Education

B.Eng., Xi’an Jiaotong University (2007)

Ph.D., Nanyang Technological University (2012)

Professional Experience

Research Scientist, National University of Singapore (2012-2016)

Senior Research Fellow, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (2016-2017)

Research Fellow, National University of Singapore (2017-2018)

Professor, Xiamen University (2018)

Research Area

Key words: Synthetic Biology, Metabolic Engineering, Genome Editing, Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, Asymmetric Synthesis, Natural Product and Drug Synthesis.

Our group aims to develop green, sustainable, and cost-effective biosynthesis of high-value pharmaceutical intermediates, fragrance and flavors, fine chemicals and natural products from renewable feedstocks. By employing synthetic biology and metabolic engineering principles, our group focuses on engineering and devising efficient microbial cell factory for chemical productions. More specifically, it aims to a) develop pathway reconstruction technology and cascade biotransformation; b) dynamically regulate the pathway activity via synthetic genetic circuits; c) develop high-throughput screening approaches for directed evolution of substrate specificity and enantioselectivity of key enzymes involved in the downstream cascade biotransformation; and d) elucidate the biosynthetic pathway for natural products.

Selected Publications (^# First author, * Corresponding author)

1.Peiling Wu, Haofeng Chen, Yueyang Chen, Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan*. Microbial synthesis of branched-chain diols from amino acid metabolism. Nature Communications, 2024, Under review
2.Shan Jiang#, Haofeng Chen#, Shiyao Chen#, Na Chen, Haofeng Yang, Yiyang Duan, Shiqi Ao, Ruoxi Wang, Xin Wang, Yalin Zhang*, Jifeng Yuan*. Genetically encoded biosensors for constrained biological functions in probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2024, Under revision
3.Junyi Wang, Jaixue Ma, Xueyi Luo, Shuo Wang, Xinning Cai, Jifeng Yuan*. Design and characterization of allantoin-inducible expression systems in budding yeast. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, 2024, Under revision
4.Linyue Tian, Tianqi Qi, Fenghui Zhang, Vinh G Tran, Jifeng Yuan, Yuanpeng Wang, Ning He*, Mingfeng Cao*. Synthetic biology approaches to improve tolerance of inhibitors in lignocellulosic hydrolysates. Biotechnology Advances, 2024, 108477
5.Yueyang Chen#, Jian Fan#, Qiwen Mo#, Yongming Choe#, Haofeng Chen, Yang Zhang, Zheyong Xue*, Jifeng Yuan*. Recent advances in developing aldehyde-accumulating microbes and future perspective of biosynthetic applications. Synthetic Biology and Engineering,  2024, 2(4), 10016
6.Chaoqun Tang, Lu Zhang, Junyi Wang, Congjia Zou, Yalin Zhang*, Jifeng Yuan*. Engineering Saccharomyces boulardii for probiotic supplementation of L-ergothioneine. Biotechnology Journal, 2024,19:e202400527
7.Haoyi Yang, Xiaoyu Lin, Xianen Zhong, Mingfeng Cao, Jifeng Yuan, Zhipeng Li, Xueping Ling*, Ning He*. Current status and advances in the green synthesis of muconic acid. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 2024, doi:10.1080/07388551.2024.2433998
8.Anqi Chen^*, Jifeng Yuan^*. Fermentation utilizing engineered microbes: revolutionizing the production of commercial products from plant-derived bioactive compounds. Elsevier, Book Chapter, 2024, 153-201
9.Bixia Fu^#, Cheng Cheng^#, Jianqian Fan, Jifeng Yuan^*. Designing and engineering synthetic microbiota to utilize plant lignin-based biomass for the synthesis of bioactive compounds. Elsevier, Book Chapter, 2024, 89-124
