Guanqun Chen, University of Alberta

Research

enzymology molecular biology storage lipid biosynthesis lipid biochemistry oilseed biotechnology oilseed crop stress resilience plant genome editing plant lipid biotechnology

Latest papers

Rational gene stacking for seed-specific carbon partitioning to simultaneously enhance lipid and protein contents in Arabidopsis.
Journal of experimental botany · 2026 · senior author
CRISPR/Cas-Mediated Gene Editing in Plant Immunity and Its Potential for the Future Development of Fungal, Oomycete, and Bacterial Pathogen-Resistant Pulse Crops.
Plant, cell & environment · 2026
Phospholipids in plant systems: metabolism, regulation and functional insights.
Progress in lipid research · 2026 · senior author

All 72 publications

Latest funding

Identification and characterization of novel genes in plant lipid biosynthesis and regulation
NSERC · 2023 · Principal investigator
$88,000
Altering biomass recalcitrance to enable its at-source fractionation: Combining genetic engineering and computational modeling
SSHRC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$125,000
Plant Lipid Biotechnology
NSERC · 2022 · Principal investigator
$200,000

All 10 grants and awards

72 publications.

01

Rational gene stacking for seed-specific carbon partitioning to simultaneously enhance lipid and protein contents in Arabidopsis.

McDonald KC, Rietzschel E, Wu L, Jayawardhane KN, Ozga JA, Weselake RJ, Singer SD, Chen G

Journal of experimental botany2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erag136 PMID: 41818217

02

CRISPR/Cas-Mediated Gene Editing in Plant Immunity and Its Potential for the Future Development of Fungal, Oomycete, and Bacterial Pathogen-Resistant Pulse Crops.

Singer SD, Mukthar MM, Subedi U, Poudel H, Chen G, Foroud N, Chatterton S

Plant, cell & environment2026

DOI: 10.1111/pce.15174 PMID: 39351611

03

Phospholipids in plant systems: metabolism, regulation and functional insights.

Xiao Q, Singer SD, Nakamura Y, Chen G

Progress in lipid research2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.plipres.2026.101377 PMID: 41619946

04

Elucidating putative novel functions of the AINTEGUMENTA-LIKE 7 transcription factor in clubroot resistance in Arabidopsis.

Jayawardhane KN, Somarathna TK, Manoli VP, Hwang SF, Strelkov SE, Singer SD, Chen G

Plant molecular biology2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/s11103-026-01698-7 PMID: 41874801

05

Chromosome-level assembly and analysis of three hydroxy fatty acid-producing Physaria species.

Wang S, Fan R, Zhang M, Zhou ZW, Xie W, Wang J, Cahoon EB, Chen G, Lu S, Lu C, Chen LL, Guo L

Nature communications2025

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66337-z PMID: 41407667

06

Self-interaction pattern and targeted potential protein interaction networks of Arabidopsis CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase 1.

Xiao Q, Wang J, Chen G

Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110574 PMID: 41045891

07

Exploring potential protein-protein interactions driving unusual fatty acid synthesis in pomegranate.

Wang J, Xiao Q, Chen G

Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2025.110461 PMID: 40913940

08

The down-regulation of MsWOX13-2 promotes enhanced waterlogging resilience in alfalfa.

Subedi U, Hughes KB, Lehmann M, Chen G, Acharya S, Hannoufa A, Nguyen CV, Singer SD

The Plant journal : for cell and molecular biology2025

DOI: 10.1111/tpj.70411 PMID: 40836384

09

Functions of Arabidopsis CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase 1 in phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis and root growth.

Xiao Q, Bustos D, Caldo KM, Morales-Quintana L, Huan T, Chen G

Plant physiology2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiaf272 PMID: 40561507

10

The Effect of Humalite on Improving Soil Nitrogen Availability and Plant Nutrient Uptake for Higher Yield and Oil Content in Canola.

Rathor P, Gorim LY, Chen G, Thilakarathna MS

Physiologia plantarum2025

DOI: 10.1111/ppl.70201 PMID: 40207787

Identification and characterization of novel genes in plant lipid biosynthesis and regulation

Principal investigatorNSERC2023Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun

Keywords: plant lipid biology; storage lipid biosynthesis; gene discovery; arabidopsis; molecular biology; enzymology; plant genomics; triacylglycerol

$88,000

Altering biomass recalcitrance to enable its at-source fractionation: Combining genetic engineering and computational modeling

Co-investigatorSSHRC2022New Frontiers in Research Fund - Exploration

Principal investigators: Mushrif, Samir

Keywords: molecular modeling; genetic engineering; decentralized biomass fractionation; bioinformatics; machine learning; chemical treatment; agricultural residues; computational and theoretical chemistry; plant biotechnology

$125,000

Plant Lipid Biotechnology

Principal investigatorNSERC2022Canada Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun

Keywords: lipid biochemistry; oilseed biotechnology; enzymology; oilseed crop stress resilience; molecular biology; plant genome editing; storage lipid biosynthesis; plant lipid biotechnology; oleaginous microorganisms

$200,000

Producing punicic acid in yeast and evaluating its application in reducing antibiotic use in poultry via synthetic biology and broiler trial

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun G

Keywords: broiler nutrition; broiler performance; broiler productivity and health; growth promoter; lipid; metabolic engineering; punicic acid; synthetic biology; yeast

$149,956

Increasing abiotic (drought) and biotic (clubroot) resistance in Brassica species (Arabidopsis and Canola) by modifying auxin response

Co-investigatorNSERC2018Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Principal investigators: Ozga, Jocelyn

$96,750

Molecular characterization of borage seed oil

Principal investigatorNSERC2018Engage Grants Program

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun

$25,000

Plant Lipid Biotechnology

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Canada Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun

$240,000

Plant Lipid Biotechnology

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Canada Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun

$240,000

Plant Lipid Biotechnology

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Canada Research Chairs

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun

$120,000

Molecular mechanism of carotenoid esterification in microalgae

Principal investigatorNSERC2016Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Chen, Guanqun

$252,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science
Biological Sciences
Biology
Chemistry
Molecular and Cellular Biology
AFNS/human nutrition
Food and Bioproduct Sciences

Co-authors at University of Alberta, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Jocelyn Ozga

Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science

5 shared papers, latest 2020

Abdelali Hannoufa

Biology

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Yang Xu

Molecular and Cellular Biology

2 shared papers, latest 2023

Tao Huan

Chemistry

2 shared papers, latest 2025

Aman Ullah

Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Xue Pan

Biological Sciences

1 shared papers, latest 2023

Jake Stout

Biological Sciences

1 shared papers, latest 2021

Xiao Qiu

Food and Bioproduct Sciences

1 shared papers, latest 2021

Caroline Richard

AFNS/human nutrition

1 shared papers, latest 2020

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student: enzymology Dear Professor Chen, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Rational gene stacking for seed-specific carbon partitioning to simultaneously enhance lipid and protein contents in Arabidopsis." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Identification and characterization of novel genes in plant lipid biosynthesis and regulation" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]