On the afternoon of October 15th, 2022, Prof. Mou Cuicui and associate professor of Lu Xia from the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou university invited Professor Liu Yurong from Huazhong Agricultural University to teach the course "Global Cycle of Persistent Pollutants" online to the 2022 Ph.D. students of the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the topic of this course was the interaction between soil microorganisms and pollutants.

The content of the course was divided into two parts: the transformation of heavy metals by soil microorganisms and the influence of soil pollution on microbial communities. Prof. Liu Yurong first gave a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the definition of microorganisms and the important role microorganisms play in the geochemical cycle. Taking methylmercury, the most common heavy metal pollutant, as an example, combined with long-term research experience and research results obtained by other teams, the driving role of microorganisms in the mercury methylation process, the important influence of microorganisms on methylmercury demethylation, and the influence of soil mercury pollution on microbial community existence were emphasized. Finally, Prof. Liu Yurong had an in-depth discussion with the online students about the course content and patiently answered their questions.

Introduction to the Speaker

Liu Yurong is a professor and doctoral supervisor at Huazhong Agricultural University. Long-term focus on soil ecological process and regulation-related research. He was selected for the National Youth Top Talent Program and was supported by Hubei Outstanding Natural Science Fund. He was awarded the Outstanding Young Scholar Award by the Chinese Soil Society and the first prize for Young Scientific Innovation in Microbial Ecology by the Chinese Ecological Society. Front Microbiol Associate Editor, Bull Environ Contam Toxicol, J Sustain Agri Environ Editorial Board, Environmental Science Youth Editorial Board, etc. More than 60 SCI papers have been published in major professional journals such as Microbiome, Global Change Biol, New Phytologist, Environ Sci Technol, and Soil Biol Biochem.