Brief Introduction

The National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics (NKLPMG) was approved for its organization in 1986, founded in 1988, and officially open to other laboratories since 1989. Presently, the laboratory director is Professor Ji-Ming Gong, and the chairman of academic board is Professor Jia-Yang Li, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

NKLPMG focuses on plant genetics and molecular biology. The mission of the laboratory is to reveal the molecular basis of the important life phenomena and biological processes in plants, and to apply our knowledge of these molecular mechanisms to benefit agriculture. The main research interests of NKLPMG focus on plant molecular genetics and functional genomics, plant molecular physiology and plant development, molecular mechanisms of plant-environment interactions, and new technology for plant important agronomic traits design.

Currently, the laboratory research team consists of 123 people, including four academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), thirty-two research group leaders. NKLPMG has an active and energetic research team. In a planned and selective way, it has brought in a batch of outstanding young scientists and begun to play important roles in the forefront of scientific research.

NKLPMG has established several technological platforms such as functional genomics, cell biology, proteomics and metabolomics. Moreover, it plays an important role in national scientific research programs. It has been undertaking key research projects from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National key R&D Program, the National Plant Transgenic Program, the Strategic Priority Research Program of CAS, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, etc. In recent years, NKLPMG has made great progress in the research of crop functional genomes, plant nutrition and metabolism, plant development and signal conduction, and plant-environment interactions, which have been published in the journals such as Science, Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Cell Biology, Genes & Development, Nature Communications, Nature Plants, Cell Research, PNAS, Plant Cell, etc.

Relying on the research advantages of CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CEMPS), NKLPMG strives to strengthen cooperation and exchanges at home and abroad. It cooperates with international research institutions or universities and is mainly involved in the establishment of corresponding cooperation centres, such as the CAS-JIC Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science with John Innes Centre in the UK.

NKLPMG will continue to work hard to make groundbreaking contributions to plant and agricultural sciences and to become an internationally well-known laboratory.

Present Directors