Hong Ma
Huck Chair in Plant Reproductive Development and Evolution; Professor of Biology
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328B Mueller Lab
University Park, PA - hxm16@psu.edu
- 814-865-5343
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
Developmentally dependent reprogramming of the Arabidopsis floral transcriptome under sufficient and limited water availability
Xinwei Ma, Jun Wang, Zhao Su, Hong Ma, 2024, BMC Plant Biology
Phylogenomic profiles of whole-genome duplications in Poaceae and landscape of differential duplicate retention and losses among major Poaceae lineages
Taikui Zhang, Weichen Huang, Lin Zhang, De Zhu Li, Ji Qi, Hong Ma, 2024, Nature Communications
A highly resolved nuclear phylogeny uncovers strong phylogenetic conservatism and correlated evolution of fruit color and size in Solanum L.
Joaõ Messeder, Tomás A. Carlo, H Ma, Guojin Zhang, Juan David Tovar, César Arana, Jie Huang, Chien Hsun Huang, Hong Ma, 2024, New Phytologist on p. 765-780
XBAT31 regulates reproductive thermotolerance through controlling the accumulation of HSFB2a/B2b under heat stress conditions
Lin Lin Zhang, Qiao Yun Zhu, Jing Liang Sun, Zi Wei Yao, Tao Qing, Hong Ma, Jian Xiang Liu, 2024, Cell Reports
Nuclear phylogenomics of Asteraceae with increased sampling provides new insights into convergent morphological and molecular evolution
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
Nuclear phylogenomics of angiosperms and insights into their relationships and evolution
Guojin Zhang, Hong Ma, 2024, Journal of Integrative Plant Biology on p. 546-578
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
Angiosperm-wide analysis of fruit and ovary evolution aided by a new nuclear phylogeny supports association of the same ovary type with both dry and fleshy fruits
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
Regulation of micro- and small-exon retention and other splicing processes by GRP20 for flower development
Jun Wang, Xinwei Ma, Yi Hu, Guanhua Feng, Chunce Guo, Xin Zhang, Hong Ma, 2024, Nature Plants on p. 66-85
SCF<sup>RMF</sup> mediates degradation of the meiosis-specific recombinase DMC1
Wanyue Xu, Yue Yu, Juli Jing, Zhen Wu, Xumin Zhang, Chenjiang You, Hong Ma, Gregory P. Copenhaver, Yan He, Yingxiang Wang, 2023, Nature Communications
Most-Cited Papers
Evolution of rosaceae fruit types based on nuclear phylogeny in the context of geological times and genome duplication
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
The water lily genome and the early evolution of flowering plants
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
Widespread Whole Genome Duplications Contribute to Genome Complexity and Species Diversity in Angiosperms
Ren Ren, Haifeng Wang, Chunce Guo, Ning Zhang, Liping Zeng, Yamao Chen, Hong Ma, Ji Qi, 2018, Molecular Plant on p. 414-428
Resolution of brassicaceae phylogeny using nuclear genes uncovers nested radiations and supports convergent morphological evolution
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
The hornwort genome and early land plant evolution
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
Arabidopsis TOE proteins convey a photoperiodic signal to antagonize CONSTANS and regulate flowering time
Bailong Zhang, Liang Wang, Liping Zeng, Chao Zhang, Hong Ma, 2015, Genes and Development on p. 975-987
Nuclear phylotranscriptomics and phylogenomics support numerous polyploidization events and hypotheses for the evolution of rhizobial nitrogen-fixing symbiosis in Fabaceae
Yiyong Zhao, Rong Zhang, Kai Wen Jiang, Ji Qi, Yi Hu, Jing Guo, Renbin Zhu, Taikui Zhang, Ashley N. Egan, Ting Shuang Yi, Chien Hsun Huang, Hong Ma, 2021, Molecular Plant on p. 748-773
The DYT1-interacting proteins bHLH010, bHLH089 and bHLH091 are redundantly required for Arabidopsis anther development and transcriptome
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
Multiple Polyploidization Events across Asteraceae with Two Nested Events in the Early History Revealed by Nuclear Phylogenomics
Chien Hsun Huang, Caifei Zhang, Mian Liu, Yi Hu, Tiangang Gao, Ji Qi, Hong Ma, 2016, Molecular Biology and Evolution on p. 2820-2835
Tissue-specific transcriptomics reveals an important role of the unfolded protein response in maintaining fertility upon heat stress in arabidopsis
Shuang Shuang Zhang, Hongxing Yang, Lan Ding, Ze Ting Song, Hong Ma, Fang Chang, Jian Xiang Liu, 2017, Plant Cell on p. 1007-1023
News Articles Featuring Hong Ma
Apr 23, 2025
Clues from apple genes could sweeten the future of fruit
A sweeping new study unveils a detailed genetic atlas for 30 species in the genus Malus – and provides breeders with a treasure map for tastier, tougher fruit.
Full Article
Apr 22, 2025
How do you like them apples? Apple genus evolution revealed
A new comparison and analysis of the genomes of species in the genus Malus, which includes the domesticated apple and its wild relatives, revealed the evolutionary relationships among the species and how their genomes have evolved over the past nearly 60 million years.
Full Article
Jul 31, 2024
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.
Full Article
Jun 20, 2024
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.
Full Article
Apr 03, 2024
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.
Full Article
Feb 02, 2024
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.
Full Article
May 23, 2023
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.
Full Article
Mar 10, 2022
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.
Full Article
Mar 01, 2022
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.
Full Article
Jan 03, 2020
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.
Full Article