Xuelu Wang (center) with team members in the lab.
"Messenger" protein cop chart. The illustrations in this article are provided by the interviewees
Dahe Network News (Henan Daily reporter Shi Xiaoqi correspondent Wang Lei Zhao Xiaofang) The scientific research team of our province has achieved important results in the field of original innovation - on October 1, the internationally renowned journal "Science" published the latest research results of the Wang Xuelu team of Henan University. This achievement was led by the scientific research team of our province and published in the first research paper in Science, which is a major breakthrough in the field internationally.
Legumes form nodules by symbiotic with rhizobia and symbiotic nitrogen fixation in them is the largest natural source of nitrogen available to organisms in nature, influencing yield formation and carbon cycling in agriculture and natural ecosystems. Why are photosynthetic products and light signals necessary for legume rhizobia development and symbiotic nitrogen fixation? This question has long been an unsolved mystery in the field of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes. The research results of Wang Xuelu's team revealed the light-needing mechanism of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes, proving that photosynthetic products and light signals play different roles in regulating the process of symbiotic nodules; at the same time, the aboveground part of soybeans feels a certain intensity of light, and through the "messenger" in the body (the new protein found in the paper), the light signal from the ground is transmitted to the root of soybean, and this "messenger" is the key factor to promote the development of underground nodules of legumes. The results of this research provide a unique idea and means for designing new plants that can also coexist and fix nitrogen in low light or dark places.
In October 2019, under the support of the first-class discipline of biology of Henan University, the State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement jointly established by the province and the ministry was approved for establishment. In December of the same year, after Joining Henan University, Professor Wang Xuelu formed a research team of "Biological Nitrogen Fixation and Leguminous Biology" based on the major strategic needs of national agricultural development and the research direction of the Key Laboratory. In less than two years, the team has introduced 7 outstanding young teachers from the United States and the United Kingdom to join; attracted 10 outstanding doctoral graduates from Wuhan University, Kyoto University and other universities in Japan to engage in postdoctoral research; and hired famous domestic soybean breeders as part-time professors. The team has published more than 10 papers in top or famous international journals such as Science, Na-turePlants and MolecularPlant, and 9 soybean varieties under review, and has become an international leading innovation team in the field of frontier basic biological research and modern biological breeding of biological nitrogen fixation and leguminous plants.
Wang Xuelu said: "We will aim at the international academic frontier, focus on the major strategic needs of the country and the development of modern agriculture in the Huang-Huai-Hai region, take first-class topics as the traction, attract and gather outstanding talents, and build an outstanding innovation team with strong innovation vitality, leading the academic frontier, working hard and meeting local needs in the field of biological nitrogen fixation and leguminous biology, and make due contributions to building a national innovation highland and serving local economic and social development." ”