Dr. Jing Wang

I am interested in chromosome behavior, centromere and kinetochore biology, and their roles in both meiosis and mitosis. 

I received my PhD in 2024 at the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing. During my PhD, I focused on realizing synthetic apomixis in soybean, aiming to produce clonal seeds by manipulating meiosis and mitosis. This work sparked my lasting fascination with chromosome dynamics during cell division. 

Since January 2025, I have been a Postdoc in Prof. Bomblies' group, studying how meiosis adapts to temperature in diploid Arabidopsis arenosa. Two distinct diploid lineages exist: the Pannonian lineage from the hot, dry lowlands of Hungary, and the lowland West Carpathian lineage from cooler habitats. Several genes related to meiosis, kinetochores, and cell division show signs of selection in the Pannonian lineage, leading
us to hypothesize that these genetic changes contribute to stable meiosis and enhanced heat tolerance in this lineage. 

To test this hypothesis, I am using cytological approaches, including immunostaining and super-resolution microscopy, to compare meiotic progression between the two A. arenosa lineages under different temperature conditions and to assess how they differ in their responses to heat stress. In parallel, I am employing molecular and genetic approaches in Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate the functions of selected genes involved in the processes that differ between the two lineages. In the end, I will analyze the thermostability of the related proteins through computational and biochemical experiments. 

Together, these studies will reveal how naturally occurring amino acid substitutions influence protein function under heat stress, ultimately providing valuable insights and genetic targets for breeding heat-tolerant crops.