Cui Guan

Rm: 2.16 Fogg Building

Email: c.guan@qmul.ac.uk


Research interests

Learning and memory are thought to depend on long-lasting changes in the strength of synaptic connections. Multiple mechanisms have been demonstrated to be instrumental in the modulation of synaptic activity. One crucial instructive mechanism involves activity dependent post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins in the adult mammalian brain. Post-translational modifications include protein phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation and ubiquitination to name but a few. Such modification may influence the activity of modified proteins at the synapse or their affinity for various substrates, for example. The possible role of post-translational modifications in the synaptic plasticity of mammals has been extensively studied. However, its functional significance in the synaptic activity in the learning process of social insects is poorly understood. My PhD research focuses on exploring the underpinnings of changing synaptic strengths in bumblebees. I aim to test the possibility that a regulation of activity of enzymes which mediate specific post-translational modifications by visual and olfactory inputs may be involved in a sequence of cascades of biochemical events leading to synaptic plasticity.

Educational background

2014-Present. PhD student, Queen Mary, University of London, UK, part of the work is carried out at UCL (supervisors: Dr. A and Prof. L. Chittka)
2009-2012. MSc, Jiangxi Agricultural University, China (supervisor: Prof. Zhijiang Zeng)
2005–2009.BSc, Jiangxi Agricultural University, China

Publications

He, X. J., Tian, L. Q., Barron, A. B., Guan, C., Liu, H., Wu, X. B., & Zeng, Z. J. (2014). Behaviour and molecular physiology of nurses of worker and queen larvae in honey bees (Apis mellifera). Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 17 (2014), 911-916.

 

Guan, C., Barron, A. B., He, X. J., Wang, Z. L., Yan, W. Y., & Zeng, Z. J. (2013). A Comparison of Digital Gene Expression Profiling and Methyl DNA Immunoprecipitation as Methods for Gene Discovery in Honeybee (Apis mellifera) Behavioural Genomic Analyses. PloS ONE, 8(9), e73628.

 

Guan, C., Zeng, Z. J., Wang, Z. L., Yan, W. Y., & Pan, Q. Z. (2013). Expression of Sir2, Hdac1 and Ash2 in Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Queens and Workers. Journal of Apicultural Science, 57(1), 67-73.

 

Pan, Q. Z., Wu, X. B., Guan, C., & Zeng, Z. J. (2013). A New Method of Queen Rearing without Grafting Larvae. AmericanBee Journal,153(12), 1279-1280.