Loading...
Today, the journal Science published a blockbuster research paper led by my good friend Cheng Gong from Tsinghua University School of Medicine, his former student and colleague Zhu Yibin, and Wang Jinglin from the Yunnan Academy of Animal Science and Veterinary Sciences.
On April 19, 2024, Cheng Gong and his team Science paper
This is a very interesting finding. They isolated 55 species of bacteria from the intestines of mosquitoes in the wild in Yunnan and found that one of them was Rosenbergiella — let's call it Rosenbergiella — and if mosquitoes had this bacterium in their intestines, they were not susceptible to Zika or dengue infection. They cracked the mechanism: the bacteria can make the mosquito's intestines acidic, making the virus more easily inactivated.
They caught mosquitoes from four places in Yunnan and found that mosquitoes in Wenshan and Pu'er had more Rosenbergia in their intestines, while mosquitoes in Xishuangbanna and Lincang had fewer Rosenberg bacteria in their intestines. This corresponds to the fact that Wenshan and Pu'er have reported fewer cases of dengue fever than Xishuangbanna and Lincang. The mosquitoes in Wenshan and Pu'er are not so poisonous, which may be related to the special bacteria in the intestines!
This research is amazing, and it deserves to be featured in Science!
Prior to this, Cheng Gong and his team had achieved very good results in the field of mosquito symbiotic microorganisms, with two representative achievements.
The first was on December 27, 2018, when Cheng Gong and his team published an article in Cell Host and Microbe, which found that Serratia marcescens in mosquitoes can damage the intestinal barrier and promote the infection and spread of the virus. (The article was also written by Zhu Yibin, who was in his final year as a PhD in Cheng's lab.) ）
December 27, 2018, Cheng Gong Wa 团队Cell Host and Microbe论文
The second is that on June 30, 2022, Cheng Gong led the team to publish his first Cell article after returning to China to work, revealing why rats and humans are more attracted to mosquitoes after being infected with mosquito-borne viruses: mosquito-borne viruses inhibit a special antimicrobial peptide, resulting in a large number of a type of bacillus growing on the surface of the skin, and this bacillus will secrete a large amount of acetophenone, a mosquito-attracting thing.
On June 30, 2022, Cheng Gong and his team Cell paper
Coupled with the article he and his team published in Nature in 2017 on how Zika virus enhances infectivity in mosquitoes, Cheng Gong has now collected all CNS articles, which is very remarkable!
May 25, 2017, Gong Cheng and his co-authors Nature paper
I still vividly remember the first time I went to Cheng Gong's laboratory at Tsinghua University, a small room and a small room, it really felt very crowded, and many places were also very low, and you had to be a cat to get in. But in such a seemingly humble environment, he and his team have made top-notch research results.
On November 5, 2023, I took my baby to visit Tsinghua Chenggong Laboratory
The last time I went there was last year when I took my kids to see how they raised mosquitoes. I saw that their laboratory had been renovated and the conditions had improved a lot, but it was not particularly spacious and bright.
I sincerely hope that Tsinghua University, society, and the country will show more concern and support for such young and promising scientists.
Congratulations again to Cheng Gong!
Conflict of Interest Statement
Conflict of Interest Statement
He is the co-founder and executive editor of iMeta journal, holds positions in professional institutions such as national societies, and serves as a university chair professor.
However, readers should be reminded that the company he founded and mainly works in, Beijing Warm Heart Biotechnology Research Institute Co., Ltd., is a for-profit commercial organization, and he also serves as chairman and director of this company and a number of affiliated companies.
In addition, he is also a consultant or consultant officially employed by Shanghai Pharmaceutical, H&H Group, Mengniu Group and other enterprises, and provides strategy, product and other consulting services for many other enterprises.
Mr. Warmheart benefits from the above-mentioned for-profit organizations through shareholdings, salaries, dividends and consulting fees, and although he always wants to uphold a scientific, objective and impartial attitude at the time of writing, the following conflicts of interest may inevitably exist due to the above reasons:
- Loss of rigor, objectivity, and professionalism in science communication due to commercial motives.
- Emphasis is placed on the products and services of interested companies and other potential options are neglected.
- Emphasize the strengths of the stakeholder companies and downplay their weaknesses.
In order to avoid and reduce the non-objectivity caused by conflicts of interest, Mr. Warmheart will take the following measures:
- This statement is made public, clearly indicating the relationship between the interested companies.
- Evaluate all organizations, including stakeholder companies, objectively and fairly.
- Readers are encouraged to make criticisms and suggestions and to improve them.
When reading Mr. Warmheart's articles, readers should pay attention to understanding his business background, and maintain rational judgment and critical thinking.