Home　 Faculty
Personal Information

Principal Investigator
Researcher
Email:yfw@cemps.ac.cn
Personal Web: http://people.ucas.edu.cn/~0012230


Research Direction

Ion nutrients and signaling in plants


Research Unit

National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics

Yongfei Wang

Personal Profile

August 2019 - Present, Principle Investigator/Group Leader, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200032 Shanghai, China

January 2003 - July 2009, Postdoctoral researcher, University of California, San Diego, 92093-0116 San Diego, California, USA

September 2008 - December 2003, Ph.D student, China Agricultural University, 100004 Beijing, China September 1995 - July 2008, Master student, Hebei Normal University, 050024，Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, China

September 1991 - July 1995, Undergraduate student, Hebei Normal University, 050024 Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province,China


Research Work

1. Polar growth and guidance regulation

Root hairs and pollen tubes are typical tip-growing plant cells, and also ideal models for biological study. It has been well-established decades ago that a cytosolic Ca2+ gradient is present in the tips of root hairs and pollen tubes, and is required for the tip growth and orientation of the two types of tip-growing cells. External Ca2+ influx is the main source of Ca2+ for the establishment and dynamic regulation of the cytosolic Ca2+ gradients, and inward Ca2+ channels localized in the tips of root hair and pollen tubes are believed to be the main tunnels and regulators of Ca2+ influx and cytosolic Ca2+ signal. However, it is largely unknown how Ca2+ signaling is generated, regulated, and integrated into the signaling network in these two types of polar growth plant cells. Our group is interested to address the remaining scientific questions in these areas.

2. Stomata movement regulation

Multiple stimuli, including Abscisic acid (ABA), light, changes of [CO2] and ozone, can trigger stomata movement. We are working on diverse ion channels of guard cells to investigate the mechanisms of how ions are involved in stomatal movement regulation as osmotic components and signaling molecules. We are also investigating how guard cells perceive and integrate multiple upstream stimuli to open or close stomata via coordination between diverse ion channels and/or transporters in guard cells.

3. Ion nutrient intake and crop architecture regulation

We are interested to explore how to improve the efficiency of diverse ion intake from the soil in Arabidopsis and rice, and how ion nutrient condition and ion signals are involved in plant architecture formation and regulation.


Main Achievements

1. Ca2+ signaling in pollen tubes

Six CNGC members are expressed in Arabidopsis pollen tubes, and were identified as Ca2+-permeable channels via patch clamping analysis in HEK293T cells (Gao and Gu et al., Mol Plants 2014). We further found that CNGC18, one of the six CNGCs, is the main Ca2+ channel controlling pollen germination, pollen tube growth and ovular guidance (Gao and Gu et al., PNAS 2016; Gu et al., Plant Signal Behav 2017).

Root hairs are essential for the intake of ion nutrients and water from the soil, and are important for plant growth and development. This research growth recently found that CNGC5, CNGC6 and CNGC9 form together the main Ca2+ channels essential for the constitutive growth of root hairs, and are also involved in auxin signaling (Tan et al., Plant Commun 2019). We recently identified CPK1 as the main upstream activating kinase of the three CNGCs in root hairs, and CPK1 activates the CNGCs via phosphorylating a conserved site at their N termini to trigger external Ca2+ influx for cytosolic Ca2+ signaling (Zhu et al., Nat Commun 2025).

2. Clarification of main osmotic anion for stomata movement via analyzing the selectivity of anion channel SLAC1

It has been reported that chloride and malate are two main osmotic anions in guard cells for stomata movement regulation, and each of them takes approximate 50% responsibility in balancing the positive charges of K+ in 1980’s. The main anion channel SLAC1 for stomata closure has been identified and cloned in the recent ten years in diverse plant species. We recently found that nitrate is the dominant osmotic anion for stomatal closure in rice and maize relative to chloride and malate, and the dominancy of nitrate is significant larger in rice and maize than in Arabidopsis plants. In other words, each plant species choose its dominant osmotic anion for stomata closure via the selectivity and permeability of SLAC1. We conclude that monocots prefer nitrate as the dominant osmotic anion in guard cells relative to chloride, whereas guard cells of dicots show less preference to nitrate relative to monocots (Qi et al., 2018).

3. Coordinated transmembrane movement of diverse ions

Cytosolic Ca2+ signals play essential roles in stomatal movement regulation, but the underlying mechanisms are completely unknown for over four decades. Recent years, we revealed that CNGC5/6/9/12 redundantly constitute ABA-activated Ca2+ channels in the plasma membrane of Arabidopsis guard cells. The knockout mutations in these CNGCs conferred a strong ABA-insensitive phenotype of stomatal movements, and disrupt cytosolic Ca2+ signals in guard cells (Tan et al., Plant Cell 2023). We further found that the Ca2+-independent protein kinase OST1 phosphorylates the CNGCs at a conserved site at their N termini to activate them to trigger the consequent external influx, and this mechanism is essential for Ca2+ signaling encoding and stomatal closure in response to ABA and drought stress (Yang et al., Plant Cell 2024). Recently, we further found that Ca2+-dependent protein kinases CPK3/8/10 are also involved in Ca2+ signaling encoding in guard cells. We found that the first wave of cytosolic Ca2+ elevation derived from OST1-CNGC modules-mediated external Ca2+ influx triggers the Ca2+ binding to the CPKs, and the CPKs consequently phosphorylates the CNGCs at a conserved site at their C termini to enhance their activity to accelerate external Ca2+ influx, and cytosolic Ca2+ signals are amplified by this mechanism (Tan et al., PNAS 2026).

