On the afternoon of September 16, 2026, the 16th Session of NCU School of Life Sciences Elite Forum was successfully held in Room A102A, the Fundamental Laboratory Building, Qianhu Campus. The forum, chaired by Dr. Guang Yang, the Dean of the School of Life Sciences, featured Dr. Liu Yang, a doctoral supervisor from the School of Life Sciences at Shaanxi Normal University, as the keynote speaker. His presentation, entitled "Decoding Light: Phenotypic Evolution of Vertebrate Opsins," engaged faculty and students in vibrant scholarly discourse.

Dr.Liu has devoted his research to the functional evolution of animal opsins, visual environmental adaptation, and the mechanisms underlying color vision evolution. He has established systematic achievements in vertebrate sensory adaptive evolution, demonstrating a cutting-edge academic perspective and a comprehensive research framework. This presentation addressed gaps in photoreceptor evolution research across invertebrates and vertebrates, systematically elucidating breakthrough findings achieved by his group in taxa such as sea cucumbers, amphibians, and rodents through progressive analysis.

Dr. Liu detailed the molecular mechanisms driving opsin functional evolution via mutations at key sites. Through in vitro experiments, he demonstrated how alterations at specific amino acid residues affect the spectral sensitivity and stability of opsins. Integrating years of research outcomes, he presented a complete investigative framework ranging from molecular function assays to the construction of an 18-site evolutionary model for red-green sensitive pigments, characterized by rigorous logic and substantive content.

The presentation offered novel insights and elicited enthusiastic responses from the audience. During the interactive Q&A session, faculty and students posed questions related to their own research directions, receiving thorough answers from Professor Liu. These exchanges provided feasible ideas for subsequent scientific inquiry, further reinforcing the strong atmosphere of academic discourse at the event.