At 9:00 a.m. on December 7, 2025, the Elite Forum of the 85th Anniversary Academic Lecture Series of the College of Life Sciences, Nanchang University (2025, Issue 11) was successfully held in Conference Room B102 of the Life Sciences Building at Qianhu Campus. The forum was chaired by Associate Professor Zhou Yadong, Director of the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Life Sciences. Faculty members from related research fields, as well as undergraduate, master's, and doctoral student representatives, attended the event. Researcher Liu Jie from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, was invited as the keynote speaker and delivered an academic report entitled "The Origin and Conservation of Genetic Diversity in Walnuts."

Researcher Liu Jie has long been engaged in studies on forest genetic resources and biogeography, achieving a series of significant research outcomes in walnut genomics and conservation genetics. In his presentation, he systematically reviewed the genetic classification, centers of origin, and evolutionary history of walnuts, including Juglans regia and Juglans sigillata. By integrating population genomics, microsatellite markers, and species distribution modeling, he highlighted the critical role of the Himalayan region as a core area of genetic diversity for walnuts.

Researcher Liu further pointed out that walnuts are not only an important economic tree species in China, but also a representative model system for studying species adaptation, hybridization, and human domestication processes. Through extensive sampling across 11 Asian countries combined with high-throughput sequencing, his research team clarified that walnuts underwent early diversification during the early Pleistocene and subsequently dispersed along the Silk Road and the Tea Horse Road. The study also revealed that human activities, such as large-scale grafting, together with climate change, are posing significant threats to wild walnut germplasm resources. These findings not only deepen our understanding of the origin and dissemination history of walnuts, but also provide a solid scientific basis for the in situ conservation and sustainable utilization of genetic resources in economic forest trees.

During the interactive discussion session, attending faculty and students engaged in lively exchanges with the speaker on topics including the formation mechanisms of walnut hybrid zones, strategies for conserving genetic diversity, uncertainties in climate change modeling, and the application prospects of genomic data in breeding programs. Researcher Liu addressed these questions in detail by drawing on recent research findings and practical case studies, resulting in in-depth and highly insightful discussions.

As an important component of the College's 85th anniversary academic activities, this forum provided faculty and students with a valuable opportunity to engage in face-to-face academic exchange with outstanding young scholars from across the country. The event broadened participants' research perspectives and further fostered an open, collaborative, and interdisciplinary atmosphere of academic innovation within the College.