Our studies shed light on the underlying mechanisms by which the movements of diverse ions across biological membrane are triggered, regulated, and coordinated, for ion nutrient uptake and transport, osmotic regulation and the regulation of cell growth, guidance, and movements, as well as the Ca2+ signaling initiation, encoding and regulation in plant cells.



Publications

1. Kumari, M., Prajapati, R., Pawar, M., Sharma, B., Orlando Marchesano, B.M., Yang, Y., Wang, Y.F., Costa, A., and Vadassery, J. (2026). The Ca2+ channel CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE GATED CHANNEL13 regulates vasculature-mediated systemic Ca2+ and jasmonate signaling on herbivory. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 123, e2612869123.

2. Tan, Y.-Q., and Wang, Y.-F. (2026). Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels serve as core components for Ca2+ signal encoding in guard cells. J Plant Res, doi: 10.1007/s10265-026-01696-2.

3. Tan, Y.-Q., Ren, Y.-Y., Yang, Y., Wang, J., Yu, B., Wang, X., Zhang, P., Zhao, Y., Wang, P., and Wang, Y.-F. (2026). CPKs are involved in Ca2+ signaling encoding by enhancing OST1-initiated Ca2+ influx for ABA-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 123, e2537976123.

4. Tan, Y.Q., Yang, Y., and Wang, Y.F. (2026). Advances in research on plant CNGCs, the Ca2+-permeable channels. J Integr Plant Biol, doi:10.1111/jipb.70385.

5. Fang, S.#, Yang, Y.#, Zhang, X.#, Yang, Z., Zhang, M., Zhao, Y., Zhang, C., Yu, F., Wang, Y.-F.*, and Zhang, P*. (2025). Structural mechanism underlying PHO1;H1-mediated phosphate transport in Arabidopsis. Nat Plants, doi: 10.1038/s41477-024-01895-6.

6. Wang, J.#, Du, B.-Y.#, Zhang, X.#, Qu, X., Yang, Y., Yang, Z., Wang, Y.-F.*, and Zhang, P*. (2025). Cryo-EM structures of Arabidopsis CNGC1 and CNGC5 reveal molecular mechanisms underlying gating and calcium selectivity. Nat Plants, doi: 10.1038/s41477-025-01923-z.

7. Zhu, M., Du, B.-Y., Tan, Y.-Q., Yang, Y., Zhang, Y., and Wang, Y.-F*. (2025). CPK1 activates CNGCs through phosphorylation for Ca2+ signaling to promote root hair growth in Arabidopsis. Nature communications 16, 676, doi: 10.1038/s41467-025-56008-4.

8. Yang, Y., Tan, Y.-Q., Wang, X., Li, J.-J., Du, B.-Y., Zhu, M., Wang, P., and Wang, Y.-F*. (2024). OPEN STOMATA1 phosphorylates CYCLIC NUCLEOTIDE-GATED CHANNELs to trigger Ca2+ signaling for ABA-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell, doi: 10.1093/plcell/koae073.

9. Tan, Y.-Q., Yang, Y., Shen, X., Zhu, M., Shen, J., Zhang, W., Hu, H., and Wang, Y.-F*. (2023). Multiple cyclic nucleotide-gated channels function as ABA-activated Ca2+ channels required for ABA-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 35, 239-259.

10. Huang, X., Zhang, X., An, N., Zhang, M., Ma, M., Yang, Y., Jing, L., Wang, Y., Chen, Z., and Zhang, P. (2023). Cryo-EM structure and molecular mechanism of abscisic acid transporter ABCG25. Nat Plants 9, 1709-1719.

11. Yu, H., Yang, L., Li, Z., Sun, F., Li, B., Guo, S., Wang, Y.-F., Zhou, T., and Hua, J. (2022). In situ deletions reveal regulatory components for expression of an intracellular immune receptor gene and its co-expressed genes in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell  Environ, doi: 10.1111/pce.14293.

12. Liu, H., Lin, J.S., Luo, Z., Sun, J., Huang, X., Yang, Y., Xu, J., Wang, Y.-F., Zhang, P., Oldroyd, G.E.D., and Xie, F. (2022). Constitutive activation of a nuclear-localized calcium channel complex in Medicago truncatula. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 119, e2205920119.

13. Tan Y-Q, Yang Y, Zhang A, Fei C-F, Gu LL, Sun SJ, Xu W, Wang L, Liu H, and Wang Y-F*. (2019). Three CNGC family members, CNGC5, CNGC6, and CNGC9, are required for constitutive growth of Arabidopsis root hairs as Ca2+-permeable channels. Plant Com, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xplc.2019.100001.

