Hong Ma

Huck Chair in Plant Reproductive Development and Evolution; Professor of Biology

Hong Ma

Research Summary

Plant development under favorable and stressful conditions; phylogeny and evolutionary biology of plant groups containing major crops and ecologically important species.

Huck Graduate Students

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Lin‐Bo Wang, Hong Ma, Juan Lin, Journal of Systematics and Evolution

João Vitor S. Messeder, Tomás A. Carlo, Guojin Zhang, Juan David Tovar, César Arana, Jie Huang, Chien Hsun Huang, Hong Ma, 2024, New Phytologist on p. 765-780

Lin Lin Zhang, Qiao Yun Zhu, Jing Liang Sun, Zi Wei Yao, Tao Qing, Hong Ma, Jian Xiang Liu, 2024, Cell Reports

Guojin Zhang, Junbo Yang, Caifei Zhang, Bohan Jiao, José L. Panero, Jie Cai, Zhi Rong Zhang, Lian Ming Gao, Tiangang Gao, Hong Ma, 2024, Plant Communications

Revealing the role of CCoAOMT1: fine-tuning bHLH transcription factors for optimal anther development

Zesen Lai, Jianzheng Wang, Ying Fu, Menghan Wang, Hong Ma, Shiqing Peng, Fang Chang, 2024, Science China Life Sciences on p. 565-578

Guojin Zhang, Hong Ma, 2024, Journal of Integrative Plant Biology on p. 546-578

Yezi Xiang, Taikui Zhang, Yiyong Zhao, Hongjin Dong, Hongyi Chen, Yi Hu, Chien Hsun Huang, Jun Xiang, Hong Ma, 2024, Journal of Integrative Plant Biology on p. 228-251

Jun Wang, Xinwei Ma, Yi Hu, Guanhua Feng, Chunce Guo, Xin Zhang, Hong Ma, 2024, Nature Plants on p. 66-85

Most-Cited Papers

Liping Zeng, Qiang Zhang, Renran Sun, Hongzhi Kong, Ning Zhang, Hong Ma, 2014, Nature Communications

Yezi Xiang, Chien Hsun Huang, Yi Hu, Jun Wen, Shisheng Li, Tingshuang Yi, Hongyi Chen, Jun Xiang, Hong Ma, 2017, Molecular Biology and Evolution on p. 262-281

Liangsheng Zhang, Fei Chen, Xingtan Zhang, Zhen Li, Yiyong Zhao, Rolf Lohaus, Xiaojun Chang, Wei Dong, Simon Y.W. Ho, Xing Liu, Aixia Song, Junhao Chen, Wenlei Guo, Zhengjia Wang, Yingyu Zhuang, Haifeng Wang, Xuequn Chen, Juan Hu, Yanhui Liu, Yuan Qin, Kai Wang, Shanshan Dong, Yang Liu, Shouzhou Zhang, Xianxian Yu, Qian Wu, Liangsheng Wang, Xueqing Yan, Yuannian Jiao, Hongzhi Kong, Xiaofan Zhou, Cuiwei Yu, Yuchu Chen, Fan Li, Jihua Wang, Wei Chen, Xinlu Chen, Qidong Jia, Chi Zhang, Yifan Jiang, Wanbo Zhang, Guanhua Liu, Jianyu Fu, Feng Chen, Hong Ma, Yves Van de Peer, Haibao Tang, 2020, Nature on p. 79-84

Ren Ren, Haifeng Wang, Chunce Guo, Ning Zhang, Liping Zeng, Yamao Chen, Hong Ma, Ji Qi, 2018, Molecular Plant on p. 414-428

Chien Hsun Huang, Renran Sun, Yi Hu, Liping Zeng, Ning Zhang, Liming Cai, Qiang Zhang, Marcus A. Koch, Ihsan Al-Shehbaz, Patrick P. Edger, J. Chris Pires, Dun Yan Tan, Yang Zhong, Hong Ma, 2016, Molecular Biology and Evolution on p. 394-412

