General Lab Information

Changcheng Xu

Senior Scientist, Plant Science Group, Biology Department

Changcheng Xu

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Biology Department
Bldg. 463, Room 198
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-2183
cxu@bnl.gov

Expertise | Research | Education | Publications | Highlights

Expertise

Dr. Xu's research group uses a combination of molecular genetic, cell biological, biochemical and physiological approaches to dissect the regulatory network governing lipid metaoblism, homoestasis and storage. In particular, we have expensive exprience in Arabidopsis molecular genetics, fluoresecence imaging, ultrastrctural studies using electron microscopy, lipid metabolic analysis using radiolabeled isotopes and physiological studies using chlorophyll  fluorometers and photosynthesis systems.

Research Activities

Xu's research group focuses on understanding the regulatory mechanisms controlling lipid metabolism, trafficking and storage in plants.  We are carrying out our research in three major directions: (1) understanding the mechanistic basis of intracellular lipid transport; (2) applying genetics, transcriptomics and proteomics to identify key factors controlling lipid metabolism and storage in plants; and 3) understanding whether and how altered lipid metabolism affects carbon allocation, biomass production, stress responses and many other aspects of biology. One of the main objectives is to discover new genetic engineering targets for enhancing lipid accumulation in plant vegetative tissues, particularly those that have synergistic effects with previously known genes, pathways or regulatory circuits. 

Education

Changcheng Xu received his Ph. D. from Shandong Agricultural University, China. He then moved to the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Michigan State University where he worked with Christoph Benning as a postdoc on the biochemistry and molecular genetics of plant lipids and the molecular mechanisms of intracellular lipid transport. C. Xu established his own research program when he joined the Biology Department at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2009.

