Biology subjects

Huang, J.-M.

Publications and source records attributed to Huang, J.-M..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Multi-kingdom microbial diversity and interaction landscapes in mosquitoes revealed by 5,163 individual meta-transcriptomes

Mosquitoes are pathogen vectors embedded within diverse microbial ecosystems. However, the nature and interactions among their multi-kingdom microbiome remain poorly understood. We conducted a nationwide single-mosquito meta-transcriptomic survey of 5,163 mosquitoes representing 100 species across China, integrating viral discovery with marker-gene profiling of bacteria, archaea, fungi, and other eukaryotic microbes. From this, we identified 1,606 microbial species-level taxa, including extensive novel diversity, and revealed pronounced host species-specific organization of mosquito-associated communities. We detected 34 pathogens or potential pathogens of human or animal relevance, whose prevalence, abundance, host range, and geographic distribution defined distinct epidemiological patterns. Network analysis uncovered pervasive cross-kingdom microbial associations, including candidate antiviral relationships involving Wolbachia and other microbial taxa. Our study establishes a detailed view of the full-spectrum microbiome and provides a resource and conceptual framework for studying vector competence, pathogen emergence, and microbiome-informed mosquito-borne disease control.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Targeting Wnt Signaling and DNAJB6/MRJ-L as a Dual Anti-RSV Strategy: Insights into a Positive Regulatory Loop

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of severe respiratory infections, yet effective treatments are lacking. We found that the molecular chaperon DNAJB6/MRJ plays an essential role in RSV replication. Depletion of the long isoform of MRJ (MRJ-L) suppresses RSV replication. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that MRJ-L depletion downregulates Wnt signaling pathways. A pharmacological inhibitor of Wnt signaling suppressed RSV propagation and unexpectedly reduced MRJ-L expression, suggesting a positive regulatory loop between Wnt signaling and MRJ-L expression. Notably, simultaneous inhibition of Wnt signaling and MRJ-L additively suppressed RSV replication, suggesting that the Wnt-MRJ-L axis may serve as a new therapeutic target. This study provides insights into host-RSV interactions and potential antiviral strategies. Author SummaryThe molecular chaperone DNAJB6/MRJ has been implicated in the replication of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), although the precise mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we discovered that MRJ may influence RSV replication via Wnt signaling pathways. Specifically, we demonstrated that Wnt signaling inhibitor Wnt-C59 significantly reduced RSV replication by suppressing the synthesis of viral mRNA and genome/antigenome. Moreover, a positive feedback loop of the Wnt-MRJ axis may play a critical role in regulating RSV replication. Importantly, RSV replication was suppressed additively by inhibition of Wnt signaling and depletion of MRJ-L. Thus, a dual-targeted therapeutic approach may be effective in combating RSV infections.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2020

Evidence of the Recombinant Origin and Ongoing Mutations in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 2 (SARS-COV-2)

The recent global outbreak of viral pneumonia designated as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has threatened global public health and urged to investigate its source. Whole genome analysis of SARS-CoV-2 revealed ~96% genomic similarity with bat CoV (RaTG13) and clustered together in phylogenetic tree. Furthermore, RaTGl3 also showed 97.43% spike protein similarity with SARS-CoV-2 suggesting that RaTGl3 is the closest strain. However, RBD and key amino acid residues supposed to be crucial for human-to-human and cross-species transmission are homologues between SARS-CoV-2 and pangolin CoVs. These results from our analysis suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is a recombinant virus of bat and pangolin CoVs. Moreover, this study also reports mutations in coding regions of 125 SARS-CoV-2 genomes signifying its aptitude for evolution. In short, our findings propose that homologous recombination has been occurred between bat and pangolin CoVs that triggered cross-species transmission and emergence of SARS-CoV-2, and, during the ongoing outbreak, SARS-CoV-2 is still evolving for its adaptability.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2020

Phylogenomics of expanding uncultured environmental Tenericutes provides insights into their pathogenicity and evolutionary relationship with Bacilli

The metabolic capacity, stress response and evolution of uncultured environmental Tenericutes have remained elusive, since previous studies have been largely focused on pathogenic species. In this study, we expanded analyses on Tenericutes lineages that inhabit various environments using a collection of 840 genomes. Several novel environmental lineages were discovered inhabiting the human gut, ground water, bioreactors and hypersaline lake and spanning the Haloplasmatales and Mycoplasmatales orders. A phylogenomics analysis of Bacilli and Tenericutes genomes revealed that some uncultured Tenericutes are affiliated with novel clades in Bacilli, such as RF39, RFN20 and ML615. Erysipelotrichales and two major gut lineages, RF39 and RFN20, were found to be neighboring clades of Mycoplasmatales. We detected habitat-specific functional patterns between the pathogenic, gut and the environmental Tenericutes, where genes involved in carbohydrate storage, carbon fixation, mutation repair, environmental response and amino acid cleavage are overrepresented in the genomes of environmental lineages. We hypothesize that the two major gut lineages, namely RF39 and RFN20, are probably acetate and hydrogen producers. Furthermore, deteriorating capacity of bactoprenol synthesis for cell wall peptidoglycan precursors secretion is a potential adaptive strategy employed by these lineages in response to the gut environment. This study uncovers the characteristic functions of environmental Tenericutes and their relationships with Bacilli, which sheds new light onto the pathogenicity and evolutionary processes of Mycoplasmatales. IMPORTANCEEnvironmental Tenericutes bacteria were recently discovered in numerous environments. However, our current collection of Tenericutes genomes was overrepresented by those for pathogens. Our phylogenomics study displays the relationships between all the available Tenericutes, as well as those between Tenericutes and the clades in Bacilli, which casts lights into the uncertain boundary between the environmental lineages of Tenericutes and Bacilli. By comparing the genomes of the environmental and pathogenic Tenericutes, we revealed the metabolic pathways and adaptive strategies of the Tenericutes in the different environments and hosts. We also predicted the metabolism of the two major gut lineages RF39 and RFN20 of Tenericutes, indicating their potential importance in stabilization of the gut microbiome and contribution to human health.

microbiology↗