金秋十月，我们国家重点实验室将迎来三位世界级大家的来访，我和我的同事和学生将有幸细细品尝他们带来的学术盛宴。

 

下周首先来访的是英国Rothamsted Research的John A. Pickett教授。他是英国皇家科学院院士，主要研究昆虫信息素化学。蚜虫、蚊子、蚋的信息素是他首次鉴定的。曾与我所刘恂教授合作研究昆虫光敏信息素。除了研究昆虫外，据说他还是一个出色的演奏家。在他的网页上有如下的描述：

 

“Significantly, I showed that, for insect pheromones comprising mixtures of molecules, individual olfactory neurones in the insect were responding specifically to one particular component of this mixture. This led to the recognition that highly selective responses at single olfactory neurones are also the basis of host recognition. Plants give off many chemical signals or semiochemicals that can influence insect behaviour but individual neurones respond specifically to each, and host recognition is in response to activation of the appropriate neurones. In particular, I have shown that specific neurone activation is also the basis of rejection of inappropriate hosts, which are not necessarily the ones that do not produce the attractive chemicals. They may be the same species under stress producing other chemicals that activate different neurones and thereby elicit a repellent response that masks the attraction response. More recent work involves looking at similar responses between insects and vertebrate hosts. Cattle, for example, all produce attractants, but some additional compounds produced by certain individuals make them unattractive. The discovery that natural compounds released by some human individuals can reduce the level of attack by mosquitoes is a particularly exciting extension of these studies. I presented this new work on interactions between mosquitoes and human hosts at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition in 2006. With the underlying plant molecular biology in place, my work is already being exploited by European Community plant breeders with the future prospect of a new generation of genetically modified crops that are resistant to pests, diseases and weeds. In Africa, I have contributed to an innovative approach to controlling insect pests and parasitic weeds in cereals by means of specific companion croppings that is already responsible for raising the livelihood of poor rural communities from subsistence levels.”

 

第二位来访的是亚利桑那大学的John G. Hildebrand教授夫妇。John是美国科学院院士，美国艺术与科学研究院院士，亚利桑那大学神经生物学部主任。他是国际知名的神经生物学家，研究昆虫嗅觉系统的结构和发育及其对行为的影响。他开拓性地把烟草天蛾（Manduca sexta）作为模式生物， 研究昆虫对气味的感觉机制。这次访问是他以中科院爱因斯坦讲席教授的身份首次访华。他的夫人也相当了得，曾任亚利桑那大学分子与细胞生物学系主任。下面是2007年John当选美国科学院院士后在网上评价：

 

John G. Hildebrand, the University of Arizona neurobiologist known for his seminal work on the neurobiology and development of insect olfactory systems and their effects on insect behavior, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences on May 1, 2007.

 

Election to membership in the academy is considered one of the highest honors a U.S. scientist or engineer can achieve.

 

Hildebrand's work integrates several fields of biology, including anatomy, physiology, behavior, developmental biology, biochemistry and neurobiology.

 

"I was thrilled to hear that John has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences," said Leslie Tolbert, UA's vice president of research, graduate studies and economic development and a UA Regents' Professor of neurobiology.

 

"He is a world leader in chemosensory neuroscience and neuroethology and richly deserves this honor. John's exciting work lures undergrads, graduate students, postdocs and foreign scientists to his lab in droves, and he is a natural-born leader outside of the lab as well."

 

第三位来访者是美国康奈尔大学的教授Wendell L. Roelofs。他是资深的美国科学院院士，曾荣获美国国家科学大奖，受到里根总统的接见和亲自颁奖，并在白宫与总统共进午餐。主要研究昆虫的化学通信系统，到2007年发表有关学术论文365篇。目前该领域的知名学者很多是他的门生。下面是他在网页上对自己研究工作的简介。

 

“My research program is focused on chemical communication systems. These include studies on sex pheromone systems of moths, beetles, cockroaches, etc., as well as host plant attractants of Rhagoletis flies. Efforts in the past centered on the characterization of sex pheromone blends, but now also include research on a) male perception of these blends and how odor discrimination is processed in peripheral and central olfactory systems, including work on interspecific antennal transplants, b) biosynthetic pathways for the pheromone components, and c) the characterization of genes for key enzymes in these pathways, particularly the unique desaturases found in moth pheromone glands. Research with host volatiles is being conducted with the use of SPME and GC/EAD techniques to define key plant volatile components that are behaviorally active in attracting flies to specific fruit. Efforts are made with all projects to transfer knowledge and techniques to applied programs on the control of pest species.”