Our group is interested in understanding the physiological adaptive mechanisms of industrial microorganisms to environmental stresses from the molecular level, and establishing efficient microbial cell factories for the production of sulfur-containing amino acids using synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches. The research areas include two aspects as follows: 1.Systematic analysis of the physiological tolerance mechanisms of Corynebacterium glutamicum to environmental stresses, such as high salt, high temperature, and low pH. 2. Investigation of the synthesis and regulation mechanisms of sulfur-containing amino acids and construction of industrial strains by metabolic engineering.

Education

2002-2006   Ph.D., Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.

1999-2002   M.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Nankai University,Tianjin, China

1994-1998   B.S., Microbiology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China

Professional Experience

2014-Present    Investigator, TIB, Tianjin, China

2010-2013    Assistant Professor (Research track), Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

2006-2010    Postdoctoral fellow, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York,NY, USA

1. Du H, Qi Y, Qiao J, Li L, Wei L, Xu N, Shao L, Liu J*. 2023. Transcription factor OxyR regulates sulfane sulfur removal and L-cysteine biosynthesis in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Appl Environ Microbiol., 89(9):e0090423.

2. Du H, Qi Y, Qiao J, Li L, Xu N, Shao L, Wei L*, Liu J*. 2023. Balancing Redox Homeostasis to Improve l-Cysteine Production in Corynebacterium glutamicum. J Agric Food Chem., 71(37):13848-13856.

3. Du H, Qiao J, Qi Y, Li L, Xu N, Shao L, Wei L*, Liu J*. 2023. Reprogramming the sulfur recycling network to improve l-cysteine production in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Green Chem., 25, 3152-3165.

4. Ju Y^#, Zhang H^#, Du X, Wei J, Liu J, Wei L*, Liu Q*, Xu N*. 2023. DRAGON: Harnessing the power of DNA repair for accelerating genome evolution in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Metab Eng., 79:182-191.

5. Wang T, Zhang J, Wei L, Zhao D, Bi C, Liu Q, Xu N*, Liu J*. 2023. Developing a PAM-Flexible CRISPR-Mediated Dual-Deaminase Base Editor to Regulate Extracellular Electron Transport in Shewanella oneidensis. ACS Synth Biol., 12(6):1727-1738.

6. Gao J, Du M, Zhao J, Yue Zhang, Xu N, Du H, Ju J, Wei L*, Liu J*. 2022. Design of a genetically encoded biosensor to establish a high-throughput screening platform for L-cysteine overproduction. Metab Eng., 73:144-157.

7. Wei L, Zhao J, Wang Y, Gao J, Du M, Zhang Y, Xu N, Du H, Ju J, Liu Q*, Liu J*. 2022. Engineering of Corynebacterium glutamicum for high-level γ-aminobutyric acid production from glycerol by dynamic metabolic control. Metab Eng., 69:134-146.

8. Xu N, Liu Y, Jiang H*, Liu J*, Ma Y. 2020. Combining protein and metabolic engineering to construct efficient microbial cell factories. Curr Opin Biotechnol., 2020. 66:27-35.

9. Wei L, Wang Q, Xu N, Cheng J, Zhou W, Han GQ, Jiang HF*, Liu J*, Ma YH.2019. High-level o-acetylhomoserine production in Escherichia coli through protein and metabolic engineering. ACS Synth Biol., 8(5):1153-1167.

10. Xu N, Zheng YY, Wang XC, Krulwich TA, Ma YH, Liu J*. 2018. The lysine 299 residue endows the multisubunit Mrp1 antiporter with dominant roles in Na⁺-resistance and pH homeostasis in Corynebacterium glutamicum. Appl Environ Microbiol., 84: e00110-18.

National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grants No. 2021YFC2100700)

National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants No. 31972061)

Tianjin Synthetic Biotechnology Innovation Capacity Improvement Project (Grants No. TSBICIP-KJGG-010).