Ming-Li Wang, Ph.D.

Picture
Plant Molecular Biologist
Molecular Biology
(808) 621-1389
mwang@harc-hspa.com
Academic Qualifications
  • Ph.D., Plant Physiology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1992
  • M.S., Agricultural Engineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1988
  • B.S., Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, 1986

Professional Experience
  • 2017-present: Laboratory Manager, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center
  • 2016: Instructor for Biol275/275L Molecular Cellular Biology, Leeward Community College
  • 2005-present: Affiliate faculty, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Dept. of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering
  • 2005-2007: Board member, Natural Resources Career Pathway, Hawaii State Department of Education
  • 2001-present: Plant Molecular Biologist, Project Leader, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center with addition responsibility as Biological Safety Officer and Biotechnology Education Outreach
  • 2000-2001: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Hawaii Agriculture Research Center
  • 1998-2000: Laboratory Manager, Garst Seed Company
  • 1997: Instructor for PMP 610 Plant Molecular Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Dept. of Plant Molecular Physiology
  • 1995-1998: Laboratory Manager for Dr. Samuel Sun, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Dept. of Plant Molecular Physiology
  • 1994: Assistant to Dr. Samuel Sun for Workshop on Plant Molecular Biology and Agricultural Biotechnology, Asian Vegetable Research and Development Center, Tainan, Taiwan
  • 1992-1998: Junior Researcher, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Dept. of Plant Molecular Physiology​

Current Research

Identification of sex determination gene(s) in papaya.
In collaboration with Dr. Ray Ming (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Dr. Qingyi Yu (Texas A&M University, AgriLife Research Center at Weslaco), we are attempting to develop true breeding hermaphrodite papaya lines. We have generated a large population of chemically induced mutants. To date, ~12,000 mutant papaya plants are in the field and additional ~3100 seedlings are in the greenhouse. We have begun the process of screening for mutations in these candidate genes using the technique Targeting Induced Local Lesions in Genomes (TILLING). By comparing the sequences of Male-specific Y (MSY) and corresponding X regions, several candidate genes for sex determination have been identified. We have also completed the expression and silencing constructs for nine candidate genes and are in the process of papaya transformation for gene function verification.


Selected Publications

Chen, L.-Y., VanBuren, R., Paris, M., Zhou, H., Zhang, X., Wai , C. M., Yan, H., Chen, S., Alonge, M., Ramakrishnan, S., Liao, Z, Liu, J., Lin, J, Yue, J., Fatima, M., Lin, Z., Zhang, J., Huang, L., Wang, H., Hwa, T.-Y., Kao, S.-M., Choi, J. Y., Sharma, A., Song, J., Wang, L., Yim, W. C., Cushman, J. C., Paull1, R. E., Matsumoto, T., Qin, Y., Wu, Q., Wang, J., Yu , Q., Wu, J., Zhang, S., Boches, P., Tung, C.-W., Wang, M.-L., Coppens d’Eeckenbrugge, G., Sanewski, G. M., Purugganan, M. D., Schatz, M. C., Bennetzen, J. L., Lexer, C., and Ming, R. The bracteatus pineapple genome and domestication of clonally propagated crops. Nature Genetics 2019 51:1549-1558.

VanBuren, R., Wai, C. M., Zhang, J., Han, J., Arro, J., Lin, Z., Liao, Z., 1, Qingyi Yu, Q., Wang, M.-L., Zee, F., C. Moore, R. C., Charlesworth, D., Ming, R.  Extremely low nucleotide diversity in the X-linked region of papaya caused by a strong selective sweep. Genome Biology 2016 17:230-241.

Ming, R., Van Buren, R., Wai, C.M., Tang, H., Schatz, M. C., Bowers, J.E., Lyons, E., Wang, M.-L., Chen, J., Biggers, E., Zhang, J., Huang, L., Zhang, L., Miao, W., Zhang, J., Ye, Z., Miao, C., Lin, Z., Wang, H., Zhou, H., Yim, W.C., Priest, H.D., Zheng, C., Woodhouse, M., Patrick P. Edger, P.P., Guyot, R.,  Guo, H.-B., Guo, H., Zheng, G., Singh, R., Sharma, A, Min, X., Zheng, Y., Lee, H., Gurtowski, J., Sedlazeck, F., Harkess, A., McKain, M.R., Liao, Z., Fang, J., Liu, J., Zhang, X., Zhang, Q., Hu, W., Qin, Y., Wang, K., Chen, L.-Y., Shirley, N., Lin, Y.-R., Liu, L.-Y., Hernandez, A.G., Wright, C.L., Bulone, V., Tuskan, G.A., Heath, K., Zee, F., Moore, P.H., Sunkar, R., Leebens-Mack, J.H., Mockler, T., Bennetzen, J.L., Freeling, M., Sankoff, D., Paterson, A.H., Zhu, X., 14, Yang, X., Smith, J.A.C., Cushman, J.C., Paull, R.E., Yu, Q. The pineapple genome and the evolution of CAM photosynthesis. Nature Genetics 2015 47:1435-1442.
 
