Locusts are one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests and represent a useful model system in entomology. Here we present a draft 6.5 Gb genome sequence of Locusta migratoria, which is the largest animal genome sequenced so far. Our findings indicate that the large genome size of L. migratoria is likely to be because of transposable element proliferation combined with slow rates of loss for these elements. Methylome and transcriptome analyses reveal complex regulatory mechanisms involved in microtubule dynamic-mediated synapse plasticity during phase change. We find significant expansion of gene families associated with energy consumption and detoxification, consistent with long-distance flight capacity and phytophagy. We report hundreds of potential insecticide target genes, including cys-loop ligand-gated ion channels, G-protein-coupled receptors and lethal genes. The L. migratoria genome sequence offers new insights into the biology and sustainable management of this pest species, and will promote its wide use as a model system.

It is highly attractive but challenging to develop earth-abundant electrocatalysts for energy-saving electrolytic hydrogen generation. Herein, we report that Ni P nanoarrays grown in situ on nickel foam (Ni P/NF) behave as a durable high-performance non-noble-metal electrocatalyst for hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) in alkaline media. The replacement of the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction with such the more thermodynamically favorable HzOR enables energy-saving electrochemical hydrogen production with the use of Ni P/NF as a bifunctional catalyst for anodic HzOR and cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction. When operated at room temperature, this two-electrode electrolytic system drives 500 mA cm at a cell voltage as low as 1.0 V with strong long-term electrochemical durability and 100 % Faradaic efficiency for hydrogen evolution in 1.0 m KOH aqueous solution with 0.5 m hydrazine.

Heteratom doping is a possible way to tune the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalytic capability of electrocatalysts. In this work, we report the development of Mn-doped CoP (Mn–Co–P) nanosheets array on Ti mesh (Mn–Co–P/Ti) as an efficient 3D HER electrocatalyst with good stability at all pH values. Electrochemical tests demonstrate that Mn doping leads to enhanced catalytic activity of CoP. In 0.5 M H2SO4, this Mn–Co–P/Ti catalyst drives 10 mA cm–2 at an overpotential of 49 mV, which is 32 mV less than that for CoP/Ti. To achieve the same current density, it demands overpotentials of 76 and 86 mV in 1.0 M KOH and phosphate-buffered saline, respectively. The enhanced HER activity for Mn–Co–P can be attributed to its more thermo-neutral hydrogen adsorption free energy than CoP, which is supported by density functional theory calculations.

As a non‐toxic species, Zn fulfills a multitude of biological roles, but its promoting effect on electrocatalysis has been rarely explored. Herein, the theoretic predications and experimental investigations that nonelectroactive Zn behaves as an effective promoter for CoP‐catalyzed hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in both acidic and alkaline media is reported. Density function theory calculations reveal that Zn doing leads to more thermal‐neutral hydrogen adsorption free energy and thus enhanced HER activity for CoP catalyst. Electrochemical tests show that a Zn0.08Co0.92P nanowall array on titanium mesh (Zn0.08Co0.92P/TM) needs overpotentials of only 39 and 67 mV to drive a geometrical catalytic current of 10 mA cm‐2 in 0.5 m H2SO4 and 1.0 m KOH, respectively. This Zn0.08Co0.92P/TM is also superior in activity over CoP/TM for urea oxidation reaction (UOR), driving 115 mA cm‐2 at 0.6 V in 1.0 m KOH with 0.5 m urea. The high HER and UOR activity of this bifunctional electrode enables a Zn0.08Co0.92P/TM‐based two‐electrode electrolyzer for energy‐saving hydrogen production, offering 10 mA cm‐2 at a low voltage of 1.38 V with strong long‐term electrochemical stability.