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Changfu Jia

Ph.D candidate (2024 fall)
Zoology,
University of British Columbia
changfu@zoology.ubc.ca


About Me

I recieved my Bachelor degree from Sichuan Agricultrual Unviersity. Then I moved to Sichuan University and completed my master study in the lab of Jing Wang and Jianquan Liu. My master research primarily focused on the gene expression and regulation changes in the rediploidization of a recent Polyploid, Orychophragmus violaceus.

In the later year after my graduation of master, I was supported as a Research Assistant by Jing Wang to keep studying WGD and finish my master work.

Currently, I pursued my Ph.D journey at University of British Columbia (UBC) in September 2024, working in the lab of Judith Mank. My research centers on the evolution of Y chromosomes, with a particular focus on guppy Y chromosomes after recombination ceased with their X homologues. I am especially interested in the genetic mechanisms of recombination and in how recombination is shaped by sex and temperature. I also study the evolutionary origin of a Texim–Helitron complex located at the strongest GWAS peak on the guppy Y chromosome.

More broadly, I aim to understand the remarkable diversity of guppy Y chromosomes by using trio-binning to develop a pan-Y framework and identify Y-linked variants associated with male color pattern variation. In parallel, I study Y chromosome evolution in experimentally selected beetle lines and morph-specific Y chromosome evolution in Poecilia wingei.

I am also broadly interested in the functional roles of transposable elements, particularly how post-WGD TE expansion drives functional innovation in polyploids and how TEs shape the evolution of Y chromosomes.

Research Interests

Experience

Publications

#2026

Shi T#, Long T#, Wu J#, Zeng X, Zhu Y, Jia C, Zhou X, Feng J, Wang Z, Dan X, Wang J* (2026). Dynamic reorganization of three-dimensional genome architecture during Populus diversification. Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Heng Liang, Fuyu Ye, Xiuxiu Sun, Chunmei Wang, Jiali Chen, Tengfei Xia, Shiling Feng, Yidan Wang, Changfu Jia, Xinbo Wu, Wenting Zhang, Huasha Qi, Jian Wang, Daojun Zheng (2026) Analysis of metabolomics and transcriptomics of Camellia drupifera seeds during maturation provides new insights into bioactive compound biosynthesis. Journal of Future Foods

#2025

Qiang Lai, Zeng Wang, Changfu Jia, Xiner Qumu, Rui Wang, Zhipeng Zhao, Yao Liu, Yukang Hou, Jianquan Liu, Par K Ingvarsson, Jing Wang (2025) Evolutionary History and Genomic Consequences of Polyploidization in Natural Populations of Orychophragmus taibaiensis. Horticulture Research

Wouter van der Bijl, Jacelyn J. Shu, Versara S. Goberdhan, Linley M. Sherin, Changfu Jia, María Cortázar-Chinarro, Alberto Corral-López, Judith E. Mank (2025) Deep learning reveals the complex genetic architecture of a highly polymorphic sexual trait. Nature Ecology&Evolution

#2024

Changfu Jia, Qiang Lai, Yiman Zhu, Jiajun Feng, Xuming Dan, Yulin Zhang, Zhiqin Long, Jiali Wu, Zeng Wang, Xiner Qumu, Rui Wang, Jing Wang (2024) Intergrative metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses reveal the potential regulatory mechanism of unique dihydroxy fatty acid biosynthesis in the seeds of an industrial oilseed crop Orychophragmus violaceus. BMC genomics 25: 29

Tingting Shi, Xinxin Zhang, Yukang Hou, Changfu Jia, Xuming Dan, Yulin Zhang, Yuanzhong Jiang, Qiang Lai, Jiajun Feng, Jianju Feng, Tao Ma, Jiali Wu, Shuyu Liu, Lei Zhang, Zhiqin Long, Liyang Chen, Nathaniel R Street, Pär K Ingvarsson, Jianquan Liu, Tongming Yin, Jing Wang (2024) The super-pangenome of Populus unveil genomic facets for its adaptation and diversification in widespread forest trees. Molecular Plant

#2023

Changfu Jia, Yukang Hou, Qiang Lai, Yuling Zhang, Rui Wang, Jianquan Liu, Jing Wang (2023) A reference genome and its epigenetic landscape of potential Orychophragmus violaceus, an industrial crop species. BioRxiv

Liyang Chen, Yuanzhong Jiang, Tingting Shi, Changfu Jia, Zhiqin Long, Xinxin Zhang, Yupeng Sang, Jianquan Liu, Jing Wang (2023) Chromosomal-level genome assembly of Populus davidiana BioRxiv

#2022

Yupeng Sang, Zhiqin Long, Xuming Dan, Jiajun Feng, Tingting Shi, Changfu Jia, Xinxin Zhang, Qiang Lai, Guanglei Yang, Hongying Zhang, Xiaoting Xu, Huanhuan Liu, Yuanzhong Jiang, Pär K Ingvarsson, Jianquan Liu, Kangshan Mao, Jing Wang (2022) Genomic insights into local adaptation and future climate-induced vulnerability of a keystone forest tree in East Asia. Nature communications 13: 6541

Shuyu Liu, Lei Zhang, Yupeng Sang, Qiang Lai, Xinxin Zhang, Changfu Jia, Zhiqin Long, Jiali Wu, Tao Ma, Kangshan Mao, Nathaniel R Street, Pär K Ingvarsson, Jianquan Liu, Jing Wang (2022) Demographic History and Natural Selection Shape Patterns of Deleterious Mutation Load and Barriers to Introgression across Populus Genome. Molecular Biology and Evolution 39(2): msac008

Yukang Hou, Qi Lu, Jianxun Su, Xing Jin, Changfu Jia, Lizhe An, Yongke Tian, Yuan Song (2022) Genome-Wide Analysis of the HDAC Gene Family and Its Functional Characterization at Low Temperatures in Tartary Buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum). International Journal of Molecular Sciences 39(2):2022; 23(14):7622