Accepting the Research Article of the Year Award (AGRO Division) on behalf of all co-authors: Dr. Runjiang Song
Dr. Runjiang Song
Dr. Runjiang Song is a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Guizhou University (GZU, China). His research focuses on the development of green pesticides, including the design of new agrochemical structures derived from natural products, bioactivity screening, and the application of advanced molecular biology techniques to elucidate their mechanisms of action. He has identified pyruvate kinase as a potential new target against rice bacterial leaf blight and uncovered rice calcium-dependent protein kinase 24 as a target for inducing plant resistance to bacterial diseases. Learn more about Dr. Runjiang Song from our recent interview below.
Interview with Dr. Song
What inspired you to pursue your particular area of research?
That has to be my experience. I studied at the School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST) as an undergraduate. During my final year project, I was a member of Prof. Zhong Li’s group where I focused on the research of neonicotinoid pesticides. At that time, I was amazed that such small aphids could seriously damage food crops and wondered how chemicals could kill these pests, which sparked my interest in pesticide development. However, because of my weak knowledge in chemistry and biology, I went to the Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to continue my Ph.D. studies after my graduation. During this period, I delved deeply into the knowledge of chemical synthesis and biology, which laid the foundation for my subsequent research. In addition, I always think pesticides are responsible for ensuring food security for a growing global population. I believe that pesticides have to be sustainable as we go forward. This sustainable goal combined with my undergraduate and Ph.D. experience inspired me to pursue the research and development of green pesticides.
What’s next for your research?
Currently, the chemical control of plant bacterial diseases represents a challenging area due to resistance development and bad eco-compatibility of conventional bactericides. Thus, my next research will be to design novel bactericides based on our discovery of pyruvate kinase and calcium-dependent protein kinase 24, potential target proteins against plant bacterial diseases. More specifically, this may involve a multi-step process that includes biochemical research, computational modeling, chemical synthesis, and a series of testing phases.
What do you consider to be the most important advances in your field in the past five years?
I am pleased to see that over the past five years, an increasing number of my fellow researchers have started to focus on the research into the mechanisms of action of pesticides. Previously, the discovery of a new class of pesticides often depended on serendipity. However, with the development of molecular biology techniques, these technologies are being used more extensively to uncover the mechanisms of action of both traditional and new pesticides, in doing so, many potential new target proteins have been discovered and their functions revealed. Screening or designing specific agrochemicals based on these potential targets may lead to the discovery of lead compounds with good activity, reducing costs and risks to non-target organisms. In addition, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), incorporating AI into pesticide design not only speeds up the process but can also lead to more innovative approaches and solutions in the development of new pesticides. Therefore, I believe that biotechnology and AI are the most important innovations brought to pesticide research.