Jinwoo Kim Professor, Ph.D.
Department of Plant Medicine
Institute of Agriculture & Life Science (Basic Science Research Program)
Contact
Tel +82-55-772-1927
Fax +82-55-772-1929
Email jinwoo@gnu.ac.kr
Undergraduate Program
2019-2022 CK, AgroFrontier Leader
Graduate Program
2013-2018 BK21+, Plant Bacteriology
Research Areas
- Cell-Cell Communications in Bacteria
- Molecular Plant Bacteriology & Pathogenesis
- Sociomicrobiology & Multicellular Behavior
Education
- Ph.D., Seoul National University, 2006
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Seoul National University, 2006-07
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Indiana University, 2007-10
Research Description
My group studies the pathogenic lifestyles of plant bacteria, including Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Pantoea ananatis, Pseudomonas fuscovaginae, and Xanthomonas fragariae. Our research aims to characterize the interactions of host plants and pathogenic bacteria at genome-wide levels and identify genes essential for pathogenicity and symptom development. We are interested in the functions and regulation of those genes and subsequently, find functional genes that may confer disease resistance. Studying regulation mechanisms of pathogenicity genes will lead to a new way of controlling bacterial diseases.
We are also investigating bacterial cell-to-cell communications. In the environment, bacteria often have group behavior. We study the social group activities of bacteria by identifying new regulatory networks involved in cell-cell communication, signal molecules for cell-cell communication, and genes involved in its synthesis. We also study how bacterial cell-cell communications are involved in pathological and physiological behaviors.
We use modern biochemical, cell biological, and genetic approaches to gain insight into the signaling used by plant pathogenic bacteria to overcome host resistance.