ZHAO Kaijun

Dr. Zhao Kaijun

Professor

Address: Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)

Zhongguancun South Street No. 12 Haidian District, Beijing 100081 China

Tel: 86-10-8210-5852

Fax: 86-10-82105819

Email: Zhaokaijun@caas.cn

Education Background

Zhao Kaijun, a plant geneticist, received his BSc degree in Agronomy (1983) from Sichuan Agriculture University, China, his MS (1986) and PhD (1990) degrees in Crop genetics and breeding from Graduate School of CAAS.

Research Area

Kaijun was an Assistant research professor (1990-1995) in the Institute of Crop Science of CAAS and carried out research projects involving (1) Mechanism of somaclonal variation of salt-tolerance in triticale and (2) Inheritance of bacterial blight resistance genes in rice.

From May 1995 to December 1998, he was a postdoctoral research associate in Plant Molecular Biology in The University of Hong Kong, performing a research project titled Cloning and characterizing chitinase genes from Brassica juncea.

From 2000, Kaijun has been the principal investigator in Molecular Biology of Disease Resistance of Rice, in the Institute of Crop Science of CAAS. His laboratory is interested in identification and molecular cloning of genes for rice disease resistance, the molecular mechanisms of rice-pathogen interaction, focusing on interaction between rice bacterial blight resistance genes and the corresponding avirulence genes in Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). They are also working on molecular breeding of elite hybrid rice variety with introduced resistance genes for bacterial blight, rice blast and brown planthopper, by means of marker-assisted selection and/or genetic engineering.

Recently, Kaijun and colleagues have developed simplified assembly method of TALENs (transcription activator-like effector nucleases). In addition, the CRISPR-Cas9 (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-Cas9) system has also been established in the laboratory. Both TALENs and CRISPR-Cas9 can precisely modify specific genes in the crop genome and therefore provide new tools for crop genetic improvement.

Publications

Followings are representatives of more than 100 scientific publications.

Zhao K.J, Chye M.L: Methyl jasmonate induces expression of a novel Brassica juncea chitinase with two chitin-binding domains. Plant Mol. Biol.，40(6): 1009-1018 (1999).

Leung KL, Zhao KJ, He ZM and Chye ML. 2002. Tobacco-expressed Brassica juncea chitinase BjCHI1 shows antifungal activity in vitro. Plant Mol. Biol. 50: 283-294.

Li D., Zhao K., Zhang B., Xie B. and Luo K. 2003, Establishment of a highly efficient transformation system for pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). Plant Cell Reports 21: 785-788.

Tang CM, Chye ML, Ramalingam S, Ouyang SW, Zhao KJ, Ubhayasekera W, Mowbray SL Functional analyses of the chitin-binding domains and the catalytic domain of Brassica juncea chitinase BjCHI1. Plant Mol Biol. 2004, 56(2): 285-98.

Chye ML, Zhao KJ, He ZM, Ramalingam S, Fung KL., An agglutinating chitinase with two chitin-binding domains confers fungal protection in transgenic potato. Planta. 2005, 220(5): 717-730.

Feng Qiao, Qing Yang, Chun-Lian Wang, Ying-Lun Fan, Xue-Feng Wu and Kai-Jun Zhao，2007，Modification of plant height via RNAi suppression of OsGA20ox2 gene in rice, Euphytica,158:35-45.

Ming-Yan Cheung, Nai-Yan Zeng, Suk-Wah Tong, Kai-Jun Zhao, Qi Zhang, Samuel Sai-Ming Sun, and Hon-Ming Lam，2007，Expression of a RING-HC protein from rice improves resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana， Journal of Experimental Botany, 58: 4147-4159.

Ming-Yan Cheung, Nai-Yan Zeng, Suk-Wah Tong, Wing-Yen Francisca Li, Yan Xue, Kai-Jun Zhao, Chunlian Wang, Qi Zhang, Yaping Fu, Zongxiu Sun, Samuel Sai-Ming Sun and Hon-Ming Lam, 2008, Constitutive Expression of a Rice GTPase Activating Protein Induces Defense Responses. New Phytologist 179:530-545.

Chun-Lian Wang, An-Bi Xu, Ying Gao, Ying-Lun Fan, Yun-Tao Liang, Chong-Ke Zheng, Liang-Qing Sun, Wen-Quan Wang and Kai-Jun Zhao, 2009, Generation and characterization of Tn5-tagged Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae mutants that overcome Xa23-mediated resistance to bacterial blight of rice. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 123 (3): 343-351.

Xue-Feng Wu , Chun-Lian Wang , En-Bei Xie, Ying Gao, Ying-Lun Fan, Pi-Qing Liu , Kai-Jun Zhao，2009，Molecular cloning and characterization of the promoter for the multiple stress inducible gene BjCHI1 from Brassica juncea， Planta, 229(6):1231-1242.

Feng Qiao and Kai-Jun Zhao, The Influence of RNAi Targeting of OsGA20ox2 Gene on Plant Height in Rice,Plant Mol Biol Rep. 2011, 29(4): 952-960.

Zhang Xiaoping, Wang Chunlian, Zheng Chongke, Che Jinying, Li Yanqiang, Zhao Kaijun, HrcQ is necessary for Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae HR-induction in non-host tobacco and pathogenicity in host rice. The Crop Journal, 2013, (12):143-150.

Gao Y, Zan XL, Wu XF, Yao L, Chen YL, Jia SW, Zhao KJ, Identification of fungus-responsive cis-acting element in the promoter of Brassica juncea chitinase gene, BjCHI1, Plant Science 2014， 215-216:190-8. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2013.11.008.

Wang CL, Qin TF, Yu HM, Zhang XP, Che JY, Gao Y, Zheng CK, Yang B, Zhao KJ. The broad bacterial blight resistance of rice line CBB23 is triggered by a novel transcription activator-like (TAL) effector of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Mol Plant Pathol. 2014, 15(4):333-341. doi: 10.1111/mpp.12092.

Zheng CK, Wang CL, Zhang XP, Wang FJ, Qin TF, Zhao KJ. The last half-repeat of transcription activator-like effector is dispensable and thereby TALE-based technology can be simplified. Mol Plant Pathol. 2014 Feb 13. doi: 10.1111/mpp.12125.

Wang CL, Fan YL, Zheng CK, Qin TF, Zhang XP, Zhao KJ. High-resolution genetic mapping of rice bacterial blight resistance gene Xa23. MGG. 2014, DOI: 10.1007/s00438-014-0848-y.

Academic membership

Anonymous reviewer for NSF of China

Anonymous reviewer for NSF of USA

Deputy editor-in-chief, Crops, Chinese Society of Crop Science.

Member, Editorial Board, Scientia Agricultura Sinica, Chinese Society of Agricultural Science.

Specially invited reviewer, Journal of Agricultural Biotechnology, Chinese Agro-Biotechnology Society.

Specially invited reviewer, Progress in Biotechnology, Chinese Bio-engineering Society.

Specially invited reviewer, China Biotechnology, Chinese Bio-engineering Society.

Member, Panel of National “863” Key Program.

Member, Panel of National Review Committee, on Professor in Agricultural Technology Extension.

Member, Board of Trustees, Plant Pathology Society of Beijing.

Fellows of Chinese Society of Crop Science, Chinese Society of Genetics, Chinese Agro-Biotechnology Society.

Consultant, National Agro-disease/pest Control, Chinese Society of Science and Technology.