Draft:Ye Shen

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Ye Shen is a Chinese professor and researcher in molecular pharmacognosy, plant molecular biology, medicinal plant biotechnology, and synthetic biology. She is a researcher at the National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, in Beijing, China.[1] From February 2023 to March 2024, she served as a visiting scholar at the University of Wollongong in Australia.[1]

Portrait of Ye Shen, researcher at the National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

Shen's research focuses on the biosynthesis and regulation of secondary metabolites in medicinal plants, particularly tanshinones in Salvia miltiorrhiza. Her published work includes studies on tanshinone biosynthesis, transcriptional regulation, medicinal plant genomics, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, and secondary metabolism.[1][2][3]

Education

Shen received a Ph.D. in Plant Biology from the College of Life Science, Peking University, in 2003.[1] She received a Master of Science in Genetics from Harbin Normal University in 1995 and a Bachelor of Science in Biology Education from Harbin Normal University in 1992.[1]

Academic career

Shen worked at the College of Life Science, Heilongjiang University from 1995 to 2006.[1] From 2006 to 2010, she was a postdoctoral fellow at the College of Life Science, China Agricultural University.[1]

From 2010 to 2014, Shen worked at the Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Since December 2014, she has worked at the National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.[1]

From February 2023 to March 2024, Shen served as a visiting scholar at the University of Wollongong in Wollongong, Australia.[1]

Appointments

  • Researcher, National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences[1]
  • Visiting scholar, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2023–2024[1]
  • China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, 2010–present[1]
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, College of Life Science, China Agricultural University, 2006–2010[1]
  • College of Life Science, Heilongjiang University, 1995–2006[1]

Research

Shen's research investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis and regulation of active compounds in medicinal plants. A major focus of her research is tanshinone biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza, a medicinal plant used in traditional Chinese medicine.[1][2][4]

Her research areas include secondary metabolism in medicinal plants, jasmonate signalling regulation of diterpenoid biosynthesis, WRKY, ERF/AP2 and NAC transcription factors, and the relationship between phosphorus nutrition and the growth and active-component content of Salvia miltiorrhiza.[1] Her work also includes medicinal plant genomics and gene editing systems.[3][5]

Research grants

Shen has participated in research projects funded by Chinese national and institutional research programmes, including projects on synthetic biology of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine, tanshinone biosynthesis gene clusters, and multigene transient expression systems for plant metabolic pathways.[1]

Selected research projects include:

  • Synthetic Biology Research and Application Demonstration of Important Traditional Chinese Medicine Active Ingredients, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Ministry of Science and Technology of China, 2023–2026.[1]
  • Regulation Mechanism of Tanshinone Biosynthesis Gene Cluster, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences Science and Technology Innovation Fund, 2021–2024.[1]
  • Establishment of Multigene Transient Expression System of Plant Metabolic Pathway and Synthesis of Tanshinone Precursors, National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program, 2016–2019.[1]
  • Construction of Artificial Synthetic Systems for Selected Plant-Derived Compounds, National High Technology Research and Development Program of China, 2012–2015.[1]
  • Regulation of Tanshinone Biosynthesis by WRKY Transcription Factors, National Natural Science Foundation of China General Program, 2012–2015.[1]

Selected publications

Selected publications include:

  • Wang, Shiwei; Qu, Renjun; Wang, Xinxin; Peng, Jiaming; Chen, Meilan; Cui, Guanghong; Guo, Juan; Shen, Ye; Huang, Luqi (2026). "The transcription factor SmWRKY20 positively regulates abscisic acid-induced salvianolic acids biosynthesis by activating SmC4H1 in Salvia miltiorrhiza". Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. 233: 111219. doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2026.111219.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  • Qu, Renjun; Wang, Shiwei; Wang, Xinxin; Peng, Jiaming; Guo, Juan; Cui, Guanghong; Chen, Tong; Chen, Meilan; Zhao, Shuangshuang; Shen, Ye. "The Jasmonate-Responsive SmMPK3–SmWRKY33 Module Positively Regulates Tanshinone Biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza." Plant Biotechnology Journal. 2025.[2]
  • Tian, Mei; Luo, Linglong; Jin, Baolong; Liu, Jianing; Chen, Tong; Tang, Jinfu; Shen, Ye; Zhang, Haiyan; Guo, Juan; Zhang, Huawei; Cui, Guanghong; Huang, Luqi. "Highly Efficient Agrobacterium rhizogenes-Mediated Gene Editing System in Salvia miltiorrhiza Inbred Line bh2-7." Plant Biotechnology Journal. 2025; 23(6):2406–2417.[5]
  • Wang, Xinxin; Qu, Renjun; Wang, Shiwei; Peng, Jiaming; Guo, Juan; Cui, Guanghong; Chen, Tong; Chen, Meilan; Shen, Ye. "Genome-Wide Identification of the SmPHR Gene Family in Salvia miltiorrhiza and SmPHR7-mediated Response to Phosphate Starvation in Arabidopsis thaliana." Plant Cell Reports. 2025; 44(4):73.[6]
  • Chen, Tong; Yang, Ming; Cui, Guanghong; Tang, Jinfu; Shen, Ye; Liu, Jianing; Yuan, Yuan; Guo, Juan; Huang, Luqi. "IMP: bridging the gap for medicinal plant genomics." Nucleic Acids Research. 2024; 52(D1):D1347–D1354.[3]
  • Zheng, Han; Li, Jing; Jiang, Xihong; Pu, Chunjuan; Zhao, Shuangshuang; Yang, Jian; Guo, Juan; Cui, Guanghong; Tang, Jinfu; Ma, Ying; Yu, Muyao; Zhou, Xiuteng; Chen, Meilan; Lai, Changjiangsheng; Huang, Luqi; Shen, Ye. "The ERF-VII transcription factor SmERF73 coordinately regulates tanshinone biosynthesis in response to stress elicitors in Salvia miltiorrhiza." New Phytologist. 2021; 231(5):1940–1955.[4]
  • Ma, Ying; Cui, Guanghong; Chen, Tong; Ma, Xiaohui; Wang, Ruishan; Jin, Baolong; Yang, Jian; Kang, Liping; Tang, Jinfu; Lai, Changjiangsheng; Wang, Yanan; Zhao, Yujun; Shen, Ye; Zeng, Wen; Peters, Reuben J.; Qi, Xiaoquan; Guo, Juan; Huang, Luqi. "Expansion within the CYP71D subfamily drives the heterocyclization of tanshinones synthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza." Nature Communications. 2021; 12:685.[7]
  • Guo, Juan; Zhou, Yongjin J.; Hillwig, Matthew L.; Shen, Ye; Yang, Lei; Wang, Yajun; Zhang, Xianan; Liu, Wujun; Peters, Reuben J.; Chen, Xiaoya; Zhao, Zongbao K.; Huang, Luqi. "CYP76AH1 catalyzes turnover of miltiradiene in tanshinones biosynthesis and enables heterologous production of ferruginol in yeasts." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2013; 110(29):12108–12113.[8]

