Kunming Institute of Zoology

Antibiotic Perturbation and Gut Symbiont Recolonization Affect the Cold Tolerance of Apis cerana

The gut microbiota contributes to host stress tolerance, yet its role in cold adaptation in the Eastern honey bee (Apis cerana) remains poorly understood. Here, A. cerana workers were treated with three antibiotics (tetracycline, streptomycin sulfate, and tylosin) at 50 μg/mL for...

Two Additional New Species of Feihyla Sensu Stricto (Anura, Rhacophoridae) from Yunnan Province, China

Two new species of Feihyla sensu stricto are described based on specimens from western and southwestern Yunnan Province, China. Morphologically, the first new species from western Yunnan can be distinguished from other known species of Feihyla sensu stricto by the body size, the...

Association of genetic risk, lifestyle, and their interaction with MRI-based brain aging

Individual brain aging is shaped by both genetic and environmental factors, yet their combined influence remains poorly understood. Using multimodal MRI, genomic data, and lifestyle measures from 46,843 participants in the UK Biobank, we developed and validated a multimodal brain...

Virome Diversity and Host-Associated Heterogeneity in Mosquitoes and Biting Midges Across Yunnan, China

Mosquitoes and biting midges harbor diverse viruses, but the factors shaping their viromes remain incompletely understood. We analyzed 35 pooled libraries from seven host groups across 15 locations in Yunnan, China, sampled in June 2025, using total-RNA sequencing, viral annotati...

Field sampling guidelines for sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) research in lacustrine and coastal systems: from field collection to laboratory subsampling

Abstract Sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) has emerged as a powerful proxy for reconstructing past biodiversity and environmental change in lacustrine and coastal systems, yet standardized field guidance remains limited, particularly for researchers working in tropical and coasta...

In Situ Genetic Engineering Facilitates MMP‐9‐Responsive TIMP1 Release Through Proteolytic Cleavage to Boost Diabetic Wound Healing

ABSTRACT Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU), a severe chronic diabetes complication with low healing and high recurrence rates, is a major global health challenge. Overexpression of matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP‐9) and the consequent MMP‐9/TIMP1 (tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1)...

A New Species of Microphysogobio (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from Guangxi Province, Southern China

. We also observed the existence of a peculiar trans-river gene ow in the Pearl River and the Yangtze River populations, and speculated that it was caused by an ancient arti cial canal, the Lingqu Canal, which forming a pathway directly connecting these two rivers.

Transposable elements as evolutionary catalysts of ant macrodiversity

Transposable elements (TEs) are key contributors to genome evolution, yet their macroevolutionary roles in adaptive radiations remain poorly understood, as high-quality genomic resources at sufficient phylogenetic breadth and appropriate comparative methods have been lacking. Her...

Decoupling Ecological and Pathogenic Roles: Helicobacter pylori as a Gastric Hegemon Maintaining Order or Amplifying Dysbiotic Chaos

Abstract Gastric dysbiosis refers to disease-associated alterations in microbial composition and between-individual variability. We postulate that Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori or Hp) exerts a context-dependent ecological effect across the Correa cascade—the histopathological pr...

Neuromotor modules revealed by direct electrical stimulation of the human primary motor cortex

Muscle synergies extracted from multimuscle electromyographic (EMG) signals are widely interpreted as fundamental building blocks of motor control that coordinate groups of muscles during movement. Whether EMG-derived muscle synergies represent genuine neurally encoded modules or...

Nigral DJ-1 gene knockout in tree shrews can induce phosphorylated α-synuclein aggregation and all key phenotypes of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract DJ-1 is a genetic factor associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and altered DJ-1 function has been implicated in PD pathogenesis. However, DJ-1 knockout mice fail to reproduce robust PD-like phenotypes or neuropathology, leaving the contribution of DJ-1 deficiency to...

Cumulative spatial assessment of observed wildlife-vehicle collisions based on indicator species thresholds

Global road network expansion has exacerbated wildlife-vehicle collisions. However, traditional risk assessments predominantly assume a linear relationship between landscape features and observed collision quantities, overlooking the non-linear threshold characteristics of ecolog...

Genomic predisposition is associated with the direction of sex chromosome evolution

Sex chromosome evolution is among the most dynamic genomic innovations in vertebrates, yet why some lineages evolve XY while others evolve ZW remains unclear. Using chromosome-level genomes from 19 geckos, we found that gecko sex chromosomes originated independently from 16 ances...

lncRNAs contribute to caste differentiation as a regulatory layer in ants

Abstract Caste differentiation in ants represents one of the major evolutionary transitions and provides a unique model for studying developmental mechanisms underlying division of labor. Genetically identical individuals follow divergent epigenetically-regulated developmental tr...

Programmable RNA targeting with clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) effector Cas7-11 in zebrafish embryos and mammalian cells

<title>Abstract</title> <bold>Background</bold> The CRISPR/Cas7-11 system is a recently characterized RNA editing tool that exhibits low toxicity, minimal off-target effects, and reduced collateral RNA cleavage compared with existing methods. Although zebrafish and human embryoni...