Professor Zihe Rao lead a research resolving the crystal structure of mitochondrial respiratory membrane protein complex II (comprised of four different proteins) purified from porcine heart. This was the first time since 1980 that Chinese scientists in mainland China have published complete, systematic and original research work in the journal Cell. Mitochondrial respiratory membrane protein complex II is one of only a few members of the membrane protein family to have its structure elucidated. This work is a new milestone in research on the mitochondrial respiratory electron transfer chain.

This work was published on Cell (2005,121(7): 1043–1057)