10. Haofeng Chen, Shan Jiang, Kaixuan Xu, Ziyu Ding, Jiangkai Wang, Mingfeng Cao*, Jifeng Yuan*. Design of thermo-responsive genetic controls with minimal heat-shock response. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2024, 13(9), 3032-3040
11. Peiling Wu, Ding Luo, Yuezhou Wang, Xiaoxu Shang, Binju Wang, Xianming Deng, Jifeng Yuan*. Biosynthesis of diverse Ephedra-type alkaloids via a newly identified enzymatic cascade. BioDesign Research, 2024, 6:0048
12.Wenhao Xia, Yongbin Chen, Fengxing Yu, Xiaoyu Wei, Zhen Chen, Jifeng Yuan, Mingfeng Cao^*, Ning He^*. Cell-free expression system: from basic research to engineering application. Biotechnology Advances, 2024, Under review
13.Yang Zhang^*, Xinyu Wang, Jifeng Yuan^*, Liejin Guo^*. Multidimensional engineering of Rhodobacter sphaeroides for enhanced photo-fermentative hydrogen production. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024, 488, 150852
14.Cong Fan, Jifeng Yuan^*. Engineering the yeast population to sense and record transient light stimuli. Science Advances, 2024, Under review
15.Jifeng Yuan^*, Cong Fan, Haofeng Chen, Shujin Lin, Danli Zhang, Jingya Song, Junyi Wang, Xiao Han. Switching the yeast metabolism via modulation of sugar phosphorylation. Advanced Science, 2024, Under review
16.Junyi Wang^#, Jingya Song^#, Cong Fan^#, Jiahao Duan, Kaiyuan He, Jifeng Yuan^*. Copper-induced in vivo gene amplification in budding yeast. BioDesign Research, 2024, 6:0030
17.Cong Fan, Nike He, Jifeng Yuan^*. Cascaded amplifying circuit enables sensitive detection of fungal pathogens. Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2024, 250,116058
18.Yang Zhang^#, Cheng Cheng^#, Bixia Fu^#, Teng Long, Ning He, Jianqiang Fan^*, Zheyong Xue^*, Anqi Chen^*, Jifeng Yuan^*. Microbial upcycling of depolymerized lignin into value-added chemicals. BioDesign Research, 2024, 6:0027
19.Jian Fan^#, Yang Zhang^#, Wenhao Li, Zhizhen Li, Danli Zhang, Qiwen Mo, Mingfeng Cao, Jifeng Yuan^*. Multidimensional optimization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for carotenoid overproduction. BioDesign Research, 2024, 6:0026
20.Qiwen Mo, Jifeng Yuan^*. Minimal Aromatic Aldehyde Reduction (MARE) yeast platform for engineering vanillin production. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, 2024, 17, 4
21.Cong Fan, Jifeng Yuan^*. Reshaping the yeast galactose regulon via GPCR signaling cascade. Cell Reports Methods, 2023, 3, 100647
22.Lin Hu, Huihui Qiu, Liuheng Huang, Fenghui Zhang, Vinh G Tran, Jifeng Yuan, Ning He^*, Mingfeng Cao^*. Emerging non-model eukaryotes for biofuel production. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 2023, 84, 103015
23.Yang Zhang, Wenchang Meng, Yuting He, Yuhui Chen, Mingyu Shao, Jifeng Yuan^*. Multidimensional optimization for accelerating light-powered biocatalysis in Rhodopseudomonas palustris. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts, 2023, 16, 160
24.Jingya Song, Jian Fan, Cong Fan, Nike He, Xixi Ye, Mingfeng Cao, Jifeng Yuan^*. A layered-genetic design enables the yeast galactose regulon to respond to cyanamide. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2023, 12, 9, 2783-2788
25.Lingrui Liu, Lu Zhang, Junyi Wang, Mingfeng Cao^*, Jifeng Yuan^*. Copper-inducible expression system for metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2023, 134(6), lxad109
26.Yanlin Li, Jing Wang, Linyong Li, Wenhui Song, Min Li, Xin Hua, Yu Wang, Jifeng Yuan^*, Zheyong Xue^*. Natural products of pentacyclic triterpenoids: from the discovery to heterologous biosynthesis. Natural Product Reports, 2023, 40(8):1303-1353
27.Qiwen Mo, Wei Song, Zheyong Xue^*, Jifeng Yuan^*. Multi-level engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for synthesis and accumulation of retinal. Green Chemistry, 2022, 24, 8259-8263
