Ping Wang

Area of Interest

Plants constantly adjust their growth and development in response to changing environmental conditions. Our research aims to understand the molecular and cellular signaling mechanisms that coordinate plant growth and stress responses. We are particularly interested in how protein phosphorylation regulates key cellular processes involved in plant adaptation to environmental stresses.

A major focus of our research is to understand how phosphorylation-mediated signaling regulates stress granule dynamics and autophagy. Stress granules are dynamic biomolecular condensates that help cells reorganize RNA and protein metabolism during stress, while autophagy maintains cellular homeostasis by degrading and recycling damaged or unwanted cellular components. Using genetic, molecular, cellular, and omics approaches in Arabidopsis thaliana, we investigate how stress granule and autophagy processes are regulated and coordinated during stress and recovery.

Our long-term goal is to uncover fundamental signaling mechanisms that balance plant growth and stress resilience and ultimately contribute to improving crop performance under adverse environmental conditions.

Selected Publications

Google Scholar

1. Wang P*, Du J*, He J*, Li Z, Walley JW, Chen M, Guo H. FERONIA phosphorylates the amino-terminal extension of phytochrome B to modulate plant light and temperature responses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026, accepted. (*Co-first author)
2. Nolan TM, Vukasinovic N, Hsu CW, Zhang J, Vanhoutte I, Shahan R, Taylor IW, Greenstreet L, Heitz M, Afanassiev A, Wang P, Szekely P, Brosnan A, Yin Y, Schiebinger G, Ohler U, Russinova E, Benfey PN. Brassinosteroid gene regulatory networks at cellular resolution in the Arabidopsis root. Science, 2023, 379: eadf4721.
3. Wang P, Clark NM, Nolan TM, Song G, Bartz PM, Liao CY, Montes-Serey C, Katz E, Polko JK, Kieber JJ, Kliebenstein DJ, Bassham DC, Walley JW, Yin Y, Guo H. Integrated omics reveal novel functions and underlying mechanisms of the receptor kinase FERONIA in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell 2022; 34: 2594-2614.
4. Wang P, Clark NM, Nolan TM, Song G, Whitham OG, Liao CY, Montes-Serey C, Bassham DC, Walley JW, Yin Y, Guo H. FERONIA functions through Target of Rapamycin (TOR) to negatively regulate autophagy. Frontiers in Plant Science 2022; 13: 961096.
5. Liao CY*, Wang P*, Yin Y, Bassham DC. Interactions between autophagy and phytohormone signaling pathways in plants. FEBS Letters 2022; 596: 2198-2214. (*Co-first author)
6. Montes-Serey C, Wang P, Liao CY, Nolan TM, Song G, Clark NM, Elmore JM, Guo H, Bassham DC, Yin Y, Walley JW. Integration of multi-omics data reveals interplay between brassinosteroid and Target of Rapamycin Complex signaling in Arabidopsis. New Phytologist 2022; 236: 893-910.
7. Wang P, Nolan TM, Clark NM, Jiang H, Montes-Serey C, Guo H, Bassham DC, Walley JW, Yin Y. The F-box E3 ubiquitin ligase BAF1 mediates the degradation of brassinosteroid-activated transcription factor BES1 through selective autophagy in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 2021; 33: 3532-3554.
8. Clark NM, Nolan TM, Wang P, Song G, Montes-Serey C, Valentine C, Guo H, Sozzani R, Yin Y, Walley JW. Integrated omics networks reveal the temporal signaling events of brassinosteroid response in Arabidopsis. Nature Communications 2021; 12: 5858.
9. Wang P, Nolan TM, Yin Y, Bassham DC. Identification of transcription factors that regulate ATG8 expression and autophagy in Arabidopsis. Autophagy 2020; 16: 123-139.
10. Wang P*, Mugume Y*, Bassham DC. New advances in autophagy in plants: regulation, selectivity and function. Seminars in Cell & Developmental Biology 2018; 80: 113-122. (*Co-first author)
11. Sun X*, Wang P*, Jia X, Huo L, Che R, Ma F. Improvement of drought tolerance by overexpressing MdATG18a is mediated by modified antioxidant system and activated autophagy in transgenic apple. Plant Biotechnology Journal 2018; 16: 545-557. (*Co-first author)