Biography

Born in Yizheng County, Jiangsu Province in November, 1917 and graduated from Horticulture Department, Zhejiang University in 1940, Professor Lu Ji SHI (L.C.Sze) was enrolled in Graduate School of Science, Zhejiang University in 1941. Nurtured by his adviser-Professor Jia Zhen TAN (C.C. Tan), he took a great interest in cytogenetics and published a number of papers on chromosome, thus laying a good foundation for his future research.

Professor SHI went to study at Columbia University, USA in 1946. At first he was a graduate student of the Department of Botany, working on cytogenetics of Zea maize under the guidance of Professor M.M. Rhoades. Later he was transferred to the Department of Zoology. While taking graduate courses, he was research assistant to Professors, F. Schrader and A.W. Pollister in cytology and cytochemistry. In this department he completed his Ph.D. dissertation on chemical embryology under the guidance of Professor L.G. Barth and was conferred the Ph.D. digree in 1951. His dissertation work was concerned with the respiratory gradients of the frog gastrula. He accurately dissected and divided the gastrula into a series of contiguous regions and measured the respiratory activity of each of the regions with Cartesian diver manometry. The results which he obtained clearly demonstrated that the gastrula has two respiratory gradients, namely the animal-vegetal and dorsal-ventral gradients when dry weight is used as reference standard. The verification of these gradients ended the long argument among experimental embryologists. During that period of time, in cooperation with L.G. Barth, he also made investigation on the biochemical gradients of the frog gastrula with ultramicro chemical methods. Morever, he paid attention at the same time to other problems such as the metabolism of amphibian hybrid, DNA synthesis during development etc.

After his return from abroad in June, 1955, Professor SHI worked in the Institute of Experimental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences for a short time. Shortly afterwards, he went to Beijing with Professor Bei Shizhang to organize the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and to set up his own research laboratory. Inspired by the works of bacteria transformation and chromosome studies of B. McClintock, F. Schrader and A.W. Pollister, he proposed the genetic transformation of higher animals and the construction of vertebrate chromosomes as the long-range projects of his laboratory. Perhaps he was one of the first few, if not the first one, who realized that the genetic transformation of higher animals should be done on fertilized eggs rather than on whole animals. While he was trying to import black and albino Axolotls from Russia, using Rana nigromaculata as biological material, he developed techniques of microinjecting DNA and chromatin into the fertilized eggs and made a series of important studies. He first determined the maximum amount of DNA or chromatin which would not interfere in the normal development and tried to find out whether isolated centromeres could be generated from the injected chromatin. One of the results from these studies is that nucleus can be organized from the injected chromatin by the fertilized Rana eggs. More than twenty years later the same finding was independently obtained by several other investigators. At the end of 1958, his research work was suspended due to some unfortunate circumstance. In 1963 he was assigned to organize a new institution, the Beijing Experimental Center of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was dissolved in the middle of the so-called “Culture Revolution”.

Professor SHI formally shifted to the Shanghai Institute of Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1978. He and his wife, Professor Zu Mei NI, formed a research team to restart the study on the vertebrate artificial chromosomes and the genetic transformation of higher animals. In addition, they investigated the proteins of some cellular structures. Since then, they have done a series of studies on the nature of centromeres, the key functional structures of chromosomes: screening the antibodies of kinetochores, developing a separation method for the centromeres, cloning centromeric DNA and cloning telomere DNA. In order to cut the production cost of genetic engineering, in 1985, he proposed using whole domestic animals, especially their mammary glands as bioreactor in stead of mechanical and electric bioreactor. With this idea and in cooperation with other research groups, they have done fairly extensive works on transgenic animals by using rabbit as model. At the same time, using autoimmune antibodies from scleroderma patients, they analysed the proteins of some cellular structures, especially those of chromosome pellicle, and nucleolus. The results from these studies provide a new way for diagnosis of the different types of scleroderma diseases.

Professor SHI has concurrently been Professor in several biological research Institutes of the Academy and Chairman of Department of Life Science and Technology, Zhejiang University, and is concurrently Professor of Fudan University and Hangzhou University. In 1980, he was elected as Member, Division of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He shows great concern about the development of the cause of science in China. Since 1980s, he has taken part in working out some development plan for China's biological science and biotechnology, and evaluating big achievements in science and technology.

