Yang Yen

Area(s) of Research

Yen’s Research

Our lab is conducting researches in plant molecular biology. We are trying to understand the molecular mechanisms of perennialism and plant-fungal pathogen interactions.

Yen in the lab
Perennial Field Corn

In the first area, we use corn and its perennial wild relative, Zea diploperennis, as the research subjects, aiming at understanding how some plants are able to live more than two years. Developing perennial field corn for sustainable agriculture is another goal of this project.

Resistance to Fusarium Head Blight

In the second project, we are trying to understand how wheat resists to Fusarium head blight, the most damaging disease in wheat and other small grains. We have cloned a key resistant gene, WFhb1-1, from wheat, and are trying to understand how it is regulated by the pathogen infection.