Houming Chen
@hmchen93.bsky.social
39 followers 89 following 8 posts
plant cell biologist / postdoc @ unige
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
hmchen93.bsky.social
Happy to share our latest manuscript about Brassinosteroid recognition 😎 hope it offers a broad and intensive understanding of BR ligands--BRI1-LIKE receptors mechanism.
biorxiv-plants.bsky.social
A mechanistic framework for the recognition of chemically diverse brassinosteroids by BRI1-family receptor kinases https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.08.669299v1
Reposted by Houming Chen
structplantbio.bsky.social
Our latest on brassinosteroid signaling: Ligand binding spectrum, specificity & selectivity of all BR receptors in Arabidopsis. By @albertocaregnato.bsky.social , @hmchen93.bsky.social and our great chemistry collaborators Mirek Kvasnica, Jana Oklestkova and Mirek Strnad.
Reposted by Houming Chen
simonsnoeck.bsky.social
Shedding light on the structure-function mechanisms of LRR-RPs. Our research merges #AlphaFold3, years of literature and functional validation to reveal diverse ligand-binding mechanisms and a conserved co-receptor association mechanism. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
hmchen93.bsky.social
novel and in-depth work 👍🏻
jian-pu.bsky.social
Delighted to share one piece of my postdoc work in preprint: Through forward genetic screening for suberin deposition in root endodermis, we identified SUBER GENE 1 (SBG1) by GWAS as a novel regulator for suberization by interacting with Type One Protein Phosphatase. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Houming Chen
natplants.nature.com
New Article: "Structural mechanism underlying PHO1;H1-mediated phosphate transport in Arabidopsis" rdcu.be/d62pA

Phosphate transporter PHO1: cryo-EM, biochemical & physiological analysis. Molecular and regulatory mechanism of transport mediated by the SPX–EXS family. #PlantScience
Reposted by Houming Chen
keikoutorii.bsky.social
Perspectives on a co-option of a familiar signaling pathway for embryo patterning, where phosphorylation of SCREAM by MPK3/6 triggers different outcomes. But..Symmetric Cell Division is EXCITING and essential for generating a mirror-symmetric Guard Cell pair😘🌱.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Yoda screams again - Nature Plants
Nature Plants - Yoda screams again
www.nature.com
hmchen93.bsky.social
(4) Overall, we proved phosphorylation by ERECTA-YODA pathway positively regulates SCRM in embryos, which differs with the phosphor-dependent degradation model found in stomata. That's a novel example of how MAPK signaling differentially regulates a single target in distinct developmental contexts.
hmchen93.bsky.social
(3) Reported stomatal gain-of-function scrm-D (R236H) mutant brings overproliferation of stomata by disrupting the interaction with MPK3/6. However, scrm-D leads to a severe loss of zygotic polarity & impaired embryo. Phosphor-inactive SCRM 6A can rescue stomatal phenotypes, but not in the embryo.
hmchen93.bsky.social
(2) SCRM functions in parallel with the well-known target WRKY2 of the ERECTA-YODA signaling pathway during embryo development. Double mutation of SCRM and WRKY2 results in phenotypes strikingly similar to those of yoda, along with a nearly complete loss of the WOX8-YFP signal in vivo.
hmchen93.bsky.social
(1) SCRM is a key factor in promoting zygotic polarity by activating the embryo-specific gene WOX8 in Arabidopsis zygotes and early embryos.