A special issue to mark the 90th Anniversary of College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University

A special issue to mark the 90th Anniversary of College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University 1 first-author †E-mail:pengjr@zju.edu.cn †E-mail:pengjr@zju.edu.cn pengjr@zju.edu.cn 2 3 4 5 6 College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA Department of Pharmacology and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China Beijing Genomics Institute-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China Beijing Genomics Institute-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China The college of Life Sciences (CLS) remains one of the most prestigious—and the oldest—colleges in zhejiang University. This special issue, which includes 16 reviews contributed by our alumni and faculties, is dedicated to mark the 90th Anniversary of CLS. The reviews provide a glimpse of current progresses in the areas of life sciences such as biochemical processes and their association with diseases (Ding et al., 2019 2019 ; Hu et al., 2019 2019 ; Jin et al., 2019 2019 ; Nie and Yi, 2019 2019 ), cancer biology (Feng, 2019 2019 ; Huang et al., 2019 2019 ; Leonard and Zhang, 2019 2019 ; Zhu F et al., 2019 2019 ), plant and environmental microbiology (Li et al., 2019 2019 ; Yang et al., 2019 2019 ; Zhu XR et al., 2019 2019 ), cell cycle (Gao and Liu, 2019 2019 ; Zhang et al., 2019 2019 ), RNA biology (Gudenas et al., 2019 2019 ; Luo et al., 2019 2019 ), and protein structural biology (Yang and Tang, 2019 2019 ). College of Life Sciences Zhejiang University 90th Anniversary The College of Life Sciences (CLS) remains one of the most prestigious—and the oldest—colleges in Zhejiang University. This special issue, which includes 16 reviews contributed by our alumni and faculties, is dedicated to mark the 90th Anniversary of CLS. The reviews provide a glimpse of current progresses in the areas of life sciences such as biochemical processes and their association with diseases (Ding et al., 2019 2019 ; Hu et al., 2019 2019 ; Jin et al., 2019 2019 ; Nie and Yi, 2019 2019 ), cancer biology (Feng, 2019 2019 ; Huang et al., 2019 2019 ; Leonard and Zhang, 2019 2019 ; Zhu F et al., 2019 2019 ), plant and environmental microbiology (Li et al., 2019 2019 ; Yang et al., 2019 2019 ; Zhu XR et al., 2019 2019 ), cell cycle (Gao and Liu, 2019 2019 ; Zhang et al., 2019 2019 ), RNA biology (Gudenas et al., 2019 2019 ; Luo et al., 2019 2019 ), and protein structural biology (Yang and Tang, 2019 2019 ). CLS, formerly known as the Department of Biology, National Zhejiang University—founded in September 1929—is proud of its 90-year history, during which it has built a tradition of excellence in education, research, and service. To date, the college has produced more than 5380 undergraduates and 2930 graduates. Our alumni have been making important contributions to not only science but also our society. Many distinguished biologists, including Shi-zhang BEI, Zong-luo LUO, Zhao-qian ZHANG, Jia-zhen TAN (C. C. TAN), Lv-ji SHI, Ren-bao ZHU, Zhen YAO, and Jiao-nai SHI, were students or faculty of this institution. CLS was established in 1999 after Zhejiang Agriculture University, Hangzhou University, and Zhejiang Medical University were merged with Zhejiang University in 1998. At present, the college has about 120 faculty and staff members, including 45 professors and 27 associate professors, some of whom have been awarded by the Chinese government’s Thousand Talents Program, the Chinese Ministry of Education’s Cheung Kong Scholars Program, and the Zhejiang Provincial Hundred Talents Program. Furthermore, at present, 927 full-time students are registered with the college for various programs, including undergraduate studies, masters program, and doctoral studies. The college includes four departments: Department of Ecology, Department of Biological Science, Department of Biotechnology, and Department of Bioinformatics, which provide students with distinctive education and training in life sciences. Recognizing the college’s achievements in life sciences education, the Ministry of Education in China considers CLS as one of the National Teaching Bases for Biological Sciences and Biotechnology. Undergraduates are required to complete four years of study and research training to obtain their BS degree. The major courses include General Biology, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Animal or Plant Physiology, and Bioinformatics. A series of elective courses that reflect the frontiers in biological sciences and technology, such as Bioengineering, Neurobiology, Immunology, and Developmental Biology, were also available. All undergraduate students are encouraged to join a laboratory for research training after completing two years of course study. The college has three State Key Disciplines—Ecology, Botany, and Biophysics—and two Provincial Key Disciplines—Genetics and Microbiology. It also includes the State Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, the State Conservation Center for Gene Resources of Endangered Wildlife, the Key Laboratory of Biosystem Homeostasis and Protection of the Ministry of Education, and the Provincial Key Laboratory of Cell and Genetic Engineering. The college receives research funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and the local governments and enterprises. The annual research budget of the college is around 80 million CNY, and the annual publications in Science Citation Indexed (SCI) journals are over 160. Numerous scientific articles authored by the students and faculty of CLS have been published in leading international journals, including Nature , Science , PNAS , Circulation Research , Cell Research , Nature Communications , Plant Cell , PLoS Genetics , Molecular Cell , ISME , and Ecology . The excellent research groups at CLS have revealed many important genes involved in plant nutrition, specific mechanisms in RNA splicing, and molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis triggered by microorganisms. Our faculties have also developed ecological approaches to protect panda and crested ibis and devised strategies for rice–fish co-cultivation and urban ecology protection. The progress achieved by CLS would not have been possible without the committed efforts of all its members, including our staff, students, and alumni. With devotion in our hearts and scientific spirit in our minds, CLS strives to evolve and excel. We are committed to the highest level of education and research excellence in the area of life sciences and hope that you will enjoy reading the articles in this special issue. References HY Ding , YN Xie , Q Dong , 等 . Roles of hyaluronan in cardiovascular and nervous system disorders . