Maojun Wang

Professor, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University

Summary of my work

My research uses the cotton genus as a research model to investigate the regulatory mechanism of single-cell differentiation and development, aiming to improve fiber quality in cotton. I have interests in the intertwining relationship between genome size evolution and reorganization of higher-order chromatin structure in plants. I also extend the research to address some fundamental scientific questions in polyploid plants, such as the underlying mechanism of polyploid advantage in changing environments, using multidisciplinary approaches such as genomics, bioinformatics, molecular biology, genome editing and artificial intelligence. Overall, my research field includes polyploid genomics and evolution, population genetics, epigenetics and 3D genomics. During my stay at Cornell, I am in Professor Edward Buckler’s research group, where I mainly focus on crop genome evolution and the genetic basis of 3D genome organization in crops, as well as developing deep learning models for transcriptional regulation study.

Impacts in China

China is one of the world's largest cotton producing and consuming countries. However, cotton fiber quality remains to be improved, which has long been an important research direction. In my previous studies, I and colleagues have assembled the reference genomes of two cultivated allotetraploid cottons (Gossypium hirsutum and G. barbadense) and the pan-genome of the cotton genus, which help address genomic divergence among the species and evolutionary history of the cotton genus. We discovered both subgenomes in allotetraploid cotton exhibited asymmetric selection during domestication and investigated the effect of 3D genome structure reorganization on the observed expression divergence of homoeologous genes in the polyploid plants. We have also explored the genomic basis of cotton fiber evolution, and constructed a dynamic genetic and epigenetic regulatory network during cotton fiber development. These findings have provided new insights into the evolution of genome organization  and regulation, and informs cotton fiber improvement by genome-enabled approaches.

