Xiuren Zhang received his Ph.D. from Cornell University and conducted postdoctoral research at The Rockefeller University. He began his career as an Assistant Professor at Texas A&M University in 2008 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014 and to Full Professor in 2018. He held the Christine Richardson Professorship in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics before he joined in SUAT.

Dr. Zhang is an internationally recognized expert in RNA biology and plant science. His research has long focused on plant RNA silencing, RNA secondary structures, epigenetics, epitranscriptomic modifications, and host–virus interactions. He has published a series of pioneering studies as a sole corresponding author in top-tier journals such as Cell, Nature, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Plants, Science Advances, Developmental Cell, Nature Comm, and PNAS. His research achievements have been reported more than 20 times by international media, with approximately 700 citations/year currently.

Dr. Zhang has secured more than $18.5 million in research funding from multiple agencies, including NIH and NSF in the US. In recognition of his outstanding scientific contributions, he has received numerous honors, including AgriLife Faculty Fellow, Presidential Impact Fellow, Chancellor EDGES Fellow, and earlier NSF CAREER Award. Dr. Zhang was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

1.Identification and mechanistic investigation of new components in RNA silencing pathways in plants.

2.Deciphering genetic codes and functions embedded in RNA secondary structures and RNA epi-modification.

3.Functional analysis of intrinsic disorder proteins and their transformation applications.

4.Improvement of critical agricultural traits, biotechnology products, and human health via RNA-driven synthetic biology.

Education:

1999-2003: Cornell University, NY. Ph.D. Plant Biology

1997-1999: Auburn University, AL. M.S. Horticulture/Biotech

1991-1994: China Agricultural University. M.S. Horticulture

1985-1989: Southern Agricultural College of Anhui. BS. Economic Plant

Work Experience

2023.9-025.7 Christine Richardson Endowed Professor, Department of Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, Texas A&M (TAMU)

2020.7-2025.7 Professor, Department of Biology (Joint appointment) TAMU

2018.9-2023.8 Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, TAMU

2013.9-2018.8 Assoc Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics,TAMU

2008.9-2013.8 Assist Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics,TAMU

2003.9-2008.7 Postdoc, Lab of Plant Molecular Biology, Rockefeller University

1.Functions and mechanisms of new components in RNA silencing2024.2.1 to 2029.1.31NIH R35GM151976US $3,498,7241 (Two R01 merged to one R35; PI)

2.Roles of SWI/SNF complexes in posttranscriptional processing of RNA 2019.4.1 to 2024. 5.31 NIH R01GM132401 US $1,373,686 (PI)

3.Suppression mechanism of Geminivirus-encoded TrAP protein 2018.12.21 to 2023.11.30 NIH R01GM127742 US $1,537,430 (PI)

4.Pathogenesis Mechanism of Geminivirus-Encoded AL2 2012.2.1-2015.1.31 NIH R21AI097570 US $384,357 (PI)

5.Function and mechanism of Coat protein complex I in RNA silencing 2022.3.1-2026.2.28 NSF Molecular & Cellular Biology(MCB) US $1,100,000 (PI)

6.Roles of the SERRATE protein in regulation of miRNA biogenesis and transposable element silencing in Arabidopsis thaliana 2017.11.15 to 2022.11.14

NSF MCB-1716243 US $880,000 (PI)

7.CAREER: Arabidopsis Argonaute10-protein interactome 2013.6.15 to 2019. 5.14 NSF

MCB-1253369 $1,275,000 (PI)

8.Argonaute-RNA interactome in Arabidopsis 2010.2.1- 2014.1.31 NSF MCB-0951120 $532,909 (PI)

9.Biochemical basis of liquid-liquid phase separation and impact of DSPPL in microRNA production factory 2011.6.1-2026.5.31 Welch Foundation (A-A-2177-20230405), A-173-20180324, MA-1777 $665,000 (PI)

10.Exploring LLPS-featured SAID homologs to improve agricultural traits2023.7.6 to 2028. 7.6HATCH, USDA(TEX08178)$200,000(PI)

Selected publications:

1.Zhong, S.L., X., Li, C. Bai, H., Chen, J., Gan, L. Zhu, J. Oh, T., Yan, X., Zhu, J., Li, N., Koiwa, H. Meek, T., Peng, X., Yu, B., Zhang, Z. and Zhang, X., 2024. Reciprocal regulation of m6A modification and miRNA production machineries via phase separation-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Nature Cell Biology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-024-01530-8. (IF in 2023, 17.3)

2.Li, X*., Zhong, S.*, Li, C., Yan, X., Zhu, J., Li, Y., Wang, Z., Peng, X., and Zhang, X., 2024. RNA helicase Brr2a promotes miRNA biogenesis by properly remodeling secondary structure of pri-miRNAs. Nature Plants. doi: 10.1038/s41477-024-01788-8. PMID: 39271943. (IF in 2023, 15.7)

Li, X. and Zhang, X. The spliceosome factor and RNA helicase Brr2a moonlights in miRNA production. Nature Research Briefing. Oct. 8. 2024.

