Chairman of State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding   

Director General of Institute of Vegetables and Flowers (IVF)                     

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS)

No. 12, Zhongguancun South Street,

Haidian District, Beijing 100081; China

Phone: +86-10-82108798 (O), 13311120738 (M/P)

E-mail: zhangyoujun@caas.cn

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Name: Youjun Zhang

Date of Birth: 1968/07/20

Place of Birth: Hunan Province, China

 

EDUCATION

1991.09-1996.07, Ph. D. Entomology, Chinese Agricultural University, Beijing, China

1987.09-1991.07, B. S. Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan, China

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

2019.05-Present, Director General, IVF, CAAS, China

2016.08-2019.05, Deputy Director General, IVF, CAAS, China

2015.08-2016.07, Director of the Scientific Research Department, IVF, CAAS, China

2014.08-2015.07, Director of the Department of Plant Protection, IVF, CAAS, China

2013.01-2013.07, Senior Visiting Scholar, Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, USA

2005.01-2014.08, Professor, IVF, CAAS, China

2001.10-2004.12, Associate Professor, IVF, CAAS, China

1999.10-2001.09, Postdoc Biochemistry, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

1996.07-1999.09, Assistant Professor, IVF, CAAS, China

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Molecular Mechanisms of Insect Resistance to Xenobiotics (Bt toxins, chemical insecticides, plant toxins, etc.)

Molecular Mechanisms of Insect-Plant/Microbe Interactions and Molecular Breeding of Insect-Resistant Vegetables

Development of the Novel Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Strategies (RNAi or CRISPR/Cas9-based insect pest control strategy)

 

AWARDS AND HONORS:

2022, Shennong Leading Talent

2021, Ho Leung Ho Lee Awards of Scientific and Technological Progress

2021, China Agricultural Talent Award

2020, National Innovation Forefront Award

2014, National High-Level Talent Special Support Programs - Leading Talents

2013, National Mid-Youth Technology Innovation Leader of China

2012, Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize

2012, Qiu Shi Outstanding Young Scholar Award

2011, Special Government Allowances of the State Council of China

2010, National Outstanding Science and Technology Research Worker

2010, National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars of China

2009, State Class Persons of National Talents of China

 

MAJOR GRANTS

The Outbreak Mechanism and Control Basis of Major Vegetable Pests, Science Fund for Creative Research Groups of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2023.01-2027.01, 10,000,000 RMB

Detection and molecular mechanism of pesticide resistance in field vegetable pests, Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum, National Natural Science Foundation of China-International (Regional) Personnel Exchange Program, 2022.01-2024.12, 2,000,000 RMB

Chief Scientist Program for Bulk Vegetables, Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System, 2021.01-2025.12, 1,500,000 RMB

Key Technologies for Green and Integrated Pest Management of Major and Emerging Pests in Main Economic Crops, National Key Research and Development Program of China, 2019.05-2022.12, 18,250,000 RMB

Dissection of the Genetic Networks Regulated by MAPK Signaling Pathway of Resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Insecticidal Proteins in Plutella xylostella (L.), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key Project), 2017.01-2021.12, 2,840,000 RMB

Integrative Genomic Analysis of Insecticide Resistance, the Driving Force for the Competitive Displacement of Sweetpotato Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in China, National Natural Science Foundation of China-Key International (Regional) Cooperation & Exchange Program, 2015.01-2019.12, 3,000,000 RMB

Integrative Controlling Technology and Demonstration in Crop Root Maggot Pests, Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest of Ministry of Agriculture, 2013.01-2017.12, 23,580,000 RMB

Agricultural Entomology, National Natural Science Foundation of China-National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, 2011.01-2014.12, 2,000,000 RMB

 

MEMBERSHIP IN SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES

Council Representative, International Society for Horticultural Science

Vice President & Secretary General, Chinese Society for Horticultural Science

Vice President, China Society of Plant Protection

 

EDITORIAL BOARDS

2021-Present, Editor-in-Chief, Horticultural Plant Journal (IF=5.7)

2021-Present, Associate Editor, Entomologia Generalis (IF=5.6)

2024-Present, Associate Editor, Journal of Integrative Agriculture (IF=4.6)

2021-Present, Associate Editor, Pest Management Science (IF=3.8)

2018-Present, Associate Editor, Frontiers in Physiology (IF=3.2)

2025-Present, Editorial Board Member, Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology (IF=4.2)

 

WEBSITES

Chinese Website: https://ivf.caas.cn/rck/zyj/256646.htm

English Website:https://ivf.caas.cn/en/PEOPLE/Professor/1b35953491ab414692e0420a5a09be32.htm

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3508-6695

Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=11440645200

Web of Science: https://www.webofscience.com/wos/author/record/2102740

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ffAFNGEAAAAJ&hl

 

