Research Interest：
Our research fields include:
a. Molecular mechanism of insect epidermis and exoskeleton formation;
b. Structural biology study and inhibitor design of key proteins of agricultural pests’ development;
c. Molecular regulation of agricultural pests and plant diseases.
LeiChen （chenlei@caas.cn）
Pengtao Yuan (yuanpengtao@caas.cn)
Yanwei Duan
YaduoZhang（zyduo8@126.com）
Peibo Liang (13098794583@163.com)
Lei Chen, postdoctoral researcher, currently works at the Ecological Genomics Research Center of the Agricultural Genomics Institute at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He has long been focused on the development of new targets and inhibitors related to chitin in agricultural pests and diseases. During his doctoral studies, he deciphered the crystal structure of the lepidopteran-specific chitinase h and developed a series of highly active small molecule inhibitors, accumulating extensive technical expertise in the field of chitin-targeted drug research.
His research primarily revolves around the insect exoskeleton and encompasses the following three areas:
1. Discovery and application of new targets for the control of agricultural pests and diseases.
2. Screening and structural modification of green pesticide lead molecules.
3. Design and application of novel biomimetic materials inspired by insect exoskeletons.
Dr. Feng He is engaged in molecular mechanism on plant-pathogen interactions. His work is to reveal how rice resistance-related genes activate immune signaling pathways, and how Magnaporthe oryzae effectors interferes with the rice immune system. Among which, post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation and ubiquitination, play a crucial role in this process. Some works are published on PLoS Pathogens, Rice, Current Protocols in Plant Biology, and Trends in Plant Science.
Dr. Pengtao Yuan received his Ph.D. in Pesticide Science from East China University of Science and Technology in September 2021. Since then, he has joined the Shenzhen Institute of Agricultural Genomics at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. His primary interest is the design and synthesis of new eco-friendly insect growth regulators. He has designed and synthesized several nanomolar-level chitinase inhibitors. Currently, his interest mainly lies in designing inhibitors targeting the chitinase of corn borer, as well as inhibitors targeting chitin deacetylase pst_13661. Both types of inhibitors can be used for pest control and disease control in agriculture, respectively.
Dr. Weixing Zhu joined the Agricultural Genomics Institute, Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2023. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from Dalian University of Technology in China. Dr. Zhu has been interested in chitin biosynthesis and degradation in insects. As Chitin, a major structural component of the insect's extracellular matrix, is crucial for their growth and development.The key enzymes related to chitin biosynthesis and degradation are potential green targets for pest control. By using genetic, biochemical, and structural methods to understand their functional and structural properties, it helps us to develop new molecular inhibitors and strategies to control agricultural pests effectively.
Dr. Yanwei Duan joined Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2022. He is dedicated to the discovery of pest control targets related to chitin hydrolysis and synthesis，and was the first to identify proteins in insect system that interacts with the chitin synthase in the insect cuticle and influences the process of chitin synthesis. His related works were published in highly-ranked journals, such as The Journal of Biological Chemistry and Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and promoted the development of research on pest control by targeting cuticles.
Dr. Yaduo Zhang received her Ph.D degree in plant pathology from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.She joined Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in August, 2023. Her research is mainly on genetic diversity of the pathogen of verticillium wilt, including identification of reproductive mode and analysis of cell fusion mechanism.
Peibo Liang, Postdoctoral Fellow, has a long-standing interest in the design and mechanism of action of glycosyl inhibitors of enzymes involved in chitin metabolism. Focusing on the design, synthesis and mechanism of action of glycosylcarbene inhibitors targeting Asian corn borer chitin-degrading enzymes and phytopathogenic fungal chitin deacetylases, he is dedicated to the discovery of highly active green pesticide candidate molecules with the active backbone of natural glycosyl compounds to achieve precise, efficient and green prevention and control of agricultural pests. He has published three SCI papers as first author in Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Bioorganic medicinal chemistry and Carbohydrate Research. He is second inventor on two patents.
Zhuozhen Zeng (zengzhzh117@outlook.com)