How epigenetic markers on chromatin are regulated by histone chaperones and chromatin remodelers

Dr. LIU Yang is currently an Assistant Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Hong Kong. Yang received her BSc and MSc degree in Sun-Yat sen University, China and PhD degree in the University of Guelph, Canada. Yang then worked as a postdoc research fellow in chromatin biology in the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA. Yang joined the University of Hong Kong as an Assistant Professor in 2022.

The organization of genomic DNA into defined nucleosomes is considered as a universal and ancestral feature of the eukaryotes, which profoundly affect all DNA-related processes. LIU lab research explores the epigenetic regulations, which aims at understanding how epigenetic variations are incorporated and maintained in the genome, how epigenetic markers on histones are regulated by histone chaperones and chromatin remodelers, and how chaperones/remodelers and histone PTMs/variants interplay in diseases such as cancer.

1. Qian Cheng, Siqi Zhu, Yanrong Lv, JiongJiong Liu, Qinglin Su, Meijin Yuan, Yang Liu#, Kai Yang#. Phosphorylation of the protamine-like protein from baculovirus affects its DNA binding and virus propagation. Nucleic Acids Research. 2025 May 29. (#Co-corresponding author)
2. Zhongfu Ying, Yanmin Xin, Zihuang Liu, Tianxin Tan, Yile Huang, Yingzhe Ding, Xuejun Hong, Qiuzhi Li, Chong Li, Jingyi Guo, Gaoshen Liu, Qi Meng, Shihe Zhou, Wenxin Li, Yao Yao, Ge Xiang, Linpeng Li, Yi Wu, Yang Liu, Miaohui Mu, Zifeng Ruan, Wenxi Liang, Junwei Wang, Yaofeng Wang, Baojian Liao, Yang Liu, Wuming Wang, Gang Lu, Dajiang Qin, Duanqing Pei, Wai-Yee Chan & Xingguo Liu. The mitochondrial unfolded protein response inhibits pluripotency acquisition and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition in somatic cell reprogramming. Nature Metabolism. 2025 April 09.
3. Emily A Rex, Dahee Seo, Sruthi Chappidi, Chelsea Pinkham, Sabrynna Brito Oliveira, Aaron Embry, David Heisler, Yang Liu, Moiz Munir, Karolin Luger, Neal M Alto, Flávio Guimarães da Fonseca, Robert Orchard, Dustin C Hancks, Don B Gammon. FEAR antiviral response pathway is independent of interferons and countered by poxvirus proteins. Nature Microbiology. 2024 April 09.
4. Ningning Li, Yuan Gao, Yujie Zhang, Daqi Yu, Jianwei Lin, Jianxun Feng, Jian Li, Zhichun Xu, Yingyi Zhang, Shangyu Dang, Keda Zhou, Yang Liu, Xiang David Li, Bik Kwoon Tye, Qing Li, Ning Gao & Yuanliang Zhai. Parental histone transfer caught at the replication fork. Nature. 2024 March 06.
5. Yanxia Huang, Qinyu Peng, Xu Tian, Cancan Chen, Xuanfeng Zhu, Changbai Huang, Zhiting Huo, Yang Liu, Chao Yang, Chao Liu, Ping Zhang. Nuclear membrane protein SUN2 promotes replication of flaviviruses through modulating cytoskeleton reorganization mediated by NS1. Nature Communications. 2024 Jan 05.
6. Yang Liu, Hugo Bisio, Chelsea Marie Toner, Sandra Jeudy, Nadege Philippe, Keda Zhou, Samuel Bowerman, Alison White, Garrett Edwards, Chantal Abergel, Karolin Luger. Virus-encoded histone doublets are essential and form nucleosome-like structures. Cell. 2021 Aug 05.
7. Yang Liu*, Keda Zhou*, Naifu Zhang, Hui Wei, Yong Zi Tan, Zhening Zhang, Bridget Carragher, Clinton S. Potter, Sheena D'Arcy, Karolin Luger. FACT caught in the act of manipulating the nucleosome. Nature. 2020 Jan 16.
8. Tao Wang*, Yang Liu*, Garrett Edwards, Daniel Krzizike, Hataichanok Scherman, Karolin Luger. The histone chaperone FACT modulates nucleosome structure by tethering its components. Life Science Alliance. 2018 July 10. (*Co-first author)
9. Francesca Mattiroli, Yajie Gu, Tejas Yadav, Jeremy L Balsbaugh, Michael R Harris, Eileen S Findlay, Yang Liu, Catherine A Radebaugh, Laurie A Stargell, Natalie G Ahn, Iestyn Whitehouse, Karolin Luger. DNA-mediated association of two histone-bound complexes of yeast Chromatin Assembly Factor-1 (CAF-1) drives tetrasome assembly in the wake of DNA replication. eLife. 2017 Mar 18.
10. Yang Liu, Jondavid de Jong, Éva Nagy, David A. Theilmann, Peter J. Krell. Nuclear translocation sequence and regions in AcMNPV ME53 important for optimal baculovirus production. Journal of Virology. 2016 Mar 28.

• 2023.10–2026.09   Early Career Scheme (ECS), Research Grant Council of Hong Kong
• 2025.01–2027.12   Seed Fund for Collaborative Research, The University of Hong Kong
• 2025.01–2027.12   NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund, NSFC
• 2026.01–2028.12   General Research Fund (GRF), Research Grant Council of Hong Kong