Expertise:
- Arabidopsis cortical microtubules, Stomatal opening by SAUR-PP2C.D regulation
Education & Background
Ph.D., Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 2016
MS, University Putra Malaysia, 2012
BS, University Putra Malaysia, 2008
Research Statement
My Ph.D. was done in Hashimoto Lab, NAIST where I characterize novel Arabidopsis microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs). I studied Growing Plus-end Tracking (GPT) proteins which are novel MAPs that track growing cortical microtubules (MTs). Another MAPs I studied were the Basic Proline-Rich Proteins (BPPs), which regulate the cortical MTs organization in cotyledon pavement cells for proper lobe formation.
As a postdoc in Gray Lab, I will be studying stomatal opening. Gray Lab has published works of Small Auxin Up-Regulated (SAUR) proteins which de-regulate PP2C.D phosphatase to activate H+-ATPase proton pumps for hypocotyl epidermal cell elongation. Based on this established model in hypocotyl, my task will be to investigate the role of SAUR and PP2C.D proteins in regulating the stomatal openings of guard cells.
Publications
JH Wong & T Hashimoto (2017). Novel Arabidopsis microtubule-associated proteins track the growing plus-end of microtubules. BMC Plant Biology (under revision)
JH Wong, P Namasivayam, MP Abdullah (2012). The PAL2 promoter activities in relation to structural development and adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Planta