Recently, researchers of the State Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Breeding published a paper entitled Hierarchical Transcription-Factor and Chromatin Binding Network for Wood Formation in Populus trichocarpa (doi:10.1105/tpc.18.00620) in Plant Cell, the international authoritative journal of plant biology. It provides a new and accurate way to improve the productivity of forests. The paper was listed as the one of the hottest Papers of the week by Plant Cell.

In the State Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Breeding, Jiang Liquan’s and Li Wei’s teams collaborated to construct a transcriptional regulatory network (TRN) mediated by the key transcription factor PtrSND1-B1, using protoplast system of the xylem poplar（Linet al., 2014, Nature Protocols）and integrating transcriptomics and chromatin analysis data. The regulatory network consists of four levels, and the TF-DNA interactions with quantitative regulatory properties constituting a specific regulatory relationship, i.e., how the regulation of transcription factors is transduced through these interactions, thereby activating cell wall genes for wood formation (also known as the effector gene of wood). The study found that PtrSND1-B1 mediates the direct interaction of 57 specific TF-DNAs. The researchers performed in vivo detection of 42 of the 57 direct interactions in 30 genotypes of transgenic Populus. Among them 90% of the interactions work in the body, indicatethat the TRN has very high accuracy. At the same time, TRN revealed common regulatory targets present in different transcription factors, and discovered nine new TF protein complexes (protein dimers and trimers) that are involved in the regulation of specific types of lignin synthesis. Through a study of the transcriptional regulatory network mediated by the transcription factor PtrSND1-B1, the research group discovered that the process of wood formation may involve a regulation of homeostasis, which is determined together by TF-DNA interaction and combination of TF- TF interaction.

Ph.D. students Chen Yu and Associate Professor Wang Pengyu are the co-first authors of the paper. Professor Jiang Liquan and Professor Li Wei are the corresponding authors of the paper. The other 9 members of the State Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Breeding also participated in the research. The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, the Thousand Youth Talents Program of the Organization Department of the Central Committee, the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (111 Program) and the Innovation Project of the State Key Laboratory of Forest Genetics and Breeding.