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 428 - 436 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900155 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900155 . Roles of hyaluronan in cardiovascular and nervous system disorders GS Feng . Tumor immunology and immunotherapy: a journey I started from Hangzhou . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 373 - 380 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900204 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900204 . Tumor immunology and immunotherapy: a journey I started from Hangzhou SW Gao , F Liu . Novel insights into cell cycle regulation of cell fate determination . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 467 - 475 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900197 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900197 . Novel insights into cell cycle regulation of cell fate determination BL Gudenas , J Wang , SZ Kuang , 等 . Genomic data mining for functional annotation of human long noncoding RNAs . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 476 - 487 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900162 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900162 . Genomic data mining for functional annotation of human long noncoding RNAs SY Hu , QQ Zhuang , Y Qiu , 等 . Cell models and drug discovery for mitochondrial diseases . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 449 - 456 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900196 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900196 . Cell models and drug discovery for mitochondrial diseases FT Huang , J Sun , L Zhang , 等 . Role of SIRT1 in hematologic malignancies . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 391 - 398 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900148 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900148 . Role of SIRT1 in hematologic malignancies LH Jin , ZP Fang , MJ Fan , 等 . Bile-ology: from bench to bedside . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 414 - 427 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900158 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900158 . Bile-ology: from bench to bedside M Leonard , X Zhang . Estrogen receptor coactivator Mediator Subunit 1 (MED1) as a tissue-specific therapeutic target in breast cancer . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 381 - 390 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900163 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900163 . Estrogen receptor coactivator Mediator Subunit 1 (MED1) as a tissue-specific therapeutic target in breast cancer HH Li , YT Wang , Y Wang , 等 . Bacterial degradation of anthraquinone dyes . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 528 - 540 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900165 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900165 . Bacterial degradation of anthraquinone dyes J Luo , Y Xiong , PF Fu , 等 . Exosomal long non-coding RNAs: biological properties and therapeutic potential in cancer treatment . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 488 - 495 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900039 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900039 . Exosomal long non-coding RNAs: biological properties and therapeutic potential in cancer treatment H Nie , W Yi . O -GlcNAcylation, a sweet link to the pathology of diseases . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 437 - 448 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900150 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900150 . O-GlcNAcylation, a sweet link to the pathology of diseases JL Yang , W Fan , SJ Zheng . Mechanisms and regulation of aluminum-induced secretion of organic acid anions from plant roots . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 513 - 527 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900188 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900188 . Mechanisms and regulation of aluminum-induced secretion of organic acid anions from plant roots QF Yang , C Tang . On the necessity of an integrative approach to understand protein structural dynamics . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 496 - 502 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900135 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900135 . On the necessity of an integrative approach to understand protein structural dynamics F Zhu , W Zhang , T Yang , 等 . Complex roles of necroptosis in cancer . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 5 ): 399 - 413 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900160 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900160 . Complex roles of necroptosis in cancer XR Zhu , H Wang , J Sun , 等 . Pericarp and seed of litchi and longan fruits: constituent, extraction, bioactive activity, and potential utilization . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 503 - 512 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900161 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900161 . Pericarp and seed of litchi and longan fruits: constituent, extraction, bioactive activity, and potential utilization YX Zhang , WY Pan , J Chen . p53 and its isoforms in DNA double-stranded break repair . J Zhejiang Univ-Sci B (Biomed & Biotechnol) , 2019 . 20 ( 6 ): 457 - 466 . DOI: 10.1631/jzus.B1900167 http://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B1900167 . p53 and its isoforms in DNA double-stranded break repair 10.1631/jzus.B1910002 2019-05-02 2019-05-07 2022-01-05 Copyright © Zhejiang University and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 2019 Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B (Biomedicine and Biotechnology) 05 20