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

1. Jixing Xia^#, Zhaojiang Guo^#, Zezhong Yang^#, Haolin Han, Shaoli Wang, Haifeng Xu, Xin Yang, Fengshan Yang, Qingjun Wu, Wen Xie, Xuguo Zhou, Wannes Dermauw, Ted C. J. Turlings*, Youjun Zhang*. Whitefly hijacks a plant detoxification gene that neutralizes plant toxins. Cell, 2021, 184(7): 1693–1705. (IF₂₀₂₁=66.850, Cover Story, ESI-highly cited paper, received landmark evaluation and key recommendations from Faculty Opinions, selected as the Top 10 Scientific and Technological Advances & News in China and the Top 10 Scientific and Technological Progresses of China in 2022)

2. Zhaojiang Guo^#,*, Liuhong Zhu^#, Zhouqiang Cheng^#, Lina Dong^#, Le Guo^#, Yang Bai^#, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Xin Yang, Wen Xie, Neil Crickmore, Xuguo Zhou, René Lafont, Youjun Zhang*. A midgut transcriptional regulatory loop favors an insect host to withstand a bacterial pathogen. The Innovation, 2024, 5(5): 100675. (IF₂₀₂₂=33.2, Cover Story)

3. Zhaojiang Guo^#,*, Le Guo^#, Jianying Qin^#, Fan Ye^#, Dan Sun^#, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Neil Crickmore, Xuguo Zhou, Alejandra Bravo, Mario Soberón, Youjun Zhang*. A single transcription factor facilitates an insect host combating Bacillus thuringiensis infection while maintaining fitness. Nature Communications, 2022, 13(1): 6024. (IF₂₀₂₂=16.6, recommended by Faculty Opinions)

4. Zhaojiang Guo^#,*, Shi Kang^#, Dan Sun^#, Lijun Gong, Junlei Zhou, Jianying Qin, Le Guo, Liuhong Zhu, Yang Bai, Fan Ye, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Neil Crickmore, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang*. MAPK-dependent hormonal signaling plasticity contributes to overcoming Bacillus thuringiensis toxin action in an insect host. Nature Communications, 2020, 11(1): 3003. (IF₂₀₂₀=14.919, ESI-highly cited paper, selected as the Top 10 Scientific and Technological Progresses of China in 2021)

5. Buli Fu^#, Jinjin Liang^#, Jinyu Hu^#, Tianhua Du^#, Qimei Tan^#, Chao He, Xuegao Wei, Peipan Gong, Jing Yang, Shaonan Liu, Mingjiao Huang, Lianyou Gui, Kui Liu, Xuguo Zhou, Ralf Nauen, Chris Bass*, Xin Yang*, Youjun Zhang*. GPCR–MAPK signaling pathways underpin fitness trade-offs in whitefly. PNAS, 2024, 121(28): e2402407121. (IF₂₀₂₃=9.4)

6. Zhaojiang Guo^#,*, Le Guo^#, Yang Bai^#, Shi Kang, Dan Sun, Jianying Qin, Fan Ye, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Wen Xie, Xin Yang, Neil Crickmore, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang*. Retrotransposon-mediated evolutionary rewiring of a pathogen response orchestrates a resistance phenotype in an insect host. PNAS, 2023, 120(14): e2300439120. (IF₂₀₂₃=9.4, ESI-highly cited paper, 2023 SIP Impact Award)

7. Xin Yang, Shun Deng, Xuegao Wei, Jing Yang, Qiannan Zhao, Cheng Yin, Tianhua Du, Zhaojiang Guo, Jixing Xia, Zezhong Yang, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Fengshan Yang, Xuguo Zhou, Ralf Nauen, Chris Bass*, Youjun Zhang*. MAPK-directed activation of the whitefly transcription factor CREB leads to P450-mediated imidacloprid resistance. PNAS, 2020, 117(19): 10246–10253. (IF₂₀₂₀=11.2)

8. Peng Liang^#, Yang Zeng^#, Jie Ning^#, Xiaojie Wu, Wenlu Wang, Jun Ren, Qingjun Wu, Xin Yang, Shaoli Wang, Zhaojiang Guo, Qi Su, Xuguo Zhou, Ted C.J. Turlings*, Wen Xie*, Youjun Zhang*. A plant virus manipulates both its host plant and the insect that facilitates its transmission. Science Advances, 2025, 11(9): eadr4563. (IF₂₀₂₃=11.7)

9. Zezhong Yang^#, Zhaojiang Guo^#, Cheng Gong^#, Jixing Xia^#, Yuan Hu, Jie Zhong, Xin Yang, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Wenfeng Ye, Baiming Liu, Xuguo Zhou, Ted C. J. Turlings*, Youjun Zhang*. Two horizontally acquired bacterial genes steer the exceptionally efficient and flexible nitrogenous waste cycling in whiteflies. Science Advances, 2024, 10(5): eadi3105. (IF₂₀₂₃=11.7)

10. Xin Yang^#, Xuegao Wei^#, Jing Yang^#, Tianhua Du, Cheng Yin, Buli Fu, Mingjiao Huang, Jingjing Liang, Peipan Gong, Shaonan Liu, Wen Xie, Zhaojiang Guo, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Ralf Nauen, Xuguo Zhou, Chris Bass*, Youjun Zhang*. Epitranscriptomic regulation of insecticide resistance. Science Advances, 2021, 7(19): eabe5903. (IF₂₀₂₁=15.0)

