PI: Prof. SUN Yuhua, PhD

Members:  

Prof. Yuhua SUN,

PhD students: Xian He, Gang Feng 

MSc students: Yongxin Wang, Yimin Zhang, Yuanyuan Zan, Tingting Luo, and Bei Tong

Former post-doc or graduate students: Xiaoyun Sun (Hengyang Medical School, University of South China), Linxi Cheng (BGI, Shenzhen China), Xixia Peng (Southern University of Science and Technolog, Post-doc).

Contact Us:  

Office:  86-27-68780718 (Prof. Yuhua Sun)  

General Introduction:  

Sustainable aquaculture and future fisheries require precise genetic breeding and superior breeds. The Research Group of Fish Development and Stem Cell Biology is focusing on studying the cellular and molecular mechanism underlying sex determination and differentiation, and the development of germ cell based breeding biotechnology.  

Using molecular biology, genetics, genomics and bioinformatics, we focus on the studying of the cellular and molecular mechanism underlying sex determination and differentiation, and developing genetically improved varieties and good native stock species of economically important fish, including the ricefield eel, and gibel carp, and crucian carp et al. Germ cell transplantation, also called as surrogate production, can greatly accelerate fish breeding process. We use this technology to produce donor-derived gametes via transplantation of germ cells into surrogate fish. 

We have published more than 30 research papers in the international journals, including Cell, Cell Stem Cell, Developmental Cell, Genes and Development, Nature Communications, Cell Reports, Communications Biology, Zoological Research, and Journal of Genetics and Genomics. These work were supported by the National Key R&D Program of China, the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and National Natural Science Fund in China. 

Recent Publications:  

1.     Tong, B.; Sun, Y*. Activation of Young LINE-1 Elements by CRISPRa (*corresponding). Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25, 424. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25010424

2.     Sun XY, Zhang TZ, Cheng LX, Tong B, Jiang W, Sun YH* (2023). POGZ suppresses 2C transcriptional program and retrotransposable elements (*corresponding). Cell Reports. 42: 112867

3.     Cao YQ, Wang YX, Zhao Y, Ping Xie, Chen Jun* and Sun Yuhua* (2023). Transfer of the zp3a gene results in changes in egg adhesiveness and buoyancy in transgenic zebrafish (*corresponding). Zoological Research. 44(2): 259−268

4.     Feng G, Sun YH* (2022). The Polycomb group gene rnf2is essential for central and enteric neural system development in zebrafish (*corresponding). Frontiers in Neuroscience. 16: 960149. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.960149

5.     Sun XY, Cheng LX, Sun YH* (2022). Autism-related protein POGZ regulates ESC and ESC neural induction (*corresponding). Molecular Autism. 13: 24. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13229-022-00502-9

6.     Sun XY, Wang YX and Sun YH*. (2022), Isolation and characterization of germline stem cells in protogynous hermaphroditic Monopterus albus (*corresponding). Int. J. Mol. Sci.. 23: 5861. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijms23115861

7.     Qimin Jiang, Shuyi Guan, Yunti Zhang, Yuhua Sun& Xulin Jiang (2022). Targeted and fluorescence traceable multifunctional host-guest supramolecular gene delivery platform based on poly(cyclodextrin) and rhodamine conjugated disulfide-containing azobenzene-terminated branched polymer. International Journal of Polymeric Materials and Polymeric Biomaterials. https://doi.org/10.1080/00914037.2022.2029438

8.     Peng XX, Zhang YY, Feng G, YH Sun* (2021). PRC1 maintains regular cardiac contraction via regulating cardiac sarcomere assembly and cardiac conduction system construction (*corresponding). Int. J. Mol. Sci., 22: 11368

9.     LinXi Cheng, MingHui Xie, WeiHua Qiao, Yu Song, YanYong Zhang, YingChao Geng, WeiLin Xu, Lin Wang, Zheng Wang, Kai Huang, NianGuo Dong* & YH Sun* (2021). Generation and characterization of cardiac valve endothelial-like cells from human pluripotent stem cells (*corresponding). Communications Biology, https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02571-7. 