Teaching and supervision

Shen has contributed to graduate education and has participated in writing textbooks on molecular pharmacognosy.[1]

Awards and honours

Shen was one of the contributors to the project "Analysis of the Biosynthetic Pathway of Tanshinones and Its Synthetic Biology Research", which received the 2016 Science and Technology Award, First Prize, from the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.[1]

Professional service

Shen is listed by the National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica as a researcher in its talent team.[1]

References

  1. "Ye Shen profile". National Resource Center for Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
  2. Qu, Renjun; Wang, Shiwei; Wang, Xinxin; Peng, Jiaming; Guo, Juan; Cui, Guanghong; Chen, Tong; Chen, Meilan; Zhao, Shuangshuang; Shen, Ye (2025). "The Jasmonate-Responsive SmMPK3–SmWRKY33 Module Positively Regulates Tanshinone Biosynthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza". Plant Biotechnology Journal. doi:10.1111/pbi.70340.
  3. Chen, Tong; Yang, Ming; Cui, Guanghong; Tang, Jinfu; Shen, Ye; Liu, Jianing; Yuan, Yuan; Guo, Juan; Huang, Luqi (2024). "IMP: bridging the gap for medicinal plant genomics". Nucleic Acids Research. 52 (D1): D1347–D1354. doi:10.1093/nar/gkad898.
  4. Zheng, Han; Li, Jing; Jiang, Xihong; Pu, Chunjuan; Zhao, Shuangshuang; Yang, Jian; Guo, Juan; Cui, Guanghong; Tang, Jinfu; Ma, Ying; Yu, Muyao; Zhou, Xiuteng; Chen, Meilan; Lai, Changjiangsheng; Huang, Luqi; Shen, Ye (2021). "The ERF-VII transcription factor SmERF73 coordinately regulates tanshinone biosynthesis in response to stress elicitors in Salvia miltiorrhiza". New Phytologist. 231 (5): 1940–1955. doi:10.1111/nph.17463.
  5. Tian, Mei; Luo, Linglong; Jin, Baolong; Liu, Jianing; Chen, Tong; Tang, Jinfu; Shen, Ye; Zhang, Haiyan; Guo, Juan; Zhang, Huawei; Cui, Guanghong; Huang, Luqi (2025). "Highly Efficient Agrobacterium rhizogenes-Mediated Gene Editing System in Salvia miltiorrhiza Inbred Line bh2-7". Plant Biotechnology Journal. 23 (6): 2406–2417. doi:10.1111/pbi.70029.
  6. Wang, Xinxin; Qu, Renjun; Wang, Shiwei; Peng, Jiaming; Guo, Juan; Cui, Guanghong; Chen, Tong; Chen, Meilan; Shen, Ye (2025). "Genome-Wide Identification of the SmPHR Gene Family in Salvia miltiorrhiza and SmPHR7-mediated Response to Phosphate Starvation in Arabidopsis thaliana". Plant Cell Reports. 44 (4): 73. doi:10.1007/s00299-025-03461-6.
  7. Ma, Ying; Cui, Guanghong; Chen, Tong; Ma, Xiaohui; Wang, Ruishan; Jin, Baolong; Yang, Jian; Kang, Liping; Tang, Jinfu; Lai, Changjiangsheng; Wang, Yanan; Zhao, Yujun; Shen, Ye; Zeng, Wen; Peters, Reuben J.; Qi, Xiaoquan; Guo, Juan; Huang, Luqi (2021). "Expansion within the CYP71D subfamily drives the heterocyclization of tanshinones synthesis in Salvia miltiorrhiza". Nature Communications. 12: 685.
  8. Guo, Juan; Zhou, Yongjin J.; Hillwig, Matthew L.; Shen, Ye; Yang, Lei; Wang, Yajun; Zhang, Xianan; Liu, Wujun; Peters, Reuben J.; Chen, Xiaoya; Zhao, Zongbao K.; Huang, Luqi (2013). "CYP76AH1 catalyzes turnover of miltiradiene in tanshinones biosynthesis and enables heterologous production of ferruginol in yeasts". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 110 (29): 12108–12113.