The major interests of research in Wang’s lab focus on insect chemical ecology and functional genomics. We hope to make discoveries in fundamental research of entomology and to obtain useful knowledges to develop novel techniques for pest management. Our current research topics are: (1) Mechanism of chemical ecology in insects and developing insect behavior regulators. This is to functionally characterize key chemosensory molecular targets and clarify the mechanisms of olfactory behaviors in insects using omics, neurobiology and structural biology, and then develop novel insect behavior regulators using artificial intelligence and high-throughput screening.(2) Molecular mechanism of RNAi in insects and its application. This is to study the molecular mechanism of RNAi differences among different insects, especially important pest from coleoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera. In the meantime, we develop RNAi pesticides using new technologies including functional genomics, synthetic biology and nanomaterials.
Wang’s Lab has long been engaged in insect chemical ecology and genomics research and currently focus on two topics of interests:（I）to functionally characterize key chemosensory molecular targets and clarify the mechanisms of action in insects using omics, neurobiology and structural biology, and then develop novel insect behavior regulators using artificial intelligence and high-throughput screening. (II) to study the molecular mechanism of RNAi differences among different insects and develop RNAi pesticides using new technologies including functional genomics, synthetic biology and nanomaterials.
The research group has 26 staff members, including 1 PI, 1 associate researcher, 3postdocs, 19 postgraduates and 2 staffs.
Wei Liu (liuwei@caas.cn)
Wei Liu is an associate professor and MSc student supervisor at the Ecological Genomics Research Center. He received his Ph.D. from the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He later served as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Plant Protection of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. His research interests include the mechanisms of chemical communication and control techniques for tephritid fruit flies. He has published 10 peer-reviewed papers and was recognized as a Shenzhen Overseas High-Level Talent in 2021.
Peng Shen(shenpeng@caas.cn)
Tianyang Xu(xutianyang@caas.cn)
Hangwei Liu(liuhangwei2014@163.com)
Xiaolan Liu (liuxiaolan@caas.cn)
Zhongqiang Jia (jiazhongqiang@caas.cn)
Qiuyan Chen (chenqiuyan@caas.cn)
Xiaxuan Zhang (zhangxiaxuan@caas.cn)
Sai Zhang(saizhang2016@163.com )
Tianliang Ji（jitianliang@caas.cn）
Dr. Peng Shen obtained his bachelor's degree from Northeast Agricultural University in 2017, then he pursued his Ph.D. degree in Cell biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences form 2017-2023 under the supervision of Prof. Chuan Zhou. Dr. Shen has published papers as first or corresponding author in journals including Current Biology, Neuroscience bulletin, etc. Now Dr. Shen is a postdoctoral researcher in Wang lab focusing on deciphering neural and molecular mechanisms of mating behavior in fruit fly adults as well as collective behavior of fruit fly larvae.
Tianyang Xu , a native of Shenyang, Liaoning Province, graduated from Northwest A&F University with a bachelor's degree, Shenyang Agricultural University with a master's degree, and China Agricultural University with a doctorate degree.
Dr. Hangwei Liu joined AGIS-CAAS in October 2021, conducting postdoctoral research in the research group led by Professor GuirongWang . His primary focus lies in insect genomics and chemical ecology. Utilizing multi-omics and molecular biology techniques, Dr. Liu aims to unravel the mechanisms of damage caused by agricultural pests, identifying potential targets for control. Currently, he has decoded the genomes and harmful mechanisms of significant agricultural pests, including the green mirid bug, cotton bollworm, armyworm, and fall armyworm. Additionally, he has explored the genomes of beneficial agricultural insects such as dragonflies and mantises. As the first author, Dr. Liu has published 7 SCI papers and one Chinese core paper, contributing to journals like The Innovation, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and Gigasceince.
Liu Xiaolan, received PhD from Henan Agricultural University in 2019, with research interests in insect chemical ecology and neurobiology. During the doctoral period, male Helicoverpa armigera was used as the experimental material, and different types of olfactory neurons in the peripheral and central system were recorded and stained, combined with immunocytochemistry and three-dimensional reconstruction techniques, the neural pathways of male H. armigera in sensing and coding pheromones were revealed at the neural level.
Zhongqiang Jia, graduated from the College of Plant Protection at Nanjing Agricultural University in June 2023. During his Ph.D. studies, the functions of GABA receptors in agricultural pests such as Chilo suppressalis and Spodoptera litura , as well as the mechanism of GABA receptor insecticides. Zhongqiang contributed as a co-author to the publication of 20 SCI papers. In January 2022, Zhongqaing joined the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom for further studies in computational biochemistry. In July 2023, Zhongqiang joined the Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen as a postdoctoral researcher, primarily engaging in the virtual screening and activity identification of insect pheromones based on computational biochemical methods.
Qiuyan Chen received her PhD degree from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2021. She joined AGIS-CAAS in February 2022 as a postdoc researcher.
Xiaxuan Zhang, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, obtained his Ph.D. degree from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in June 2021, and subsequently joined the Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (AGIS) of CAAS as a postdoctoral fellow. He has been engaged in the study of chemical ecology concerning agricultural pests, and has published several papers in various journals including Current Biology, Insect Science, etc. Dr. Zhang presided over the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation and participated in the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
Research direction：Insect chemical ecology
Main research results:
First, through full exploration of sex pheromone receptors in the major invasive pest, Spodoptera frugiperda and two closely related moth species, the molecular and differentiation mechanisms of peripheral olfactory coding was decoded. In addition, mechanisms of sex pheromone recognition and differentiation were in three mirid bug species. Published 5 research articles in top journals of entomology, such as Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Insect Science.
Tianliang Ji, graduated from Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in 2022, with the research focus on the mechanism of RNAi delivery system, which relies on nano-delivery technology and combines the advantages of plant chloroplast genetic engineering. Nanocarriers were used to deliver exogenous pDNA to the chloroplasts of host plants to express dsRNA mediating insect RNAi pathway, so as to achieve the purpose of green control.
Yan Zhang (givemefivezl@163.com)
Bin Li (82101209119@caas.cn)
Qi Wang（915088387@qq.com）
Jie Zhang (jiezhang666@foxmail.com)
Bo Zhang(13045120098@163.com)
Ling Yang (cokewithjuice@163. com)
Bin Gao(gaob1n@163.com)
Zhan Shi(Shizhan0522@163.com)
Leyuan Liu (2495095569@qq.com)
Zhicai Luo (1172644160@qq.com)
Minghuan Yang (3119571399@qq.com)
Rongrong Yang （18718746506@163.com）
Chenhao Liu（liuchenhao98@163.com）
Panpan Zhang (panpanzhang0204@163.com)
Chuanjian Ru (2920907995@qq.com)
Qian Qian (qianqian120224@163.com)
Langcheng Li (756931951@qq.com)
Jiaying Liu (2645269467@qq.com)
Xin Zhu (15228959667@163.com)
Qin Zhou (zhouqin@caas.cn)
Lixin Ma (malixin@caas.cn)