Jianwei Li

2008 – 2013, Dr. nat. rer., University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany.

2004 – 2007, M.Sc., Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, P.R. China.

2001 – 2004, B.Sc., Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, P.R. China.

Fundamental Efforts to Develop Novel Biotechnological Approaches in Pest Management Applications against Coleoptera:

Transcriptomic Exploration of the Chemical Defense Mechanism in the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum

Chemical defense is one of the most important traits, which endow insects the ability to conquer a most diverse set of ecological environments. Chemical secretions are used for defense against anything from vertebrate or invertebrate predators to prokaryotic or eukaryotic parasites or food competitors. Tenebrionid beetles are especially prolific in this category, producing several varieties of substituted benzoquinone compounds.
In order to get a better understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of defensive secretions, we performed RNA sequencing in a newly emerging insect model, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). By performing transcriptomic library subtraction and functional analyses, different genes were found to be involved in either quinone or alkene biosynthesis, which can be potentially used to develop new approaches to manage coleopteron pest, or provide solutions to the key steps of developing bio-renewable fuels.