3.Yan X*, Li C*, Liu K, Zhang T, Xu Q, Li X, Zhu J, Wang Z, Yusuf A, Cao S, Peng X, Cai JJ, Zhang X. 2024. Parallel degradome-seq and DMS-MaPseq substantially revise the miRNA biogenesis atlas in Arabidopsis. Nature Plants. doi: 10.1038/s41477-024-01725-9. PMID: 38918606. (IF in 2023, 15.7)

Yan, X. and Zhang, X., 2024. Exploring the landscape of miRNA production and the structural rules that shape it. Nature Research Briefing. Volume 10, pages 1060-1061.

4.Zhang, T*., Li, C*; Zhu, J*, **., Li, Y., Wang, Z., Tong, C., Xi, Y., Han, Y.; Koiwa, H.; Peng, X., and Zhang, X**. Structured 3' UTRs destabilize mRNAs in plants. Genome Biology. 2024 Feb 22;25(1):54. doi: 10.1186/s13059-024-03186-x.PMID: 38388963. (IF in 2023, 10.1)

5.Shang, B., Li, C. and Zhang, X. Liquid-liquid phase separation and RNA silencing. Trends Genet. 2024 Jan 30:S0168-9525(23)00284-6. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2023.12.009. PMID: 38296708. (IF in 2023, 13.6)

6.Wang, Z., Zhao, C., Tong, C., Castillo-González, C., Li, C., Xie, K., Zhu, J., Jacob, Y., Michaels, S., Jacobsen, S., Peng, X., and Zhang, X. Mutations of histone methyltransferases confer Geminivirus resistance to via retaining DNA repair proteins onto rDNA and defense genes in Arabidopsis. 2023. Nature Comm. Nov 18;14(1):7484. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43311-1 (IF in 2023, 14.7)

7.Meehan, J., McDermott, S.M., Ivens, A., Goodall, Z., Chen, Z., Yu, Z., Woo, J., Rodshagen, T., McCleskey, L., Sechrist, R., Stuart, K., Zeng, L., Rouskin, S., Savill, N.J., Schnaufer, A., Zhang, X., Cruz-Reyes, J. Trypanosome RNA helicase KREH2 differentially controls non-canonical editing and putative repressive structure via a novel proposed ‘bifunctional’ gRNA in mRNA A6. Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 May 29:gkad453. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad453. PMID: 37246647. (IF in 2023, 16.6)

8.Shang, B*., Wang, L.*, Yan, X.*, Li, C., Wu, C. Wang, T., Choi, S., Wang, Z., Peng, X., and Zhang, X. Intrinsically disordered proteins SAID1/2 condensate on SERRATE/ARS2 for dual inhibitions of miRNA biogenesis in Arabidopsis. 2023. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Apr 4;120(14):e2216006120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2216006120. PMID: 36972460. (IF in 2023, 9.4)

9.Li X, Li C, Zhu J, Zhong S, Zhu H, and Zhang X. Functions and mechanisms of RNA helicases in plants. J Exp Bot. 2022 Nov 23:erac462. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erac462. PMID: 36416783. (IF in 2023, 7.3)

10.Zhu J, Yan X, Zhang X. The R-loop influences miRNA birthplace. Nature Plants. 2022 Apr;8(4):320-321. doi: 10.1038/s41477-022-01124-y. PMID: 35449403. (IF in 2023, 15.7)

11.Wang, L.*, Yan, X.*, Li, Y., Wang, Z., Chhajed, S., Shang, B., Wang, Z., Suk Won Choi, S.W., Zhao, H., Chen, S., and Zhang. X. PRP4KA phosphorylates SERRATE for degradation via 20S proteasome to fine-tune miRNA production in Arabidopsis. Science Advances. 2022. 8(12):eabm8435. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abm8435. PMID: 35333566. (IF in 2023, 11.7)

