Qingfang He
Associate Professor
Department of Applied Science
University of Arkansas Little Rock
Research Areas: Molecular Genetics of Cyanobacteria and Plants; Photosynthesis;
Applied Phycology
Ph. D., 1998, Arizona State University
Postdoctoral Training, 1998-2002, Carnegie Institution of Washington at Stanford
Research Description
My group members are studying the molecular mechanisms by which
photosynthetic organisms cope with environmental stress that causes inhibition to
photosynthesis and reduction in crop yield. Understanding these mechanisms will help
in developing crop plants that are able to thrive even under harsh environmental
conditions. Currently we are focusing our studies on a family of four high light
inducible polypeptides (HLIP) with similarity to the light harvesting chlorophyll
a/b-binding proteins of vascular plants in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC
6803. These polypeptides accumulate under a variety of stress conditions and they are
required for surviving exposure to high intensity light. The exact mechanism of HLIP
action and the function of these polypeptides in survival during high light exposure are
not clearly understood. HLIPs are preserved in vascular plants; they may play
important roles in these systems as well. The regulatory mechanism that governs the
expression of the genes encoding HLIPs (hli) has not yet been elucidated. Several
important questions are being addressed. These include how hli genes are regulated,
whether HLIPs form complexes, and what are the roles of HLIPs in cell survival. The
approaches being used combine genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics tools.
Publications
Jantaro, S., Ali, Q., Lone, S. & He, Q. (2006) Suppression of the lethality of high
intensity light to a mutant lacking four hli genes by the inactivation of the regulatory
protein PfsR in Synechocystis PCC 6803. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 30865-30874.
Hsiao, H-Y., He, Q., van Waasbergen, L. G. & Grossman, A. R. (2003) Control of
photosynthetic and high light-responsive genes by the histidine kinase DspA: Negative
and positive regulation and interactions between signal transduction pathways. J.
Bacteriol. 186, 3882-3888.
Havaux, M., Guedeney, G., He, Q. & Grossman A. (2003) Elimination of
high-light-inducible polypeptides related to eukaryotic chlorophyll a/b-binding
proteins results in aberrant photoacclimation in Synechocystis PCC 6803. Biochim.
Biophys. Acta. 1557, 21-33.
He, Q. (2003) Microalgae as platforms for recombinant proteins. Handbook of
Microalgal Cuture, Ed by A. Richmond. pp471-484, Blackwell Science.
Grossman, A. R. Bhaya, D. & He, Q. (2001) Tracking the light environment by
cyanobacteria and the dynamic nature of light harvesting. J. Biol. Chem. 276,
11449-11452.
He, Q., Dolganov, N., Bjorkman, O. & Grossman, A. R. (2001) The high light inducible
polypeptides in Synechocystis PCC 6803: Expression and function in high light. J. Biol.
Chem. 276, 306-314.
He, Q., Paulsen, H. & Vermaas, W. (1999) Expression of a higher plant
light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Eur. J.
Biochem. 263, 561-570.
He, Q. & Vermaas, W. (1999) Genetic deletion of proteins resembling type IV-pilins in
Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: Their role in binding or transfer of newly synthesized
chlorophyll. Plant Mol. Biol. 39, 1175-1188.
He, Q. & Vermaas, W. (1998) Chlorophyll a availability affects psbA translation and
D1 precursor processing in vivo in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.
USA 95, 5830-5835.
He, Q., Brune, D., Nieman, R. & Vermaas, W. (1998) Chlorophyll a synthesis upon
interruption and deletion of por coding for the light-dependent
NADPH:protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase in a photosystem I-less/chlL- strain of
Synechocystis PCC 6803. Eur. J. Biochem. 253, 161-172.