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Yingqi Cai

Title: Research Assistant Professor

Department: Biological Sciences

College: College of Science

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae Link

Education

  • PhD, University of North Texas, 2018
    Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    Dissertation: Lipogenic Proteins in Plants: Functional Homologues and Applications

Current Scheduled Teaching

No current or future courses scheduled.

Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.

Previous Scheduled Teaching

BIOL 4900.770Special ProblemsSpring 2024
Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Journal Article

  • Cai, Y., Horn, P. (2024). Packaging “vegetable oils”: Insights into plant lipid droplet proteins. Plant Physiology. Oxford University Press (OUP). https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiae533
  • Anaokar, S., Liang, Y., Yu, X., Cai, Y., Cai, Y., Shanklin, J. (2024). The expression of genes encoding novel Sesame oleosin variants facilitates enhanced triacylglycerol accumulation in Arabidopsis leaves and seeds. New Phytologist. 243 271-283.
  • Sun, J., Liu, H., Blanford, J.K., Cai, Y., Zhai, Z., Shanklin, J. (2024). GRIK phosphorylates and activates KIN10 which also promotes its degradation. Frontiers in Plant Science. 15 Frontiers Media SA. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1375471
  • Zhai, Z., Blanford, J., Cai, Y., Sun, J., Liu, H., Shi, H., Schwender, J., Shanklin, J. (2023). CYCLIN-DEPENDENT KINASE 8 positively regulates oil synthesis by activating WRINKLED1 transcription. New Phytologist. 238 (2) 724-736. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18764
  • Liang, Y., Yu, X., Anaokar, S., Shi, H., Dahl, W., Cai, Y., Luo, G., Chai, J., Cai, Y., Mollá-Morales, A., Alpeter, F., Ernst, E., Schwender, J., Martienssen, R., Shanklin, J. (2023). Engineering Triacylglycerol Accumulation in Duckweed (Lemna japonica). Plant Biotechnology Journal. 21 (2) 317-330. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13943
  • Cai, Y., Yu, X., Shanklin, J. (2022). A toolkit for plant lipid engineering: surveying the efficacies of lipogenic factors for accumulating specialty lipids. Frontiers in Plant Science. 13 1064176. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1064176
  • Cai, Y., Zhai, Z., Blanford, J., Liu, H., Shi, H., Schwender, J., Xu, C., Shanklin, J. (2022). Purple acid phosphatase2 increases fatty acid synthesis and offsets yield drag associated with triacylglycerol hyperaccumulation in vegetative tissues.. New Phytologist. 236 (3) 1128-1139. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.18392
  • Cai, Y. (2021). Sugar traffic jam: impaired cellulose deposition in the phloem retards long-distance sucrose transport.. The Plant Cell. 33 (10) 3187-3188. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab195
  • Pyc, M., Gidda, S.K., Seay, D., Esnay, N., Kretzschmar, E.K., Cai, Y., Doner, N.M., Greer, M.S., Hull, J.J., Coulon, D., Bréhélin, C., Yurchenko, O., de Vries, J., Valerius, O., Braus, G.H., Ischebeck, T., Chapman, K.D., Dyer, J.M., Mullen, R. (2021). LDIP cooperates with SEIPIN and LDAP to facilitate lipid droplet biogenesis in Arabidopsis.. The Plant Cell. 33 (9) 3076-3103. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab179
  • Cai, Y. (2021). Leading the way out: how a plant myosin facilitates vesicle tethering during exocytosis.. The Plant Cell. 33 (7) 2104-2105. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab111
  • Cai, Y. (2021). Knocksideways in plants: an inducible system for in planta visualization of protein interactions.. The Plant Cell. 33 (4) 1085-1086. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab002
  • Cai, Y. (2020). Lipid Synthesis and Beyond: SAD Fatty Acid Desaturases Contribute to Seed Development.. The Plant Cell. 32 (11) 3386-3387. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00792
  • Cai, Y. (2020). SnRK1-ZmRFWD3-Opaque2: A Nexus of Seed Nutrient Accumulation and Diurnal Cycles.. The Plant Cell. 32 (9) 2671-2672. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00592
  • Greer, M.S., Cai, Y., Gidda, S.K., Esnay, N., Kretzschmar, F.K., Seay, K., McClinchie, K., Ischebeck, T., Mullen, R.T., Dyer, J.M., Chapman, K.D. (2020). SEIPIN isoforms interact with the membrane-tethering protein VAP27-1 for lipid droplet formation.. The Plant Cell. 32 (9) 2932-2950. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.19.00771
  • Cai, Y. (2020). Shaping the Plant Cell Wall: Molecular Characteristics of XOAT1 in Polysaccharide Acetylation.. The Plant Cell. 32 (7) 2075-2076. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00346
