Horticultural Plant Breeding ， Seed Production and Processing of Vegetable Crops,
Plant Molecular Breeding, Applied Plant Molecular Biology.
Late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary, is a potentially devastating disease that affects potato production worldwide. China is now the biggest potato producer. Potato production of China is seriously threatened by late blight annually. The research of my group mainly focuses on the molecular biology of potato late blight resistance, especially field or quantitative resistance. The main objectives are:
1. Gene expression profiling to identify regulatory networks of late blight resistance-related genes.
2. Cloning and functional dissection of late blight resistance-related genes.
3. P. infestans-potato Molecular Interaction.
4. Improving the genetic resistance of potato to late blight. Developing molecular markers and MAS for late blight resistance breeding.
Membership of Chinese Potato Association

EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATIONS
09. 2000-06. 2003 PhD Crop Breeding and Genetics. Huazhong Agricultural
University. China. Worked on molecular biology of potato late blight resistance. The aim of the studies was to isolate and clone the horizontal resistance-related genes and to look into molecular events associated with horizontal resistance.
09. 1997-06. 2000 MSc.
Biotechnology Breeding of Crops. Gansu Agricultural
University. China. The research focused on creating new potato germplasms through

somatic protoplast fusion.
09. 1991-06. 1995 BSc.
Forestry Sciences.
Gansu Agricultural University.
China.

WORK EXPERIENCE
07. 2003-Present College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences , Huazhong
Agricultural University
07. 2003-12. 2004 Lecturer
01. 2005-12. 2010 Associate professor of Horticulture
01. 2011-present Professor of Horticulture
09. 1995-09. 1997 Xiaolongshan Institute of Forestry Sciences, Gansu Province
Working on Larix breeding and forestry science researches

OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE
11. 2008-11. 2009 Post-doctoral Research at Scottish Crop Research Institute, UK.
Worked on P. infestans -potato Molecular Interaction.
02. 2006- 07. 2006 Training in the International Potato Center
（
CIP
）
Worked on a collaborative project of mapping of candidate genes associated with late blight resistance in potato
1.
Zhendong Tian , Qinfen Xu, Qin He, Shuai Li, Jun Liu, Conghua Xie. Overexpression of
StNAC2 improves potato drought and salt tolerance. Molecular Biology Reports , 2012 , in
Press
2.
Juan Du, Zhendong Tian , Jun Liu, Vivianne G. A. A. Vleeshouwers, Xiaolei Shi, Conghua
Xie. Genes involved in horizontal resistance to potato late blight identified by functional assays. Molecular Biology Reports , 2012 , in Press
3.
Li J, Lindqvist-Kreuze H, Tian Z , Liu J, Song B, Landeo J, Portal L, Gastelo M, Frisancho J,
Sanchez L, Meijer D, Xie C, Bonierbale M. Conditional QTL underlying resistance to late blight in a diploid potato population. Theor Appl Genet . 2012, 124:13391350
4.
Wen Gao, Zhendong Tian , Jun Liu, Yuan Lin, Conghua Xie. Isolation, characterization and functional analysis of StRab, a cDNA clone from potato encoding a small GTP-binding protein. Scientia Horticulturae , 2012, 135: 80-86
5.
Shi X, Tian Z , Liu J, van der Vossen EA, Xie C. A potato pathogenesis-related protein gene,
StPRp27 , contributes to race-nonspecific resistance against P. infestans . Molecular Biology
Reports , 2012 , 39:1909-1916

6.
Ramesh R. Vetukuri, Zhendong Tian , Anna O. Avrova, Eugene I. Savenkov,
Christina Dixelius, Stephen C. Whisson. Silencing of the PiAvr3a effector-encoding gene from Phytophthora infestans by transcriptional fusion to a short interspersed element. Fungal
Biology , 2011, 115: 1225-33
7.
Bos J, Armstrong M, Gilroy E M, Boevink P C, Hein I, Taylor R M, Tian Z D , Vetukuri R R,
Harrower B, Bryan G, Sadanandom A, Whisson S C, Kamoun S, Birch P R . Essential
Phytophthora infestans effector AVR3a manipulates plant immunity by stabilizing host
U-box protein CMPG1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2010, 107: 9909-9914
8.
Tian Z D , Liu J, Zhang Y, Xie C H. Novel potato C2H2-type zinc finger protein gene
StZFP1 , which responses to bio- and abiotic-stresses, play a role in salt tolerance. Plant
Biology , 2010, 12: 689-97
9.
Ni X M, Tian Z D , Jun L, Song B T, Li J C, Shi X L, Xie C H. StPUB17 , a novel potato
UND/PUB/ARM repeat type gene, is associated with late blight resistance and NaCl stress.
Plant Science , 2010, 178: 158-169
10.
Ni X M, Tian Z D , Liu J, Song B T, Xie CH. Cloning and molecular characterizing of potato
RING finger protein gene StRFP1 and its function in potato broad-spectrum resistance against Phytophthora infestans . Journal of Plant Physiology , 2010, 167: 488-496
11.
Li Y J, Tian Z D , Liu J, Xie C H. Comparative cDNA-AFLP analysis reveals that
β-beta-amino-butyric acid induces resistance through early activation of the host-defense genes in potato. Physiologia Plantarum.
2009 , 136: 19-29
12.
Wu T, Tian Z D , Yao C H, Liu J, Xie C H. A novel leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase gene in potato, StLRPK1, is involved in response to diverse stresses. Mol Biol Rep.
2009, 36:
2365-2374
13.
Wu T, Tian Z D , Yao C H, Liu J, Xie C H. A novel ankyrin repeat-rich gene in potato, Star , is involved in response to late blight.
Biochemical Genetics, 2009, 47: 439-50
14.
Tian Z D , Liu J, Portal L, Bonierbale M, Xie C H. Mapping of candidate genes associated with late blight resistance in potato and comparison of their location with known quantitative trait loci (QTL). Can. J. Plant Sci.
2008, 88: 599-610
15.
Wang B, Liu J, Tian Z D , Song B T, Xie C H. cDNA microassay analysis of metabolism-related genes in inoculated potato leaves expressing moderate quantitative resistance to Phytophthora infestans . J. Hort. Sci. Biotech.
2008, 83: 419-426
16.
Tian Z D , Liu J, Wang B L, Xie C H. Screening and expression analysis of Phytophthora infestans induced genes in potato leaves with horizontal resistance. Plant Cell Rep , 2006, 25:
1049-1103
17.
Wang B L, Liu J, Tian Z D , Song B T, Xie C H. Monitoring the expression profiles of genes associated with quantitative resistance to late blight in R-gene-free potato by cDNA microarray analysis. Plant Science, 2005, 169: 1155-1167
18.
Tian Z D , Liu J, Xie C H, Song B T. Cloning of potato POTHR-1 gene and its expression in response to infection by Phytophthora infestans and other abiotic stimuli. Acta Botanica
Sinica , 2003, 45(8): 959-965

19.
Tian Z D , Liu J, Xie C H. Isolation of resistance related-genes to Phytophthora infestans with suppression subtractive hybridization in the R-gene free potato. Acta Genetica Sinica ,
2003, 30: 597-605
20.
Tian Z D , Liu J, Xie C H. Cloning of a pathogenesis-related protein gene cDNA of potato using RACE methods combined with cDNA library. Acta Genetica Sinica , 2003, 30:
989-995
Professor Zhendong Tian
College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences
Huazhong Agricultural University
Wuhan, Hubei, China
Tel: +86 02787286939 Fax: +86 02787286939
E-mail ： tianzhd@mail.hzau.edu.cn