Genetics is the past and the future. Genes and their products control all aspects of life and death in any cell of an organism. Genetics as a discipline covers the biological aspects of DNA stability, embryonic development, cellular and organ function in all organisms from plants to humans. Our research focuses onDrosophilaand several plant species to address fundamental genetic questions in disease, behavior and development.

Current research interests and activities include: innate immunity, stem cells in plants and animals, cell differentiation, pharmacology of traditional medicine, molecular mechanism of flower development, plant epigenetics and development, plant stress response and molecular regulation, tree genetics and breeding, plant physiology and biotechnology, plant reproductive development, and mechanism of wood formation in trees.

Our discipline has eight faculty members, including six professors, one associate professor and one lecturer. Faculty members of this discipline have been funded by over 20 research grants from various sources, including major and general projects of the National Natural Science Foundation and the State 863 Projects. We published over 110 papers, with 50 of them collected by the SCI, edited or co-edited 9 books, obtained 6 patents and received 6 national and provincial awards.