Nuclear bodies are membraneless subnuclear biomolecular condensates consisting of protein/RNA/chromatin complexes involved in the spatiotemporal regulation of fundamental nuclear functions in eukaryotes. The misregulation of nuclear bodies is associated with human disease such as cancer and Parkinson's disease. Nuclear bodies are formed through a biophysical process called liquid-liquid phase separation that is triggered by multivalent interactions between proteins and nucleic acids.

Photobodies are plant nuclear bodies containing photoreceptors that sense light and regulate almost every aspects of growth and development including chloroplast biogenesis (greening). The misregulation of photobodies is associated with defects of chloroplast biogenesis, leading to albino or pale-green phenotypes. However, the function of photobodies in the regulation of nucleus-orgenelle communication in response to environmental changes are largely unknown. Our lab aims to (1) understand function of photobodies in chloroplast biogenesis, (2) investigate molecular mechanisms by which environmental changes modulate phase separation of photobodies, and (3) identify novel regulators of the anterograde signaling (nucleus-to-plasid signaling) to control chloroplast biogenesis. We use a combination of molecular biology, cell biology, and genetics to explore fundamental mysteries of photobodies in plants.