It is reported that evidence from physical anthropology, linguistics and classical genetics holds that there is an ancient and obvious north-south dividing line in East Asia with the Yangtze River as the boundary. However, Zhang Yaping and others systematically studied the East Asian population based on various genetic markers, and found that although there are certain genetic differences between the southern population and the northern population, the differences are not completely different. People in adjacent geographical areas show similar relations on the principal component analysis diagram, so it is speculated that geographical distance isolation has an important influence on the genetic structure of East Asians. The geographical distance between populations and the difference of population expansion history between north and south populations may be the important reasons for the genetic differences between north and south populations.
Zhang Yaping said that he was "very lucky" compared with the older generation of scientists. Fortunately, he received a systematic education, entered the scientific research hall and went abroad for further study. Fortunately, he got the special fund for the president of China Academy of Sciences to return to China for development, and was elected as the academician and chairman of Yunnan Association for Science and Technology. ...
"At the right time, thanks to the reform and opening up, I accepted a formal basic education and a strict higher education system. In primary and secondary schools, I was inspired by Spring of Science and Goldbach's conjecture. The respect and attention of the whole society to science put me on the road of scientific research. "
Zhang Yaping led his research team and made great academic discoveries and breakthroughs in the field of biodiversity at home and abroad.
Through the screening of thousands of samples and the mitochondrial genome analysis of representative samples, a systematic and perfect phylogenetic relationship between East Asia and South Asia was established. The origin and genetic diversity of main domestic animals in China were systematically studied, and it was found that East Asia, especially southern China and its surrounding areas, was an important area for domestic animals domestication. A DNA database of animals with international influence was established, and the genetic diversity of many endangered and non-endangered species in China was systematically studied, and some problems in the systematic evolution of this group were clarified. In the research of gene evolution and biological adaptation mechanism, hundreds of genes have been discovered, revealing the origin and evolution of some genes and gene families and their relationship with biological adaptation ... Zhang Yaping has also trained a number of excellent master students and doctoral students, and has conducted extensive exchanges with visiting scholars from all over the country. Two of his students won the national prize of 100 excellent doctoral dissertations, and three of them won the special prize of the Dean Award of China Academy of Sciences.
Zhang Yaping's research and personnel training promoted the development of molecular evolution and genetic diversity research in China, and entered the forefront of international biodiversity research.
In June, 2002, Zhang Yaping, a young scientist in China, was still busy in the "Open Research Laboratory of Cell and Molecular Evolution" as usual, but he was awarded the third international Biodiversity Leadership Award by the American Becky Foundation and the Paul Foundation thousands of miles away, making him the first Asian scholar to win this honor.
"Biodiversity Leadership Award" is an important international award specially established for this emerging field. Zhang Yaping was "surprised" by the sudden patronage of the grand prize: "Many people at home and abroad have done well, and I am very lucky to get this honor. In the field of biodiversity research, there are many scientists older and the same age than me who can win this honor. On the one hand, the joint efforts of me and all the staff in the laboratory have been recognized by everyone; On the other hand, luck. I think my luck is better, because a lot of work I want to do has already been done. " In the soft sunshine, Zhang Yaping's eyes appear more peaceful.
On July 23, 2004, Zhang Yaping, a young scientist who was less than 39 years old at that time, stood on a podium with Wu Min and Li Jiayang, two "big names" in the field of genetic biology in China. Zhou, then chairman of China Association for Science and Technology, awarded him the "Innovation Award in Biological Sciences". Clear the bat's name
As we all know, the bat is Nocturnal Animals. Because of the degeneration of eyes, they mainly rely on echolocation to determine their own position to catch insects. Therefore, it is an indisputable fact that bats are "blind" among the people. Recently, however, Academician Zhang Yaping of Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences found that fruit bats mainly rely on sight and smell to find food, and their eyes are "developed". The research team successfully cloned retinal rod cells, which are dominant in the RH 1 gene of dark vision receptor. RH 1 gene is expressed in rod cells of insect-eating bats with degraded eyes and fruit bats with developed eyes in the old world, which shows that even those insect-eating bats with highly degraded eyes still have dark vision.