Qianwen SUN Ph.D.
Associate Professor
2022-present Associate Professor (Tenured), School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing China
2018-2021 Associate Professor (Tenure Track), School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing China
2014-2018 Assistant Professor (Tenure Track), School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing China
2014-present Principal Investigator (renewed in 2018), Center for Life Sciences, Beijing China
2009-2014 Postdoctoral fellow, John Innes Centre, Norwich UK
2004-2009 Ph.D. Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
2000-2004 B.Sc. Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Research interest
Our laboratory is interested in genomic regulatory events at various levels, with recent focuses on: (1) The formation, regulatory mechanisms, and biological significances of a novel chromatin state termed Transcription Resistive; (2) The developmental and biogenesis mechanisms of semi-autonomous organelles.
Selected publications
(*corresponding or co-corresponding authors)
13. Yao Yao; Jincong Zhou; Jiacheng Wang; Xue Lei; Anjie Jiang; Qianwen Sun*. H3K36 Methylation Stamps Transcription Resistive to Preserve Development in Plants. Nature Plants, 2025. DOI : 10.1038/s41477-025-01962-6.
12. Weifeng Zhang, Lingling Cheng, Kuan Li, Leiming Xie, Jinyao Ji, Xue Lei, Anjie Jiang, Chunlai Chen, Haitao Li, Pilong Li and Qianwen Sun*. Evolutional heterochromatin condensation delineates chromocenter formation and retrotransposon silencing in plants. Nature Plants. 2024. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-024-01746-4.
11. Weifeng Zhang, Zhuo Yang, Wenjie Wang and Qianwen Sun*. Primase promotes the competition between transcription and replication on the same template strand resulting in DNA damage. Nature Communications. 2024; 15, 73. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44443-0.
10. Qin Li, Jincong Zhou, Shuai Li, Weifeng Zhang, Yingxue Du, Kuan Li, Yingxiang Wang and Qianwen Sun*. DNA polymerase ε harmonizes topological states and R-loops formation to maintain genome integrity in Arabidopsis. Nature Communications. 2023; 14, 7763. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-43680-7.
9. Jincong Zhou, Xue Lei, Sarfraz Shafiq, Weifeng Zhang, Qin Li, Kuan Li, Jiafu Zhu, Zhicheng Dong, Xin-Jian He and Qianwen Sun*. DDM1-mediated R-loop resolution and H2A.Z exclusion facilitates heterochromatin formation in Arabidopsis. Science Advances. 2023 Aug;9(32):eadg2699. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adg2699.
8. Wei Xu*, Chao Liu, Zhe Zhang, Changbin Sun, Qin Li, Kuan Li, Hui Jiang*, Wei Li* and Qianwen Sun*. DEtail-seq is an ultra-efficient and convenient method for meiotic DNA break profiling in multiple organisms. Sci China Life Sci, 2023 June; 66(6): 1392–1407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-022-2277-y.
7. Kuan Li, Zhenzhen Wu, Jincong Zhou, Wei Xu, Ling Li, Chao Liu, Wei Li, Chengjun Zhang* and Qianwen Sun*. R-loopAtlas: An integrated R-loop resource from 254 plant species sustained by a deep-learning-based tool. Molecular Plant. 2023 Mar;16(3):493-496. doi: 10.1016/j.molp.2022.12.012.
6. Kunpeng Liu and Qianwen Sun*. Intragenic tRNA-promoted R-loops orchestrate transcription interference for plant oxidative stress responses. The Plant Cell, 2021, 33: 3574–3591.
5. Lingling Cheng, Wenjie Wang, Yao Yao and Qianwen Sun*. Mitochondrial RNase H1 activity regulates R-loop homeostasis to maintain genome integrity and enable early embryogenesis in Arabidopsis. PLOS Biology, 2021, 19(8): e3001357.
4. Wenjie Wang, Kuan Li, Zhuo Yang, Quancan Hou, Wei W. Zhao and Qianwen Sun*. RNase H1C collaborates with ssDNA binding proteins WHY1/3 and recombinase RecA1 to fulfill the DNA damage repair in Arabidopsis chloroplasts. Nucleic Acids Research, 2021 Jul; 49(12): 6771–6787.
3. Wei Xu, Kuan Li, Shuai Li, Quancan Hou, Yushun Zhang, Kunpeng Liu and Qianwen Sun*. The R-loop atlas of Arabidopsis development and responses to environmental stimuli. The Plant Cell, 2020 Apr; 32(4):888-903.
2. Zhuo Yang, Quancan Hou, Lingling Cheng, Wei Xu, Yantao Hong, Shuai Li and Qianwen Sun*. RNase H1 Cooperates with DNA Gyrases to Restrict R-Loops and Maintain Genome Integrity in Arabidopsis Chloroplasts. The Plant Cell, 2017 Oct; 29(10):2478-2497.
1. Wei Xu, Hui Xu, Kuan Li, Yingxu Fan, Yang Liu, Xuerui Yang* and Qianwen Sun*. The R-loop is a common chromatin feature of the Arabidopsis genome. Nature Plants, 2017 Sep; 3(9):704-714.
Contact information
Location：Biotechnology Building Room 4-313 (Office), 4-309 (Lab)
Tel: +86-10-62784002 (Office); 62796360 (Lab)
E-mail: sunqianwen(a t)mail.tsinghua.edu.cn
