Skip to main content

Jae-Hyung Jeong

Korea University · Agricultural and Biological Sciences

About the Lab

Professor Jae-Hyung Jeong's research lab focuses on advancing bioenergy crop improvement through molecular breeding and genome editing technologies. The lab specializes in enhancing lignocellulosic biomass quality in high-yielding crops like sugarcane and barley by targeting key genes in the lignin biosynthesis pathway, particularly caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT). Using techniques such as RNAi and CRISPR/Cas9, the lab achieves reduced lignin content and improved saccharification efficiency, thereby increasing biofuel yield from both first- and second-generation bioethanol processes. The research emphasizes sustainable biofuel production by optimizing carbon partitioning and overcoming the recalcitrance of plant cell walls.

lignin modificationsugarcane biotechnologyCRISPR/Cas9biofuel cropsmetabolic engineering

Research Overview

Papers
52
Total Citations
1,557
Papers (5y)
22
Primary Field
Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
22total
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Citations per year (5y)
247total
20212022202320242025

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|202 citations·2016
TALEN mediated targeted mutagenesis of the caffeic acid O-methyltransferase in highly polyploid sugarcane improves cell wall composition for production of bioethanol
Je Hyeong Jung, Fredy Altpeter
SJR Q1Plant Molecular BiologyOA

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is a prime crop for commercial biofuel production. Advanced conversion technology utilizes both, sucrose accumulating in sugarcane stems as well as cell wall bound sugars for commercial ethanol production. Reduction of lignin content significantly improves the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into ethanol. Conventional mutagenesis is not expected to confer reduction in lignin content in sugarcane due to its high polyploidy (x = 10-13) and functional redund

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
2
Article|191 citations·2015
Metabolic engineering of sugarcane to accumulate energy‐dense triacylglycerols in vegetative biomass
Janice Zale, Je Hyeong Jung, Jae Yoon Kim, Bhuvan Pathak, Ratna Karan, Hui Liu, Xiuhua Chen, Hao Wu, Jason Candreva, Zhiyang Zhai, John Shanklin, Fredy Altpeter
SJR Q1Plant Biotechnology JournalOA

Elevating the lipid content in vegetative tissues has emerged as a new strategy for increasing energy density and biofuel yield of crops. Storage lipids in contrast to structural and signaling lipids are mainly composed of glycerol esters of fatty acids, also known as triacylglycerol (TAG). TAGs are one of the most energy-rich and abundant forms of reduced carbon available in nature. Therefore, altering the carbon-partitioning balance in favour of TAG in vegetative tissues of sugarcane, one of t

BiochemistryBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
3
Article|180 citations·2012
RNAi suppression of lignin biosynthesis in sugarcane reduces recalcitrance for biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass
Je Hyeong Jung, Walid M. Fouad, Wilfred Vermerris, Maria Gallo, Fredy Altpeter
SJR Q1Plant Biotechnology JournalOA

Sugarcane is a prime bioethanol feedstock. Currently, sugarcane ethanol is produced through fermentation of the sucrose, which can easily be extracted from stem internodes. Processes for production of biofuels from the abundant lignocellulosic sugarcane residues will boost the ethanol output from sugarcane per land area. However, unlocking the vast amount of chemical energy stored in plant cell walls remains expensive primarily because of the intrinsic recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass. W

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
4
Article|162 citations·2017
TALEN‐mediated targeted mutagenesis of more than 100 COMT copies/alleles in highly polyploid sugarcane improves saccharification efficiency without compromising biomass yield
Baskaran Kannan, Je Hyeong Jung, Geoffrey Moxley, Sun‐Mi Lee, Fredy Altpeter
SJR Q1Plant Biotechnology JournalOA

Sugarcane is the world's most efficient feedstock for commercial production of bioethanol due to its superior biomass production and accumulation of sucrose in stems. Integrating first- and second-generation ethanol conversion processes will enhance the biofuel yield per unit area by utilizing both sucrose and cell wall-bound sugars for fermentation. RNAi suppression of the lignin biosynthetic gene caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) has been demonstrated to improve bioethanol production fro

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
5
Article|122 citations·2013
RNA interference suppression of lignin biosynthesis increases fermentable sugar yields for biofuel production from field‐grown sugarcane
Je Hyeong Jung, Wilfred Vermerris, Maria Gallo, Jeffrey R. Fedenko, John E. Erickson, Fredy Altpeter
SJR Q1Plant Biotechnology Journal

The agronomic performance, cell wall characteristics and enzymatic saccharification efficiency of transgenic sugarcane plants with modified lignin were evaluated under replicated field conditions. Caffeic acid O-methyltransferase (COMT) was stably suppressed by RNAi in the field, resulting in transcript reduction of 80%-91%. Along with COMT suppression, total lignin content was reduced by 6%-12% in different transgenic lines. Suppression of COMT also altered lignin composition by reducing syring

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
6
Article|75 citations·2016
Precision breeding for RNAi suppression of a major 4-coumarate:coenzyme A ligase gene improves cell wall saccharification from field grown sugarcane
Je Hyeong Jung, Baskaran Kannan, Hugo Dermawan, Geoffrey Moxley, Fredy Altpeter
SJR Q1Plant Molecular Biology
Plant ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences
7
Article|73 citations·2008
Evolution of non-specific lipid transfer protein (nsLTP) genes in the Poaceae family: their duplication and diversity
Cheol Seong Jang, Won Cheol Yim, Jun-Cheol Moon, Je Hyeong Jung, Tong Geon Lee, Sung Don Lim, Seon Hae Cho, Kwang Kook Lee, Wook Kim, Yong Weon Seo, Byung-Moo Lee
SJR Q2Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Plant ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences
8
Article|66 citations·2021
Improving lignocellulosic biofuel production by CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated lignin modification in barley
Jae Hoon Lee, Hyo Jun Won, Phuong Hoang Tran, Sun‐Mi Lee, Ho‐Youn Kim, Je Hyeong Jung
SJR Q1GCB BioenergyOA