28.Jifeng Yuan^*#, Jie Cheng^#, Cong Fan, Peiling Wu, Yang Zhang, Mingfeng Cao, Tuo Shi^*. Development of shuttle vectors for rapid prototyping of engineered Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2022, 106 (24), 8169-8181
29.Taiwei Yang, Peiling Wu, Yang Zhang, Mingfeng Cao, Jifeng Yuan^*. High-titre production of aromatic amines in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2022,133,2931-2940
30.Cong Fan^#, Danli Zhang^#, Qiwen Mo, Jifeng Yuan^*. Engineering Saccharomyces cerevisiae-based biosensors for copper detection. Microbial Biotechnology, 2022, 15, 2854-2860
31.Yang Zhang^*, Jie Cheng, Yuting He, Jifeng Yuan^*. Photo-fermentative hydrogen production performance of a newly isolated Rubrivivax gelatinosus YP03 strain with acid tolerance. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2022, 47(48), 20784-20792
32.Wei Song^#, Chunchun Zhang^#, Jiali Wu, Jianzhao Qi, Xin Hua, Liping Kang^*, Qiang Yuan^*, Jifeng Yuan^*, Zheyong Xue^*. Characterization of three Paris polyphylla glycosyltransferases from different UGT families for steroid functionalization. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2022, 11(4), 1669-1680
33.Yuling Zhu, Jifeng Yuan^*. A Four-Step Enzymatic Cascade for Efficient Production of L-Phenylglycine from Biobased L-Phenylalanine. ChemBioChem, 2022, 23(8), e202100661
34.Yumeng Lai^#, Haofeng Chen^#, Lingrui Liu^#, Bixia Fu, Peiling Wu, Wanrong Li, Junyan Hu, Jifeng Yuan^*. Engineering a Synthetic Pathway for Tyrosol Synthesis in Escherichia coli. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2022, 11(1), 441–447
35.Yueyang Chen, Yufen Chen, Lijun Liu, Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan^*. Microbial synthesis of 4-hydroxybenzoate from renewable feedstocks. Food Chemistry: Molecular Sciences, 2021, 3, 100059
36.Bixia Fu, Gezhi Xiao, Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan^*. One-Pot Bioconversion of Lignin-Derived Substrates into Gallic Acid. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2021, 69(38), 11336–11341
37.Bixia Fu^#, Gezhi Xiao^#, Yuling Zhu, Yueyang Chen, Yumeng Lai, Jifeng Yuan^*. Renewable Vanillylamine Synthesis from Lignin-Derived Substrates. ACS Agricultural Science and Technology, 2021,1(5), 566–571
38.Yang Zhang, Xiaohui Song, Yumeng Lai, Qiwen Mo, Jifeng Yuan^*. High-yielding terpene-based biofuel production in Rhodobacter capsulatus. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2021, 10(6), 1545–1552
39.Yufen Chen^#, Bixia Fu^#, Gezhi Xiao, Liang-Yu Ko, Tzu-Yu Kao, Cong Fan, Jifeng Yuan^*. Bioconversion of Lignin-Derived Feedstocks to Muconic Acid by Whole-Cell Biocatalysis. ACS Food Science and Technology, 2021, 1(3), 382–387
40.Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan^*. CRISPR/Cas12a-mediated genome engineering in the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus. Microbial Biotechnology, 2021, 14(6), 2700–2710
41.Qiwen Mo^#, Huiyu Chen^#, Cong Fan^#, Danli Zhang, Lingrui Liu, Bixia Fu, Jifeng Yuan^*. Utilization of a styrene-derived pathway for 2-phenylethanol production in budding yeast. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2021, 105(6), 2333-2340
42.Jifeng Yuan^*, Qiwen Mo, Cong Fan. New Set of Yeast Vectors for Shuttle Expression in Escherichia coli. ACS Omega, 2021, 6(10), 7175–7180
43.Peiling Wu^#, Yufen Chen^#, Mingyu Liu, Gezhi Xiao, Jifeng Yuan^*. Engineering an Optogenetic CRISPRi Platform for Improved Chemical Production. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2021, 10(1), 125-131
44.Yuling Zhu^#, Taiwei Yang^#, Yueyang Chen, Cong Fan, Jifeng Yuan^*. One-Pot Synthesis of Aromatic Amines via Whole-Cell Biocatalysis. Chemistryselect, 2020, 5, 14292-14295
