XIEG Holds 62nd Salon for Scientific Exchange

On September 4, the Department of International Cooperation of the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (XIEG), held the 62nd Salon for Scientific Exchange (SSE). The session spotlighted the application of endophytic microbial secondary metabolites in plant protection, featuring Dr. Zokir Toshmatov as the keynote speaker. The event attracted over 30 researchers and graduate students from XIEG.

Dr. Zokir Toshmatov is an Associate Professor at the Laboratory of Alkaloid Chemistry, Institute of the Chemistry of Plant Substances named after Academician S. Yu. Yunusov, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and a PIFI visiting scholar at XIEG.

During his presentation, titled “Isolation and Identification of Secondary Metabolites Produced by Endophytic Microorganisms for Self-Protection: Secondary Metabolites Synthesized by Pseudomonas chlororaphis Against the Apple Canker Pathogen Cytospora mali“, Dr. Zokir Toshmatov systematically introduced methodologies for the isolation, purification, structural elucidation, and bioactivity evaluation of secondary metabolites from endophytic microorganisms and highlighted his team’s latest findings.

He noted that microbial secondary metabolites, as chemical defense tools against environmental stress, represent a rich reservoir of natural products with significant potential for green agricultural disease management and novel drug development.

During the discussion session, participants engaged in in‑depth exchanges with Dr. Zokir Toshmatov on topics including biological control of diseases affecting Xinjiang’s characteristic cash crops, exploration of microbial resources in arid‑zone special habitats, and the interdisciplinary integration of natural product chemistry and ecology.

Research teams at XIEG have long focused on plant‑microbe interactions in arid regions, with a strong foundation in collecting microbial resources from special habitats, discovering bioactive natural products, and evaluating ecological functions. With over 20 years of experience in phytochemistry, Dr. Zokir Toshmatov specializes in the isolation and structural identification of bioactive secondary metabolites from medicinal and invasive plants. He has previously collaborated with XIEG researchers on invasive plant microbiomics, with joint publications in journals including Frontiers in Microbiology.

This salon further solidified the mutual commitment of both parties to collaborative research on the chemistry and ecological functions of microbial secondary metabolites, laying a foundation for future joint exploration and utilization of distinctive microbial resources from arid regions.

Dr. Zokir Toshmatov delivers his presentation. (Image by XIEG)

Contact

HUANG

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography

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

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