Microbiology
Microbiology is a secondary discipline within the first-level discipline of biology and has become an important frontier in life sciences. The microbiology discipline at Jiangxi Agricultural University was established in 1957 by notable scholars, including Professor HUANG Qiwang and the then President OUYANG Liang. Over the past fifty years, it has expanded significantly through the efforts of several generations. Since 2003, JXAU has been authorized by the Ministry of Education to offer master's degree in microbiology. The program was recognized as Provincial Key Discipline during the Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Five-Year Plans of Jiangxi Province, and served as a Provincial Exemplary Master’s Degree Program during the province’sTwelfth Five-Year Plan. Here, the Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiological Resources Development and Utilization, and the Nanchang Municipal Key Laboratory of Fermentation Application Technology, have been established..
The program comprises 16 master's supervisors, including five professors, three researchers, and eight associate professors. Among them, 15 hold doctorates. It includes four provincial young and middle-aged academic leaders and one key young teacher within higher education institutions in Jiangxi Province. Additionally, there is one cultivation object of young scientist project of Jiangxi Province and 4 "Future Stars" at the university level.
In recent years, we have hosted over 40 research projects at national, provincial, municipal, and local levels. We have won two second prizes and one third prize in the Natural Science Award of Jiangxi Province , two second prizes and third prizes respectively in the Science and Technology Achievement Award of Higher Education Institutions in Jiangxi Province, along with various other awards. We hold five authorized patents for invention, have written two textbooks, have two provincial excellent courses. Over 60 papers are published by us annually.
By integrating teaching with research, combining basic research with applied studies as well as making interdisciplinary efforts between traditional fields and emerging frontiers, we aim at serving Jiangxi – our base – and extending our influence nationwide. We are are forging ahead steadily on various research areas, including microbial secondary metabolites, microbial genetics and breeding, microbial fermentation engineering, development and utilization of large fungi and endophyte resources, and natural-product-based bactericides.
Cell biology
Cell biology is a science that employs modern biotechnology and methods related to study the laws of life activities at overall, ultrastructural, and molecular levels. Enrollment for this major in JXAU started in 2012. As molecular biology develops rapidly, cell biology is increasingly adopting molecular approaches to explore cell life mechanisms at the molecular level. The main research directions include chromosome and genetic structure and function, biosynthesis and gene regulation of cellular secondary metabolites, cell engineering, eukaryotic gene expression and regulation, gene physical localization and chromosome evolution, plant cell development and signal transduction, molecular cytogenetics, and cell & developmental biology.
The program in College of Bioscience and Bioengineering has established a faculty with high academic level, including a group of experts and scholars with great influences in academic circles at home and abroad. Currently, the discipline has three provincial academic leaders, three professors, and five associate professors, most of whom are postdoctoral researchers and have had study experiences overseas. and can provide high-level and enlightening guidance for graduate students.
We have a wide range of microscopes (including fluorescence microscope), fluorescence quantitative PCR instrument, gas/liquid chromatograph and other large instrument. More than two million yuan (approximately 300,000 US dollars) has been invested on university-level practical training centres for plant histoculture, animal cell culture, etc. In recent years, the discipline has conducted more than 50 scientific research projects, some of which are funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China,or belong to scientific and technological projects at a provincial or ministry level. The research funds have reached a total of more than 15 million yuan (over two million US dollars). The program has achieved remarkble research results in the field of gene localization of drought-resistant traits in drought-prone rice under adversity, molecular mechanism of Hepatitis C suppression and disease-resistant mechanism of eel, etc. It has won two second prizes and two third prizes in science and technology awards at a provincial or ministry level, seven scientific and technological achievement awards of the provincial higher education institutions, and one third prize at the provincial level for teaching achievement. We have two provincial excellent courses as well. More than 80 papers have been published in international academic journals such as Virology, JIPB, Plant Science, TAG, Aquaculture and other SCI journals.
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is one of the secondary disciplines under biology. In 2003, its academic master's degree program of JXAU was accredited and began to enroll students. Biochemistry and molecular biology studies biological phenomena at the microscopic molecular level, that is, to unveil the nature of life at the molecular level. Through studying the molecular structure and function of organisms, material metabolism and energy metabolism and regulation, it reveals the basic laws and regulatory mechanisms of biological growth and development.
The program has three research directions. The first one is biochemistry and molecular biology, which mainly carries out researches on a) metabolic pathways of primary and secondary substances and their applications, b) the separation, purification, structural and functional identification of metabolic intermediates, and c) the development and utilization of biological resources. The second is plant molecular biology. It mainly carries out researches on a) the expression regulation, functional identification and signal transduction mechanism of important trait, genes and non-coding RNAs of plants, b) biomolecular markers and molecular breeding, and c) plant functional proteomics. Last but not least is animal molecular biology, which mainly performs researches on a) the molecular marking and positioning of important economic traits in animals, b) the cloning, molecular identification and regulation of important functional genes,, c) the structures and functions of regulatory factors of functional animal protein, and d) animal proteomics and protein engineering.
We have a wide range of large-scale instruments and equipment, including fluorescence microscope, stereomicroscope, fluorescence quantitative PCR instrument, enzyme labeler, ultra-low-temperature refrigerator. The total asset has exceeded 10 million yuan (about 1.4 million US dollars). After years of accumulation, a team of tutors with global vision and first-class teaching level in the province has been formed. There are 13 researchers, seven professors, five associate professors and one lecturer. Among them, there are two doctoral supervisors, seven master's supervisors, one Leading Talent in “10,000 Talents Program”, one major disciplines and academic leader (leading talent) of Jiangxi Province, one academic leader of higher education in Jiangxi Province, two Vice Presidents of Jiangxi Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Society, two JXAU “Young Professors”, and three JXAU “future stars.” In the past ten years, we have undertaken 14 projects funded by National Natural Science Foundation, one funded by China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, two Key Projects of Natural Science of Jiangxi Province, more than 10 other projects at a provincial or ministry level. We have been authorized with five national patents for invention, and have published more than 100 academic papers in journals included in SCI.
Biology and Medicine
Demand for social and regional development:
Environmental pollution gives rise to concerns over food safety, including the quality of staple crops and edible oil. Meanwhile, the abuse of antibiotics has resulted in the emergence of super-resistant strains that threaten human health from time to time. At a greater level, the "Made in China 2025", the Belt and Road Initiative, and the onset of Sino-US economic conflict all highlight the urgent need of China and Jiangxi Province for advanced talents specialized in bioengineering and pharmacy.
Orientation and Objectives:
To cultivate senior engineering technicians and managers in the field of biology and medicine. The training aims at equipping students with capabilities of developing, applying and promoting technological innovations as well as designing, implementing and managing projects.
Options:
i) Biopharmaceutical Engineering: Students will be capable of expression-efficient molecular design of biopharmaceuticals, drug separation and purification based on innovative methods and processes, evaluation of biological activity, and management of standardized quality standards for drugs.
ii) Fungal Culture and Utilization Engineering: Students will be capable of collecting, identifying and preserving fungal germplasms, selecting, fermenting, cultivating and domesticating functional fungi , conducting separation analysis on natural APIs extracted from fungi and reformulation.
iii) Fermentation Engineering: Students will be capable of fermentation process design, metabolic regulation, and reasonable treatment of fermentation products.
iv) Animal and Plant Cell Engineering: Students will be capable of performing rapid propagation of animal and plant tissues, cell culture, haploid breeding, DNA fingerprinting germplasm identification, gene introduction and recombination aimed at creating new germplasms of animals and plants.
