School of Biological Sciences

The University of Hong Kong

Professor Mee Len Chye

Emeritus Professor

BSc (Malaya); PhD (Melbourne)

HKU Scholars Hub https://hub.hku.hk/cris/rp/rp00687

ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3505-3674


Professor M. L. Chye

mlchye@hku.hk

M.L. Chye, completed her PhD on a Commonwealth Scholarship at the University of Melbourne and received postdoctoral training in Plant Molecular Biology at the Rockefeller University (New York) and the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (Singapore). She joined the University of Hong Kong in 1993 and was appointed the Wilson and Amelia Wong Professor in Plant Biotechnology (2011-2024). She served as an Associate Dean (April 2010-April 2016) and Dean (May 2016-August 2019) of the Graduate School.

Listed as a top 1% cited scholar at HKU 2013-2022 (https://hub.hku.hk/local/top1pc/top1pc.jsp), her research awards include an Edward Clarence Dyason Universitas 21 Fellowship (2004/05), an Outstanding University Researcher Award (2006/07), a Croucher Senior Research Fellowship (2007/08), and an Eileen Mary Harris Scholarship (2013). She currently serves as an Associate Editor for Planta (Springer) and Plant Molecular Biology (Springer), and was Chair of the 4th Asian Symposium on Plant Lipids (2011) and the 12th International Symposium on Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology (ISBAB) in 2016. She has worked with international research collaborators from Australia, Canada, China, France, and the UK, as well as local collaborators in two AoEs (AoE/M-05/12 and AoE/M-403/16).

Her research focuses on elucidating the function of plant acyl-CoA-binding proteins (ACBPs) which bind and transport acyl-CoA esters. Her work revealed that plant ACBPs, classified into 4 classes in each of Arabidopsis, rice, Brassica napus and soybean, participate in development as well as stress responses arising from drought, salinity, low temperature and pathogens. Her team demonstrated that ACBPs work with protein partners in mediating development and stress tolerance, making ACBPs applicable for agriculture.

Her laboratory also identified the significance of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMGS) in plant isoprenoid metabolism. In collaboration with Thomas Bach (CNRS Strasbourg), they reported that the expression of mutant and wild-type Brassica juncea HMGS in transgenic Arabidopsis upregulated the genes in the sterol biosynthetic pathway resulting in an overaccumulation of phytosterols (stimasterols, campesterol and stigmasterols). Furthermore, the overexpression of the HMGS variant S359A in tobacco, a model plant from the family Solanaceae, not only caused phytosterol accumulation but enhanced plant growth, pod size and seed yield. The overexpression of HMGS S359A in tomato produced fruits with increased phytosterols, squalene, provitamin A, lycopene and vitamin E (α-tocopherol), paving the way for biofortified food.

Her projects have been supported by the Wilson and Amelia Wong Endowment Fund, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme, “Centre for Organelle Biogenesis and Function” Area of Excellence AoE/M-05/12 (https://icell.sls.cuhk.edu.hk/research/aoe/), “Centre for Genomic Studies on Plant-Environment Interaction for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security” Area of Excellence AoE/M-403/16” (https://aoegspei.cuhk.edu.hk/aboutus/) and the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology (CUHK).


HKU Press releases:

HKU scientists discover activation mechanisms in soybean for adaptation to saline soil in hope of improving agriculture productivity (12/1/22)
https://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/23924.html
The Croucher Foundation Newsletter (7/3/22)
https://projects.croucher.org.hk/news/hku-scientists-help-soybeans-to-grow-in-saline-soil

HKU plant scientists identify a new strategy to enhance rice grain yield (1/12/19)
https://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/20327.html
The Croucher Foundation Newsletter (31/12/19)
https://projects.croucher.org.hk/news/rice-protein-yields-hope-for-increased-food-supply-1?utm_source=Croucher+Foundation+Newsletter&utm_campaign=64de19ae2e-Newsletter+Issue+27+Jan+2018_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_68f3b7ff76-64de19ae2e-142354273

HKU researchers generate tomatoes with enhanced antioxidant properties by genetic engineering (9/11/17)
https://www.hku.hk/press/news_detail_17055.html
Newsweek (14/11/17)
http://www.newsweek.com/genetic-engineering-antiaging-ageing-antioxidants-tomatoes-food-711299

Nikkei Asia Review (13/1/16)
http://asia.nikkei.com/Tech-Science/Science/Hong-Kong-scientists-engineer-plants-for-a-warmer-planet

HKU scientists discover a drought tolerance gene that may help plants survive global warming (22/11/15):
http://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/13590.html

HKU identifies a new strategy to protect flowers from freezing stress (9/6/14):
http://www.hku.hk/press/press-releases/detail/11311.html


Representative Publications

 

Last modified: 27/12/2018


Please send suggestions and comments to mlchye@hku.hk.