From 1978 to 1988, Professor SHI was a member of the 5th and 6th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Professor Lu Ji SHI has been probing deeply in science and has a wide range of knowledge. He is sharp-minded and bold in blazing new trials. Although he is eighty, he still remains active in academic thinking, and he not only gives instructions to the research group, but also often takes part in the experiment directly. He is upright and always seeks truth. He is one of the founders of cell biology and molecular genetics in China.

Selected list of publications (1946-1995) of Professor Lu Ji SHI

1946 LC Sze (Shi L J). Cytological studies on Acrididae: The structure of the X-chromosome in the meiosis of Phlaeoba imfumata. J Mophology 79:113–21.

1953 LC Sze (Shi L J). Respiratory gradients in tubularia. Biological Bulletin 104:109–13.

1953 LC Sze (Shi L J). Respiration of the parts of the Rana pipiens gastrula. Physiological Zool 24:212–23.

1953 LC Sze (Shi L J). Respiration of the parts of the hybrid gastrula Rana pipiens × R. sylvatica. Science 117:479–80.

1953 LC Sze (Shi L J) and LG Barth. Reginal chemical differences in the frog gastrula. Physiological Zoology 24:205–11.

1953 LC Sze (Shi L J). Changes in the amount of deoxyribonucleic acid in the development of Rana pipiens. J Experiment Zoology 122:577–601.

1956 LC Sze (Shi L J). A comparative study on the purine and pyrimidine bases of the embryo DNA and adult liver DNA of Rana pipiens. Acta Biologiae Experimentalis Sinica 5:45–50.

1958 LC Sze (Shi L J), SL Yao, SM Wang, CF Yang, W Hsiang. The effect of the homologous testis deoxyribose nucleoprotein on the development of the Rana nigromaculata eggs. Science Record (New Ser) 2:225–33.

1958 LC Sze (Shi L J), SL Yao, SM Wang, CF Yang, W Hsiang. The effect of the homologous testeis deoxyribose nucleoprotein on the development of the Rana nigromaculata eggs. Science Record (New Ser) (in Chinese) 2:294–300.

1958 LC Sze (Shi L J), SM Wang, CF Yang, SL Yao, LS Guo, TL Wu. The effect of the homologous deoxyribose nucleic acid on the development of the Rana nigromaculata eggs. Scicence Record (New Ser) 2:303–11.

1958 LC Sze (Shi L J), SM Wang, CF Yang, LS Guo, TL Wu. The effect of the homologous deoxyribose nucleic acid on the development of the Rana nigromaculata eggs. Science Record (New Ser) (in Chinese) 2:362–68.

1959 LC Sze (Shi L J), SL Yao, CF Yang, SM Wang. A cytological study on the injected homologous desoxyribose nucleoprotein in the Rana nigromaculata eggs. Science Record (New Ser) 3:149–57.

1959 L C Sze (Shi L J), CF Yang, SL Yao, SM Wang. The effects of deoxyribose nuclease I on the development of Rana nigromaculata. Science Record, (New Ser) 3:308–10.

1959 LC Sze (Shi L J). Nucleic acid and genetics. In: Symposium of 60th anniversary celebration of Peking University, Peking.

1964 LC Sze (Shi L J). Monography: “Quantitative histological technology”. Science Press, Peking.

1980 Shi LJ (LC Sze), Yan YC, Zhang JZ, Mo HY, Lu YQ. The effect of hetrospecific DNA on the development of embryos of Rana nigromaculata. Science in China (in Chinese) (12):1215–8.

1981 Shi LJ (LC Sze), Yan YC, Zhang JZ, Mo HY, Lu YQ. Effect of heterospecific DNA on the development of Rana nigromaculata. Scientia Sinica 24:402–6.

1981 Shi LJ (LC Sze), Zhang JZ, Yan YC, Mao ZC. A comparative study on the basic proteins and ultrastructure of the sperm chromatins from Rana nigromaculata and Bufo bufo asiatics. Acta Biologiae Experimentalis Sinica 14:87–99.

1982 Cheng SY, Lao WD, Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze). Constructions of gene libraries of Rana nigromaculata and Mus musculus with cosmid. Scientia Sinica (Series B) 25:261–7.

1984 Shi LJ (LC Sze). The problem of the kinetochore microtubule formation in higher organism. KEXUE TONGBAO 29:98–9.

1984 Yan YC, L C Sze (Shi L J). The formation of microtubules by the chromatin of the isolated nuclei with broken nuclear membrane. KEXUE TONGBAO 29:100–3.