10.  Sun XY, XX Peng, YQ Cao, Y Zhou and YH Sun* (2020). ADNP promotes neural differentiation by modulating Wnt/β-catenin signaling (*corresponding). Nature Communications, 11: 1984

11.  Sun XY and Yu,WJ, Li Li*,YH Sun* (2020). ADNP controls gene expression through local chromatin architecture by association with BRG1 and CHD4. (*corresponding). Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 8: 553

12.  XY Sun, J Chen, YY Zhang, S Dougan and YH Sun* (2018). Mga Modulates Bmpr1a Activity by Antagonizing Bs69 in Zebrafish. (*corresponding). Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 6: 126

13.  R Berger, YH Sun, M. Kulik et al. (2016). ST8SIA4-Dependent Polysialylation Is Part of a Developmental Program Required for Germ Layer Formation from Human Pluripotent Stem Cells. Stem Cells, 34:1742

14.  Amar Singh*, Yuhua Sun*, Li Li, Steve Qin, and Steve Dalton (2014). Signaling pathways connect the cell cycle to epigenetics and cell fate determination (*contribute equally). Stem Cell Reports. 5: 323. 

15.  Yuhua Sun, Weichia Tseng, Rebecca Ball,and Scott Dougan (2014). Extra-embryonic signals under the control of Mga, Max and Smad4 are required for dorsoventral patterning. Developmental Cell, 28: 322.

16.  J Champell*, YH Sun*, A Singh, S Dalton (2013). Myc/Max control Erk signaling and pluripotency by regulation of dual specificity phosphatases 2 and 7. Genes & Development, 27:725-733 (*contribute equally).

17.  J Phillips-Cremins, M Sauria, A Sanyal, T Gerasimova, B Lajoie, J Bell, CT Ong, T Hookway, C Guo, YH Sun, M Bland, W Wagstaff, S Dalton, T McDevitt, R Sen, J Dekker, J Taylor, V Corces (2013). Architectural protein subclasses shape 3-D organization of genomes during lineage commitment. Cell, 153: 1281.

18.  Amar M. Singh, David Reynoids, Timothy Cliff, Satoshi Ohtsuka, Alexa Mattheyses, Yuhua Sun, Laura Menendez, Michael Kulik and Stephen Dalton (2012). Signaling Network Crosstalk in Human Pluripotent Cells: A Smad2/3-Regulated Switch that Controls the Balance between Self-Renewal and Differentiation. Cell stem cell, 10(3): 312-326.

19.  Yuhua Sun, Rong Tang, Dapeng Li, Xuzhen Zhang, Juan Fu, Ping Xie (2008). Acute effects of microcystins on the transcription of antioxidant enzyme genes in Crucian Carp. Environmental Toxicol. 23: 145-152

20.  YH Sun, CX Xie, WM Wang, SY Liu, T. Treer, and MM Chang (2007). The genetic variation and biogeography of catostomid fishes based on mitochondrial and nuleic DNA sequences. Journal of Fish Biology. 70: 291-309

21.Zexia Gao, Weimin Wang, Khalid Abbas, Xiaoyun Zhou, Yi Yang, James S. Diana, Hanping Wang, Huanling Wang, Yang Li, Yuhua Sun (2007). Haematological characterization of loach Misgurnus anguillicaudatus: Comparison among diploid, triploid and tetraploid specimens. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A 147  1001–1008

22.  T. Treer, N. Sˇ prem, H. Torcu-Koc, Y. Sun and M. Piria. 2008. Length–weight relationships of freshwater fishes of Croatia. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 24, 626-628

23.  Sun Yuhua, Wang Wei, Liu Siyang, He Shunping, Shao Xueling, Xie Zhixiong, Deng Fengjiao, Liu Yong, Tong jingou, Wu Qingjiang. 2002. Genetic diversity analysis of mitochindrial D-loop regions of Chinese Sucker (Myxocyprinus Asiaticus). Journal of genetics and genomics, 29(9), 787-790

24.   Yuhua SUN, Siyang LIU*, Gang ZHAO, Nobuhiko TANIGUCHI AND Qixin YU. 2004. Genetic structure of Chinese sucker population Myxocyprinus asiaticus in the Yangtze River based on mitochondrial DNA marker. FISHERIES SCIENCE, 70: 412–420

Book chapters： 

Sun YH, Wloga D. and Dougan S (2011). Embryological manipulations in zebrafish. Methods Mol. Biol., 770: 139-184 (Springer)