Expertise:
- Plant cell biology, auxin-mediated cell expansion
Education & Background
Ph.D., Nara Institute of Science and Technology, 2016
MS, University Putra Malaysia, 2012
BS, University Putra Malaysia, 2008
Research Statement
I obtained my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Takashi Hashimoto at Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan. In Hashimoto Lab, I was trained as a plant cell biologist studying how microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) regulate directional cell expansion that determines cell shape and ultimately plant size. For my doctoral thesis, I worked on GROWING PLUS-END TRACKING1 (GPT1) and BASIC PROLINE-RICH PROTEINS (BPP), which are novel MAPs identified in Hashimoto Lab. I later joined the laboratory of Prof. William M. Gray at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities for my postdoctoral training. Currently in Gray Lab, we are investigating auxin-induced cell expansion by SAUR-PP2C.D regulatory modules. We are also investigating how SAUR and PP2C.D proteins regulate stomatal opening and closing.
Publications
JH Wong, AK Spartz, MY Park, M Du, WM Gray. (2019) Mutation of a conserved motif PP2C.D phosphatases confers SAUR immunity and constitutive activity. Plant Physiology
H Ren, MY Park, AK Spartz, JH Wong, WM Gray. (2018) A subset of plasma membrane-localized PP2C.D phosphatases negatively regulate SAUR-mediated cell expansion in Arabidopsis. PLOS Genetics
JH Wong, T Hashimoto. (2017) Novel Arabidopsis microtubule-associated proteins track growing microtubule plus ends. BMC Plant Biology
JH Wong, P Namasivayam, MP Abdullah. (2012) The PAL2 activities in relation to structural development and adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Planta