14. Wang J, Liu X, Zhang A, Ren Y, Wu F, Wang G, Xu Y, Lei C, Zhu S, Pan T, Wang Y, Zhang H, Wang F, Tan Y-Q, Wang Y, Jin X, Luo S, Zhou C, Zhang X, Liu J, Wang S, Meng L, Wang Y, Chen X, Lin Q, Zhang X, Guo X, Cheng Z, Wang J, Tian Y, Liu S, Jiang L, Wu C, Wang E, Zhou J-M, Wang Y-F, Wang H, Wan J*. (2019). A cyclic nucldotide-gated channel mediates cytoplasmic calcium elevation and disease resistance in rice. Cell Res, doi: 10.1038/s41422-019-0219-7.

15. Tan Y-Q, Sun S-J, Xu W, Wang L, and Wang Y-F*. (2019). Advances in plasma membrane ion channels of plant cells. Chin Bull Bot 54(1), 102-118.

16. Qi G-N, Yao F-Y, Ren H-M, Sun S-J, Hussain J, and Wang Y-F*. (2018). Constitutive activation of calcium-dependent protein kinase 3 confers a drought tolerance by inhibiting inward K+ channel KAT1 and stomatal opening in Arabidopsis. Sci Bull 63, 1037-1039.

17. Yao L, Cheng X, Gu Z, Huang W, Li S, Wang L, Wang Y-F, Xu P, Ma H, and Ge X. (2018). The AWPM-9 family protein OsPM1 mediates abscisic acid influx and drought response in rice. Plant Cell 30(6): 1258-1276.

18. Qi G-N, Yao F-Y, Ren H-M, Sun S-J, Tan Y-Q, Zhang Z-C, Qiu B-S, and Wang Y-F*. (2018). S-type anion channel ZmSLAC1 plays essential roles in stomatal closure by mediating nitrate efflux in maize. Plant Cell Physiol 59, 614-623.

19. Yao F-Y, Qi G-N, Ren, H-M, Zhang A, Jamshaid H, and Wang Y-F*. (2017). S-type anion channel SLAC1’s homologues inhibit inward potassium channels AKT2 and KAT2 in Arabidopsis. Sci Bull 62: 464-466.

20. Zhang A, Ren H-M, Tan Y-Q, Qi G-N, Yao F-Y, Wu G-L, Yang L-W, Hussain J, Sun S-J, Wang Y-F*. (2016). S-type anion channels SLAC1 and SLAH3 function as essential negative regulators for K+ channel KAT1 and stomatal opening in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell 28:949-965.

21. Gao Q-F, Gu L-L, Wang H-Q, Fei C-F, Xiang F, Hussain J, Sun S-J, Dong J-Y, Liu H, Wang Y-F*. (2016). Cyclic nucleotide-gated channel 18 is an essential Ca2+ channel in pollen tube tips for pollen tube guidance to ovules in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 113: 3096-3101.

22. Gu L-L, Gao Q-F, and Wang Y-F*. (2016). Cyclic nucleotide-gated channel 18 is essential for pollen germination and tube growth in Arabidopsis. Plant Signal Behav, doi: 10.1080/15592324.2016.1197999.

23. Sun S-J, Qi G-N, Gao Q-F, Wang H-Q, Yao F-Y, Hussain J, and Wang Y-F*. (2016). Protein kinase OsSAPK8 functions as an essential activator of S-type anion channel OsSLAC1, which is nitrate-selective in rice. Planta 243: 489-500

24. Gao Q-F, Fei C-F, Dong J-Y, Gu L-L, and Wang Y-F*. (2014). Arabidopsis CNGC18 is a Ca2+-permeable channel. Mol Plant 7: 739-743.

25. Wang Y-F*, Munemasa S, Nishimura N, Ren H-M, Robert N, Han M, Puzorjova I, Kollist H, Lee S, Mori I, Schroeder JI*. (2013). Identification of cyclic GMP-activated nonselective Ca2+-permeable cation channels and associated CNGC5 and CNGC6 genes in Arabidopsis guard cells. Plant Physiol 163: 578-590.

26. Laanemets K, Wang Y-F (co-first author), Lindgren O, Wu J, Nishimura N, Lee S, Caddell D, Merilo E, Brosche M, Kilk K, Soomets U, Kangasjarvi J, Schroeder JI, Kollist H*. (2013). Mutations in the SLAC1 anion channel slow stomatal opening and severely reduce K+ uptake channel activity via enhanced cytosolic [Ca2+] and increased Ca2+ sensitivity of K+ uptake channels. New Phytol 197: 88-98.

27. Vahisalu T, Kollist H, Wang Y-F(co-first author), Nishimura N, Chan WY, Valerio G, Lamminmaki A, Brosche M, Moldau H, Desikan R, Schroeder JI, Kangasjarvi J*. (2008). SLAC1 is required for plant guard cell S-type anion channel function in stomatal signalling. Nature 452: 487-491.