Biochemical Engineering; Bioorganic Chemistry; Biomass Energy; Chemical Biology; Synthetic Biology

1995 – 1998  PhD. Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, CAS, Shanghai,China

1992 – 1995  MSc. Hunan Normal University, Changsha,China

1986 – 1990  BSc. Hunan Normal University, Changsha,China

2003.11 – present     Professor, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, CAS, Dalian, China

2001.03 – 2003.10    Postdoc, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA

1998.08 – 2001.02    Postdoc, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

​Recipient of the national outstanding young scientist fund from NSFC

FEMS Yeast Research, Editor

BioMed Research International, Editorial Board Member

Representative Publications:

1. Wang XY, Feng YB, Guo XJ, Wang Q, Ning SY, Li Q, Wang JT, Wang L, Zhao ZK*. “Creating enzymes and self-sufficient cells for biosynthesis of the non-natural cofactor nicotinamide cytosine dinucleotide” Nat. Commun. 2021, 12, 2116.

2. Guo XJ, Liu YX, Wang Q, Wang XY, Li Q, Liu WJ, Zhao ZK. “Non-natural cofactor and formate-driven reductive carboxylation of pyruvate” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59(8), 3143–3146.

3. Liu YX, Feng YB, Wang L, Guo XJ, Liu WJ, Li Q, Wang XY, Xue S, Zhao ZK. “Structural insights into phosphite dehydrogenase variants favoring a non-natural redox cofactor” ACS Catal. 2019, 9(3), 1883–1887.

4. Wang YN, Zhang SF, Zhu ZW, Shen HW, Lin XP, Jin X, Jiao X, Zhao ZK. “Systems analysis of phosphate-limitation induced lipid accumulation by the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides” Biotechnol. Biofuels 2018, 11, 148.

5. Zhu ZW, Zhou YJ, Krivoruchko A, Grininger M, Zhao ZK, Nielsen J. “Expanding the product portfolio of fungal type I fatty acid synthases” Nat. Chem. Biol. 2017, 13(4), 360–362.

6. Wang L, Ji DB, Liu YX, Wang Q, Wang XY, Zhou YJ, Zhang YX, Liu WJ, Zhao ZK. “Synthetic cofactor-linked metabolic circuits for selective energy transfer” ACS Catal. 2017, 7(3), 1977–1983.​

7. Gong ZW, Shen HW, Yang XB, Wang Q, Xie HB, Zhao ZK. “Lipid production from corn stover by the oleaginous yeast Cryptococcus curvatus” Biotechnol. Biofuels 2014, 7, 158.

8. Guo J, Zhou YJ, Hillwig ML, Shen Y, Yang L, Wang YJ, Zhang XN, Liu WJ, Peters RJ, Chen XY, Zhao ZK, Huang LQ. “CYP76AH1 catalyzes turnover of miltiradiene in tanshinones biosynthesis and enables heterologous production of ferruginol in yeasts” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2013, 110(29), 12108–12113.

9. Zhu ZW, Zhang SF, Liu HW, Shen HW, Lin XP, Yang F, Zhou YJ, Jin GJ, Ye ML, Zou HF, Zhao ZK. “A multi-omic map of the lipid-producing yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides” Nat. Commun. 2012, 3, 1112.

10. Zhou YJ, Gao W, Rong QX, Jin GJ, Chu HY, Liu WJ, Yang W, Zhu ZW, Li GH, Zhu GF, Huang LQ, Zhao ZK. “Modular pathway engineering of diterpenoid synthases and the mevalonic acid pathway for miltiradiene production” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134(6), 3234–3241.

11. Ji DB, Wang L, Hou SH, Liu WJ, Wang JX, Wang Q, Zhao ZK. “Creation of bioorthogonal redox systems depending on nicotinamide flucytosine dinucleotide” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133(51), 20857–20862.

Papers in recent 5 years.

