Background/Biography

Postdoctoral fellow, 2012, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

Postdoctoral fellow, 2010, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

Ph.D. in Microbiology, 2007, Hua Zhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China

B. A. in Biology, 2001, Hua Zhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China

Teaching:

Gene engineering

Biopharmaceuticals

Research interests:

My research works focus on the biosynthesis of natural products from microorganisms, including phosphonates (phosphorus-carbon bond containing compounds) and phosphoramidates (phosphorus-nitrogen bond containing compounds). We are also interested in phosphonates and phosphoramidates discovery based on genome mining. These studies are expected to enhance the understanding of phosphorus metabolism and throw light on drug developments. 

Publications: 

(* corresponding author, # contributed equally)

Chen L, Li P, Deng Z, Zhao C*. Ornithine Transcarbamylase ArgK Plays a Dual role for the Self-defense of Phaseolotoxin Producing Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola. Sci Rep. 2015. 5:12892. doi: 10.1038/srep12892

Hao C#, Huang S#, Deng Z, Zhao C*, Yu Y*. Mining of the pyrrolamide antibiotics analogs in Streptomyces netropsis reveals the amidohydrolase-dependent "iterative strategy" underlying the pyrrole polymerization. PLoS One. 2014. 9(6):e99077. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099077

Gao J, Ju KS, Yu X, Velásquez JE, Mukherjee S, Lee J, Zhao C, Evans BS, Doroghazi JR, Metcalf WW*, van der Donk WA*. Use of a phosphonate methyltransferase in the identification of the fosfazinomycin biosynthetic gene cluster. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014. 53(5):1334-7. doi: 10.1002/anie.201308363

Evans BS*, Zhao C, Gao J, Evans CM, Ju KS, Doroghazi JR, van der Donk WA, Kelleher NL, Metcalf WW*. Discovery of the antibiotic phosacetamycin via a new mass spectrometry-based method for phosphonic acid detection. ACS Chem Biol. 2013. 8(5):908-13. doi: 10.1021/cb400102t

Luo Y, Ruan L, Zhao C, Wang C, Peng D, Sun M*. Validation of the intact Zwittermicin A biosynthetic gene cluster and discovery of a complementary resistance mechanism in Bacillus thuringiensis. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2011. 55(9):4161-4169

Zhao C, Huang T, Chen W, Deng Z*. Enhancement of the diversity of polyoxins by a thymine-7-hydroxylase homolog outside the polyoxin biosynthesis gene cluster. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010, 76(21):7343-7347

Zhao C#, Song C#, Yu Z and Sun M*. L-2,3-diaminopropionate: one of the building blocks for the biosynthesis of Zwittermicin A in Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strain YBT-1520. FEBS Lett. 2008, 582(20):3125-3131

Zhao C, Zeng H, Yu Z and Sun M*. N-acyl homoserine lactonase promotes prevention of Erwinia virulence with Zwittermicin A producing strain Bacillus cereus. Biotechnol Bioeng. 2008; 100(3):599-603

Zhao C, Luo Y, Song C, Liu Z, Chen S, Yu Z and Sun M*. Identification of three Zwittermicin A biosynthesis-related genes from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki strain YBT-1520. Arch Microbiol. 2007; 187(4):313-319