Research Progress

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  Plateau pika holds “umbrella” for conservation of alpine grassland ecosystem under climate change

  How species cope with the on-going climate change is critical for avoiding an exacerbated loss of biological diversity .Studies of the interaction between ecological keystone species and those species that co-evolve with them can help the community to implement better-informed conservation policies for the future .Climate adaptation , dispersal with adaptation , habitat t suitability and landscape connectivity may act alone ( blue arrows ) or r interact with other processes ( red arrows ) to mitigate risks caused by y the climate change .

  Aug 14, 2023
• From Sea to Mountain: Legend of a Terrestrial Crustacean

  The prestigious Science Advances journal published a paper entitled “ Marine-montane transitions coupled with gill and genetic convergence in extant crustacean ” ？ on June 23 , 2023 .To investigate the marine-terrestrial transition and the resultant biological adaptations , the researchers studied a group of small crustaceans called talitrids found in various regions and habitats , including those living in the ocean .

  Jun 25, 2023
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  Researchers identify a novel role of RNA m6A modification in maintaining tissue homeostasis during primate aging

  As the most prevalent chemical modification on eukaryotic mRNAs , N6 - methyladenosine ( m6A ) is dynamically and reversibly regulated by corresponding methyltransferases ( writers ) , binding proteins ( readers ) and demethylases ( erasers ) .Why do we need such sophisticated regulation ? Imagine the cells in our body as a bustling city , with m6A acting as a versatile traffic controller , guiding the flow of information — RNA , for its splicing , transport , stability , translation .

  Apr 11, 2023
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  Aphid Salivary Protein Promote Virus Infection in Plants

  The risk for pandemic diseases caused by arboviruses is rising as the dispersal rate of their arthropod vectors increases .During probing and feeding of arthropod vectors , vector-borne viruses are delivered into vertebrate/plant hosts together with the vector ’ s saliva by stylet injection .In a new study entitled “ salivary carbonic anhydrase II in winged aphid morph facilitates plant infection by viruses ” published on March 28 in PNAS , a research group led by Professor SUN Yucheng of the Institute of Zoology .

  Mar 29, 2023
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  Scientists Discover Rare Superfast Muscles in Mouse Legs

  You might think that only DC Comics superhero The Flash could run at a speed of 200 strides per second. But in the animal world， special muscles—called “superfast muscles”—can move as fast as Barry Allen.

  Feb 05, 2023
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  Highly Social Mammals Live Longer than Solitary Species

  Why is there a 100-fold variation in longevity among mammalian species? A study led by Prof. ZHOU Xuming from the Institute of Zoology (IOZ) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has answered this question from the perspective of sociality.

  Feb 02, 2023
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  The enemies within: endogenous retroviruses and programmed aging

  The co-option between viruses and humans plays important roles during human evolution. Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), belonging to long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons, are a relic of ancient retroviral infection, fixed in the genome during evolution, comprising about 8% of the human genome. As a result of evolutionary pressure, most human ERVs (HERVs) accumulate mutations and deletions. Moreover, these enemies from ancient times are strictly repressed by host mechanisms such as epigenetic regulation. On the other hand, cellular senescence is an important hallmark of aging and aging-related diseases, during which, programmed epigenetic alterations play important roles. However, can endogenous retroviruses, or the enemies within, escape host surveillance during aging? And, if so, will they set the path to the grave of the cell or even the whole organism?

  Jan 07, 2023
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  Study Explains Formation of Rich Mammal Diversity in Asia

  Asia is home to a great many species as well as 14 of the globe’s 36 biodiversity hotspots. Its present biodiversity is assumed to be linked to diverse Cenozoic events, including very active mountain building and climatic changes. However, previous studies exploring the origin and timing of Asian faunas have mainly come from analysis at taxonomic or geographic scales and are too limited to offer a comprehensive view of biological evolution in this complex region.

  Nov 29, 2022
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  Researchers identify Ku proteins as new co-sensors of cyclic GMP-AMP synthase

  The initiation of the innate immune responses relies on the detection of different microbes by multiple pattern recognition receptors. Among these receptors, cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) has been identified as a major and universal cytosolic DNA sensor that is independent of specificity of DNA sequence and/or cell type. However, previous studies have suggested that the binding affinity of cGAS to DNA is relatively low, how the low binding affinity between cGAS and DNA still efficiently mediates the innate immune responses remains largely unknown.

  Sep 07, 2022
• Researchers Identify Key Factor in Exosome-mediated Viral Transmission from Insects to Plants

  Researchers led by Prof. CUI Feng from the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have identified a saliva protein, exportin 6, that acts as a vehicle for transporting plant virions into exosomes, thus overcoming the barrier of insect salivary glands to horizontal transmission.

  Sep 05, 2022