12.Sun, D*, Li, Y*, Ma, Z, Yan, X, Li, N, Shang, B, Hu, X, Cui, K, Koiwa, H, and Zhang, X. 2021. The epigenetic factor FVE orchestrates cytoplasmic SGS3-DRB4-DCL4 activities to promote transgene silencing in Arabidopsis. Science Advances. 7(32):eabf3898. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abf3898. (IF in 2023, 11.7)

13.Sun, D., and Zhang, X. HASTY moves to chromatin for miRNA production. Mol Plant. 2021 Jan 22:S1674-2052(21)00012-5. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2021.01.012. PMID: 33493678. (IF in 2023, 17.1)

14.Zhu, J., Li, C., Peng, X., and Zhang, X. Architecture of RNA influences plant biology. J Exp Bot. 2021 Jan 23:erab030. doi: 10.1093/jxb/erab030. PMID: 33484251. (IF in 2023, 7.3)

15.Sun, D., Ma, Z., Zhu, J., and Zhang, X. Identification and Quantification of Small RNAs. Methods Mol Biol. 2021;2200:225-254. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0880-7_11. PMID: 33175381

16.Li. Y.*, Sun, D.*, Ma, Z., Yamaguchi, K.$, Wang, L, Zhong, S. Yan, X., Shang, B., Nagashima, Y., Koiwa, H., Han, J., Xie, Q., Zhou, M., Wang, Z.**, and Zhang, X.**, 2020. Degradation of Serrate via ubiquitin-independent 20S proteasome to survey RNA metabolism. Nature Plants. 2020 Aug;6(8):970-982. doi: 10.1038/s41477-020-0721-4. (IF in 2023, 15.7)

17.Hu, T., Huang, C., He, Y., Castillo-González, C.#, Gui, X., Wang, Y., Zhang, X.**, Zhou, X.**. 2019. βC1 protein encoded in geminivirus satellite concertedly targets MKK2 and MPK4 to counter host defense. PLoS Pathog. Apr 18;15(4):e1007728. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007728. (IF in 2023, 6.7)

18.Wang, Z*., Wang, Y.*, Wang, T., Zhang, Y.**, and Zhang, X.**. 2019. Genome-wide probing RNA structure with the modified DMS-MaPseq in Arabidopsis. Methods 155:30-40. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2018.11.018. (IF in 2023, 4.2)

19.Castillo-Gonzalez, C., and Zhang, X. 2018. The Trojan Horse of the Plant Kingdom. Cell Host & Microbe. 24(1):1-3. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2018.06.015. (IF in 2023, 20.6)

20.Ma, Z., Castillo-González, C. #, Wang, Z., Sun, D. #, Hu, X., Shen, X., Potok, M.E., and Zhang, X. Arabidopsis Serrate Coordinates Histone Methyltransferases ATXR5/6 and RNA Processing Factor RDR6 to Regulate Transposon Expression. Developmental Cell. 45(6):769-784.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2018.05.023. (IF in 2023, 10.7)

21.Ma, Z., and Zhang, X. 2018. Actions of plant Argonautes: predictable or unpredictable? Curr Opin Plant Biol. 45:59-67. doi: 10.1016/j.pbi.2018.05.007. (IF in 2023, 8.3)

22.Wang, Z., Ma, Z.*, Castillo-González, C. #*, Sun, D. #, Li, Y. #, Yu, B., Zhao, B., Li, P., and Zhang, X. 2018. SWI/SNF subunit CHR2 remodels pri-miRNAs via SE to inhibit miRNA production. Nature. 557(7706):516-521. (IF in 2023, 50.5). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29769717/

23.Castillo-Gonzalez, C. #, and Zhang, X. 2018. Transactivator: the new face of Arabidopsis AGO1. Developmental Cell. 44(3): 277-279 (IF in 2023, 10.7)

24.Mei, Y., Yang, X., Huang, C#., Zhang, X., and Zhou, X. 2018. Tomato leaf curl Yunnan virus-encoded C4 induces cell division through enhancing stability of Cyclin D 1.1 via impairing NbSKη -mediated phosphorylation in Nicotiana benthamiana. PLoS Pathog. 14(1): e1006789. (IF in 2023, 6.7)

25.Zhang, X. 2017. Tough GC beats transgene silencing. Nature Plants. 2017 Nov; 3(11): 850-851. doi: 10.1038/s41477-017-0048-y. (IF in 2023, 15.7)