1. Wang XY, Feng YB, Guo XJ, Wang Q, Ning SY, Li Q, Wang JT, Wang L, Zhao ZK*. “Creating enzymes and self-sufficient cells for biosynthesis of the non-natural cofactor nicotinamide cytosine dinucleotide” Nat. Commun. 2021, 12, 2116.
2. Liu YX*, Guo XJ, Liu WJ, Wang JT, Zhao ZK. “Structural insights into malic enzyme variants favoring an unnatural redox cofactor”ChemBioChem 2021, 22(10), 1765–1768.
3. Li Q, Liu WJ, Zhao ZK*. “Synthesis of proteogenic amino acid-based NAD analogs”etrahedron Lett. 2021, 72, 153703.
4. Zhao Z-B, Li X, Chen M-W, Zhao ZK,* Zhou Y-G*. Biomimetic asymmetric reduction of benzoxazinones and quinoxalinones using ureas as transfer catalysts”Chem. Commun. 2020, 56(53), 7309–7312.
5. Wen ZQ, Zhang SF, Odoh CK, Jin MJ,* Zhao ZK*. “Rhodosporidium  toruloides - A potential red yeast chassis for lipids and beyond” FEMS Yeast Res. 2020, 20(5), foaa038.
6. Guo XJ, Liu YX, Wang Q, Wang XY, Li Q, Liu WJ, Zhao ZK*. “Non-natural cofactor and formate-driven      reductive carboxylation of pyruvate” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59(8), 3143–3146.
7. Wang X, Xu QQ, Cheng J, Hu G, Xie XJ, Peng C, Yu X, Shen HW, Zhao ZK, Xie HB*. “Bio-refining corn stover into microbial lipid and  advanced energy material using ionic liquid-based organic electrolyte” Ind. Crop Prod. 2020, 145(1), 112137.
8. Liu YX, Li Q, Wang L, Guo XJ, Wang JT, Wang Q, Zhao ZK*. “Engineering D-lactate dehydrogenase to favor a non-natural cofactor nicotinamide cytosine dinucleotide”ChemBioChem 2020, 21(14), 1972–1975.    
9. Kamal R, Shen HW, Li Q, Wang Q, Yu X, Zhao ZK*. “Utilization of amino acid rich wastes for microbial lipid production” Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 2020, 191(4), 1594–1604.
10. Li Q, Kamal R, Wang Q, Yu X, Zhao ZK*. “Lipid production from amino acid wastes by the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides” Energies 2020, 13(7), 1576.
11. Boonyarit J, Polburee P, Khaenda B, Zhao ZK, Limtong S*. “Lipid  production from sugarcane top hydrolysate and crude glycerol with Rhodosporidiobolus fluvialis using a two stage batch cultivation strategy with separate optimization of each stage”Microorganisms 2020, 8(3), 453.
12. Wang S, Kamal R, Zhang Y, Zhou RH, Lv LT, Huang QT, Qian SRGL*, Zhang SF*, Zhao ZK. “Expression of VHb improved lipid production in Rhodosporidium toruloides” Energies 2020, 13(17), 4446.
13. Zhou RH, Zhu ZW, Zhang SF*, Zhao ZK. “The complete mitochondrial genome of the lipid-producing yeast Rhodotorula toruloides”FEMS Yeast Res. 2020, 20(6), foaa048.
14. Kamal R, Liu YX, Li Q, Huang QT, Wang Q, Yu X, Zhao ZK*. “Exogenous L-proline improved Rhodosporidium toruloides lipid production on crude glycerol” Biotechnol. Biofuels 2020, 13, 159.
15. Guo XJ, Wang XY, Liu YX, Li Q, Wang JT, Liu WJ*, Zhao ZK*. “Structure-guided design of formate dehydrogenase for regeneration of a non-natural redox cofactor”hem. Eur. J. 2020, 26(70), 16611–16615.
16. Liu HF, Han JY, Huang QT, Shen HW, Lei LJ, Huang ZP, Zhang ZX,  Zhao ZK*, Wang F*. “Catalytic hydrodeoxygenation of methyl stearate and microbial lipids to diesel-range alkanes over Pd/HPA-SiO₂      catalysts” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2020, 59(39), 17440–17450.
17. 王爽，张月，周人辉，吕力婷，张素芳*，赵宗保. “表达透明颤菌血红蛋白对圆红冬孢酵母油脂积累的影响” 可再生能源 2020, 38(9), 1143–1148.
18. Jiao X, Zhang Y, Liu XJ, Zhang Q, Zhang SF*, Zhao ZK*. “Developing a CRISPR/Cas9 system for genome editing in the basidiomycetous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides” Biotechnol. J. 2019, 14(7), 1900036.
19. Guo XJ, Shen HW, Liu YX, Wang Q, Wang XY, Peng C, Liu WJ, Zhao ZK*. “Enabling heterologous synthesis of lupulones in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae” Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 2019, 188(3), 787–797.
20. Wang L, Liu B, Liu YX, Sun Y, Liu WJ, Yu DY*, Zhao ZK*. “Escherichia coli strain designed for characterizing in vivo functions of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide analogues”Org. Lett. 2019, 21(9), 3218–3222.
21. Zhang MM, Xiong L, Tang YJ, Mehmood MA, Zhao ZK, Bai FW, Zhao XQ*. “Enhanced acetic acid stress tolerance and ethanol production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by modulating expression of the ‘de novo’ purine biosynthesis genes” Biotechnol. Biofuels 2019, 12, 116.
