Nan Lu

Biology
Research Assistant Professor

SRB 124

Nan.Lu@unt.edu

Nan Lu photo

Google Scholar

Dr. Nan Lu got his Bachelor’s degree from Shandong Agricultural University in 2008, majoring in Biotechnology. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Horticulture from Virginia Tech in 2013, supervised by Dr. Richard Veilleux. Subsequently, he has been working as Postdoctoral Research Associate in Dr. Richard Dixon’s lab at UNT, focusing on plant specialized metabolism, particularly condensed tannins and anthocyanins. In September 2024, Dr. Lu joined Department of Biological Sciences and BioDiscovery Institute as Research Assistant Professor, working on engineering condensed tannins in row crops.

CURRENT RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Deciphering the biosynthesis pathway of plant specialized metabolites in model species and crops using genetic, genomic and biochemical approaches.
  • Identification and characterization of enzymes in the condensed tannin and anthocyanin pathways in crops.
  • Understanding the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of condensed tannin and anthocyanin biosynthesis in crops.
  • Engineering biopolymers in economically critical crops such as soybean and maize.

FOR PROSPECTIVE GRADUATE STUDENTS

Apply to the Graduate Program in BIology

CURRENT GRANT-FUNDED PROJECTS

Engineering condensed tannins in row crops. Grasslanz Technology Limited. PI: Nan Lu, (12/1/2024-11/30/2026)

RECENT SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS

  1. Lu N. Revisiting decade-old questions in proanthocyanidin biosynthesis: current understanding and new challenges. Front. Plant Sci. (2024) 15:1373975
  2. Lu N, Jun JH, Li Y and Dixon RA. An unconventional proanthocyanidin pathway in maize. Nat. Commun. (2023) 14:4349
  3. Lu N, Jun JH, Liu CG, Dixon RA. The flexibility of proanthocyanidin biosynthesis in plants. Plant Physiol. (2022) 190(1):202–205
  4. Wang R1, Lu N1, Liu CG, Dixon RA, Wu Q, Mao Y, Yang Y, Zheng X, He L, Zhao B, Zhang F, Yang S, Chen H, Jun JH, Li Y, Liu C, Liu Y and Chen JH. MtGSTF7, a TT19-like GST gene, is essential for accumulation of anthocyanins, but not proanthocyanins in Medicago truncatula. J. Exp. Bot. (2022) 73(12):4129-4146 (co-first author)
  5. Jun JH, Lu N, Docampo-Palacios M, Wang XQ and Dixon RA. Dual activity of anthocyanidin reductase supports the dominant plant proanthocyanidin extension unit pathway. Sci. Adv. (2021) 7(20):eabg4682
  6. Lu N, Rao X, Li Y, Jun JH and Dixon RA. Dissecting the transcriptional regulation of proanthocyanidin and anthocyanin biosynthesis in soybean (Glycine max). Plant Biotechnol. J. (2021) 19(7):1429-1442