36-41 (2018). (*corresponding author)
17 Song, C., Chen, C., Che, X., Wang, W. & Que, L. (2017). Detection of plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) using an optical aptamer-based sensor with a microfluidics capillary interface. 22-26 Jan. 2017. pp. 370-373.
18 Feng, S., Che, X., Que, L.*, Chen, C. & Wang, W.* (2016). Rapid detection of theophylline using aptamer-based nanopore thin film sensor. 30 Oct.-3 Nov. 2016. pp. 1-3. (*corresponding author)
19 Zhou, M.*, Wang, W.*, Karapetyan, S., Mwimba, M., Marqués, J., Buchler, N. E. & Dong, X. Redox rhythm reinforces the circadian clock to gate immune response. Nature 523, 472-476 (2015). (*co-first author)
20 Wang, S., Gu, Y., Zebell, Sophia G., Anderson, Lisa K., Wang, W., Mohan, R. & Dong, X. A Noncanonical Role for the CKI-RB-E2F Cell-Cycle Signaling Pathway in Plant Effector-Triggered Immunity. Cell Host & Microbe 16, 787-794 (2014).
21 Yan, S., Wang, W., Marqués, J., Mohan, R., Saleh, A., Durrant, Wendy E., Song, J. & Dong, X. Salicylic Acid Activates DNA Damage Responses to Potentiate Plant Immunity. Molecular Cell 52, 602-610 (2013).
22 Pajerowska-Mukhtar, Karolina M., Wang, W., Tada, Y., Oka, N., Tucker, Chandra L., Fonseca, Jose P. & Dong, X. The HSF-like Transcription Factor TBF1 Is a Major Molecular Switch for Plant Growth-to-Defense Transition. Current Biology 22, 103-112 (2012).
23 Fu, Z. Q.*, Yan, S.*, Saleh, A.*, Wang, W., Ruble, J., Oka, N., Mohan, R., Spoel, S. H., Tada, Y., Zheng, N. & Dong, X. NPR3 and NPR4 are receptors for the immune signal salicylic acid in plants. Nature 486, 228-232 (2012). (*co-first author)
24 Wang, W.*, Barnaby, J. Y.*, Tada, Y., Li, H., Tör, M., Caldelari, D., Lee, D.-u., Fu, X.-D. & Dong, X. Timing of plant immune responses by a central circadian regulator. Nature 470, 110-114 (2011). (*co-first author)

Teaching

Undergraduate course: Fundamentals of Network Science and Systems Biology, 01132683, Fall semester each year
Graduate course: Construction and Analysis of Citation and Biological Networks, 01108171, Fall semester each year
Graduate course: Principles of Biology I, 08406002, Fall semester each year
Graduate course: Laboratory Fundamentals of Life Sciences, 08409018, Fall and spring semester each year