22. Guo XJ, Feng YB, Wang XY, Liu YX, Liu WJ, Li Q, Wang JT, Xue S, Zhao ZK*. “Characterization of the substrate scope of an alcohol dehydrogenase commonly used as methanol dehydrogenase” Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2019, 29(12), 1446–1449.
23. Liu XJ, Zhang Y, Liu HD, Jiao X, Zhang Q, Zhang SF*, Zhao ZK. “RNA interference in the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium  toruloides” FEMS Yeast Res. 2019, 19(3), foz031.
24. Liu YX, Feng YB, Wang L, Guo XJ, Liu WJ, Li Q, Wang XY, Xue S*,  Zhao ZK*. “Structural insights into phosphite dehydrogenase variants favoring a non-natural redox cofactor”ACS Catal. 2019, 9(3), 1883–1887.
25. Dai XZ, Shen HW, Li Q, Rasool K, Wang Q, Yu X, Wang L, Bao J, Yu DY*, Zhao ZK* “Microbial lipid production from corn stover by the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides using the PreSSLP process” Energies 2019, 12(6), 1053.
26. Li X, Xu QQ, Shen HW, Guo YL, Wu MY, Peng Y, Zhang LH, Zhao ZK, Liu Y, Xie HB*. “Capturing CO₂ to reversible ionic liquids for dissolution pretreatment of cellulose towards enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis” Carbohydr. Poly. 2019, 204(1), 50–58.
27. Chen Q, Ren TH, Chai Y, Guo YL, Ingram IDV, North M, Xie HB*, Zhao ZK*. “Preparation of novel aromatic-aliphatic poly(ketone ester)s through  condensation of biomass-derived monomers”ChemCatChem 2018, 10(23), 5377–5381.
28. Li LD*, Zhang FX, Cai FY, Zhou H, Chi XF, Wang HD, Zhao ZK. “Novel N-chloramine precursors for antimicrobial application: synthesis and facile covalent immobilization on polyurethane surface based on perfluorophenyl azide (PFPA) chemistry” Can. J. Chem. 2018, 96(10), 939–948.
29. Jiao X, Sun WY, Zhang Y, Liu XJ, Zhang Q, Wang Q, Zhang SF*, Zhao ZK. “Exchanging the order of      carotenogenic genes linked by porcine teschovirus-1 2A peptide enable to optimize carotenoid metabolic pathway in Saccharomyces cerevisiae” RSC Adv. 2018, 8(61), 34967–34972.
30. Jin LM, Yu X, Peng C, Guo YL, Zhang LH, Xu QQ, Zhao ZK*, Liu Y, Xie HB*. “Fast dissolution pretreatment of the corn stover in γ-valerolactone promoted by ionic liquids: Selective delignification and enhanced  enzymatic saccharification” Bioresour.  Technol. 2018, 270(1), 537–544.
31. Peng C, Liu YX, Guo XJ, Liu WJ, Li Q, Zhao ZK*. “Selective carboxylation of substituted phenols with engineered Escherichia coli whole-cells”Tetrahedron Lett. 2018, 59(42), 3810–3815.
32. Wang YN, Zhang SF*, Zhu ZW, Shen HW, Lin XP, Jin X, Jiao X, Zhao ZK*. “Systems analysis of      phosphate-limitation induced lipid accumulation by the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides” Biotechnol.      Biofuels 2018, 11, 148.
33. Dai T, Li CZ*, Li N, Zhao ZK, Zhang B, Cong Y, Wang AQ*. “Selective production of renewable para-xylene by tungsten carbide catalyzed atom-economic cascade reactions”Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57(7), 1808–1812.
34. Jiao X, Zhang Q, Yang XB, Wang Q, Zhang SF, Zhao ZK*. “Efficient co-expression of multiple enzymes      from a single promoter mediated by virus 2A sequence in the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides”FEMS Yeast Res. 2018, 18(7), foy086.
35. Yang XB*, Sun WY, Shen HW, Zhang SF, Jiao X, Zhao ZK.“Expression of phosphotransacetylase in Rhodosporidium toruloides leading to improved cell growth and lipid production” RSC Adv. 2018, 8(43), 24673–24678.
36. Zhu XY, Peng C, Chen HX, Chen Q, Zhao ZK, Zheng Q*, Xie HB*. “Opportunities of ionic liquids for lignin      utilization from biorefinery” ChemistrySelect 2018, 3(27), 7945–7962.
37. Sun WY, Yang XB, Wang XY, Jiao X, Zhang SF, Luan YS, Zhao ZK*.“Developing a flippase-mediated maker      recycling protocol for the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides”Biotechnol. Lett. 2018, 40(6), 933–940.
38. Wang XY, Wang L, Lin XP, Yang XB, Liu WJ*, Zhao ZK*. “Visualizing soluble protein mutants by using monomeric red fluorescent protein as a reporter for directed evolution” Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 2018, 185(1), 81–90.
