Dr. Yang-Seok Lee

Research Group

Chromatin & Memory

Biography

I have been interested in how small RNAs, DNA methylation, and chromatin modifications regulate plant reproduction and safeguard fertility under stress, contributing to crop resilience. My current work explores how epigenetic strategies such as targeted DNA methylation and histone modification can be applied to synthetic plant chromosomes, with a focus on stable centromere insulation.

Prevous Positions

2024 to 2025 - Honorary Research Fellow - University of Warwick, UK

2016 to 2025 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow - University of Warwick, UK

2011 to 2016 - Postdoctoral Researcher - Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea

Qualifications

2011 - PhD in Life Science - POSTECH, Republic of Korea

2005 - BSc in Life Science - Hanyang University, Republic of Korea

Key Publications

'Advancements in Hybrid Rice Production: Improvements of Male Sterility and Synthetic Apomixis for Sustainable Agriculture', (2025), Plant Biotechnology Journal.

'Sucrose induces flowering by degradation of the floral repressor Ghd7 via K48-linked polyubiquitination in rice', (2024), Journal of Integrative Plant Biology.

'RWP-RK Domain 3 (OsRKD3) induces somatic embryogenesis in black rice', (2023), BMC Plant Biology.

'A transposon surveillance mechanism that safeguards plant male fertility during stress', (2021), Nature Plants.

'OsMPK6 plays a critical role in cell differentiation during early embryogenesis in rice', (2016), Journal of Experimental Botany.