Hu Li

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at China Agricultural University

After decades of debate, a mostly satisfactory resolution of relationships among the 11 recognized holometabolan orders of insects has been reached based on nuclear genes, resolving one of the most substantial branches of the tree of life, but the relationships are still not well established with mitochondrial genome data. The main reasons have bee...

Hemiptera, the largest non-holometabolous order of insects, represents approximately 7% of metazoan diversity. With extraordinary life histories and highly specialized morphological adaptations, hemipterans have exploited diverse habitats and food sources through approximately 300 Myr of evolution. To elucidate the phylogeny and evolutionary histor...

Organelle genome fragmentation has been found in a wide range of eukaryotic lineages; however, its use in phylogenetic reconstruction has not been demonstrated. We explored the use of mitochondrial (mt) genome fragmentation in resolving the controversial suborder-level phylogeny of parasitic lice (order Phthiraptera). There are approximately 5000 s...

The mass application of whole-mitogenome sequencing has great potential for resolving complex phylogeographic patterns that cannot be resolved by partial mitogenomic sequences or nuclear markers. North American periodical cicadas (Magicicada) are well known for their periodical mass emergence at 17-and 13-year intervals in the north and south, resp...

Mitochondrial phylogenomics is often controversial, in particular for inferring deep relationships. The recent rapid increase of mitochondrial genome data provides opportunities for better phylogenetic estimates and assessment of potential biases resulting from heterogeneity in nucleotide composition and mutation rates. Here, we gathered 76 mitocho...

Tool use is widely reported across a broad range of the animal kingdom, yet comprehensive empirical tests of its function and evolutionary drivers remain scarce, predominantly focused on a few relatively intelligent vertebrate lineages. In this study, we provide a comprehensive examination of tool use behavior in the assassin bug Pahabengkakia pili...

The genetic basis of pesticide resistance has been widely studied, but the exact nature of this evolutionary process in the field is often unclear, particularly when a limited number of populations is considered and when there is a lag between the evolutionary event and its investigation. We showed that an unprecedented number of recurrently evolve...

The genetic basis of pesticide resistance has been widely studied, but the exact nature of this evolutionary process in the field is often unclear, particularly when a limited number of populations is considered and when there is a lag between the evolutionary event and its investigation. We showed that an unprecedented number of recurrently evolve...

Evolutionary co-option, in which existing traits acquire novel adaptive functions, is a key strategy by which organisms adapt to new environmental challenges. Although such co-option has been widely documented at the genetic and morphological levels, its incidence at the behavioural level remains largely unknown. Mantids stretch their forelegs to c...

The genetic basis of pesticide resistance has been widely studied, but the exact nature of this evolutionary process in the field is often unclear, particularly when a limited number of populations is considered and when there is a lag between the evolutionary event and its investigation. We showed that an unprecedented number of recurrently evolve...

Understanding the origin and evolutionary history of Odonata are crucial, as they represent central members of the first winged lineages. Here, we assembled the largest mitogenome dataset to date, comprising 143 mitogenomes representing three suborders, 18 families, of which 53 mitogenomes were newly sequenced. Phylogenetic inferences demonstrate t...

The nomenclatural and taxonomic issues regarding the thread-legged bug genera Pleias Kirkaldy, 1901 and Bagauda Bergroth, 1903 are reviewed, and Pleias is concluded to be the valid name of the genus. A comprehensive review of Pleias is conducted, resulting in 18 new combinations and two new synonymies [P. aelleni (Villiers, 1970) comb. n., P. atypi...

Cyamophila willieti (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) is a significant pest that adversely affects the growth of Styphnolobium japonicum and its variant, Styphnolobium japonicum f. pendula. Despite its impact, research on this species remains limited. In this study, we successfully assembled a chromosome-level genome for Cyamophila willieti using a comprehens...

Invasive species cause massive economic and ecological damage. Climate change has resulted in an unprecedented increase in the number and impact of invasive species; however, the mechanisms underlying these invasions are unclear. The sycamore lace bug, Corythucha ciliata, is a highly invasive species originating from North America and has expanded...

Heteroptera (the true bugs), one of the most diverse lineages of insects, diversified in feeding strategies and living habitats, and thus become an ideal lineage for studies on adaptive evolution. Chinese water scorpion Ranatra chinensis (Heteroptera: Nepidae) is a predaceous bug living in lentic water systems, representing an ideal model for study...