39. Peng C, Liu WJ*, Ning SY, Ge GB, Zhao ZK*. “Oxidative coupling of β-O-4’dilignol models leading to polycyclic products with rare interlignol linkages” Asian J. Org. Chem. 2017, 6(12), 1745–1748.
40. Zhang MM, Zhang KY, Mehmood MA, Zhao ZK, Bai FW, Zhao XQ*. “Deletion of acetate transporter gene ADY2 improved tolerance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae against multiple stresses and enhanced ethanol production in the presence of acetic acid” Bioresour. Technol. 2017, 245, 1461–1468.
41. Wang XY, Zhou YJ, Wang L, Liu WJ, Liu YX, Peng C, Zhao ZK*. “Engineering Escherichia coli nicotinic acid      mononucleotide adenylyltransferase for fully active amidated NAD biosynthesis” Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2017, 83(13), e00692-17.
42. Lin XP*, Gao N, Liu SS, Zhang SF, Song S, Ji CF, Dong XP, Su YC, Zhao ZK, Zhu BW. “Characterization the carotenoid productions and profiles of three Rhodosporidium toruloides mutants from Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation” Yeast 2017, 34(8), 335–342.
43. Sun WY, Yang XB, Wang XY, Lin XP, Wang YN, Zhang SF, Luan YS, Zhao ZK*. “Homologous gene targeting of a carotenoids biosynthetic gene in Rhodosporidium toruloides  by Agrobacterium mediated      transformation” Biotechnol. Lett. 2017, 39(7), 1001–1007.
44. Liu HD, Jiao X, Wang YN, Yang XB, Sun WY, Wang JH*, Zhang SF*, Zhao ZK. “Fast and efficient genetic transformation of oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides by using electroporation” FEMS Yeast Res. 2017, 7(2), fox017.
45. Shen HW*, Zhang XB, Gong ZW, Wang YN, Yu X, Yang XB, Zhao ZK. “Compositional profiles of Rhodosporidium toruloides cells under nutrient limitation” Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2017, 101(9), 3801–3809.
46. Peng C, Chen Q, Gao HW, Hu G, Li CZ*, Wen JL, Wang HS, Zhang T, Zhao ZK, Sun RC, Xie HB*. “Effects of extraction methods on structure and valorization of corn stover lignin by Pd/C catalyst” ChemCatChem 2017, 9(6), 1135–1143.
47. Zhu ZW, Zhou YJ, Krivoruchko A, Grininger M, Zhao ZK*, Nielsen J*. “Expanding the product portfolio of fungal type I fatty acid synthases” Nat. Chem. Biol. 2017, 13(4), 360–362.
48. Wang L, Ji DB, Liu YX, Wang Q, Wang XY, Zhou YJ, Zhang YX, Liu WJ*, Zhao ZK*. “Synthetic cofactor-linked metabolic circuits for selective energy transfer” ACS Catal. 2017,  (3), 1977–1983.
49. Wang YN, Zhang SF*, Pötter M, Sun WY, Li L, Yang XB, Jiao X, Zhao ZK*. “Overexpression of Δ12-fatty acid desaturase in the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides for production of linoleic acid-rich lipids” Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 2016, 180(8), 1497–1507.
50. Zhang CL, Shen HW, Zhang XB, Yu X, Wang JH, Zhao ZK*. “Combined mutagenesis of Rhodosporidium      toruloides for improved production of carotenoids and lipids” Biotechnol. Lett. 2016, 38(10), 1733–1738.
51. Gong ZW*, Zhou WT, Shen HW,  Zhao ZK, Yang ZH, Yang JB, Zhao M. “Co-utilization of corn stover hydrolysates and biodiesel-derived glycerol by Cryptococcus curvatus for lipid production” Bioresour. Technol. 2016, 219, 552–558.
52. Zhang YX, Pan YB, Liu WJ, Zhou YJ, Wang KY, Wang L, Sohail M, Ye ML, Zou HF*, Zhao ZK*. “In vivo protein allylation to capture protein methylation candidates” Chem. Commun. 2016, 52(40), 6689–6692.
53. Guo J, Ma XH, Cai Y, Ma Y, Zhan ZL, Zhou YJ, Liu WJ, Guan MX, Yang J, Cui GH, Kang LP, Yang L, Shen Y, Tang JF, Lin HX, Ma XJ, Jin BL, Liu ZM, Peters RJ, Zhao ZK*, Huang LQ*. “Cytochrome P450 promiscuity leads to a bifurcating biosynthetic pathway for tanshinones”New Phytol. 2016, 210(2), 525–534.
54. Zhang XB, Shen HW*, Yang XB, Wang Q, Yu X, Zhao ZK*. “Microbial lipid production by oleaginous      yeasts on Laminaria residue hydrolysates” RSC Adv. 2016, 6(32), 26752–26756.
55. Wang YN, Lin XP, Zhang SF*, Sun WY, Ma SJ, Zhao ZK*. “Cloning  and evaluation of different constitutive promoters in the oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides” Yeast 2016, 33(3), 99–106.
56. Gong ZW*, Zhou WT, Shen HW, Yang ZH, Wang GH, Zuo ZY, Hou YL, Zhao ZK. “Co-fermentation of acetate and sugars facilitating microbial lipid production on acetate-rich biomass hydrolysates” Bioresour.  Technol. 2016, 207, 102–108.