45.Yufen Chen^#, Peiling Wu^#, Liang-Yu Ko, Tzu-Yu Kao, Lijun Liu, Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan^*. High-yielding protocatechuic acid synthesis from L-tyrosine in Escherichia coli. ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering, 2020, 8(39), 14949-14954
46.Baiyun Zeng^#, Yumeng Lai^#, Lijun Liu, Jie Cheng, Yang Zhang, Jifeng Yuan^*. Engineering Escherichia coli for High-Yielding Hydroxytyrosol Synthesis from Biobased l-Tyrosine. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2020, 68(29), 7691–7696
47.Zuoxi Mao^#, Lijun Liu^#, Yang Zhang^#, Jifeng Yuan^*. Efficient Synthesis of Phenylacetate and 2-Phenylethanol via One-Pot Cascade Biocatalysis. ChemBioChem, 2020, 21(18), 2676-2679
48.Lijun Liu, Yuling Zhu, Yufen Chen, Huiyu Chen, Cong Fan, Qiwen Mo, Jifeng Yuan^*. One‐Pot Cascade Biotransformation for Efficient Synthesis of Benzyl Alcohol and Its Analogs. Chemistry - An Asian Journal, 2020, 15(7),1018-1021
49.Yang Zhang^*, Jifeng Yuan^*, Liejing Guo. Enhanced bio-hydrogen production from cornstalk hydrolysate pretreated by alkaline-enzymolysis with orthogonal design method. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45(6),3750-3759
50.Jifeng Yuan, Benedict Ryan Lukito, Zhi Li^*. De novo synthesis of (S)- and (R)-phenylethanediol in yeast via artificial enzyme cascades. ACS Synthetic Biology, 2019, 8(8), 1801-1808
51.Jifeng Yuan^*, Xue Chen, Pranjul Mishra, Chi-Bun Ching. Metabolically engineered budding yeast for enhanced production of isoamyl alcohol. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2017, 101(1):465-475
52.Jifeng Yuan^*, Chi-Bun Ching. Mitochondrial acetyl-CoA utilization pathway for terpenoid productions. Metabolic Engineering. 2016, 38:303-308
53.Jifeng Yuan^*, Pranjul Mishra, Chi-Bun Ching. Metabolically engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae for branched-chain ester productions. Journal of Biotechnology. 2017; 239:90-97
54.Wen Xu^#, Jifeng Yuan^*#, Shuiyun Yang, Chi-Bun Ching, Jiankang Liu. Programming saposin-mediated compensatory metabolic sinks for enhancing ubiquinone productions. ACS Synthetic Biology. 2016, 5(12):1404-1411
55.Jifeng Yuan^*, Pranjul Mishra, Chi-Bun Ching. Engineering the leucine biosynthetic pathway for isoamyl alcohol production in budding yeast. Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2016, 44(1):107-117
56.Jifeng Yuan^*, Chi-Bun Ching. Dynamic control of ERG9 expression for improved amorpha-4,11-diene production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Microbial Cell Factories. 2015, 14, 38
57.Jifeng Yuan^*, Chi-Bun Ching. Combinatorial assembly of large biochemical pathways into yeast chromosomes for improved production of value-added compounds. ACS Synthetic Biology. 2015, 4(1):23-31
58.Jifeng Yuan^*, Chi-Bun Ching. Combinatorial engineering of mevalonate pathway for improved amorpha-4,11-diene production in budding yeast. Biotechnology and Bioengineering. 2014, 111(3):608-617
59.Jifeng Yuan^*, Hongcai Gao, Jianjun Sui, Hongwei Duan, Wei Ning Chen, Chi-Bun Ching. Cytotoxicity evaluation of oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene oxide on human hepatoma HepG2 cells: An iTRAQ-coupled 2D LC-MS/MS proteome analysis. Toxicological Sciences. 2012, 126(1):149-156
60.Jifeng Yuan^*, Hongcai Gao, Chi-Bun Ching. Comparative protein profile of human HepG2 cells treated with graphene and single-walled carbon nanotubes: An iTRAQ-coupled 2D LC-MS/MS proteome analysis. Toxicology Letters. 2011, 15; 207(3); 213-221
61.Jifeng Yuan^*, Hongcai Gao, Jianjun Sui, Wei Ning Chen, Chi-Bun Ching. Cytotoxicity of single-walled carbon nanotubes on human hepatoma HepG2 cells: an iTRAQ-coupled 2D LC-MS/MS proteome analysis. Toxicology In Vitro. 2011, 25(8): 1820-1827