Lei Wang, Chenlong Cao, Qibin Ma, Qiaoying Zeng, Haifeng Wang, Zhihao Cheng, Genfeng Zhu, Ji Qi, Hong Ma, Hai Nian, Yingxiang Wang, 2014, BMC Plant Biology

Xu Chen, Yaofeng Wang, Bo Lv, Jie Li, Liqiong Luo, Songchong Lu, Xuan Zhang, Hong Ma, Feng Ming, 2014, Plant and Cell Physiology on p. 604-619

Jian Zhang, Xin Xing Fu, Rui Qi Li, Xiang Zhao, Yang Liu, Ming He Li, Arthur Zwaenepoel, Hong Ma, Bernard Goffinet, Yan Long Guan, Jia Yu Xue, Yi Ying Liao, Qing Feng Wang, Qing Hua Wang, Jie Yu Wang, Guo Qiang Zhang, Zhi Wen Wang, Yu Jia, Mei Zhi Wang, Shan Shan Dong, Jian Fen Yang, Yuan Nian Jiao, Ya Long Guo, Hong Zhi Kong, An Ming Lu, Huan Ming Yang, Shou Zhou Zhang, Yves Van de Peer, Zhong Jian Liu, Zhi Duan Chen, 2020, Nature Plants on p. 107-118

Engao Zhu, Chenjiang You, Shuangshuang Wang, Jie Cui, Baixiao Niu, Yingxiang Wang, Ji Qi, Hong Ma, Fang Chang, 2015, Plant Journal on p. 976-990

Bailong Zhang, Liang Wang, Liping Zeng, Chao Zhang, Hong Ma, 2015, Genes and Development on p. 975-987

News Articles Featuring Hong Ma

How duplicated genomes helped grasses diversify and thrive

Grasses cover about 40% of the Earth’s land surface, thriving in a multitude of environments. The evolutionary success of this plant family, which includes rice, maize, wheat and bamboo, likely results from a history of whole-genome duplications, according to a new analysis led by Penn State biologists.

New tomato, potato family tree shows that fruit color and size evolved together

Fruits of Solanum plants, a group in the nightshade family, are incredibly diverse, ranging from sizable red tomatoes and purple eggplants to the poisonous green berries on potato plants. A new and improved family tree of this group, produced by an international team led by researchers at Penn State, helps explain the striking diversity of fruit colors and sizes and how they might have evolved.

New sunflower family tree reveals multiple origins of flower symmetry

The sunflower family tree revealed that flower symmetry evolved multiple times independently, a process called convergent evolution, among the members of this large plant family, according to a new analysis.

Newly identified protein helps flowers develop all the right parts

Flowers rely on a newly identified protein to develop properly with all of their organs, according to the research team who made the discovery.

Orchids’ ability to grow on other plants independently evolved multiple times

The most extensive study of the genetic relationships among orchids to date reveals that the flower’s ability to grow on other plants evolved independently multiple times.

How grasses like wheat can grow in the cold

A new, large-scale analysis of the relationships among members of the largest subfamily of grasses, which includes wheat and barley, reveals gene-duplication events that contributed to the adaptation of the plants to cooler temperatures.

A new molecular family tree of grasses

The evolutionary relationships among grasses — including important crop plants like wheat, rice, corn, and sugarcane — have been clarified in a new molecular study of the grass family tree. Having a clear picture of the relationships among the grasses can help understanding of how important crop traits like seed size or disease resistance evolves and eventually could inform manipulation of these traits to increase crop yields.

Water lily genome expands picture of the early evolution of flowering plants

The newly reported genome sequence of a water lily sheds light on the early evolution of angiosperms, the group of all flowering plants. An international team of researchers, including scientists at Penn State, used high-throughput next-generation sequencing technology to read out the water lily’s (Nymphaea colorata) genome and transcriptome — the set of all genes expressed as RNAs.