Energy Biotechnology. Developing technologies for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biodiesel and other liquid fuel molecules.

Molecular Microbiology. Devising genetic tools and constructing microbial cell factories for the production of high value chemicals.

Chemical Biology. Creating bioorthogonal systems for redox metabolism, energy transmission and post-translational modification.

Prof. Jens Nielsen

已指导学生

李令东  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

徐俊光  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

刘武军  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

王金霞  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

李昌志  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

林金涛  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

唐伟  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

赵鑫  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

吴思国  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

杨帆  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

纪德彬  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

侯淑华  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

胡翠敏  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

周雍进  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

张泽会  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

董坤  硕士研究生  081703-生物化工  

王磊  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

靳国杰  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

朱志伟  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

林心萍  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

刘玉雪  硕士研究生  085238-生物工程  

龚志伟  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

陈沁  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

杨晓兵  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

张祎昕  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

宋叶华  硕士研究生  085238-生物工程  

王雪颖  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

王雅南  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

张喜宾  硕士研究生  085238-生物工程  

刘玉雪  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

彭畅  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

焦翔  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

郭潇佳  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

现指导学生

李青  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

李强  硕士研究生  081703-生物化工  

周人辉  硕士研究生  085238-生物工程  

赵子彪  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

张月  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

梁世玉  硕士研究生  085238-生物工程  

万里  硕士研究生  081703-生物化工  

王俊婷  博士研究生  081703-生物化工  

陈琼琼  硕士研究生  081703-生物化工  

胡英菡  硕士研究生  085238-生物工程  

薛海曌  博士研究生  081703-生物化工