Fang (Rose) Zhu

The primary emphasis of our research is to understand the mechanisms and evolution of insects' adaptation to chemical stresses in their environment. Insects are the most evolutionarily successful metazoans on the Earth. The remarkable success of insects is largely due to their adaptive capabilities in coping with numerous stresses. The radiation of insects into diverse ecological niches has enhanced their risk to be exposed to toxic or otherwise life-threatening conditions. In their natural environment, insects have to face extensive chemical pressure from their hosts, predators, parasitoids, competitors, and many other abiotic factors such as pesticides. The long-term goals of our research are discovering new theories of insect chemical adaptation, along with developing innovative techniques and strategies for precision pest management and beneficial species conservation. Our research uses integrative approaches from molecular and evolutionary biology, functional genomics, behavior, bioinformatics, protein chemistry, and structural biology. Xenobiotic adaptation, insect toxicogenomics, insect molecular biophysics, enzyme chemistry

[2025] Pleiotropic Function of Antenna-Specific Odorant-Binding Protein Links Xenobiotic Adaptation and Olfaction in Leptinotarsa decemlineata. Insects, Abendroth, James A., Moural, Timothy W., Cruse, Casey, Hernandez, Jonathan A., Wolfin, Michael S., Baker, Thomas Charles, Alyokhin, Andrei, Zhu, Fang. [2025] Male accessory gland-derived carboxypeptidase B regulates sperm activation in the spermatophores of Grapholita molesta. Journal of Insect Physiology, Cheng, Jie, Wei, Wei, Zhang, Yiyang, Zhu, Fang, Shen, Zhongjian, Li, Xianwei, Liang, Yu, Xiang, Huiming, Ma, Ruiyan. [2025] Crystal structure and ligand binding of a sigma-class glutathione S-transferase associated with cross-resistance in a specialist herbivore. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Moural, Timothy W., Her