The research team of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University took the lead in analyzing the mechanism of phytogartin in promoting cell growth in the world, which provided a direct theoretical basis for the worldwide scientific problem "acid growth hypothesis" that has not been solved for half a century, and is considered to be a textbook-level discovery by the industry. The main completer of the study was Dr. Lin Wenwei of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University. Recently, he told reporters the story behind this research.
Lin Wenwei was born in 1984 and was admitted to the science base class of the College of Life Sciences of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in 2002.
In the summer of 2004, Lin Wenwei interned in the fungal gene functional omics laboratory of Wang Zonghua (then deputy dean of the College of Life Sciences of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University). Here, he came into contact with advanced plant research, cloning technology, etc., and learned the latest scientific research methods and techniques.
In 2010, on the recommendation of Wang Zonghua, Lin Wenwei entered the Laboratory of Shan Libo and He Ping of Texas A&M University in the United States. During his internship, he participated in the completion of a breakthrough discovery in the field of plant immunity in the laboratory, which was published in the authoritative academic journal Science, and Lin Wenwei, who was only 27 years old, was the second author.
Subsequently, Lin Wenwei took the graduate examination in the United States and received an A&M entrance scholarship. In 2011, he joined Shan Libo's laboratory as a doctoral student and began a 5-year study of the molecular mechanism of plant immunity. After graduating with his Ph.D., he joined the research group of Yang Zhenbiao of the University of California, Riverside, to conduct postdoctoral research work on the molecular mechanism of plant polar growth.
After several years of hard work, Lin Wenwei's team discovered the association between auxin and cellular acid growth.
"The study found that when auxin appears, it can be sensed by the TMK protein kinase on the cell wall. This protein activates a series of related proteins, causing the outside of the cell to become more acidic, the cell wall to become soft, and finally the cell to grow. Lin Wenwei introduced that this further reveals the "plant cell acid growth hypothesis" that has not been fully confirmed for half a century.
Their research has overcome this world's scientific problems, analyzed the core mechanism of "cell acidification theory" from the molecular level, and is a very important breakthrough in the field of plant auxin, which has important guiding significance for the improvement of crop varieties. To put it simply, this theoretical study can guide people to cultivate fruits and vegetables of various sizes and improve their quality. "One day in the future, we may be able to enjoy grapes as luscious and juicy as apples, and watermelons will no longer be round, but can also be square and other shapes." Lin Wenwei said.
On October 27 this year, this result was published in the authoritative academic journal "Nature", and Lin Wenwei was the first author. The results are widely recognized and considered "textbook-level discoveries".
Now, Lin Wenwei has returned to his alma mater, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, from overseas to work. "I went back to where my dream began to pursue science." Lin Wenwei said that he wants to inspire and train more people to join the scientific research team and pursue new discoveries and breakthroughs in science together.
Fuzhou Evening News reporter Liang Kaihong wen/photo
Source: Fuzhou News Network