Xing Liu

Title:

Assistant Professor

PhD Granting Institution:

University of Minnesota, Twin Citites

Contact:

Email Address: xingliu@purdue.edu
Office Phone: 765-494-1793

Primary Training Group:

Plant Biology

Secondary Training Groups:

Chemical Biology, Biomolecular Structure and Biophysics

Research Areas:

We are interested in understanding the mechanism of protein ubiquitination and how this post-translational modification determines proper cellular and organismal functions. To achieve this goal, we use human cells and plants as our experimental systems. Our current research focuses on the dynamics of Skp1•Cul1•F-box protein (SCF) ubiquitin E3 ligases, a group of enzymes that play critical roles in eukaryotic biology, ranging from cell division to organ formation. Each SCF has a core Cul1 protein that assembles with a family of F-box proteins to form different complexes with distinct substrate specificities. The genome of human and Arabidopsis thaliana encodes 69 and ~700 F-box proteins, respectively, each of which needs to assemble with Cul1 for the degradation of its substrates. Therefore, recruiting the right type of F-box protein at the right time in the right location is essential for proper SCF function. We aim to understand how the cellular repertoire of the SCF is dynamically controlled to meet the changing needs of substrates, applying multidisciplinary approaches such as biophysics, chemical genetics, genome editing, quantitative mass spectrometry, and computational modeling.