Adar-mediated adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) mRNA editing is a conserved mechanism that exerts diverse regulatory functions during the development, evolution, and adaptation of metazoans. The accurate detection of RNA editing sites helps us understand their biological significance. In this work, with an improved genome assembly of honeybee (Apis mel...

Introduction: Invasive species pose a major threat to global biodiversity and agricultural productivity, yet the genomic mechanisms driving their rapid expansion into new habitats are not fully understood. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, originally from the Americas, has expanded its reach across the Old World, causing substantial reducti...

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing recodes the genetic information. Apart from diversifying the proteome, another tempting advantage of RNA recoding is to correct deleterious DNA mutation and restore ancestral allele. Solid evidences for beneficial restorative editing are very rare in animals. By searching for “convergent recoding” under a p...

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing recodes the genome and confers flexibility for the organisms to adapt to the environment. It is believed that RNA recoding sites are well suited for facilitating adaptive evolution by increasing the proteomic diversity in a temporal-spatial manner. The function and essentiality of a few conserved recoding s...

Müllerian mimicry was proposed to be an example of a coevolved mutualism promoted by population isolation in glacial refugia. This, however, has not been well supported in butterfly models. Here, we use genomic data to test this theory while examining the population genetics behind mimetic diversification in a pair of co-mimetic bumble bees, Bombus...

Genetic basis underlying the biodiversity and phenotypic plasticity are fascinating questions in evolutionary biology. Such molecular diversity can be achieved at multi-omics levels. Here, we sequenced the first chromosome-level genome of assassin bug Rhynocoris fuscipes, a polyphagous generalist predator for biological control of agroecosystems. C...

Simple Summary This study focuses on the assassin bug Sycanus bifidus, a widespread species in southern China, by analyzing its genetic data to trace how the Pleistocene’s climate and geography influenced its distribution and evolution. There are two main genetic groups, which suggests that past climatic conditions and sea-level rises, especially c...

Honeybees and bumblebees play a crucial role as essential pollinators. The special gut microbiome of social bees is a key factor in determining the overall fitness and health of the host. Although bees harbor relatively simple microbial communities at the genus level, recent studies have unveiled significant genetic divergence and variations in gen...

Invasive species cause enormous economic and ecological damage. Climate change has resulted in an unprecedented increase in the number and impact of invaders. The mechanisms underlying invasions, however, are largely unclear. The sycamore lace bug, Corythucha ciliata , is a highly invasive species that originated in North America. Its population ha...

Although A-to-I RNA editing leads to similar effects to A-to-G DNA mutation, nonsynonymous RNA editing (recoding) is believed to confer its adaptiveness by ‘epigenetically’ regulating proteomic diversity in a temporospatial manner, avoiding the pleiotropic effect of genomic mutations. Recent discoveries on the evolutionary trajectory of Ser>Gly aut...

Background Metazoan adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing resembles A-to-G mutation and increases proteomic diversity in a temporal-spatial manner, allowing organisms adapting to changeable environment. The RNA editomes in many major animal clades remain unexplored, hampering the understanding on the evolution and adaptation of this essential p...

Areca catechu L. is a widely cultivated tropical crop in Southeast Asia, and its fruit, areca nut, has been consumed as a traditional Chinese medicinal material for more than 10,000 years, although it has recently attracted widespread attention due to potential hazards. Areca nut holds a significant position in traditional medicine in many areas an...

Simple Summary The reduviid genus Sycanus Amyot & Serville, 1843, possesses higher aesthetic value and plays a crucial role as a natural enemy in the control of agricultural and forestry pests. However, Sycanus from China has not undergone a comprehensive review for over four decades. Based on both molecular data and morphological evidence, we cond...

Following invasion, insects can become adapted to conditions experienced in their invasive range, but there are few studies on the speed of adaptation and its genomic basis. Here, we examine a small insect pest, Thrips palmi, following its contemporary range expansion across a sharp climate gradient from the subtropics to temperate areas. We first...

Background Lice (Psocodea: Phthiraptera) are one important group of parasites that infects birds and mammals. It is believed that the ancestor of parasitic lice originated on the ancient avian host, and ancient mammals acquired these parasites via host-switching from birds. Here we present the first chromosome-level genome of Menopon gallinae in Am...

