Profile of Xinnian Dong

Abstract

A pioneer in the field of molecular plant pathology, Xinnian Dong has elucidated multiple plant immune mechanisms over the past three decades. Her research has advanced understanding of the processes by which an entire plant may become resistant to a pathogen when only one part of it is infected. Dong and her colleagues also determined that daily cycles affect plant immune responses, and that plant DNA damage repair machinery plays a fundamental role in immunity. Because certain plant compounds, such as the hormone salicylic acid, can benefit the health of both plants and people, her research holds promise for improving agricultural crop yields and developing treatments for human diseases. In recognition of these and other achievements, Dong was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2012. Xinnian Dong. Image courtesy of Guoyong Xu (Duke University, Durham, NC). NPR1 is an immune regulator of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Both wild-type (Col-0) and the npr1 mutant Arabidopsis were inoculated with P. syringae after treatment with H2O (mock) or an inducer of SAR. SAR induction in wild-type plants prevented infection by the pathogen, whereas in the NPR1 mutant, induction of resistance was compromised. Image courtesy of Raul Zavaliev (Duke University, Durham, NC). Dong was born in 1959 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. She grew up during the Cultural Revolution, when many schools and universities throughout China were closed. Dong’s parents encouraged the intellectual pursuits of their children. Her father, Fureng Dong, was an economist with a broad interest in science. Her mother, Ainian Liu, was an ophthalmologist. “My parents were my earliest mentors,” Dong says. “The question that my father asked me the most was, ‘What do you think?’” Her younger brother, Xinzhong Dong, …