Abstract Barley is a major cereal crop with a wide ecological range, and its lignocellulosic residues have the potential to be used as a feedstock for various purposes, including biofuel production. Lignocellulosic biomass is an abundant renewable source of carbon energy. However, its heterogeneous properties and intrinsic recalcitrance caused by cell wall lignification have lowered the biorefinery efficiency. The reduced lignin content and/or altered lignin structure have been desirable traits

Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
9
Article|58 citations·2020
Recent advances and future directions in plant and yeast engineering to improve lignocellulosic biofuel production
Ja Kyong Ko, Jae Hoon Lee, Je Hyeong Jung, Sun‐Mi Lee
SJR Q1Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
10
Article|50 citations·2018
Largely enhanced bioethanol production through the combined use of lignin-modified sugarcane and xylose fermenting yeast strain
Ja Kyong Ko, Je Hyeong Jung, Fredy Altpeter, Baskaran Kannan, Ha Eun Kim, Kyoung Heon Kim, Hal S. Alper, Youngsoon Um, Sun‐Mi Lee
SJR Q1Bioresource Technology
Biomedical EngineeringEngineering
11
Article|42 citations·2021
Exposure to Salinity and Light Spectra Regulates Glucosinolates, Phenolics, and Antioxidant Capacity of Brassica carinata L. Microgreens
Sylvia Maina, Da Hye Ryu, Jwa Yeong Cho, Da Seul Jung, Jai-Eok Park, Chu Won Nho, Gaymary George Bakari, Gerald Misinzo, Je Hyeong Jung, Seung‐Hoon Yang, Ho‐Youn Kim
SJR Q1AntioxidantsOA

(BC) microgreens grown under different light wavelengths on glucosinolates (GLs) and phenolic compounds were evaluated. Quantifiable GLs were identified using ultra-high performance-quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry. Extracts' ability to activate antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)) was evaluated on human colorectal carcinoma cells (HCT116). Furthermore, BC compounds' ability to activate expression of nuclear transcription factor-erythroid 2 related facto

Plant ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences
12
Article|32 citations·2019
Transcriptome analysis of Panax ginseng response to high light stress
Je Hyeong Jung, Ho‐Youn Kim, Hyoung Seok Kim, Sang Hoon Jung
SJR Q1Journal of Ginseng ResearchOA

Transcriptome profiling could be a strategy to comprehensively elucidate the genetic and molecular mechanisms of HL tolerance and susceptibility. This study would provide a foundation for developing breeding and metabolic engineering strategies to improve the environmental stress tolerance of ginseng.

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
13
Article|25 citations·2007
Divergence of Genes Encoding Non-specific Lipid Transfer Proteins in the Poaceae Family
Cheol Seong Jang, Je Hyeong Jung, Won Cheol Yim, Byung-Moo Lee, Yong Weon Seo, Wook Kim
SJR Q1Molecules and CellsOA

The genes encoding non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs), members of a small multigene family, show a complex pattern of expressional regulation, suggesting that some diversification may have resulted from changes in their expression after duplication. In this study, the evolution of nsLTP genes within the Poaceae family was characterized via a survey of the pseudogenes and unigenes encoding the nsLTP in rice pseudomolecules and the NCBI unigene database. nsLTP-rich regions were detected

Plant ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences
14
Article|19 citations·2020
Golden Gate Cloning-Compatible DNA Replicon/2A-Mediated Polycistronic Vectors for Plants
Jae Hoon Lee, Hyo Jun Won, Eunseok Oh, Man‐Ho Oh, Je Hyeong Jung
SJR Q1Frontiers in Plant ScienceOA

The expression of multiple proteins and high-throughput vector assembly system are highly relevant in the field of plant genetic engineering and synthetic biology. Deployment of the self-cleaving 2A peptide that mediates polycistronic gene expression has been an effective strategy for multigene expression, as it minimizes issues in coordinated transgene regulation and trait staking in plants. However, efficient vector assembly systems optimized for 2A peptide-mediated polycistronic expression ar

Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
15
Review|19 citations·2023
Somatic Mutations in Fruit Trees: Causes, Detection Methods, and Molecular Mechanisms
Seunghyun Ban, Je Hyeong Jung
SJR Q1PlantsOA

Somatic mutations are genetic changes that occur in non-reproductive cells. In fruit trees, such as apple, grape, orange, and peach, somatic mutations are typically observed as "bud sports" that remain stable during vegetative propagation. Bud sports exhibit various horticulturally important traits that differ from those of their parent plants. Somatic mutations are caused by internal factors, such as DNA replication error, DNA repair error, transposable elements, and deletion, and external fact

Plant ScienceAgricultural and Biological Sciences

Research Areas

Plant ScienceBiomedical EngineeringMolecular BiologyPharmacologyEnvironmental ChemistryBiochemistry

Dive deeper into Jae-Hyung Jeong's research on Nubint

Open this lab's papers in the app to read with AI, summarize, and cite in your writing.