At 10:00 on December 7, 2025, the 12th Elite Forum of the Series Lectures for the 85th Anniversary of the School of Life Sciences, Nanchang University (2025) was successfully held in Conference Room B102 of the Science and Life Building on the Qianhu Campus. The forum was hosted by Associate Professor Zhou Yadong, Director of the Department of Biological Sciences of the School of Life Sciences, with the attendance of teachers in relevant fields of the school and representative postgraduate and doctoral students.

Associate Researcher Wu Zengyuan from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences was invited as the keynote speaker, delivering an academic report entitled Research on the Long-Distance Dispersal and Colonization Mechanisms of Seeds for the teachers and students. Associate Researcher Wu Zengyuan has long been engaged in the research of plant taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography, and has achieved systematic results especially in the evolution and dispersal mechanisms of Urticaceae plants.

In the report, Associate Researcher Wu Zengyuan systematically elaborated on the taxonomic history, global distribution pattern of Urticaceae plants and their important ecological and economic values. Combining molecular systematics, character evolution and historical biogeographical methods, he revealed the evolutionary history of this group, which originated in Eurasia and then spread across the globe from tropical to temperate regions through long-distance dispersal. He pointed out that the tiny seeds of Urticaceae plants, which are often distributed along stream edges, make them an ideal group for studying the transoceanic dispersal mechanisms of inland plants. Through salt tolerance experiments, floating experiments and ocean current simulations, his team for the first time confirmed that Urticaceae seeds can achieve transoceanic long-distance dispersal by virtue of ocean currents, and found that habitat disturbance is an important factor promoting the occurrence of such dispersal events. This research provides important empirical evidence for understanding the formation mechanisms of plant geographical patterns and a new perspective for the expansion of biological dispersal theories.

In addition, Associate Researcher Wu Zengyuan introduced the latest progress of his team in the domestication and feralization mechanisms of Boehmeria nivea. Through whole-genome resequencing and population genetic analysis, the team revealed that Boehmeria nivea originated in China, experienced large-scale domestication more than 2,000 years ago, and then underwent feralization under the influence of ecological adaptation and human activities, forming feral populations with independent genetic systems. This achievement provides an important case for crop domestication and the protection of wild resources.