26.Fukudome, A., Sun, D#. Zhang, X., and Koiwa, H. 2017. Salt-stress and CTD phosphatase-like 4 mediate transcriptional switching of snRNA to mRNA in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell. 2017 Nov 1. pii: tpc.00331.2017. doi: 10.1105/tpc.17.00331. (IF in 2023, 10)

27.Zhang, Z.*, Hu F.* #, Sung, M. W#., Shu, C, Castillo, C. #, Koiwa, H., Dickman, M., Li, P.** and Zhang, X.**. 2017. RISC-Interacting Clearing 3'- 5' Exoribonucleases (RICEs) degrade uridylated cleavage fragments to maintain functional RISC in Arabidopsis. eLife. doi: 10.7554/eLife.24466 (the paper was favorably reviewed as “tour de force” work). (IF in 2023, 6.6)

28.Zhang, Z.*, Guo, X.*, Ge, C#*., Ma, Z., Jiang, M. #, Li, T., Koiwa H., Yang, S.K., and Zhang, X. 2017. KETCH1 (Karyopherin Enabling the Transport of the Cytoplasmic HYL1) imports HYL1 to nucleus for miRNA biogenesis in Arabidopsis. PNAS. 114(15):4011-4016. (IF in 2023, 9.4)

29.Li, S*., Castillo-Gonzalez, C*#., Yu, B**., and Zhang, X. 2017. The functions of plant small RNAs in development and in stress responses. Plant J. 90(4):654-670 (IF in 2023, 6.2)

30.Zhang, Z.*, Liu, X.*, Guo, X., Wang, X-J.** and Zhang, X. 2016. Arabidopsis AGO3 predominantly recruits 24-nt small RNAs to regulate epigenetic silencing. Nature Plants. 16049 (2016) doi:10.1038/nplants.2016.49 (Featured paper). (IF in 2023, 15.7)

31.Zhou, Y., Honda, M., Zhu, H., Zhang, Z., Guo, X., Li, T., Li, Z., Peng, X., Nakajima, K., Duan, L., and Zhang X. 2015. Spatiotemporal Sequestration of miR165/166 by Arabidopsis Argonaute10 Promotes Shoot Apical Meristem Maintenance. Cell Report. S2211-1247. (IF in 2023, 7.5)

32.Wang, T., Castillo-González, C. #, You, L., Li, R., Wen, L., Zhu, H. **, and Zhang, X.**. 2015. In vitro reconstitution assay of miRNA biogenesis by Arabidopsis DCL1. Bio-protocol 5(8):e1454.

33.Castillo-González, C., Liu, X., Huang, C., Zhao, C., Hu, T., Sun, F$., Ma, Z., Zhou, Y., Zhou, X., Wang, X., and Zhang, X. 2015. Geminivirus-encoded TrAP suppressor inhibits the histone methyltransferase SUVH4/KYP to counter host defense. eLife. 2015 Sep 7;4. doi: 10.7554/eLife.06671. (selected by Nature for research highlight). (IF in 2023, 6.6)

34.Williams, B., Njaci, I. #, Moghaddam, L., Long, H., Dickman, M., Zhang, X., and Mundree, S.**. 2015. Trehalose Accumulation Triggers Autophagy during Plant Desiccation. PLoS Genet. 2015 Dec 3;11(12):e1005705.( IF in 2023, 4)

35.Zhu, H., Zhou, Y., Castillo, C. #, Lu, A$., Zhao, Y., Duan, L., Li, Z., Wang, XJ and Zhang, X. 2013. Bidirectional processing of pri-miRNAs with branched terminal loops by Arabidopsis Dicer-like1. Nature Struc. Mol. Biol. 20:1106-1115 (Cover Story). (IF in 2023, 12.5)

36.Zhang, Z. and Zhang, X. 2012. Argonautes fight for miRNAs to regulate stem cell activity in plants. Curr. Opin Plant Biol. 15:652-658 (Cover). (IF in 2023, 8.3)

37.Zhu, H.*, Hu, F.* #, Wang, R.*, Zhou, X., Sze, S., Liou, L. $, Barefoot, A. $, Dickman, M.,and Zhang, X. 2011. The Arabidopsis Argonaute 10 specifically recruits miR166/165 to maintain shoot apical meristem. Cell. 145:242-256. (Featured article; Top 5 Cell paperflick in 2011). (IF in 2023, 45.6)