Graduate Student
Pai Li
Email: lipai@msu.edu
Education
2012-2016, B.S. in Biotechnology, Sun Yat-sen University, China
Honors and Awards
2016, Outstanding Graduate Award of Sun Yat-sen Univerisity
2013-2014, China National Scholarship
2012-2015, First-Class Excellent Student Scholarships of Sun Yat-sen University
2015, Gold Prize of iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition)
2014, Best New Composite Part Prize in iGEM
2013, Diligence Award of One Asia Foundation Scholarship for Contribution to Establishment of Asia Community
Research Interests
Broadly, my research interests lie in the area of the molecular-cellular mechanisms that underpin plant pathogen virulence. During my bachelor research, I investigated the molecular pathology of Ralstonia solanacearum Type III effectors, defining the function of members of this class of virulence-associated molecules during host infection. As a graduate student at Michigan State University, I am interested in defining the mechanisms of Pseudomonus syringae Type III effectors and their targeted immunity components. Meanwhile, I am also interested in defining the function of the microfilament network as a key component of the host immune system. I use plant (Arabidopsis thaliana) stomata as a platform for the analysis of the relationship between immune/hormone signaling, stomatal behavior, and the cytoskeleton reorganization.
Publications
Li, P. and Day, B. (2019). Battlefield Cytoskeleton: Cytoskeletal regulation, and pathogen targeting, of plant immunity. Mol Plant-Microbe Interact. In Revision (Minor).
Yunhao Sun, Pai Li, Mengying Deng, Guangyi Dai, Bei Fu, Nan Yao, and Yongjun Lu. The Ralstonia solanacearum Effector RipAK Suppresses Plant Hypersensitive Response by Inhibiting the Activity of Host Catalases. (under peer-review)
Mengying Deng, Yunhao Sun, Pai Li, Bei Fu, Dong Shen, and Yongjun Lu. The phytopathogenic virulent effector protein RipI induces apoptosis in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.. Toxicon (2016).