VanBuren, R., Zeng, F., Chen, C., Zhang, J., Wai, C.M., Han, J., Aryal, R., Gschwend, A.R., Wang, J., Na, J.K., Huang, L., Zhang, L., Miao, W., Gou, J., Arro, J., Guyot, R., Moore, R.C., Wang, M.-L., Zee, F., Charlesworth, D., Moore, P.H., Yu, Q., Ming, R. Origin and domestication of papaya Yh chromosome. Genome Research 2015 25(4):524-33.

Dey,K.K., Borth, W.B., Melzer,M.J, Wang, M.-L., Hu, J.S. Analysis of pineapple mealybug wilt associated virus -1 and -2 for potential RNA silencing suppressors and pathogenicity factors. Viruses 2015 7(3):969-95.

Ming, R., VanBuren, R., Liu, Y., Yang, M., Han, Y., Li, L. T., Zhang, Q., Kim, M. J., Schatz, M. C., Campbell, M.,, Li J., Bowers, J. E., Tang, H., Lyons, E., Ferguson, A. A., Narzisi, G., Nelson, D. R., Blaby-Haas, C. E., Gschwend, A. R., Jiao, Y., Der, J. P., Zeng, F., Han, J., Min, X. J., Hudson, K. A., Singh, R., Grennan, A. K., Karpowicz, S. J., Watling, J. R., Ito, K., Robinson, S. A., Hudson, M. E., Yu, Q., Mockler, T. C., Carroll, A., Zheng, Y., Sunkar, R., Jia, R., Chen, N., Arro, J., Wai, C. M., Wafula, E., Spence, A., Han, Y., Xu, L., Zhang, J., Peery, R., Haus, M. J., Xiong, W., Walsh, J. A., Wu, J., Wang, M.-L., Zhu, Y. J., Paull, R. E., Britt, A. B., Du, C., Downie, S. R., Schuler, M. A., Michael, T. P., Long, S. P., Ort, D. R., Schopf, J. W., Gang, D. R., Jiang, N., Yandell, M., dePamphilis, C. W., Merchant, S. S., Paterson, A. H., Buchanan, B. B., Li, S., Shen-Miller, J. Genome of the long-living sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.). Genome Biology 2013 14(5):R41.

 Wang, J., Na, J.-K., Yu, Q., Gschwend, A. R., Han, J., Zeng, F., Aryal, R., VanBuren, R., Murray, J. E., Zhang, W., Navajas-Pérez, R., Feltus, F. A., Lemke, C., Tong, E. J., Chen, C., Wai, C. M., Singh, R., Wang, M.-L., Min, X. J., Alam, M., Charlesworth, D., Moore, P. H., Jiang, J., Paterson, A. H., Ming, R. Sequencing papaya X and Yh chromosomes reveals molecular basis of incipient sex chromosome evolution. PNAS 2012 109(34):13710-13715.
 
Wai, C. M., Han, J., Singh, R., Aryal, R., Wang, M.-L., Ming, R. Analyzing the papaya genome. in “Genomicx Applications for the Developing World”, 2012, eds: Nelson KE & Jones-Nelson B, pp. 297-308, Springer. 
 
Ming, R., Yu, Q., Moore, P. H., Paull, R. E., Chen, N. J., Wang, M.-L., Zhu, Y. J., Schuler, M. A., Jiang, J., Paterson, A. H. Genome of papaya, a fast growing tropical fruit tree. Tree Genetics and Genomes 2012 8(3):445-462.
 
Singh, R., Irikura, B., Nagai, C., Albert, H. H., Kumagai, M., Paull, R. E., Moore, P. H., Wang, M.-L. Characterization of prolyl oligopeptidase genes differentially expressed between two coffee cultivars. Tropical Plant Biology 2011 4(3-4):203-216.
 
Wang, M.-L., Uruu, G., Xiong, L., He, X., Nagai, C., Cheah, K. T., Hu, J. S., Nan, G.-L., Sipes, B. S., Atkinson, H. J., Moore, P. H., Rohrbach, K. G., Paull, R. E. Production of transgenic pineapple plants via adventitious bud regeneration. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology-Plant 2009 45(2):112-121.
 
