I have identified new mechanisms for improved resistance to the soybean cyst nematode, a pathogen responsible for billions of dollars of yield losses annually, by investigating vesicle trafficking and defense hormone pathways. In addition, I have identified fungal effector proteins involved in anthracnose infection in sorghum. To enhance drought tolerance, I am also studying genes that regulate stomatal cell development and behavior.
In parallel, I develop faster and more efficient workflows for plant bioengineering. By harnessing a robotic biofoundry, I established an automated Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle that integrates protoplast systems, callus cell cultures, and whole-plant regeneration in a stepwise manner. Using this automated system, I generated novel tobacco and maize varieties with enhanced oil accumulation. This high-throughput automation platform has recently been extended to study energy crops such as sugarcane, N. benthamiana, and sorghum, with the aim of improving yield, drought tolerance, and fungal disease resilience.
Most recently, my research focuses on integrating robotics and AI to improve yield through high-throughput protein engineering in maize.
Overall, my work seeks to improve the yield and resilience of major agricultural crops while developing rapid and scalable technologies for next-generation crop development.
Outreach and Extension Focus
In my extension and outreach, I am a member of New York Corn & Soybean Growers News. Through active collaboration with farmers, I identify real-world challenges and develop practical tools and products to increase yield and strengthen crop resilience to abiotic and biotic stressors. By engaging directly with farmers through the New York Corn & Soybean Growers News network, I work to translate research into tools that improve yield and crop resilience under abiotic and biotic stress conditions.
Selected Publications
View Publications on Google Scholar.
Dong, J., Hudson, M.E., et al. 2025. Enhancing lipid production in plant cells through high-throughput genome editing and phenotyping via a scalable automated pipeline. The Plant Cell. DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaf026.
* This publication was selected as a Featured Article in The Plant Cell, CABBI Featured News Release, and DOE News Release (references below):
- Nitin Uttam Kamble. 2025. FAST-PB: An automated plant bioengineering system for scalable genome editing and phenotyping. The Plant Cell. DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koaf020.
- Julie Wurth. 2025. CABBI News Release. CABBI Team Deploys Robotic Lab to Revolutionize Plant Bioengineering. It is available at https://cabbi.bio/cabbi-team-deploys-robotic-lab-to-revolutionize-plant-bioengineering/.
- DOE News Release. 2025. The DOE Office of Science recently published a highlight, “Robotic Lab Revolutionizes Plant Bioengineering”. It is available at https://www.energy.gov/science/listings/science-highlights .
Dong, J., Hudson, M.E., et al. 2026. Optimization of protoplast isolation and transfection in maize, sorghum, sugarcane, soybean and N. benthamiana. In preparation.
Dong, J., Hudson, M.E., Andrew leaky, et al. 2024. High-throughput genome editing and phenotyping of plant cells using a scalable and automated pipeline. Genomic Science Program, U.S. Department of Energy.
Dong, J., Hudson, M.E. 2022. WI12Rhg1 interacts with DELLAs and mediates soybean cyst nematode resistance through hormone pathways. Plant Biotechnology Journal. DOI: 10.1111/pbi.13709.
Dong, J., Zielinski, R. E., Hudson, M.E. 2020. t-SNAREs bind the Rhg1 α-SNAP and mediate soybean cyst nematode resistance. The Plant Journal. DOI: 10.1111/tpj.14923.
Dong, J., Jones, R. H., Mou P. 2018. Relationships between Nutrient Heterogeneity, Root Growth, and Hormones: Evidence for Interspecific Variation. Plants. 7(1). DOI: 10.3390/plants7010015.
Lane, S., Dong, J., Jin, Y. S. 2018. Value-added biotransformation of cellulosic sugars by engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Bioresource Technology. DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.04.013.
Swaminathan, S., Dong, J., et al. 2018. Mapping of new quantitative trait loci for sudden death syndrome and soybean cyst nematode resistance in two soybean populations. Theoretical and Applied Genetics. DOI: 10.1007/s00122-018-3057-y.
Wefers, D., Dong, J., et al. 2017. Enzymatic mechanism for arabinan degradation and transport in the thermophilic bacterium Caldanaerobius polysaccharolyticus. Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 83(18): e00794-17. DOI: 10.1128/AEM.00794-17.
Dong, J., Guo, W., 2013. Molecular cloning and characterization of three novel genes related to fatty acid degradation and their responses to abiotic stresses in Gossypium hirsutum L. Journal of Integrative Agriculture. 12(4): 101−108. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60275-0.
Jia In the News
Robotic Lab Revolutionizes Plant Bioengineering - A fast, automated, and high-throughput pipeline is improving the speed of plant engineering. Biological and Environmental Research. August 26, 2025
