We study how plants and fungi build their cells and organize their cytoplasmic contents, using advanced microscopy, molecular genetics, and protein biochemistry to understand the fundamental mechanisms of cell division.
We are cell biologists devoted to understanding how plants and fungi build their cells and organize their cytoplasmic contents. Using microscopic and imaging tools, we watch how cells divide and enlarge themselves. Our laboratory combines experiments in protein biochemistry, molecular biology, and classical and molecular genetics.
Our ongoing investigations include the dynamics of microtubules and actin microfilaments during plant cell division and cell growth, functions of kinesin motor proteins in mitosis and cytokinesis, and molecular mechanisms of cytoskeleton-mediated hyphal growth in filamentous fungi.
We investigate the molecular mechanisms of mitosis and cytokinesis in plants, focusing on how the phragmoplast microtubule array forms and expands to guide cell plate formation. Key proteins include MAP65 family members and Aurora kinases that regulate microtubule dynamics.
Understanding how plants assemble microtubule arrays without centrosomes is a fundamental question. We study the augmin complex, kinesin motors, and plus-end tracking proteins that enable acentrosomal spindle assembly and phragmoplast organization.
Using Aspergillus nidulans as a model, we study nuclear migration and cell cycle regulation. These mechanisms are remarkably conserved with those governing nuclear migration during fertilization and brain development in mammals.
We develop and apply advanced microscopy techniques including spinning disc confocal and live-cell time-lapse imaging to visualize cytoskeletal dynamics in real-time, enabling us to understand how cells coordinate complex molecular machines.
Principal Investigator
Professor, Department of Plant Biology
Dr. Liu leads research on plant and fungal cell division and cytoplasmic organization at UC Davis. The laboratory combines microscopy, genetics, and biochemistry to understand how cells build themselves.
Lab members celebrating together
We have open positions for serious graduate students and undergraduate students. If you are interested in traveling into plant and fungal cells, please contact Dr. Bo Liu. You are invited to visit the laboratory in Green Hall 2203. Recent findings are summarized in the posters presented outside the laboratory.
Pursue Ph.D. research in plant cell biology with access to cutting-edge microscopy facilities and a collaborative research environment.
Gain hands-on research experience in molecular biology, genetics, and live-cell imaging techniques.
Green Hall 2203
University of California
Davis, CA 95616