Tuan-hua David Ho

​Professor Emeritus of Biology
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    ​Tuan-hua David Ho is interested in the mechanisms of developmental transition from embryogenesis to seed germination. His lab also studies the role of stress-induced proteins in the establishment of stress tolerance in plants.

    Tuan-hua David Ho is interested in the mechanisms of developmental transition from embryogenesis to seed germination, a process governed by two phytohormones, gibberellins (GA) and abscisic acid (ABA). Since plant embryos are very resistant to environmental stresses such as drought and cold, the lab also studies the role of stress-induced proteins in the establishment of stress tolerance in plants. Research is focused on

    1. hormonal control of gene expression in the aleurone cells of cereal grains, and
    2. regulation and function of stress-induced genes.

    Selected Publications

    Gomez-Cadenas, A, Zentella, R, Walker-Simmons, MK, Ho, T-HD (2001) “Gibberellin/abscisic acid antagonism: site of action of an abscisic acid induced protein kinase, PKABA1, in relation to gibberellin signaling molecules”, Plant Cell, 13:667-679.

    Lu, C-A, Ho, T-HD, Ho, S-L, Yu, S-M (2002) “Three novel Myb proteins with single DNA binding repeat mediate sugar and hormone regulation of α-amylase gene expression”, Plant Cell, 14:1963-1980.

    Zentella, R, Yamauchi, D, Ho, T-HD (2002) “Molecular dissection of the gibberellin/abscisic acid signaling pathways by transiently expressed dsRNA interference”, Plant Cell, 14:2289-2301.

    Brands, A, Ho, T-HD (2002) “Function of a Plant Stress-Induced Gene, HVA22. Synthetic Enhancement Screen with Its Yeast Homolog Reveals Its Role in Vesicular Traffic”, Plant Physiol, 130:1121-1131.

    Casaretto, J, Ho, T-HD (2003) “The transcription factors, HvABI5 and HvVP1 are required for the ABA induction of gene expression in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), Plant Cell, 15:271-284.

    Ho, T-HD, Wu R (2004) “Genetic Engineering for Enhancing Plant Productivity and Stress Tolerance”, in “Integration of plant physiology and biotechnology for plant breeding”, ed by H Nguyen and A Blum, p. 489-502.

    Shen, JQ, Casaretto, J, Zheng, P, Ho, T-HD (2004) “Functional definition of ABA response complexes,: the promoter untis necessary and sufficient for ABA induction of gene expression in barley (Hordeum vulgare, L)”, Plant Mol Biol, 54:111-124.

    Casaretto, JA, Ho, T-HD (2005) Transcriptional regulation by abscisic acid in barley (Hordeum vulgare, L.) seeds involves autoregulation of the transcription factor HvABI5, Plant Mol Biol, 57:21-34.

    Yu, S.-M., Ko, S.-S., Hong, C.-Y., Sun, H.-J, Hsing, Y.-I. and Ho, T.-H.D (2007) “Global functional analyses of rice promoters by genomics approaches”, Plant Mol Biol, 65:417-425.

    Guo, WJ, Ho, THD (2008) “An ABA-Induced Protein HVA22 Inhibits GA-Mediated Programmed Cell Death in Cereal Aleurone Cells”. Plant Physiol, 147:1710-1722.

    Chen CN, Vittore G, Ho THD (2009) “Autophagy Is Enhanced and Floral Development Is Impaired in AtHVA22d RNAi Arabidopsis”, Plant Physiol, 149: 1679-1689.

    Ng IS, Li, CW, Yeh YF, Chen PT, Chir JL, Ma CH, Yu SM, Ho THD, Tong CG (2009) “A novel endoglucanase from the thermophilic bacterium Geobacillus sp. 70PC53 with high activity and stability over a broad range of temperatures”, Extremophile, 13:425–435. [Ho THD is a co-corresponding author.]

    Kuo-Wei Lee, Peng-Wen Chen, Chung-An Lu, , Shu Chen, Tuan-Hua David Ho and Su-May Yu (2009) “Sensing O2 and Sugar Deficiency through the CIPK15-dependent Signaling Pathway Allows Rice to Tolerate Flooding”, Science Signaling, 2:61-66.

    I-Son Ng, Chen-Wei Li, Shuang-Pi Chan, Jiun-Ly Chir, Po Ting Chen, Chii-Gong Tong, Su-May Yu, Tuan-hua David Ho (2010) “High-level production of a thermoacidophilic β-glucosidase from Penicillium citrinum YS40-5 by solid state fermentation with rice brans”, Bioresource Technology, 101:1310-1317.