State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering,
School of Life Sciences,
State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, School of Life Sciences
Letian Xu is an Associate Professor in the School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, China. He received his undergraduate degree from Huazhong Agricultural University (2007-2011), and a Ph.D. from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China. During Ph. D. training, he developed a keen focus on the diversified functions of insect gut bacteria. He continued the relative research as an Assistant Professor at Nankai University (2016-2017), Tianjin, China. Then, as a post-doctoral fellow (2017-2019) in Jiang Zhang’s lab at Hubei University, he studied the role of gut microbiota in RNAi of a leaf beetle. Dr. Xu was then recruited as faculty at Hubei University.
Microbial associations between insect pests and neighboring microbes are ubiquitous in nature and influence all aspects of the host’s physiology, ecology, and evolution. Accumulating studies suggest that a pair-wise or multi-trophic interaction of pests with their neighboring species contributes positively or negatively to insect pest outbreaks, which becomes increasingly complicated under climate change and human intervention. Dr. Xu is interested in the phenotypes of the multi-tropic interactions as well as the behind mechanisms with a special focus on diverse functions of the associated microbes. His overarching goals are (i) to elucidate the multi-tropic interaction phenotypes, (ii) to understand the diverse functions conferred by associated microbes, and (iii) to understand the molecular mechanisms about how specific changes in the microbiota composition that cause a phenotypic difference.
Bacillus thuringiensis cry1C expression from the plastid genome of poplar leads to high mortality of leaf-eating caterpillars.
Tree physiology 09, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 31222266
High-Resolution Profiling of Gut Bacterial Communities in an Invasive Beetle using PacBio SMRT Sequencing System.
Insects Aug, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 31416137
Pine Defensive Monoterpene α-Pinene Influences the Feeding Behavior of Dendroctonus valens and Its Gut Bacterial Community Structure.
International journal of molecular sciences Nov, 2016 | Pubmed ID: 27809267
Bacterial volatile ammonia regulates the consumption sequence of d-pinitol and d-glucose in a fungus associated with an invasive bark beetle.
The ISME journal 12, 2017 | Pubmed ID: 28800134
Repressed Beauveria bassiana infections in Delia antiqua due to associated microbiota.
Pest management science Jan, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 29797399
Gut Bacterial Communities of and Monoterpenes and Carbohydrates of at Different Attack Densities to Host Pines.
Frontiers in microbiology , 2018 | Pubmed ID: 29963021
Comparative analysis of the immune system of an invasive bark beetle, Dendroctonus valens, infected by an entomopathogenic fungus.
Developmental and comparative immunology 11, 2018 | Pubmed ID: 30017857
Gut commensal bacteria in biological invasions.
Integrative zoology 11, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 30811842
Bacteria-Mediated RNA Interference for Management of (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).
Insects Nov, 2019 | Pubmed ID: 31766384
Selection and Validation of Suitable Reference Genes for RT-qPCR Analysis in Apolygus lucorum (Hemiptera: Miridae).
Journal of economic entomology 02, 2020 | Pubmed ID: 31773146
Length-dependent accumulation of double-stranded RNAs in plastids affects RNA interference efficiency in the Colorado potato beetle.
Journal of experimental botany 05, 2020 | Pubmed ID: 31903493
Temporospatial modulation of Lymantria dispar immune system against an entomopathogenic fungal infection.
Pest management science Dec, 2020 | Pubmed ID: 32506667
Symbiotic Bacterium-Derived Organic Acids Protect Larvae from Entomopathogenic Fungal Infection.
mSystems Nov, 2020 | Pubmed ID: 33203688
Metabolic and immunological effects of gut microbiota in leaf beetles at the local and systemic levels.
Integrative zoology May, 2021 | Pubmed ID: 33704889
Variation of gut microbiota caused by an imbalance diet is detrimental to bugs' survival.
The Science of the total environment Jun, 2021 | Pubmed ID: 33736123
Isolation, Identification, and Analysis of Potential Functions of Culturable Bacteria Associated with an Invasive Gall Wasp, Leptocybe invasa.
Microbial ecology Mar, 2021 | Pubmed ID: 33758980
Comparative Analysis of Jakovlev (Hemiptera: Miridae) Immune Responses to Fungal and Bacterial Pathogens.
Frontiers in physiology , 2021 | Pubmed ID: 33815150
Synergistic action of the gut microbiota in environmental RNA interference in a leaf beetle.
Microbiome 05, 2021 | Pubmed ID: 33947455
Plastid Transformation in Poplar: A Model for Perennial Trees.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) , 2021 | Pubmed ID: 34028774