Publications

1. Jianying Li#, Zhenping Liu#, Chunyuan You#, Zhengyang Qi, Jiaqi You, Corrinne E. Grover, Yuexuan Long, Xianhui Huang, Sifan Lu, Yuejin Wang, Sainan Zhang, Yawen Wang, Ruizhe Bai, Mengke Zhang, Shuangxia Jin, Xinhui Nie, Jonathan F. Wendel, Xianlong Zhang*, Maojun Wang*. Convergence and divergence of diploid and tetraploid cotton genomes. Nature Genetics, 2024. 
2. Xianhui Huang#, Yuejin Wang#, Sainan Zhang#, Liuling Pei, Jiaqi You, Yuexuan Long, Jianying Li, Xianlong Zhang, Longfu Zhu, Maojun Wang*. Epigenomic and 3D genomic mapping reveals developmental dy-namics and subgenomic asymmetry of transcriptional regulatory architecture in allotetraploid cotton. Nature Communications, 2024.
3. Xinyuan Chen#, Xiubao Hu#, Guo Li#, Corrinne E. Grover, Jiaqi You, Ruipeng Wang, Zhenping Liu, Zhengyang Qi, Xuanxuan Luo, Yabing Peng, Mengmeng Zhu, Yuqi Zhang, Sifan Lu, Yuan-ming Zhang, Zhongxu Lin, Jonathan F. Wendel*, Xianlong Zhang*, Maojun Wang*. Genetic regulatory perturbation of gene expression impacted by genomic introgression in fiber development of allotetraploid cotton. Advanced Science, 2024, e2401549.
4. Yuexuan Long, Jonathan F. Wendel, Xianlong Zhang, Maojun Wang*. Evolutionary insights into the organization of chromatin structure and landscape of transcriptional regulation in plants. Trends in Plant Science, 2024, 29(6):638–649.
5. Xuehan Tian, Mengyuan Ji, Jiaqi You, Yuqi Zhang, Keith Lindsey, Xianlong Zhang, Lili Tu, Maojun Wang*. Synergistic interplay of redox homeostasis and polysaccharide synthesis promotes cotton fiber elongation. Plant Journal, 2024, 118(2):405–422.
6. Xing Chang, Xin He, Jianying Li, Zhenping Liu, Ruizhen Pi, Xuanxuan Luo, Ruipeng Wang, Xiubao Hu, Sifan Lu, Xianlong Zhang, Maojun Wang*. High-quality Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense genome assemblies reveal the centromeric landscape and evolution. Plant Communications, 2024, 5(2):100722. 
7. Jiaqi You#, Zhenping Liu#, Zhengyang Qi#, Yizan Ma#, Mengling Sun, Ling Su, Hao Niu, Yabing Peng, Xuanxuan Luo, Mengmeng Zhu, Yuefan Huang, Xing Chang, Xiubao Hu, Yuqi Zhang, Ruizhen Pi, Yuqi Liu, Qingying Meng, Jianying Li, Qinghua Zhang, Longfu Zhu, Zhongxu Lin, Ling Min, Daojun Yuan, Corrinne E. Grover, David D Fang, Keith Lindsey, Jonathan F. Wendel, Lili Tu*, Xianlong Zhang*, Maojun Wang*. Regulatory controls of duplicated gene expression during fiber development in allotetraploid cotton. Nature Genetics, 2023, 55(11):1987–1997.
8. Xin He, Xianhui Huang, Yuexuan Long, Zhenping Liu, Xing Chang, Xianlong Zhang, Maojun Wang*. Tcbf: A novel user-friendly tool for pan-3D genome analysis of topologically associating domain in eukaryotic organisms. Bioinformatics, 2023, 39(9): btad576.
9. Maojun Wang#, Jianying Li#, Zhengyang Qi#, Yuexuan Long#, Liuling Pei, Xianhui Huang, Corrinne E. Grover, Xiongming Du, Chunjiao Xia, Pengcheng Wang, Zhenping Liu, Jiaqi You, Xuehan Tian, Yizan Ma, Ruipeng Wang, Xinyuan Chen, Xin He, David D Fang, Yuqiang Sun, Lili Tu, Shuangxia Jin, Longfu Zhu, Jonathan F. Wendel*, Xianlong Zhang*. Genomic innovation and regulatory rewiring during evolution of the cotton genus Gossypium. Nature Genetics, 2022, 54(12):1959–1971.
10. Liuling Pei#, Xianhui Huang#, Zhenping Liu, Xuehan Tian, Jiaqi You, Jianying Li, David D. Fang, Keith Lindsey, Longfu Zhu, Xianlong Zhang, Maojun Wang*. Dynamic 3D genome architecture of cotton fiber reveals subgenome-coordinated chromatin topology for 4-staged single-cell differentiation. Genome Biology, 2022, 23(1):45.
11. Xianhui Huang#, Xuehan Tian#, Liuling Pei, Xuanxuan Luo, Yuqi Zhang, Xingtan Zhang, Xianlong Zhang, Longfu Zhu*, Maojun Wang*. Multi-omics mapping of chromatin interaction resolves the fine hierarchy of 3D genome in allotetraploid cotton. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 2022, 20(9):1639–1641.
12. Jianying Li, Daojun Yuan, Pengcheng Wang, Qiongqiong Wang, Mengling Sun, Zhenping Liu, Huan Si, Zhongping Xu, Yizan Ma, Boyang Zhang, Liuling Pei, Lili Tu, Longfu Zhu, Ling-Ling Chen, Keith Lindsey, Xianlong Zhang, Shuangxia Jin*, Maojun Wang*. Cotton pan-genome retrieves the lost sequences and genes during domestication and selection. Genome Biology, 2021, 22(1):119.
13. Liuling Pei, Guoliang Li, Keith Lindsey, Xianlong Zhang, Maojun Wang*. Plant 3D genomics: the exploration and application of chromatin organization. New Phytologist, 2021, 230(5):1772–1786.
14. Maojun Wang#, Jianying Li#, Pengcheng Wang, Fang Liu, Zhenping Liu, Guannan Zhao, Zhongping Xu, Liuling Pei, Corrinne E. Grover, Jonathan F. Wendel*, Kunbo Wang*, Xianlong Zhang*. Comparative genome analyses highlight transposon-mediated genome expansion and the evolutionary architecture of 3D genomic folding in cotton. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2021, 38(9):3621–3636.
15. Maojun Wang#, Lili Tu#, Daojun Yuan#, De Zhu, Chao Shen, Jianying Li, Fuyan Liu, Liuling Pei, Pengcheng Wang, Guannan Zhao, Zhengxiu Ye, Hui Huang, Feilin Yan, Yizan Ma, Lin Zhang, Min Liu, Jiaqi You, Yicheng Yang, Zhenping Liu, Fan Huang, Baoqi Li, Ping Qiu, Qinghua Zhang, Longfu Zhu, Shuangxia Jin, Xiyan Yang, Ling Min, Guoliang Li, Ling-Ling Chen, Hongkun Zheng, Keith Lindsey*, Zhongxu Lin*, Joshua A. Udall*, Xianlong Zhang*. Reference genome sequences of two cultivated allotetraploid cottons, Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense. Nature Genetics, 2019, 51(2):224–229. 
16. Maojun Wang, Pengcheng Wang, Min Lin*, Zhengxiu Ye, Guoliang Li, Lili Tu, Chao Shen, Jianying Li, Qingyong Yang*, Xianlong Zhang*. Evolutionary dynamics of 3D genome architecture following polyploidization in cotton. Nature Plants, 2018, 4(2):90–97. 
17. Maojun Wang, Lili Tu, Min Lin, Zhongxu Lin, Pengcheng Wang, Qingyong Yang, Zhengxiu Ye, Chao Shen, Jianying Li, Lin Zhang, Xiaolin Zhou, Xinhui Nie, Zhonghua Li, Kai Guo, Yizan Ma, Cong Huang, Shuangxia Jin, Longfu Zhu, Xiyan Yang, Ling Min, Daojun Yuan, Qinghua Zhang, Keith Lindsey*, Xianlong Zhang*. Asymmetric subgenome selection and cis-regulatory divergence during cotton domestication. Nature Genetics, 2017, 49(4):579–587.
18. Maojun Wang, Pengcheng Wang, Lili Tu, Sitao Zhu, Lin Zhang, Zhonghua Li, Qinghua Zhang, Daojun Yuan, Xianlong Zhang*. Multi-omics maps of cotton fibre reveal epigenetic basis for staged single-cell differentiation. Nucleic Acids Research, 2016, 44(9):4067–4079.