Being trained in Marine Biology and Molecular Biology, I have studied several topics concerning the biology and ecology of marine organisms, including fish (coelacanth, lamprey, salmon, eel, conger, etc), dinoflagellates, copepods and ciliates. Since 2000 I have been co-working with Dr. Senjie Lin in his Phytoplankton Molecular Ecology lab. Our research focuses on dinoflagellates and the isolation of: 1) growth related genes (PCNA and others) and their application to harmful algal bloom studies; 2) mitochondrial and chloroplast genes and their application to spatial and seasonal distribution of dinoflagellate species using species-specific Real-Time quantitative PCR assays; and 3) genes expressed in different growth stages and genes potentially involved in metabolic pathways.

We have identified several growth-related genes. DNA primers or antibodies have been developed to detect the expression level of these genes by RT-PCR or whole cell immunofluorescence. These probes will be applied to field studies. Mitochondrial cytochrome b (cob) and the photosynthesis gene Rubisco have been shown to be useful for developing species-specific primers, which are useful for monitoring harmful algal blooms.

We have developed cob-rRNA dual gene Real-Time quantitative PCR assays for Pfiesteria piscicida and P. shumwayae. We are also working on RNA editing of dinoflagellate mitochondrial genes to investigate its role in ecological adaptation.

Recently we have been working with members of Dr. Hans Dam’s lab to isolate the sodium channel genes from copepod and lobster, and have found that in copepod the mutation of this gene might link with toxin resistance.

Zhang, H. Bhattacharya, D. and Lin, S. 2005. Phylogeny of Dinoflagellates Based on Mitochondrial Cytochrome b and Nuclear Small Subunit rDNA Sequence Comparisons. J. Phycol. 41: 411-420.

McManus, G., Zhang, H. and Lin, S. 2004. The marine planktonic ciliates that prey on macroalgae and enslave their chloroplasts. Limnol. Oceanogr. 49: 308-313.

Zhang, H. and Lin, S. 2003. Complex gene structure of the form II Rubisco in the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum minimum (dinophyceae). J. Phycol. 39: 1160-1171.

Zhang, H., Futami, K. and Okamoto, N: Isolation of c-myc genes from goldfish and their tissue specific expression. J. Fish Biol. 63:1266-1273 (2003).

Lin, S. and Zhang, H. 2003. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in Pfiesteria piscicida and its growth rate-related expression. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 343-349.

Lin, S., Zhang, H., Spencer, D., Norman, J. and Gray, M. W. 2002. Widespread and extensive editing of mitochondrial mRNAs in dinoflagellates. J. Mol. Biol. 320:727-739.

Zhang, H. and Lin, S. 2002. Identification and quantification of Pfiesteria piscicida by using the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 989-994.

Zhang, H., Mikawa, Horie, N., et al. 2000. Molecular cloning of fresh water and deep-sea rod opsin genes from Japanese eel Anguilla japonica and their expressional analysis during sexual maturation. FEBS letters 469, 39-43.

Yokoyama, S., Zhang, H., Radlwimmer, B. and Blow, N. 1999. Adaptive evolution of color vision of the Comoran coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae). PNAS 96, 6279-6284.

Zhang, H., Mikawa, N, Yamada, Y., et al. 1999. Detection of foreign eels in the natural waters of Japan by PCR. Fisheries Science 65, 684-686.

Zhang, H. and Yokoyama, S. 1997. Molecular evolution of the rhodopsin gene of marine lamprey, Petromyzon marinus. Gene 191, 1-6.

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