11. Yuan Hu^#, Cheng Gong^#, Zezhong Yang^#, Haolin Han, Tian Tian, Xin Yang, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Xuguo Zhou, Ted C. J. Turlings*, Zhaojiang Guo*, Youjun Zhang*. Functional divergence of plant-derived thaumatin-like protein genes in two closely related whitefly species. Advanced Science, 2025, 2502193. (IF₂₀₂₃=14.3)

12. Cheng Gong^#, Zhaojiang Guo^#, Yuan Hu^#, Zezhong Yang^#, Jixing Xia, Xin Yang, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Wenfeng Ye, Xuguo Zhou, Ted C. J. Turlings*, Youjun Zhang*. A horizontally transferred plant fatty acid desaturase gene steers whitefly reproduction. Advanced Science, 2024, 11(10): 2306653. (IF₂₀₂₃=14.3, Frontispiece Paper)

13. Zhaojiang Guo^#,*, Yang Bai^#, Xinyi Zhang^#, Le Guo^#, Liuhong Zhu^#, Dan Sun, Kaiyue Sun, Xudan Xu, Xin Yang, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang, Qingjun Wu, Neil Crickmore, Xuguo Zhou, Youjun Zhang*. RNA m⁶A methylation suppresses insect juvenile hormone degradation to minimize fitness costs in response to a pathogenic attack. Advanced Science, 2024, 11(6): 2307650. (IF₂₀₂₃=14.3, Cover Story)

14. Chao Sun^#, Jinbo Wei^#, Xinyun Gu, Minliang Wu, Meng Li, Yixi Liu, Ningkai An, Kemeng Wu, Shasha Wu, Junqing Wu, Meizhi Xu, Jiachen Wu, Yaling Wang, Daiyin Chao, Youjun Zhang*, Shuang Wu*. Different multicellular trichome types coordinate herbivore mechanosensing and defense in tomato. Plant Cell, 2024, 36(12): 4952–4969. (IF₂₀₂₃=10.0, highlighted by the journal)

     

KEY PATENTS

1. Youjun Zhang, Cheng Gong, Zhaojiang Guo, Yuan Hu, Zezhong Yang. The Δ12 fatty acid desaturase, its encoding gene, and application in the control of Bemisia tabaci. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL202310263575.1, granted on January 28, 2025)

2. Youjun Zhang, Xin Yang, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Baoyun Xu, Wen Xie, Zhaojiang Guo. A mutation site in the gene associated with thiamethoxam resistance in Bemisia tabaci. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL201919528417.8, granted on October 4, 2022)

3. Youjun Zhang, Xin Yang, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Baoyun Xu, Wen Xie, Zhaojiang Guo. The CREB transcription factor of Bemisia tabaci and a method for detecting its resistance or susceptibility to imidacloprid. (Patent no. ZL202010264744.X, granted on April 12, 2022)

4. Youjun Zhang, Jixing Xia, Zhaojiang Guo, Zezhong Yang, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Wen Xie. The phenolic glucoside malonyltransferase gene BtPMaT1 and application of its specific dsRNA in the control of Bemisia tabaci. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL202010287105.5, granted on September 14, 2021)

5. Youjun Zhang, Xin Yang, Wen Xie, Shaoli Wang. The CYP6DZ7 gene associated with thiamethoxam resistance in Bemisia tabaci and its promoter. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL201710109592.4, granted on June 6, 2020)

6. Youjun Zhang, Caihua Shi, Yuting Yang, Jiaxu Cheng, Haolin Han. Method for controlling Bradysia odoriphaga by utilizing high temperatures generated by solar radiation beneath plastic mulching film. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL201610582216.2, granted on April 9, 2019)

7. Youjun Zhang, Caihua Shi, Yuting Yang, Qingjun Wu, Jiaxu Cheng, Haolin Han. A simple method for artificial rearing of Bradysia odoriphaga. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL201610169078.5, granted on March 29, 2019)

8. Youjun Zhang, Zhaojiang Guo, Shi Kang, Xun Zhu, Jixing Xia, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Wen Xie. The application of ABC transporter gene ABCH1 and its specific dsRNA in field control and Bt resistance management of Plutella xylostella. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL201510082575.7, granted on November 28, 2017)

9. Youjun Zhang, Zhaojiang Guo, Shi Kang, Xun Zhu, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Baoyun Xu, Wen Xie. An ABCC3 gene-based detection method and kit for resistance monitor to Bt Cry1Ac toxin in Plutella xylostella. Chinese Patent (2017, patent no. ZL201409012036.0, granted on June 9, 2017)

10. Youjun Zhang, Zhaojiang Guo, Shi Kang, Xun Zhu, Qingjun Wu, Shaoli Wang, Baoyun Xu, Wen Xie. An ABCC2 gene-based detection method and kit for resistance monitor to Bt Cry1Ac toxin in Plutella xylostella. Chinese Patent (Patent no. ZL201409012035.0, granted on February 1, 2017)