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Meet the Faculty

Oliver Yu

Oliver Yu
Adjunct Associate Professor
Division of Plant Sciences

Education
B.S., Biophysics, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Ph.D., Molecular Biology, University of South Carolina-Columbia
Postdoc., Biochemistry and Genetics, DuPont Crop Genetics, Wilmington, DE

Description
Oliver Yu is located at the Danforth Center in St. Louis. His research focuses on the enzymatic interactions between the key enzymes in the phenylpropanoid and isoflavonoid pathways and the transcriptional regulation of isoflavonoid synthesis.

Specifically, his lab studies the mode of action of the six key enzymes involved in the synthesis of flavonoids and isoflavonoids. They attempt to demonstrate metabolic channeling among the multienzyme complexes in the phenylpropanoid and isoflavonoid pathways and to reveal its mechanisms.

Proposed genetic engineering of legumes and non-legume plants can alter the production of these secondary metabolites and lead to the synthesis of novel isoflavonoid compounds with significant human health benefits.

The lab also studies the transcriptional regulation of these two pathways, focusing on the Myb-like transcription factors that activate gene expression during plant defense and plant-Rhizobium interactions. By investigating the transcription factor-promoter interactions and the signal transduction pathways, the mechanisms that control the production of these important phytoalexins and Rhizobial chemo-attractants can be discovered.