Selected Publications

  • Yu L, Fan J, Zhou C, Xu C (2021) Sterols are required for the coordinated assembly of lipid droplets in developing seeds. Nature Communications. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25908-6
  • Yu L, Zhou C, Fan J, Shanklin J, Xu C (2021) Mechanisms and functions of membrane lipid remodeling in plants. The Plant Journal 107:37–53. doi: 10.1111/tpj.15273
  • Yu L, Zhou C, Fan J, Xu C (2021) Using 14C-acetate Pulse-chase Labeling to Study Fatty Acid and Glycerolipid Metabolism in Plant Leaves. BIO-PROTOCOL. doi: 10.21769/bioprotoc.3900
  • Yu L, Fan J, Zhou C, Xu C (2020) Chloroplast lipid biosynthesis is fine-tuned to thylakoid membrane remodeling during light acclimation. Plant Physiology. doi: 10.1093/plphys/kiaa013
  • Xu C, Fan J, Shanklin J (2020) Metabolic and functional connections between cytoplasmic and chloroplast triacylglycerol storage. Progress in Lipid Research 80:101069. doi: 10.1016/j.plipres.2020.101069
  • Fan J, Zhou C, Yu L, Li P, Shanklin J, Xu C (2019) Diversion of Carbon Flux from Sugars to Lipids Improves the Growth of an Arabidopsis Starchless Mutant. Plants 8:229. doi: 10.3390/plants8070229
  • Fan J, Yu L, Xu C (2019) Dual Role for Autophagy in Lipid Metabolism in Arabidopsis. The Plant Cell 31:1598–1613. doi: 10.1105/tpc.19.00170
  • Yu L, Fan J, Xu C (2019) Peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation negatively impacts plant survival under salt stress. Plant Signaling & Behavior 14:1561121. doi: 10.1080/15592324.2018.1561121
  • Yu L, Fan J, Yan C, Xu C (2018) Starch Deficiency Enhances Lipid Biosynthesis and Turnover in Leaves. Plant Physiology 178:118–129. doi: 10.1104/pp.18.00539
  • Samanovic MI, Hsu H-C, Jones MB, Jones V, McNeil MR, Becker SH, Jordan AT, Strnad M, Xu C, Jackson M, Li H, Darwin KH (2018) Cytokinin Signaling in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. mBio. doi: 10.1128/mbio.00989-18
  • Zhai Z, Liu H, Xu C, Shanklin J (2017) Sugar Potentiation of Fatty Acid and Triacylglycerol Accumulation. Plant Physiology 175:696–707. doi: 10.1104/pp.17.00828
  • Fan J, Yu L, Xu C (2017) A Central Role for Triacylglycerol in Membrane Lipid Breakdown, Fatty Acid β-Oxidation, and Plant Survival under Extended Darkness. Plant Physiology 174:1517–1530. doi: 10.1104/pp.17.00653
  • Xu C, Andre C, Fan J, Shanklin J (2016) Cellular Organization of Triacylglycerol Biosynthesis in Microalgae. Lipids in Plant and Algae Development 207–221. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-25979-6_9
  • Xu C, Shanklin J (2016) Triacylglycerol Metabolism, Function, and Accumulation in Plant Vegetative Tissues. Annual Review of Plant Biology 67:179–206. doi: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-043015-111641
  • Li N, Xu C, Li-Beisson Y, Philippar K (2016) Fatty Acid and Lipid Transport in Plant Cells. Trends in Plant Science 21:145–158. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2015.10.011
  • Fan J, Zhai Z, Yan C, Xu C (2015) Arabidopsis TRIGALACTOSYLDIACYLGLYCEROL5 Interacts with TGD1, TGD2, and TGD4 to Facilitate Lipid Transfer from the Endoplasmic Reticulum to Plastids. The Plant Cell tpc.15.00394. doi: 10.1105/tpc.15.00394
  • Fan J, Yan C, Roston R, Shanklin J, Xu C (2014) Arabidopsis Lipins, PDAT1 Acyltransferase, and SDP1 Triacylglycerol Lipase Synergistically Direct Fatty Acids toward β-Oxidation, Thereby Maintaining Membrane Lipid Homeostasis. The Plant Cell 26:4119–4134. doi: 10.1105/tpc.114.130377
  • Fan J, Yan C, Xu C (2013) Phospholipid:diacylglycerol acyltransferase-mediated triacylglycerol biosynthesis is crucial for protection against fatty acid-induced cell death in growing tissues of Arabidopsis. The Plant Journal 76:930–942. doi: 10.1111/tpj.12343
  • Yan C, Fan J, Xu C (2013) Analysis of Oil Droplets in Microalgae. Lipid Droplets 71–82. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-408051-5.00005-x
  • Fan J, Yan C, Zhang X, Xu C (2013) Dual Role for Phospholipid:Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase: Enhancing Fatty Acid Synthesis and Diverting Fatty Acids from Membrane Lipids to Triacylglycerol in Arabidopsis Leaves. The Plant Cell 25:3506–3518. doi: 10.1105/tpc.113.117358
  • Li-Beisson Y, Shorrosh B, Beisson F, Andersson MX, Arondel V, Bates PD, Baud S, Bird D, DeBono A, Durrett TP, Franke RB, Graham IA, Katayama K, Kelly AA, Larson T, Markham JE, Miquel M, Molina I, Nishida I, Rowland O, Samuels L, Schmid KM, Wada H, Welti R, Xu C, Zallot R, Ohlrogge J (2013) Acyl-Lipid Metabolism. The Arabidopsis Book 11:e0161. doi: 10.1199/tab.0161
  • Fan J, Yan C, Andre C, Shanklin J, Schwender J, Xu C (2012) Oil accumulation is controlled by carbon precursor supply for fatty acid synthesis in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Plant and Cell Physiology 53:1380–1390. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcs082
  • Wang Z, Xu C, Benning C (2012) TGD4 involved in endoplasmic reticulum-to-chloroplast lipid trafficking is a phosphatidic acid binding protein. The Plant Journal 70:614–623. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-313x.2012.04900.x
  • Lü S, Zhao H, Parsons EP, Xu C, Kosma DK, Xu X, Chao D, Lohrey G, Bangarusamy DK, Wang G, Bressan RA, Jenks MA (2011) The glossyhead1 Allele of ACC1 Reveals a Principal Role for Multidomain Acetyl-Coenzyme A Carboxylase in the Biosynthesis of Cuticular Waxes by Arabidopsis  . Plant Physiology 157:1079–1092. doi: 10.1104/pp.111.185132
  • Fan J, Andre C, Xu C (2011) A chloroplast pathway for the de novo biosynthesis of triacylglycerol inChlamydomonas reinhardtii. FEBS Letters 585:1985–1991. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2011.05.018
  • Fan J, Xu C (2011) Genetic analysis of Arabidopsis mutants impaired in plastid lipid import reveals a role of membrane lipids in chloroplast division. Plant Signaling & Behavior 6:458–460. doi: 10.4161/psb.6.3.14715
  • Xu C, Moellering ER, Muthan B, Fan J, Benning C (2010) Lipid Transport Mediated by Arabidopsis TGD Proteins is Unidirectional from the Endoplasmic Reticulum to the Plastid. Plant and Cell Physiology 51:1019–1028. doi: 10.1093/pcp/pcq053

Research Highlights

 

Changcheng Xu

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Biology Department
Bldg. 463, Room 198
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-2183
cxu@bnl.gov

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