Background
Yang, Shang Fa was born on November 10, 1932 in Tainan, Taiwan. Arrived in United States, 1959, naturalized, 1971. Son of Chian-Zuei and En-Liu (Lu) Yang.
楊祥發
Yang, Shang Fa was born on November 10, 1932 in Tainan, Taiwan. Arrived in United States, 1959, naturalized, 1971. Son of Chian-Zuei and En-Liu (Lu) Yang.
Bachelor of Science, National Taiwan University, 1956, Master of Science, 1958. Doctor of Philosophy, Utah State University, 1962. Research associate University of California, Davis, 1962-1963, New York University Medical School, New York City, 1963-1964, University of California-San Diego, Louisiana Jolla, 1964-1965.
Assistant biochemist University of California-Davis, 1966-1969, associate biochemist, 1969-1974, professor, biochemist, 1974-1994, chairman, 1989-1990, professor emeritus, 1994.
Professor Hong Kong U. Science & Technology, 1994-1996. Vice president.Academia Sinica, Taipei, 1997.
Visiting professor U. Konstanz, Germany, 1974, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 1983, U. Cambridge, England, 1983, Nagoya University, Japan, 1988-1989. Association editor Journal Plant Growth Regulation, 1981-1994.
Member editorial board Plant Physiology, 1974-1992, Plant Cell Physiology, 1987-1991, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 1988-1993, Acta Phytophysiologica Sinica, 1988.
He earned his bachelor"s and master"s degrees in agricultural chemistry at the National Taiwan University. After completing his postdoctoral research, he joined the faculty University of California, Davis in 1966. Shang Fa Yang was known for his research that unlocked the key to prolonging freshness in fruits and flowers.
His research focused on how plants produce ethylene, which is important in regulating a host of plant functions, ranging from seed germination to fruit ripening.
He studied the pathway of ethylene biosynthesis and proved unequivocally the central role of methionine as a precursor of ethylene. He discovers that this process is cyclic and therefore receives the name "Yang Cycle".
Ethylene represents one of the five major hormones affecting plant development and maturation. He was the first scientist to report South-adenosylmethionine as an intermediate in methionine conversion to ethylene.
Then, in 1979, he discovered aminocylopropane-1-carboxylic acid (Administrative Committee on Company-ordination) as an intermediate.
His discovery of Administrative Committee on Company-ordination-synthase opened the way to the understanding of the regulating process of ethylene biosynthesis. Shang Fa Yang died on February 12, 2007 in a Davis hospital from complications of pneumonia.
Member of National Academy of Sciences, American Society Plant Physiologists (chairman Western section 1982-1984), American Society Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica.
Married Eleanor Shou-yuan, September 16, 1964. Children: Albert, Bryant.
