LIU Tao, Ph.D.
Investigator, TIB, Tianjin, China
Tel: 022-24828718
Fax: 022-84861996
E-mail: liu_t@tib.cas.cn
Education
1992-1996 Shandong Normal University, B.Sc, in Biological Science
1996-1999 Shandong Normal University, M.S., in Botany
2001-2002 East Tennessee State University , Graduate Student in Biological Science
2002-2006 University of Kentucky, Ph.D in Pharmaceutical Science
2006-2009 Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Professional Experience
1999-2001 Research Associate, Shandong Agricultural Industry and Commerce Group Corp
2009-2010 Manager/Staff Scientist, SelectX Pharmaceuticals Inc
2011- Professor, Institute of Industrial Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Research Interest
The research of our group is focused on natural product biosynthesis. It includes: the elucidation of complex multi-step biosynthetic pathways, carried out by plants or bacteria, with particular emphasis on enzyme mechanisms; efficient production of highly valuable chemicals in simple micro-organism by metabolic engineering; generation of unnatural natural products through combinatorial biosynthesis; discovery and identification of novel bioactive natural products.
Selected Publications
1. Huiping Bi, Yanfen Bai, Tao Cai, Yibin Zhuang, Xiaomei Liang, Xueli Zhang, Tao Liu*, Yanhe Ma. (2013) Engineered short branched-chain acyl-CoA synthesis in E. coli and acylation of chloramphenicol to branched-chain derivatives. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. DOI 10.1007/s00253-013-5262-6
2. Micah. D. Shepherd, Tao Liu, Carmen Méndez, Jose A Salas, Jurgen Rohr*. (2011) Engineered biosynthesis of gilvocarcin analogues with altered deoxyhexopyranose moieties. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 77(2):435-41.
3. Tao Liu, Yong Huang and Ben Shen* (2009) Bifunctional acyltransferase/decarboxylase LnmK as the missing link for β-alkylation in polyketide biosynthesis. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 131(20), 6900-6901.
4. Tao Liu, Madan K. Kharel, Lili Zhu, Samuel A. Bright, Cynthia Mattingly, Val R. Adams, and Jürgen Rohr (2009) Inactivation of the ketoreductase gilU gene of the gilvocarcin biosynthetic gene cluster yields new analogues with partly improved biological activity. Chembiochem, 10 (2): 278-286.
5. Madan K. Kharel, Lili Zhu, Tao Liu, and Jürgen Rohr (2007) Multi-oxygenase complexes of the gilvocarcin and jadomycin biosyntheses. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129(13):3780-1.
6. Tao Liu, Madan Kharel, Carsten Fischer, Andrew McCormick, and Jürgen Rohr (2006). Inactivation of gilGT encoding a C-Glycosyltransferse and gilOIII encoding a P450-enzyme, allows to delineate details of the biosynthetic pathway of gilvocarcin V. Chembiochem. 7:1070-1077.
7. Tao Liu, Carsten Fischer, Claus Beninga, and Jürgen Rohr (2004). Oxidative rearrangement processes in the biosynthesis of gilvocarcin V. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 126(39):12262-3.
