Profile

Zhefeng Gong is currently a professor at Medical School of Zhejiang University. He got BS degree in 1995 from Department of Biology, Wuhan University and PhD in 2000 from the Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He did postdoc research in University of Virginia in 2000-2005. In 2006, he joined the Institute of Biophysics, CAS as an associate professor and became a professor in 2011. In 2012, he joined the Medical School of Zhejiang University as a professor.

His study is mainly about the neural circuit underlying Drosophila behaviors. He has made remarkable progresses in disclosing the neural circuit of Drosophila larva light preference, as well as the molecular and neuronal basis of Drosophila visual memory.
1. He has screened and identified a large batch of neurons that affect larval light preference, including the central brain NP394 neurons that govern the switch of larval light preference between positive and negative. These NP394 neurons were further found to be in connection with existing larval visual pathway.
2. By building theoretic model for the dynamic process of larval light preference, he discovered the movement status had huge impact on the final choice.
3. He and colleagues found that the Drosophila ellipsoid body and the cGMP signaling pathway are both involved in visual learning and memory. The protein kinase G and Adenylyl cyclase Rut play crucial roles in the transition of memory traces between the fan-shaped body and ellipsoid body.

The research projects he is running now include: 1. To disclose the neural circuit underlying Drosophila larval innate preference behaviors and the mechanisms of sensory information processing as well as the core neural mechanism underlying decision-making behavior. 2. To study the neural basis of reversion of Drosophila light preference during metamorphosis. 3. To discover the neural representation of visual information, motion, and their interactions in Drosophila.


Publications

1. Gong Z*. Innate preference in Drosophila melanogaster. Sci China Life Sci. 2012 55(1):8-14. Review.
2. Gong Z*, Gong Z*. A molecular diffusion based utility model for Drosophila larval phototaxis. Theor Biol Med Model. 2012 9:3.
3. Jiang H, Hou Q, Gong Z*, Liu L*. Proteomic and transcriptomic analysis of visual long-term memory in Drosophila melanogaster. Protein Cell. 2011 2(3):215-22.
4. Gong Z*, Liu J, Guo C, Zhou Y, Teng Y, Liu L*. Two pairs of neurons in the central brain control Drosophila innate light preference. Science. 2010 330(6003):499-502.
5. Hou Q, Jiang H, Zhang X, Guo C, Huang B, Wang P, Wang T, Wu K, Li J, Gong Z, Du L, Liu Y, Liu L*, Chen C*. Nitric oxide metabolism controlled by formaldehyde dehydrogenase (fdh, homolog of mammalian GSNOR) plays a crucial role in visual pattern memory in Drosophila. Nitric Oxide. 2011 24(1):17-24.
6. Xiong Y, Lv H, Gong Z*, Liu L*. Fixation and locomotor activity are impaired by inducing tetanus toxin expression in adult Drosophila brain. Fly (Austin). 2010 4(3).
7. Pan Y, Zhou Y, Guo C, Gong H, Gong Z*, Liu L*. Differential roles of the fan-shaped body and the ellipsoid body in Drosophila visual pattern memory. Learn Mem. 2009 16(5):289-95.
8. Li W, Pan Y, Wang Z, Gong H, Gong Z*, Liu L*. Morphological characterization of single fan-shaped body neurons in Drosophila melanogaster. Cell Tissue Res. 2009 336(3):509-19.
9. Gong Z*. Behavioral dissection of Drosophila larval phototaxis. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2009 382(2):395-9.
10. Wang Z, Pan Y, Li W, Jiang H, Chatzimanolis L, Chang J, Gong Z*, Liu L*. Visual pattern memory requires foraging function in the central complex of Drosophila. Learn Mem. 2008 15(3):133-42.
11. Gong Z, Son W, Chung YD, Kim J, Shin DW, McClung CA, Lee Y, Lee HW, Chang DJ, Kaang BK, Cho H, Oh U, Hirsh J, Kernan MJ, Kim C. Two interdependent TRPV channel subunits, inactive and Nanchung, mediate hearing in Drosophila. J Neurosci. 2004 24(41):9059-66.
12. Wu Z, Gong Z, Feng C, Guo A. An emergent mechanism of selective visual attention in Drosophila. Biol Cybern. 2000 82(1):61-8.
13. Gong Z, Xia S, Liu L, Feng C, Guo A. Operant visual learning and memory in Drosophila mutants dunce, amnesiac and radish. J Insect Physiol. 1998 44(12):1149-1158.
* corresponding author