1984 Ni ZM, Lao WD, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The compartmentation of microtubule proteins in the cells of higher organisms and the formation of kinetochore microtubules. KEXUE TONGBAO 29:104–8.

1984 Shi LJ (LC Sze). The problem of the kinetochore microtubule formation in higher organism. KEXUE TONGBAO (In Chinese) 29 :430.

1984 Yan YC, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The formation of microtubules by the chromatin of the isolated nuclei with broken nuclear membrane. KEXUE TONGBAO (in Chinese) 29:431–3.

1984 Ni ZM, Lao WD, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The compartmentation of microtubule proteins in the cells of higher organisms and the formation of kinetochore microtubules. KEXUE TONGBAO (in Chinese) 29:434–6.

1985 Shi LJ (LC Sze), Ni ZM, Su QX. The demonstration of the spindle fiber attachments in the amphibian liver and sperm nuclei by the sera from scleroderma patients. Scientia Sinica (Series B) 28:1064–9.

1986 Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze), Gu Q. Basic proteins of the growing oocytes and early embryos in Rana nigromaculata and Bufo bufo asiaticus. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica. 18:52–9.

1987 Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze), Su QX, Su LD. Indirect immunofluorescence studies on the spindle fber attachments (SFAs) of several economical animals. Acta Zoologica Sinica 33:297–300.

1987 Ni ZM, Yang Y, Lu SF, Shi LJ (LC Sze), Su LD. The application of autoimmune antinuclear antibodies in the study of cellular structures. KEXUE TONGBAO 23:1839–40.

1987 Shi LJ (LC Sze), Ni ZM, Zhao X, Wang G, Yang Y. Involvoement of a nucleolar component, perichromonucleolin, in the condensation and decondensation of chromosomes. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 84:7953–6.

1987 Ni ZM, Zhao X, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The study of fish centromere with indirect immunofiuorescent assay. KEXUE TONGBAO (in Chinese) 24:1897–8.

1988 Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze), Su QX. The resistibility of spindle fiber attachments to deoxyribonucleas digestion. Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica 20:112–8.

1989 Shi LJ (LC Sze), Ni ZM, Lu SF, Wang G, Qi HL, Su QX. Enrichment of the spindle fiber attachments from mouse liver cell nuclei. Science in China (Series B) 32:816–21.

1989 Shi Lu Ji (L C Sze). Interphasic spindle fiber attachment of higher animals. In: New fronties of Genetics. Edited by Shain-Dow Kung. World Scientific Co. New Jersy p72.

1992 Ni ZM, Shi LJ (L C Sze) et al. Assembly and disassembly of mammalian chromosome pellicle. Cell Research 2:195–201.

1993 Ni ZM, Yi N, Chou Y, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The characteristic of the spindle fiber attachment (SFA) enriched fraction from mouse nuclei. Acta Biologiae Experimentalis Sinica (in Chinese) 26:297–305.

1993 Ni ZM, Yi N, Chou Y, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The characteristic of the spindle fiber attachments (SFAs) enriched fraction from mouse nuclei. Cell Research 3:165–71.

1993 Shi LJ (LC Sze), Guo LH, Ni ZM, et al. Rabbit gene expression system. Acta Genetica Sinica 20:122–34.

1993 Ni ZM, Su LD, Shi LJ (LC Sze), Zhong SP, Cao GT. The localization of the antigens specific to the autoimmune antibodies of scleroderma patients in cellular structures. National Medical Journal of China 73:270–2.

1993 Su LD, Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The relationship between the cellular structure antigens of scleroderma antisera and the clinical features of the patients. National Medical Journal of China 73:658–70.

1994 Yin PH, Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze). Study on the centrosome antiserum from a scleroderma patients. Acta Biologiae Experimentalist Sinica 27:483–95.

1994 Wei Y, Ni ZM, Chou Y, Wu L, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The study of metaphasic chromosome pellicle. Acta Biologiae Experimentalist Sinica 27:505–13.

1994 Yi N, Lin YK, Sang Y J, Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze). Fluroscent in situ hybridization of enriched SFA-DNA on pachytene chromosomes in mouse. Acta Biologiae Experimentalis Sinica 27:515–21.

1995 Sang Y J, Mo XQ, Ni ZM, Shi LJ (LC Sze). The molecular cloning of mouse centromeric DNA (SFADNA). Acta Biologiae Experimentalis Sinica 28:409–13.