Principal Investigator

Wei Li Lab

【字体：大中小】


Wei Li
Researcher
Ph.D., Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2015
Keywords: Plant natural product, plant metabolome, synthetic biology
Email: liwei11@caas.cn
Research Interest
Plant specialized metabolism shows vast diversity and peculiarity. Most of them are important for the defense, adaption, and development of the plant itself. Humans are using many of these plant specialized metabolism for agricultural and health purposes. Elucidation of plant specialized metabolism and using this knowledge for synthetic metabolic engineering is important for the application of these metabolites. Our group uses transcriptome, genome, chemical analysis, and multiple exogenous expression systems (including bacteria, yeast, and plant) to elucidate the biosynthesis pathway of plant specialized metabolism which are important for both agriculture and human health. On the one hand, our study improves understanding of the relationship between crop traits and metabolites via genetic methods. On the other hand, we keep exploring synthetic metabolic engineering exogenously reassembling metabolic biosynthesis pathways to produce valuable metabolites on a large scale. Our group has three main focus areas: 1. Elucidation of plant specialized product biosynthesis via multi-omic correlation analysis and various exogenous expression systems 2. Biosynthesis of valuable plant natural products via bioreactor such as plants and microbes 3. Exploration of the reason for geoherbalism of authentic traditional herbs using metabolome analysis
Honors and Awards
2020	Overseas High-Caliber Personnel (level C) at Shenzhen
Research Projects
1. Elucidation of natural pesticide pyrethrins biosynthesis

Pyrethrins is one of the safest natural pesticides nowadays. Because the production of Pyrethrins is restricted by plant material supply, using the bioreactor to generate pyrethrins is a future trend. But the biosynthetic pathway is not fully elucidated which blocks the biosynthetic application. Through transcriptome coexpression analysis, we found cytochrome P450s candidates that possibly participate in pyrethrin biosynthesis. Further, exogenously expressed and pathway reconstruction in Nicotiana benthemiana confirmed two P450s are the catalytic enzymes for jasmolone and pyrethrolone, the alcohol moieties of pyrethrin. Other enzymes including phosphatase, methyltransferases, and dehydrogenase were also identified in acid moiety biosynthesis using a similar strategy.
2. Glycosylation and methylation of nicotinate modification in plant NAD biosynthetic pathway

NAD is a kind of key cofactor for the living being. Plants have a special salvage pathway to recycle N-containing intermediate, but cause accumulation of a free small molecular acid nicotinate which is internal stress for plant development. Using coexpression analysis, in vitro activity assay, and genetic confirmation, we found two glycosyltransferases and two methyltransferases for nicotinate modification in Arabidopsis. Their functions are either detoxification, storage, or long-distance transportation of small molecules, which generate evolutionary advantage for plant survival.
Selected Publications
Project 1
1.	Wei Li, Daniel B. Lybrand, Haiyang Xu, Fei Zhou, Robert L. Last and Eran Pichersky#, A Trichome-Specific, Plastid-Localized Tanacetum cinerariifolium Nudix Protein Hydrolyzes the Natural Pyrethrin Pesticide Biosynthetic Intermediate trans-Chrysanthemyl Diphosphate, Frontiers in Plant Science 11:482, 2020.
2.	Wei Li, Daniel B. Lybrand, Fei Zhou, Robert L. Last, Eran Pichersky#. Pyrethrin biosynthesis: The cytochrome P450 oxidoreducatse CYP82Q3 converts jasmolone to pyrethrolone. Plant Physiology, 181: 934–944, 2019.
3.	Wei Li, Fei Zhou, Eran Pichersky#. Jasmone hydroxylase, a key enzyme in the synthesis of the alcohol moiety of pyrethrin insecticides. Plant Physiology, 177: 1498-1509, 2018.
4.	Haiyang Xu, Wei Li, Anthony L. Schilmiller, Henriëtte van Eekelen, Ric C. H. de Vos, Maarten A. Jongsma, Eran Pichersky#. Pyrethric acid of natural pyrethrin insecticide: complete pathway elucidation and reconstitution in Nicotiana benthamiana. New Phytologist 223: 751–765, 2019.
Project 2
5.	Wei Li, Fengxia Zhang, Ranran Wu*, Lijia Jia, Guosheng Li, Yalong Guo, Cuimin Liu, Guodong Wang#. A novel N-methyltransferase in Arabidopsis appears to feed a conserved pathway for nicotinate detoxification among land plants and is associated with lignin biosynthesis. Plant Physiology, 174: 1492-1504, 2017.
6.	Wei Li, Fengxia Zhang, Yuwei Chang, Tao Zhao, ME Schranz, G Wang#, Nicotinate O-glucosylation is an evolutionarily metabolic trait important for seed germination under stress conditions in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell, 27: 1907-1924, 2015.
7.	Ranran Wu, Fengxia Zhang, Lingyun Liu, Wei Li, Eran Pichersky, Guodong Wang#. MeNA, controlled by reversible methylation of nicotinate, is an NAD precursor that undergoes long-distance transport in Arabidopsis. Molecular Plant, 11: 1264-1277, 2018.

About AGIS

Wei Li Lab