Aphidius gifuensis is a parasitoid wasp and primary endoparasitoid enemy of the peach potato aphid, Myzus persicae. Artificially reared, captive wasps of this species have been extensively and effectively used to control populations of aphids and limit crop loss. However, the consequences of large-scale releasing of captive A. gifuensis, such as ge...

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) possess high diversity and globally wide distribution, including a range of important agricultural pests. However, the origin, phylogeny and divergence history remain poorly understood. We undertook the first comprehensive mitogenomic study covering phylogenetic reconstruction, divergence time estimation and histo...

Adar-mediated adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing mainly occurs in nucleus and diversifies the transcriptome in a flexible manner. It has been a challenging task to identify beneficial editing sites from the sea of total editing events. The functional Ser>Gly auto-recoding site in insect Adar gene has uneditable Ser codons in ancestral nodes,...

The current study develops a nano-pesticide that is nontoxic toward the predatory stinkbug but with enhanced bioactivity toward the common cutworm, which proposes to co-apply the nano-pesticide with predator as an innovative pest control technique.

Two new species of the thread-legged bug genus Ademula McAtee & Malloch, 1926 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae: Emesini, formerly Ploiariolini) from China, A. callipennis, new species, and A. corniculata, new species, are described and illustrated in the present paper. COI barcodes of these two new species and an updated key to the Oriental species...

Introduction The primary metabolism of plants, which is mediated by nitrogen, is closely related to the defense response to insect herbivores. Methods An experimental system was established to examine how nitrogen mediated tomato resistance to an insect herbivore, the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis). All tomatoes were randomly assigned to...

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is the most prevalent RNA modification in the nervous systems of metazoans. To study the biological significance of RNA editing, we first have to accurately identify these editing events from the transcriptome. The genome-wide identification of RNA editing sites remains a challenging task. In this review, w...

The African assassin bug genus Fusius Stål, 1862 is revised after the examination of type specimens with redescriptions of four species. Lectotypes of Pirates (Fusius) H-flavum Reuter, 1881 and Pirates rubricosus Stål, 1855 are designated. The status of P. (Fusius) H-flavum Reuter, 1881 is revalidated with its current name as F. hflavus (Reuter, 18...

Müllerian mimicry provides natural replicates ideal for exploring mechanisms underlying adaptive phenotypic divergence and convergence, yet the genetic mechanisms underlying mimetic variation remain largely unknown. The current study investigates the genetic basis of mimetic color pattern variation in a highly polymorphic bumble bee, Bombus brevice...

Metazoan adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is a highly conserved mechanism that diversifies the transcriptome by post-transcriptionally converting adenosine to inosine. Millions of editing sites have been identified in different species and, based on abnormal editing observed in various disorders, it is intuitive to conclude that RNA editin...

Ploiaria hamulosa n. sp. is described and illustrated based on specimens from northern Laos. This new species is characterized by the relatively long anteocular region of the head, the presence of a long erect seta on the fore trochanters, the elongate pygophore, and the strongly curved and barb-bearing parameres. Based on the examination of the ho...

Insect sepsis is a severe consequence that arises from the invasion of the hemocoel by symbionts of entomopathogenic nematodes and bacteria. In the present study, we unveiled the heightened virulence of the entomopathogenic nematode Steinernema feltiae and the entomopathogenic bacteria Xenorhabdus bovienii , which operate symbiotically, against the...

Simple Summary The millipede assassin bugs are well known for their prey specialization. In this study, we examined the fine structures of the antennae, mouthparts, and legs of four genera and species of ectrichodiines using a scanning electronic microscope and compared them with those in Tribelocephalinae, a lineage closely related to Ectrichodiin...

Simple Summary: The millipede assassin bugs are well known for their prey specialization. In this study, we examined the fine structures of the antennae, mouthparts, and legs of four genera and species of ectrichodiines using a scanning electronic microscope and compared them with those in Tribelocephalinae, a lineage closely related to Ectrichodii...

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing, mediated by metazoan ADAR enzymes, is a prevalent post-transcriptional modification that diversifies the proteome and promotes adaptive evolution of organisms. The Drosophila Adar gene has an auto-recoding site (termed S>G site) that forms a negative-feedback loop and stabilizes the global editing activity...

