M.Sc. (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences)
B.Sc. (Hons.) (Zhejiang Agricultural University, Ningbo)
Academic Staff
OVERVIEW
CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
POSITIONS AVAILABLE
OVERVIEW
The main research focus of Xia laboratory is on understanding molecular mechanisms that sense environmental changes and regulate gene expression. In recent years, RNA modifications, such as RNA capping, have increasingly been recognized as important mechanisms in controlling gene expression. The NAD cap is a newly discovered RNA cap that is present in many RNAs in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. However, the mechanisms of NAD capping and decapping and the molecular and physiological functions of the NAD cap remain largely unknown. Xia laboratory has developed new methods for global-scale identification and characterization of NAD-capped RNAs, and has recently published three papers in PNAS on study of NAD-capped RNAs. The Xia team is using molecular biology, genetics, biochemical, and functional genomics approaches to reveal the mechanisms of gene regulation by RNA modifications in Arabidopsis, E. coli, yeast, and human cells.
