Zefu Lu
Zefu Lu
Head of Wheat Genomics and Applications Research Group
Center of Crop Genes and Molecular Design
Institute of Crop Sciences
No.12 Zhongguancun South Street
Beijing, 100081, China
Tel:86-10-82105847
Fax:86-10-8210xxxx
Email:
luzefu@caas.cn
Educations
l 2004 - 2008, College of Life Science, Shandong University, Jinan, China, B.S. in Biotechnology
l 2008 - 2015, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China, Ph.D. in Genetics
l
Working Experience
l 2020- present, Professor, Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences
l 2015-2019, Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Genetics, University of Georgia
l 2015-2015, Research Scientist, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Research Interests
l Evolutionary Patterns of Plant Non-Coding Regulatory Sequences;
l Identification and Functional Characterization of Key Regulatory Elements and Genes in Wheat;
l Design and Synthesis of Artificial Signaling Pathway.
Academic Qualifications
l B.S. in Biotechnology, Shandong University, China (2008)
l Ph.D. in Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, CAS, China (2015)
l Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Plant Genetics, University of Georgia, USA (2015–2019)
l Professor in Crop Genomics and Regulatory Biology, Institute of Crop Sciences, CAAS, China (2020–present)
Selected Publications (*corresponding authors)
1. Ma Z.#, Zhang J.#, Pei H.#, Liu Y., Tong H., Wang L. & Lu Z.* (2025) DeepWheat: predicting the effects of genomic variants on gene expression and regulatory activities across tissues and varieties in wheat using deep learning. Genome Biol (in press)
2. Liu P., Xue S., Jia J., Zhao G., Liu J., Hu Y., Kong C., Yan D., Wang H., Liu X., Lu Z.* & Gao L.* (2025) The wheat transcription factor Q functions in gibberellin biosynthesis and signaling and regulates height and spike length. Plant Cell 37(8):koaf183
3. Yao X.#, Liu Y.#, Li Z., Jiang G., Wang W., Lu H., Li H.*, Lu Z.* & Liu C.* (2025) Non‐Random Distribution of EMS‐Induced Mutations Reveals Preference for Open Chromatin and Expressed Genes in Rice. Adv Sci e10034
4. Ji J.#, Han X.#, Zang L., Li Y., Lin L., Hu D., Sun S., Ren Y., Maker G., Lu Z.* & Wang L.* (2025) Integrative multi-omics data provide insights into the biosynthesis of furanocoumarins and mechanisms regulating their accumulation in Angelica dahurica. Commun Biol 8(1):649
5. Liu Y.#, Liu P.#, Gao L.#, Li Y., Ren X., Jia J., Wang L., Zheng X., Tong Y., Pei H.* & Lu Z.* (2024) Epigenomic identification of vernalization cis-regulatory elements in winter wheat. Genome Biol 25:200
6. Pei H.#, Li Y.#, Liu Y., Liu P., Zhang J., Ren X. & Lu Z.* (2023) Chromatin accessibility landscapes revealed the subgenome-divergent regulation networks during wheat grain development. aBIOTECH 4:8-19
7. Yang Y.#, Cui L.#, Lu Z. #* , Li G., Yang Z., Zhao G., Kong C., Li D., Chen Y., Xie Z., Chen Z., Zhang L., Xia C., Liu X.*, Jia J.* & Kong X.* (2023) Genome sequencing of Sitopsis species provides insights into their contribution to the B subgenome of bread wheat. Plant Commun 4(4):100567
8. Pei H.#, Teng W.#, Gao L.#, Gao H., Ren X., Liu Y., Jia J., Tong Y., Wang Y.* & Lu Z.* (2023) Low-affinity SPL binding sites contributes to subgenome expression divergences in allohexaploid wheat. Sci China Life Sci 66(4):819-834
9. Tian H.#, Li Y.#, Wang C.#, Xu X., Zhang Y., Zeb Q., Zicola J., Fu Y., Turck F., Li L., Lu Z.* & Liu L.* (2021) Photoperiod-responsive changes in chromatin accessibility in phloem-companion and epidermis cells of Arabidopsis leaves. Plant Cell 33:475-491
10. Lu Z., Marand A.P., Ricci W.A., Ethridge C.L., Zhang X.* & Schmitz R.J.* (2019) The prevalence, evolution and chromatin signatures of plant regulatory elements. Nat Plants 5:1250-1259
11. Ricci W.A.#, Lu Z.#, Ji L.#, Marand A.P., Ethridge C.L., Murphy N.G., Noshay J.M., Galli M., Mejia-Guerra M.K., Colome-Tatche M., Johannes F., Rowley M.J., Corces V.G., Zhai J., Scanlon M.J., Buckler E.S, Gallavotti A., Springer N.M., Schmitz R.J.* & Zhang X.* (2019) Widespread Long-range Cis-Regulatory Elements in the Maize Genome. Nat Plants 5:1237-1249
12. Shao G.#, Lu Z.#, Xiong J., Wang B., Jing Y., Meng X., Liu G., Ma H., Liang Y., Chen F., Wang Y., Li J. & Yu H.* (2019) Tiller Bud Formation Regulators MOC3 and MOC1 Cooperatively Promote Tiller Bud Outgrowth by Activating FON1 Expression in Rice. Mol Plant 12(8):1090-1102
13. Lu Z., Ricci W.A., Schmitz R.J. & Zhang X.* (2018) Identification of cis-regulatory elements by chromatin structure. Curr Opin Plant Biol 42:90-94
14. Lu Z., Hofmeister B.T., Vollmers C., DuBois R.M. & Schmitz R.J.* (2017) Combining ATAC-seq with nuclei sorting for discovery of cis-regulatory regions in plant genomes. Nucleic Acids Res 45:e41
15. Song X.#, Lu Z.#, Yu H.#, Shao G., Xiong J., Meng X., Jing Y., Liu G., Xiong G., Duan J., Yao X., Liu C., Li H., Wang Y. & Li J.* (2017) IPA1 functions as a downstream transcription factor repressed by D53 in strigolactone signaling in rice. Cell Res 27:1128-1141
16. Lu Z.#, Shao G.#, Xiong J., Jiao Y., Wang J., Liu G., Meng X., Liang Y., Xiong G., Wang Y. & Li J.* (2015) MONOCULM 3, an ortholog of WUSCHEL in rice, is required for tiller bud formation. J Genet Genomics (cover story) 42:71-78
17. Lu Z.#, Yu H.#, Xiong G.#, Wang J., Jiao Y., Liu G., Jing Y., Meng X., Hu X., Qian Q., Fu X., Wang Y. & Li J.* (2013) Genome-wide binding analysis of the transcription activator IDEAL PLANT ARCHITECTURE1 reveals a complex network regulating rice plant architecture. Plant Cell 25:3743-3759
Address：No.12 Zhongguancun South St.,Haidian
District, Beijing, P.R.China 100081
Tel： +86-10-82105813
Email：zkskyc@caas.cn
Fax：+86-10-82105819