Part 1 Basic Information

Name: Zhongyi Hua

Department: Department of Chinese Materia Medica and Pharmacy

Address: School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, No. 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu 212013, China

Email: hzy@ujs.edu.cn

Part 2 Personal Profile

Zhongyi Hua, Ph.D. in Chinese Materia Medica, is a Lecturer at the School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University. His research focuses on nucleic acid data resources for Chinese medicinal species, mechanisms underlying quality formation in Dao-di medicinal materials, and the development of taxon-specific molecular markers, alongside traditional Chinese medicine big-data integration and AI-assisted information mining. He has published in Horticulture Research, Plant Biotechnology Journal, Molecular Ecology Resources, and Plant Communications. He leads three research projects, including a Jiangsu Province Basic Research Program Youth Fund project, and participates in one additional project. He serves as a youth committee member of the Chinese Materia Medica Authentication Branch of the China Association of Chinese Medicine and the Professional Committee of Molecular Pharmacognosy of the Chinese Association of Integrative Medicine.

Part 3 Education

2018.09–2024.06 | China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences | Chinese Materia Medica | Ph.D.

2014.09–2018.06 | Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine | Chinese Materia Medica Pharmaceutics | B.S.

Part 4 Work Experience

2025.06–Present | School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University | Lecturer

Part 5 Research Interests

1. Molecular authentication of Chinese materia medica

2. Mechanisms underlying the formation of Dao-di medicinal materials

3. Traditional Chinese medicine big-data integration and AI-assisted information mining

Part 6 Research Achievements

6.1 Research Projects

1.2026.07–2026.09 | Improvement of the Salvia miltiorrhiza genome assembly | Industry-funded project | RMB 100,000 | Principal Investigator.

2.2026–2029 | Mechanisms by which SDR gene evolutionary patterns and functional divergence drive chemotype formation in Su mint | Jiangsu Province Basic Research Program — Youth Fund | RMB 200,000 | Principal Investigator.

3.2026–2028 | Molecular mechanisms by which divergence of the menthol dehydrogenase gene family contributes to the formation of chemotypes associated with Dao-di medicinal mint | Capacity-Building Project for the Sustainable Utilization of Rare and Valuable Chinese Medicinal Resources | RMB 200,000 | Principal Investigator.

4.2024–2027 | Development of a life-omics big-data infrastructure for traditional Chinese medicine | Capacity-Building Project for the Sustainable Utilization of Rare and Valuable Chinese Medicinal Resources | RMB 4.5 million | Participant.

6.2 Publications — Selected Journal Articles

* Equal contribution; † Corresponding author. The author’s name is in bold.

1.Teng, X., Hua, Z., Hao, S., Zhang, M., Xie, Y., Zhu, X., Huang, L., Yuan, Y. The orchid Gastrodia-derived extracellular vesicles deliver miR535 to suppress a fungal effector and facilitate symbiosis with Armillaria[J]. Plant Communications, 2026: 102149. DOI: 10.1016/j.xplc.2026.102149. (Online ahead of print, 2026.10)

2.Hua, Z., Li, L., Chen, Y., Cao, Y., Liu, W., Teng, X., et al., Yuan, Y. Chromosome-level genome assembly and population genomics unveil strigolactone-regulated growth adaptation in the mycoheterotrophic orchid Gastrodia elata[J]. Horticulture Research, 13(7), 2026, uhag099.

3.Hua, Z.*, Teng, X.*, Huang, J., Zhou, J., Zhao, Y., Huang, L.†, Yuan, Y.† The Armillaria response to Gastrodia elata is partially mediated by strigolactone-induced changes in reactive oxygen species[J]. Microbiological Research, 278, 2024, 127536.

4.Zhang, Y.*, Liu, T.*, Nan, T., Hua, Z.†, Zhao, Y., Yuan, Y.† Characteristics and functions of volatile organic compounds in the tripartite symbiotic system of Gastrodia elata-Armillaria gallica-Rahnella aceris HPDA25[J]. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 19(1), 2024, 2399426.