Insect mitochondrial genomes (mitogenome) generally present a typical gene order, which is considered as the ancestral arrangement. All sequenced mitogenomes in the Thysanoptera display high levels of gene rearrangement. Due to limited number of thrips mitogenomes sequenced, how gene rearrangement may be shaped by evolution remain unclear. Here, we...

Due to the variation of the body coloration and the similarity of the related species, there are still some unresolved problems and debates in the taxonomic study of the genus Sycanus in China. We conducted the inter-specific phylogenetic analyses and the species delimitation for Sycanus in China based on DNA barcoding dataset of the mitochondrial...

Due to the variation of the body coloration and the similarity of the related species, there are still some unresolved problems and debates in the taxonomic study of the genus Sycanus in China. We conducted the inter-specific phylogenetic analyses and the species delimitation for Sycanus in China based on DNA barcoding dataset of the mitochondrial...

Due to the variation of the body coloration and the similarity of the related species, there are still some unresolved problems and debates in the taxonomic study of the genus Sycanus in China. We conducted the inter-specific phylogenetic analyses and the species delimitation for Sycanus in China based on DNA barcoding dataset of the mitochondrial...

Background C-to-U RNA editing in plants is believed to confer its evolutionary adaptiveness by reversing unfavorable DNA mutations. This “restorative hypothesis” has not yet been tested genome-wide. In contrast, A-to-I RNA editing in insects like Drosophila and honeybee is already known to benefit the host by increasing proteomic diversity in a spa...

Insect pollination is an important process in the natural ecosystem and plays a vital role in crop reproduction. The bumblebee, Bombus terrestris (L.), is a widely used pollinator for crops, especially tomato. The efficiency of bee pollination is related to many factors, including biotic factors such as bee species, nutrition plants, and herbivores...

As one of the most prevalent RNA modifications in animals, adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing facilitates environmental adaptation of organisms by diversifying the proteome in a temporal-spatial manner. In flies and bees, the editing enzyme Adar has independently gained two different auto-recoding sites that form an auto-feedback loop, stabi...

The recently reorganized classification of Mantodea has made significant progress in resolving past homoplasy problems, although some relationships among higher taxa remain uncertain. In the present study, we utilized newly sequenced mitogenomes and nuclear gene sequences of 23 mantid species, along with published data of 53 mantises, to perform fa...

Although mitochondrial gene rearrangement has been observed in many insect lineages, little is known about how it affects mitochondrial gene transcription. To address this question, we first constructed a quantitative transcription map for Aphidius gifuensis, a species of parasitoid wasp known to have a highly rearranged mitochondrial genome (mitog...

Simple Summary Triatominae, commonly known as kissing bugs, are blood-feeding insects that can carry the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi to spread Chagas disease. In this study, we conducted a taxonomic review of Chinese triatomines, which involved describing two new species, Triatoma picta Zhao & Cai sp. nov. and T. atrata Zhao & Cai sp. nov. We also c...

Bean flower thrips Megalurothrips usitatus is a staple pest of cowpea and other legumes and causes dramatic economic losses. Its small size allows for easy concealment, and large reproductive capacity easily leads to infestations. Despite the importance of a genome in developing novel management strategies, genetic studies on M. usitatus remain lim...

Phylogenomics is a new field that infers evolutionary relationships of taxa at the genome-scale level. The increment of molecular data may raise the potential bias as the limiting factor in phylogenomics. It is particularly important to explore these factors in phylogenomic analyses by simple, convenient, time-saving and (relatively) robust means....

Simple Summary Antennae and mouthparts are key organs for food searching and feeding in insects. In the present study, the microstructures of the antennae and mouthparts of the flat bugs Mezira yunnana Hsiao were demonstrated. Five types of antennal sensilla and three types of labial sensilla were documented. Labial tip gustatory sensilla form a sm...

Insect speciation is among the most fascinating topics in evolutionary biology; however, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Allopatric speciation represents one of the major types of speciation and is believed to have frequently occurred during glaciation periods, when climatic oscillation may have caused suitable habitats to be fragmented r...

