Xiaolong Wang

　　 　　

Dr. Xiaolong Wang is currently a professor at Northwest A&F University, where he co-leads both animal model development and molecular genetics research efforts dedicated to the improvement of small ruminant food animals (sheep and goats). The overarching lab mission is to apply multi-omics and genome editing technologies for genetic improvement that promotes sustainability, animal health, and rapid increases in meat and fiber production. Specifically, his lab is interested in using cashmere goats as a model to better understand hair follicle biology (including the first successful use of base editors in food animals). In addition to the use of indigenous sheep breeds to test variations associated with heavy muscling, wool production, adaptation to climate change, and parasite resistance. His lab was amongst the very first to apply genome editing in sheep/goats and various gene-edited sheep/goat models were generated using different gene-editing systems, including CRISPR/Cas9, base editors, and primer editors.

He also serves as the chair of the Livestock Genome Editing Committee (International Society of Animal Genetics; ISAG), the associate editor of  Reproduction, Fertility and Development , and an editorial board member of the  Journal of Animal Science , and  Transgenic Research . Meanwhile, he won several national awards, including “Cheung Kong Scholars Programme (Young Scientist)”, “Young Scientist of Shaanxi”, and “Cyrus Tang Scholar”.

Higher education

2008-2013	Dr. rer. nat, Animal Breeding Chair of Animal Breeding, Technical University of Munich, Germany
2005-2008	Master of Science, Molecular Nutrition College of Animal Science and Technology Northwest A&F University, China
2001-2005	Bachelor of Science, Animal Science College of Animal Science and Technology Bachelor of Engineering, Computer Science College of Information Technology and Engineering Northwest A&F University, China

Professional Experience

2021-present	Vice dean, College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University
2019-present	Professor, Northwest A&F University, China
2016-2018	Associate Professor, Northwest A&F University, China

Research Areas

1) Investigating the genetics and genomics underlying economically important traits in sheep and goats.

2) Developing new gene-editing tools to suit the use in mammalian systems.

3) Applying gene-editing toolkit to generate gene-edited animal models with improved productive traits.  

4) Elucidating the genetic landscape controlling hair and wool fiber traits in ruminants.

Selected Publications (*Correspondence)

1) Wang X^*, Petersen B^*. More abundant and healthier meat: Will the  MSTN  editing epitome empower the commercialization of gene editing in livestock?  Science China Life Sciences . 2021.

2) Fan J^#, Ding Y^#, Ren C, Song Z, Yuan J, Chen Q, Du C, Li C, Wang X^*, Shu W^*. Cytosine and adenine deaminase base-editors induce broad and nonspecific changes in gene expression and splicing.  Communications Biology . 2021;4(1):882.

3) Liu Y^#, Yang G^#, Huang S^#, Li X, Wang X, Li G, Chi T, Chen Y, Huang X^*, Wang X^*. Enhancing prime editing by Csy4-mediated processing of pegRNA.  Cell Research . 2021:1–3.

4) Zhou S^#, Ding Y^#, Liu J, Liu Y, Zhao X, Li G, Zhang C, Li C, Wang Y, Kalds P, Gao Y, Zong B, Huang X, Huang S, Yu H, Kou Q, Petersen B, Huang X, Wang X^*, Ma B^*, Chen Y^*. Highly efficient generation of sheep with a defined  FecB  ^B  mutation via adenine base editing.  Genetics Selection Evolution . 2020;52(1):35.

5) Zheng Z^#, Wang X^#, Li M^#, Li Y^#, Yang Z^#, Wang X^#, Pan X, Gong M, Zhang Y, Guo Y, Wang Y, Liu J, Cai Y, Chen Q, Okpeku M, Colli L, Cai D, Wang K, Huang S, Sonstegard TS, Esmailizadeh A, Zhang W, Zhang T, Xu Y, Xu N, Yang Y, Han J, Chen L, Lesur J, Daly KG, Bradley DG, Heller R, Zhang G, Wang W, Chen Y^*, Jiang Y^*. The origin of domestication genes in goats.  Science Advances . 2020;6(21):eaaz52.

6) Liu Y^#, Li X^#, He S^#, Huang S, Li C, Chen Y, Liu Z^*, Huang X^*, Wang X^*. Efficient generation of mouse models with the prime editing system.  Cell Discovery . 2020;6(1):27.

7) Li G^#, Zhou S^#, Li C^#, Cai B^#, Yu H, Ma B, Huang Y, Ding Y, Liu Y, Ding Q, He C, Zhou J, Wang Y, Zhou G, Li Y, Yan Y, Hua J, Petersen B, Jiang Y, Sonstegard T, Huang X^*, Chen Y^*, Wang X^*. Base pair editing in goat: nonsense codon introgression into  FGF5  results in longer hair.  FEBS Journal . 2019;286(23):4675–4692.

8) Wang X^#, Niu Y^#, Zhou J^#, Zhu H, Ma B, Yu H, Yan H, Hua J, Huang X, Qu L^*, Chen Y^*. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated  MSTN  disruption and heritable mutagenesis in goats causes increased body mass.  Animal Genetics . 2018;49(1):43–51.

9) Wang X^#, Liu J^#, Niu Y^#, Li Y, Zhou S, Li C, Ma B, Kou Q, Petersen B, Sonstegard T, Huang X^*, Jiang Y^*, Chen Y^*. Low incidence of SNVs and indels in trio genomes of Cas9-mediated multiplex edited sheep.  BMC Genomics . 2018;19(1):397.

10) Li C, Li Y, Zhou G, Gao Y, Ma S, Chen Y, Song J^*, Wang X^*. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of goat skins identifies signatures associated with hair cycling.  BMC Genomics . 2018;19(1):638.

Contacts

Email: xiaolongwang (at) nwafu.edu.cn