5.Hua, Z.*, Jiang, C.*, Song, S.*, Tian, D.*, Chen, Z., Jin, Y., et al., Yuan, Y.† Accurate identification of taxon-specific molecular markers in plants based on DNA signature sequence[J]. Molecular Ecology Resources, 23(1), 2023, 106-117.

6.Han, P., Hua, Z., Zhao, Y., Huang, L.†, Yuan, Y.† PuCRZ1, an C2H2 transcription factor from Polyporus umbellatus, positively regulates mycelium response to osmotic stress[J]. Frontiers in Microbiology, 14, 2023, 1131605.

7.Jiao, H., Hua, Z., Zhou, J., Hu, J., Zhao, Y., Wang, Y., et al., Huang, L.† Genome-wide analysis of Panax MADS-box genes reveals role of PgMADS41 and PgMADS44 in modulation of root development and ginsenoside synthesis[J]. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 233, 2023, 123648.

8.Zhou, T., Xu, K.†, Zhao, F., Liu, W., Li, L., Hua, Z., Zhou, X. itol. toolkit accelerates working with iTOL (Interactive Tree of Life) by an automated generation of annotation files[J]. Bioinformatics, 39(6), 2023, btad339.

9.Li, C., Jin, L., Zhang, C., Li, S., Zhou, T., Hua, Z., et al., Liu, J.†. Destabilized microbial networks with distinct performances of abundant and rare biospheres in maintaining networks under increasing salinity stress[J]. iMeta, 2(1), 2023, e79.

10.[10] Hua, Z.*, Tian, D.*, Jiang, C.*, Song, S., Chen, Z., Zhao, Y., et al., Yuan, Y.† Towards comprehensive integration and curation of chloroplast genomes[J]. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 20(12), 2022, 2239-2241.

11.Hua, Z.*, Liu, T.*, Han, P., Zhou, J., Zhao, Y., Huang, L., Yuan, Y.† Isolation, genomic characterization, and mushroom growth-promoting effect of the first fungus-derived Rhizobium[J]. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, 2022, 947687.

12.Yu, M.*, Hua, Z.*, Liao, P. R., Zheng, H., Jin, Y., Peng, H. S., et al., Yuan, Y.† Increasing expression of PnGAP and PnEXPA4 provides insights into the enlargement of Panax notoginseng root size from Qing dynasty to cultivation era[J]. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 2022, 878796.

13.Liu, T.*, Hua, Z.*, Han, P., Zhao, Y., Zhou, J., Jin, Y., et al., Yuan, Y.† Mycorrhizosphere Bacteria, Rahnella sp. HPDA25, 2022, promotes the growth of Armillaria gallica and its parasitic host Gastrodia elata. [J] Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, 842893.

6.3 Patents and Software Copyrights

Patents

1.Yuan, Y.; Hua, Z.; Zhao, Y.; Huang, L. Method for rapidly screening highly homozygous Gastrodia elata and primer combination thereof. Chinese Invention Patent CN114990252B, granted 2026.02.

2.Yuan, Y.; Liu, T.; Hua, Z.; Nan, T.; Zhao, Y.; Zhou, J.; Li, X.; Huang, L. Haplotype molecular markers associated with superior morphology and quality of Gastrodia elata and applications thereof. Chinese Invention Patent CN113736904B, granted 2023.10.

3.Yuan, Y.; Hua, Z.; Jiang, C.; Huang, L. Method for identifying plants using DNA signature sequences. Chinese Invention Patent CN113322340B, granted 2022.09.

Software Copyrights

1.Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences; Hua, Z.; Yuan, Y. Software for identifying DNA signature sequence fragments (IdenDSS), V2.0. Registration No. 2023SR0348944, 2023.03.

2.Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences; Hua, Z.; Yuan, Y. Workflow generator for resequencing analysis of medicinal animal and plant germplasm resources (MGRAG), V1.0. Registration No. 2022SR0597293, 2022.05.

3.Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences; Hua, Z.; Yuan, Y. Microsatellite marker toolbox (IdenSSR), V1.0. Registration No. 2022SR0597299, 2022.05.

4.Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. Software for identifying DNA signature sequence fragments (IdenDSS), V1.0. Registration No. 2021SR0112964, 2021.01.