Yongqi Shao

Area of research

Insect Science · Immunology

Research interest

Research topics from publications: Gut bacterial and fungal communities of the domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori) and wild mulberry-feeding relatives; Gut bacteria of the silkworm Bombyx mori facilitate host resistance against the toxic effects of organophosphate insecticides; Dietary exposure of copper and zinc oxides nanoparticles affect the fitness, enzyme activity, and microbial community of the model insect, silkworm Bombyx mori; Comparative shotgun metagenomic data of the silkworm Bombyx mori gut microbiome; From surviving to thriving, the assembly processes of microbial communities in stone biodeterioration: A case study of the West Lake UNESCO World Heritage area in China; Insect symbionts as valuable grist for the biotechnological mill: an alkaliphilic silkworm gut bacterium for efficient lactic acid production; Gut bacteria of lepidopteran herbivores facilitate digestion of plant toxins; Multiomics analysis reveals the molecular basis for increased body weight in silkworms (Bombyx mori) exposed to environmental concentrations of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics; Contribution of sample processing to gut microbiome analysis in the model Lepidoptera, silkworm Bombyx mori; Probiotic potentials of the silkworm gut symbiont Enterococcus casseliflavus ECB140, a promising L-tryptophan producer living inside the host. Representative work: Bombyx mori, the domesticated silkworm, is of great importance as a silk producer and as a powerful experimental model for the basic and applied research. Similar to other animals, abundant microorganisms live inside the silkworm gut; however, surprisingly, the microbiota of this model insect has not been well characterized to date. Here, we comprehensively characterized the gut microbiota of the domesticated silkworm and its wild relatives. Comparative analyses with the mulberry-feeding moths Acronicta major and Diaphania pyloalis revealed a highly diverse but distinctive silkworm gut microbiota despite thousands of years of domestication, and stage-specific signatures in both total (DNA-ba Organophosphate insecticides that are heavily used in agriculture for pest control have caused growing environmental problems and public health concerns worldwide. Ironically, insecticide resistance develops quickly in major lepidopteran pests, partially via their microbial symbionts. To investigate the possible mechanisms by which