Professor Lusheng Huang

Lusheng Huang is a professor and president of Jiangxi Agricultural University. He is an Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, President of the Chinese Society of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Director of the National Committee for Domestic Animal Genetic Resources of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and Director of the National Key Laboratory of Pig Genetic Improvement and Germplasm Innovation, Ministry of Science and Technology of China.

He has been conducting studies on the genetic and molecular mechanisms of complex traits in commercial and indigenous pig breeds worldwide. His research has elucidated causative mutations and molecular mechanisms underlying economic traits of pigs, including vertebral number, meat quality, carcass and bone length, disease resistance, and coat color. He is recognized internationally as one of the most productive scientists in identifying and validating causal genes and mutations for both qualitative and complex quantitative traits in pigs. His breeding technologies for large body frame, increased rib number, marbled pork, and disease resistance received international invention patents.

His representative achievements include the 2022 Nature work, showing that the ABO gene shapes the pig gut microbiota by regulating N-acetylgalactosamine levels, and the 2026 Science work that built the first “All-from-one” spatiotemporal single-cell atlas of pig pregnancy and fetal development and identified key cell types linked to fetal growth restriction, as well as the 2015 Nature Genetics cover story, which revealed local adaptation and possible ancient interspecies introgression in Chinese pigs. In 2018, he led the development of “China Chip-1 (CC-1)”, a 50K SNP chip for pig breeding that includes markers for 12 causal genes, accounting for 44% of the 27 causal genes reported worldwide. The CC-1 now holds 92% of the Chinese market. In addition to 22 highly selected Duroc, Large white and Landrace large breeding coreherds, he also bred a novel breed, Shanxia long black, from Chinese indigenous and Berkshire founders, reaching outstanding performance in average daily gain, body length, and over 15 pairs of ribs, with application in over one million commercial pigs within three years.