XIEG Holds 51st Salon for Scientific Exchange

The Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences held the 51st "Salon for Scientific Exchange" event on Dec. 12th. This event featured Prof. Roman Jashenko, a visiting scientist supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), as the keynote speaker. International experts and students from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography attended the event.

Prof. Roman Jashenko first introduced the main insect species that have been used in the past and present for the production of red pigments. Then, he focused on the genus Porphyrophora within the Margarodidae family, detailing its global distribution, life cycle, relationship with host plants, and primary applications. Based on archaeological and historical data, he proposed the hypotheses that "all Porphyrophora host plants are dyeing plants" and "the ancient carmine dyeing industry may have originated in Central Eurasia".

During the discussion session, Prof. Roman Jashenko engaged with the participants on topics such as the relationship between Porphyrophora insects and their host plants, the difference of carmine derived from field-collected insects versus tissue-cultured cells, and the potential for Porphyrophora insect application in modern dyeing and biomedicine industries.

Prof. Roman Jashenko is a visiting scientist supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), the director of the Institute of Zoology of Kazakhstan, Adviser to the UNESCO Director General for biosphere reserves on Asia and Pacific, Chairman of the Kazakhstan National Committee for the UNESCO Program “Man and the Biosphere” (MAB). His primary scientific interest is zoology (systematics, fauna, and zoogeography of scale insects; biological control of harmful plants; biodiversity conservation, redlisting, etc.). He has published more than 200 scientific publications, including some monographs such as “Insect pests of a tamarisk in South-Eastern Kazakhstan” (2007), “Strict Nature Reserves of Central Asia and Kazakhstan” (2006), etc.), “Catalogue of the national zoological scientific collection of vertebrate animals of the Republic of Kazakhstan” (2022), etc.

Prof. Roman Jashenko gives his presentation. (Image by XIEG)

Contact

LONG Huaping

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography

E-mail: longhp@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Web: http://english.egi.cas.cn