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Field

Ecological Developmental Adaptability Life Sciences :
Specially-appointed Faculties

Research

JAPANESE
Specially Appointed Assistant Professor　 HSIANG-Ting Lee
Campus Katahira campus
Laboratory Plant Development
Tel +81-22-217-5710
E-mail lee.hsiang-ting.b2＠tohoku.ac.jp
Google Scholar
 
Unlike animals, plants lack nervous systems, relying on phytohormones to regulate biochemical signaling. My research began with understanding how plants response to the environment, and has expanded to exploring the origin of phytohormones. Through the evolution, the regulatory systems have become increasingly complex. I am fascinated by the fundamental roles of phytohormones—when and why did plants evolve these systems? 
Career
2025-present    Assistant Professor    Graduate School of Life Science, Tohoku University, Japan
2024-25    Postdoc    Graduate School of Life Science, Tohoku University, Japan
2023-24    Postdoc    Biotechnology center, National Chun-Hsing University, Taiwan 
2016-23    Ph.D.    Molecular and Cell Biology, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and National Defense Medical Center, Taiwan
 
Selected Publications
Nguyen, C.D., Lu, C.H., Chen, Y.S., Lee, H.T., Lo, S.F., Wei, A.C., Ho, T.H.D. and Yu, S.M. (2025) Mitochondrial AOX1a and an H2O2 feed‐forward signalling loop regulate flooding tolerance in rice. Plant Biotechnol. J. 23(2):395-411. 

Adnan M., Chen, Y .S., Lee, H.T., Wu, C.C., Le, T.T., Liang, J.Z., Lu, C.H., Balasubramaniam H., Lo, S.F., Yu, L.C., Chan, C.H., Chen, K.T., Lee, M.H., Hsing, Y .I., Ho, T.H.D. and Yu, S.M. (2024) A newlyevolved rice-specific gene JAUP1 regulates jasmonate biosynthesis and signaling to promote root
development and multi-stress tolerance. Plant Biotechnol. J., 22(5): 1417-1432.

Yu, S.M., Lee, H.T., Lo, S.F., and Ho, T.H.D. (2021) How does rice cope with too little oxygen during its early life?. New Phytol., 229(1):36-41.
 
Activities in Academic Societies
Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists
Taiwan Society of Plant Physiologists
 

Recent Activities

I study KL-signaling in Closterium psl., a unicellular alga belonging to Zygnematophyceae, the closest sister linage to land plants. KL is sensed by its receptor KAI2, which regulates seed germination, photomorphogenesis, and vegetative growth in land plants. While KAI2 receptors are present in streptophyte algae, their function remains unknown. Using multi-omics approaches and tools in molecular biology, we aim to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of KL-signaling in Closterium, ultimately uncovering conserved regulatory pathways linking algae to land plants.

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Research