Main work

Serving for the necessary of national strategic and the life health industry, focused the outstanding problems such as the shortage of improved tree species varieties of Litsea cubeba (Mountain pepper) and Vernicia fordii (Tung oil tress), Prof. Chen Yicun seeks to advance the knowledge about the development germplasm resources mining, new germplasm creation and molecular assistant breeding research. The important results have been achieved in the following two aspects.

• The high-quality whole genome map of Litsea cubeba was constructed for the first time, which revealed the formation mechanism of terpenoid diversity in Lauraceae plants. It was rated as one of the 32 highlights of China's agricultural scientific research in 2020. The first selected 'Xianglinglong' varieties have been demonstrated and promoted in more than 10 provinces in southern China, which has played an important role in promoting the development of forestry industry, scientific and technological progress of forestry industry and economic and social development.

• To resolve the problem of Fusarium wilt disease in the plantation of tung oil tree forestry, through 15 consecutive years of research, the disease-resistant variety 'Jinzhen No.1' and the high-yield variety 'Jindun' tung oil tree were cultivated. The two tung oil tree varieties have been demonstrated and promoted in more than 80,000 mu of poor mountainous areas in the south, driving more than 3,000 farmers to get rid of poverty and increase income, and effectively promoted the development of local forestry industry, poverty alleviation and rural revitalization.

Key research projects

• Forestry and grassland science and technology achievements of national extension project 'tung tree resistance to fusarium wilt high yield excellent strain breeding and cultivation demonstration' number. 2023133103, 2023-2025.

• Zhejiang Province 'Special Support Plan for High-level Talents' Science and Technology Innovation Leading Talents Project, Plan No.2022R52028, 2023-2025.

• '14th Five-Year' national key research and development plan sub-project 'High-efficiency biosynthesis regulation mechanism and new method of characteristic tannins in Lauraceae' 2022YFD2200603-1, 2022-2026.

• '13th Five-Year' national key research and development plan sub-project 'Litsea cubeba site evaluation, breeding and harvesting key technology research tasks' 2017YFD0600704, 2017-2020.

• The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) project, the regulatory mechanism of triterpenoids in the xylem of resistant tung oil tree roots to block the infection of Fusarium oxysporum, 31971685, 2020-2023.

• The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) project, Isolation and functional identification of vfLRR, a LRR-type fusarium wilt resistance gene in Vernicia fordii, 31200485, 2013-2015.

• Science and technology basic resources survey special sub-project 'tung oil tree germplasm resources survey and collection' 2019FY100803, 2020-2023.

• Forestry industry standard development and revision project, new plant variety test guide Litsea genus 2019130004-53, 2019-2020.

• Subprojects of major special funds for forestry public welfare industry, gene analysis of high yield, high quality, disease and insect resistance traits of poplar and tung tree, 201304102, 2013-2016.

• State Forestry Administration key project, Litsea cubeba germplasm resources collection and evaluation and high-yield new strain breeding regional trial, 2011-01, 2011-2014.

Awards & achievements

• Research results 'The mechanism underlying diversification of Lauraceae terpenoids' the Natural Science Award of the Major Scientific and Technological Achievement Award of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, 2022, Ranking second.

• Research results 'Breeding technology on breeding of tung oil tree resistant to Fusarium wilt' 2021, the second prize of Liangxi Forestry Science and Technology Award for scientific and technological progress, Ranking first.

Published articles & books

• Yi-Cun Chen^#, Zhen Li^#, Yun-Xiao Zhao^#, Ming Gao^#, Jie-Yu Wang^#, Ke-Wei Liu^#, Xue Wang, Li-Wen Wu, Yu-Lian Jiao, Zi-Long Xu, Wen-Guang He, Qi-Yan Zhang, Chieh-Kai Liang, Yu-Yun Hsiao, Di-Yang Zhang, Si-Ren Lan, Laiqiang Huang, Wei Xu, Wen-Chieh Tsai*, Zhong-Jian Liu*, Yves Van de Peer*, Yang-Dong Wang*. 2020. The Litsea genome and the evolution of the laurel family. Nature Communications 11:1675.

• Yunxiao Zhao, Yicun Chen, Ming Gao, Yangdong Wang*. 2023. Alcohol dehydrogenases regulated by a MYB44 transcription factor underlie Lauraceae citral biosynthesis. Plant Physiology 00: 1–18.

• Jia Wang, Yang Yang, Ming Gao, Liwen Wu, Yunxiao Zhao, Yicun Chen*, Yangdong Wang*. 2023. Cell wall remodeling in woody tung oil tree root xylem contributes to deterrence of the Fusarium wilt pathogen. Industrial Crops & Products 194:116361.

• Qiyan Zhang, Liwen Wu, Hengfu Yin, Zilong Xu, Yunxiao Zhao, Ming Gao, Hong Wu, Yicun Chen*, Yangdong Wang*. 2021. D6 protein kinase in root xylem benefiting resistance to Fusarium reveals infection and defense mechanisms in tung trees. Horticulture research 8(1): 240.

• Qiyan Zhang, Ming Gao, Liwen Wu, Hong Wu, Yicun Chen*, Yangdong Wang*. 2018. Expression network of transcription factors in resistant and susceptible tung trees responding to Fusarium wilt disease. Industrial Crops & Products 122: 716–725.

• Yicun Chen^#*, Hengfu Yin, Ming Gao, Huiping Zhu, Qiyan Zhang, Yangdong Wang*. 2016. Comparative transcriptomics atlases reveals different gene expression pattern related to Fusarium wilt disease resistance and susceptibility in two Vernicia species. Frontiers in Plant Science 7:1974.  

• Susu Yang^#, Yangdong Wang^#, Hengfu Yin, Haobo Guo, Ming Gao, Huiping Zhu, Yicun Chen*. 2015. Identification and characterization of NF-YB family genes in tung tree. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 290(6): 2187-98

• Huiping Zhu^#, Yangdong Wang^#, Hengfu Yin, Ming Gao, Qiyan Zhang and Yicun Chen*. 2015. Genome-wide Identification and characterization of the LRR-RLK Gene Family in Two Vernicia Species. International Journal of Genomics, 2015, Article ID 823427, 17 pages.

• Zhilin Yuan^#*, Yicun Chen^#, Baige Xu, Chulong Zhang*. 2012. Current perspectives on the volatile-producing fungal endophytes. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology 32(4): 363-373. 

• Yicun Chen^#, Guan Zhou^#, Yangdong Wang, Linna Xu. 2010. F-BOX and oleosin: additional target genes for future metabolic engineering in tung trees. Industrial Crops & Products 32 684-686

Other results

Good varieties

• 'Jinzhen No.1' Qian S-SF-VM-00702023, ranked second.

• 'Qian S-SC-VF-008-2022', ranked second.

• 'Xianglinglong No.1' Zhe S-SF-LC-010-2021, ranked second.

Patents

• The new use of D6 protein kinase D6PKL2. ZL 2021115383.4, ranked second.

• A Burkholder agricultural biocontrol strain Ba1 and its usage. ZL201911108997.1, ranked second.

• The screening method and isolation medium of Burkholderia as biocontrol bacteria. ZL201911108766.0, ranked first.

• The regulation and its application of the transcription factors regulated the biosynthesis of plant oil and fatty acid. ZL201310141297.9, ranked first.