  • Cai, Y. (2020). A Closer Look at Acyl-ACPs in Lipid Metabolism.. The Plant Cell. 32 (4) 779-780. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00141
  • Cai, Y. (2020). When to Sleep? CHT7 Is Critical for Nutrient-Dependent Quiescence in Chlamydomonas.. The Plant Cell. 32 (4) 810-811. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.20.00069
  • Stoeckman, A.K., Cai, Y., Chapman, K.D. (2019). iCURE (iterative course-based undergraduate research experience): A case-study.. 47 (5) 565-572. https://doi.org/10.1002/bmb.21279
  • Cai, Y., Whitehead, P., Chappell, J., Chapman, K.D. (2019). Mouse lipogenic proteins promote the co-accumulation of triacylglycerols and sesquiterpenes in plant cells.. Planta. 250 79-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-019-03148-9
  • Pyc, M., Cai, Y., Gidda, S.K., Yurchenko, O., Park, S., Kretzschmar, F.K., Ischebeck, T., Valerius, O., Braus, G.H., Chapman, K.D., Dyer, J.M., Mullen, R.T. (2017). Arabidopsis lipid droplet-associated protein (LDAP) - interacting protein (LDIP) influences lipid droplet size and neutral lipid homeostasis in both leaves and seeds.. Plant Journal. 92 1182-1201. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.13754
  • Cai, Y., McClinchie, E., Price, A., Nguyen, T.N., Gidda, S.K., Watt, S.C., Yurchenko, O., Park, S., Sturtevant, D., Mullen, R.T., Dyer, J.M., Chapman, K.D. (2017). Mouse fat storage-inducing transmembrane protein 2 (FIT2) promotes lipid droplet accumulation in plants.. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 15 (7) 824-836. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.12678
  • Ivarson, E., Iven, T., Sturtevant, D., Ahlman, A., Cai, Y., Chapman, K.D., Feussner, I., Zhu, L. (2017). Production of wax esters in the wild oil species Lepidium campestre.. Industrial Crops and Products. 108 (535-542) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2017.07.002
  • Pyc, M., Cai, Y., Greer, M.S., Yurchenko, O., Chapman, K.D., Dyer, J.M., Mullen, R.T. (2017). Turning Over a New Leaf in Lipid Droplet Biology.. Trends in Plant Science. 22 (7) 596-609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2017.03.012
  • Gidda, S.K., Park, S., Pyc, M., Yurchenko, O., Cai, Y., Wu, P., Andrews, D.W., Chapman, K.D., Dyer, J.M., Mullen, R.T. (2016). Lipid Droplet-Associated Proteins (LDAPs) Are Required for the Dynamic Regulation of Neutral Lipid Compartmentation in Plant Cells.. Plant Physiology. 170 (4) 2052-2071. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.15.01977
  • Liu, F., Zhao, Q., Mano, N., Ahmed, Z., Nitschke, F., Cai, Y., Chapman, K.D., Steup, M., Tetlow, I.J., Emes, M.J. (2016). Modification of starch metabolism in transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana increases plant biomass and triples oilseed production.. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 14 (3) 976-985. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.12453
  • Cai, Y., Goodman, J.M., Pyc, M., Mullen, R.T., Dyer, J.M., Chapman, K.D. (2015). Arabidopsis SEIPIN Proteins Modulate Triacylglycerol Accumulation and Influence Lipid Droplet Proliferation.. The Plant Cell. 27 (9) 2616-2636. https://doi.org/10.1105/tpc.15.00588

Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research

    Grant - Research

  • Cai, Y. (Co-Principal), Chapman, K.D. (Principal), "Elucidating the Cellular Machinery for Storage Lipids in Plants.," Federal, $635026 Funded. (2023 - 2026).
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Overall
Summative Rating		 Challenge and
Engagement Index		 Response Rate

out of 5
out of 7		 %
of
students responded
  • Overall Summative Rating (median):
    This rating represents the combined responses of students to the four global summative items and is presented to provide an overall index of the class’s quality. Overall summative statements include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 5 = Excellent, 3 = Good, and 1= Very poor):
    • The course as a whole was
    • The course content was
    • The instructor’s contribution to the course was
    • The instructor’s effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was
  • Challenge and Engagement Index:
    This rating combines student responses to several SPOT items relating to how academically challenging students found the course to be and how engaged they were. Challenge and Engagement Index items include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 7 = Much higher, 4 = Average, and 1 = Much lower):
    • Do you expect your grade in this course to be
    • The intellectual challenge presented was
    • The amount of effort you put into this course was
    • The amount of effort to succeed in this course was
    • Your involvement in course (doing assignments, attending classes, etc.) was
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