A Journey to Plant Vacuole Biology Research and Beyond.
Jiang L
Plant Cell Biology
Every vegetable and fruit you eat depends on plant cells packing away nutrients, water, and waste into tiny internal storage sacs called vacuoles—and this research helps scientists understand exactly how that storage system works, opening doors to crops that store more nutrients or resist drought better.
Plant cells have an intricate internal postal system that shuttles proteins and materials to the right places, including a large storage compartment called the vacuole. This researcher spent decades mapping how that system works, training dozens of scientists along the way. Using incredibly powerful microscopes that can image frozen, nearly-living cell slices, the team revealed the physical shapes of the tiny transport bubbles and storage bags inside plant cells in stunning detail.
Key Findings
Over 25 years, the lab trained 40 PhD students, 18 MPhil students, and 34 postdoctoral researchers, building significant institutional capacity in plant cell biology.
The research group established advanced electron microscopy and live-cell imaging shared platforms since 2015, enabling nanometer-resolution views of plant membrane structures.
Whole-cell electron tomography and Cryo-ET/FIB technologies were applied to reveal near-native 3D structures of transport vesicles, extracellular vesicles, and vacuoles in plants.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A plant cell biologist at The Chinese University of Hong Kong reflects on 25 years of research into how plant cells manage internal compartments—especially vacuoles—and how those compartments communicate, form, and recycle material. The work uses cutting-edge microscopy to reveal nanoscale structures inside living plant cells.
Abstract Preview
I am currently the Choh-Ming Li Professor of Life Sciences at the School of Life Sciences (SLS) in The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). I obtained my Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from Si...
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