There is now general concern about widespread antibiotic resistance, and growing evidence indicates that gut microbiota is critical in providing antibiotic resistance. Honeybee is an important pollinator, the incidence of antibiotic resistance genes in honeybee gut causes potential risks to not only its own health but also to public and animal heal...

Simple Summary Coccoidea (scale insects) are sap-sucking hemipterous insects with a high diversity of species. They exhibit dramatically variable appearance and sexual dimorphism and are also closely related to human beings as important economic pests and resource insects. However, we know very little about the phylogenetic relationship within Cocc...

The control region (CR) of the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) represents a major noncoding fragment with several special structural features that are thought to be responsible for the initiation of mitogenome transcription and replication. However, few studies have revealed the evolutionary patterns of CR in the phylogenetic context. Here, we ex...

The adaptiveness of nonsynonymous RNA editing (recoding) could be conferred by the flexibility of the temporal-spatially controllable proteomic diversity, or by its restorative effect which fixes unfavorable genomic mutations at the RNA level. These two complementary hypotheses, namely, the diversifying hypothesis and the restorative hypothesis, ha...

Human activities facilitate long-distance dispersal of insects beyond their native range. In particular, the transportation of live plants offers diffusion opportunities for some insects with weak flight abilities. The increase in urban afforestation also help insect reside in urban habitats. The flower thrips, Frankliniella intonsa, is a widesprea...

Coridius chinensis (Hemiptera: Dinidoridae) is a medicinal insect. Its mitochondrial gene arrangement is consistent with that of Drosophila melanogaster and Erthesina fullo, the two insects with well-studied mitochondrial transcription. To investigate whether the structural consistency of mitochondrial genes leads to similarities in transcription a...

Lichens are well known as pioneer organisms or stress-tolerant extremophiles, potentially playing a core role in the early formation of terrestrial ecosystems. Epiphytic macrolichens are known to contribute to the water- and nutrient cycles in forest ecosystem. But due to the scarcity of fossil record, the evolutionary history of epiphytic macrolic...

Introduction The oriental fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis is one of the most destructive agricultural pests worldwide, with highly debated species delimitation, origin, and global spread routes. Objectives Our study intended to (i) resolve the taxonomic uncertainties between B. dorsalis and B. carambolae, (ii) reveal the population structure and glo...

Cosmopolitan agricultural herbivorous pests are provided with a wide range of potential hosts. Therefore, they have high carrying capacity, and can cause extremely severe damage in agroecosystems. Understanding the ecological mechanisms of their population dynamics, especially as they relate to large-scale meteorological variations and geographical...

Mosquito transmit numbers of parasites and pathogens resulting in fatal diseases. Species identification is a prerequisite for effective mosquito control. Existing morphological and molecular classification methods have evitable disadvantages. Here we introduced Deep learning techniques for mosquito species identification. A balanced, high-definiti...

Simple Summary The members of the Reduviidae family are generally known as “assassin bugs” due to their predatory habits. Peiratinae is one of the largest subfamilies of Reduviidae with a cosmopolitan distribution. Based on the morphological examination on type specimens and other peiratine material from New Guinea, as well as the result of a molec...

The two resin assassin bugs belonging to the tribe Ectinoderini (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Harpactorinae) occurring in China are documented: Amulius malayus Stål, 1867 is redescribed and Ectinoderus sinicus Chen & Cai, sp. nov. is described as new. The discovery of the new species extends the distribution of the genus and the tribe northwards from tro...

Simple Summary There is a wide variety of insects in the suborder Heteroptera (true bugs), with various feeding habits and living habitats. Microbes that live inside insect guts play critical roles in aspects of host nutrition, physiology, and behavior. However, most studies have focused on herbivorous stink bugs of the infraorder Pentatomomorpha a...

Taxonomy plays an important role in understanding the origin, evolution, and ecological functionality of biodiversity. There are large number of unknown species yet to be described by taxonomists, which together with their ecosystem services cannot be effectively protected prior to description. Despite this, taxonomy has been increasingly underrat...

Simple Summary Aeolothrips, commonly known as banded thrips, is the largest genus of the family Aeolothripidae (predatory thrips). In the current study, we sequenced the mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the banded thrip species Aeolothrips xinjiangensis. We found a novel gene arrangement in this mitogenome that has not been reported in Thysanop...