Mangwende, T., Wang, M.-L., Borth, W., Hu, J., Moore, P. H., Mirkov, T. E., Albert, H. H. The P0 gene of Sugarcane yellow leaf virus encodes an RNA silencing suppressor with unique activities. Virology 2009 384(1):38-50.

Ming, R., Hou, S., Feng, Y., Yu, Q., Dionne-Laporte, A., Saw, J.H., Senin, P., Wang, W., Ly, B.V., Lewis, K.L.T., Salzberg, S.L., Feng, L., Jones, M.R., Skelton, R.L., Murray, J.E., Chen, C., Qian, W., Shen, J., Du, P., Eustice, M., Tong, E., Tang, H., Lyons, E., Paull, R.E., Michael, T.P., Wall, K., Rice, D., Albert, H., Wang, M.-L., Zhu, Y.J., Schatz, M., Nagarajan, N., Agbayani, R., Guan, P., Blas, A., Wai, C.M., Ackerman, C.M., Ren, Y., Liu, C., Wang, J., Wang, J., Na, J.K., Shakirov, E.V., Haas, B., Thimmapuram, J., Nelson, D., Wang, X., Bowers, J.E., Gschwend, A.R., Delcher, A.L., Singh, R., Suzuki, J.Y., Tripathi, S., Neupane, K., Wei, H., Irikura, B., Paidi, M., Jiang, N., Zhang, W., Presting, G., Windsor, A., Navajas-Pérez, R., Torres, M.J., Feltus, F.A., Porter, B., Li, Y., Burroughs, A.M., Luo, M.C., Liu, L., Christopher, D.A., Mount, S.M., Moore, P.H., Sugimura, T., Jiang, J., Schuler, M.A., Friedman, V., Mitchell-Olds, T., Shippen, D.E., dePamphilis, C.W., Palmer, J.D., Freeling, M., Paterson, A.H., Gonsalves, D., Wang, L., Alam, M. The draft genome of the transgenic tropical fruit tree papaya (Carica papaya Linnaeus). Nature 2008 452:991-996.
 
Koshiro, Y., Jackson, M. C., Katahira, R., Wang, M.-L, Nagai, C., Ashihara, H. Biosynthesis of chlorogenic acids in growing and ripening fruits of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora Plants. Zeitschrift für Naturforschung - A Journal of Biosciences 2007 62c (9/10), 731-742.
 
Zhou F., Wang, M.-L., Albert, H. H., Moore, P. H., Zhu, Y. J. Efficient transient expression of human GM-CSF protein in Nicotiana benthamiana using potato virus X vector. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2006, 72, 756-762.

Koshiro, Y., Zheng X., Wang, M.-L, Nagai, C., Ashihara, H. Changes in content and biosynthetic activity of caffeine and trigonelline during growth and ripening of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora fruits. Plant Sci 2006, 171, 242-250.
 
Wang, M.-L., Goldstein, C., Su, W., Moore, P. H., Albert, H. H. Production of biologically active GM-CSF in sugarcane: a secure biofactory. Transgenic Res 2005, 14, (2), 167-78.
 
Wang, M.-L., Schenck, S., Albert, H. H. Antibody to a short peptide sequence detected sugarcane yellow leaf virus isolates from several sources. Sugar Cane International 2005, 23, 25-27.
 
Qiu, X., Guan, P., Wang, M.-L., Moore, P. H., Zhu, Y. J., Hu, J., Borth, W., Albert, H. H. Identification and expression analysis of BTH induced genes in papaya. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology 2005, 65, 21-30.
 
Wei, H., Wang, M.-L., Moore, P. H., Albert, H. H. Comparative expression analysis of two sugarcane polyubiquitin promoters and flanking sequences in transgenic plants. J Plant Physiol 2003, 160, (10), 1241-51.
 
Sun, S. S.M., Wang, M.-L., Tu, H. M., Zuo, W., Xiong, L., Cheng, M. K. Transgenic approach to improve protein, starch, and taste of food plants. In “Food for Health in the Pacific Rim”, 3rd International Conference of Food Science and Technology 1997, eds: Whitaker JR, Haard NF, Shoemaker CF, & Singh RP, Food and Nutrition Press, Inc. Trumbull, Connecticut USA.
 
Lin, L., Wu, C., Yu, T., Wang, M.-L., Lee, M. Studies on the flavor compounds of new and old Shao-Hsing wine.  Food Science (Taiwan) 1992, (91):75-85.
 
Yang, P. Y., Cai, T., Wang, M.-L. Immobilized mixed microbial cells for wastewater treatment. Biological Waste 1988, 23:295-312.