Education
B.S. China Agriculture University, College of Biological Sciences, 2010-2014;
Ph.D. 2019, Tsinghua University, School of Life Sciences, 2014-2019;
Professional Experience
Postdoctoral Fellow, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2019-2023;
Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, starting from 2023.
Research Area
By leveraging synthetic biology to engineer microbial metabolic pathways, various compounds can be synthesized, and a deeper understanding of microbial metabolism enables more rational design for engineering modifications. Our lab focuses on the “how” and “why” of these processes, with three main research directions:
1) Enhancing the efficiency of bulk chemical synthesis in non-model microorganisms through metabolic engineering and laboratory adaptive evolution, using a Design-Build-Test-Learn (DBTL) cycle;
2) Utilizing multi-omics approaches to understand the metabolic mechanisms in non-model microorganisms to achieve optimal synthetic pathways;
3) Investigating transposase-mediated genome rearrangement during adaptive evolution, and developing novel genome editing tools based on these insights.
Selected Publications
Corresponding author (*)
1. Yu-Hang Zhang#, Yuan Yuan#, Bai-Tao Chen#, Nan Yang, Tai-Jiang Chen, Yi-Tong Lin, Xue-Mei Na, Shu-He Wang, Yi-Na Xiong, Ming-Xia Zhu, Li-Zhu Chen, Sekgetho C. Mokwatlo, Pengfei Ouyang, Chen Ling*. Engineering complex phenotypes in Halomonas bluephagenesis TD01 via large-fragment manipulation and multiplex base editing. Metabolic Engineering, 2026. doi: 10.1016/j.ymben.2026.05.008.
2. Xue-Mei Na#, Bai-Tao Chen#, Han Liu#, Yi-Tong Lin, Yuan Yuan, Tai-Jiang Chen, Yi-Na Xiong, Yu-Hang Zhang, Nan Yang, Fei Zhu, Yingying Zhang, Ximin Chi, Zhiyou Zong*, Chen Ling*. ISPpu10 is a structure-gated bridge RNA recombinase that drives safe, large-scale genomic plasticity. bioRxiv, 2026. doi: 10.64898/2026.03.19.712850.
3. Yu-Hang Zhang, Chen-Ming Xue, Bai-Tao Chen, Pengfei Ouyang*, Chen Ling*. Comparing three emerging industrial cell factories: Pseudomonas putida KT2440, Halomonas bluephagenesis TD01, and Zymomonas mobilis ZM4. Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 2025. 92, 103255.
First and co-first author (#)
4. Chen Ling#, Ryan W. Clarke#, Gloria Rosetto#, Shu Xu, Robin M. Cywar, Dong Hyun Kim, Levi J. Hamernik, Stefan J. Haugen, William E. Michener, Sean P. Woodworth, Torrey M. Lind, Kelsey J. Ramirez, Meltem Urgun-Demirtas, Davinia Salvachúa, Christopher W. Johnson, Nicholas A. Rorrer, Gregg T. Beckham. Tunable and degradable dynamic thermosets from compatibilized polyhydroxyalkanoate blends. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2025.
5. Robin M. Cywar#, Chen Ling#, Ryan W. Clarke, Donghyun Kim, Colin Kneucker, Davinia Salvachúa, Shu Xu, Meltem Urgun Demirtas, Bennett Addison, Nicholas Rorrer, Christopher W. Johnson, Robert Allen, Eugene Y.-X. Chen, Gregg T. Beckham*. Biodegradable and reprocessable thermosets from microbially-produced unsaturated polyhydroxyalkanoates. Science Advances, 2023. 9(47), eadi1735.
6. Chen Ling, George L. Peabody, Davinia Salvachúa, Young-Mo Kim, Colin M. Kneucker, Christopher H. Calvey, Michela A. Monninger, Nathalie Munoz Munoz, Brenton C. Poirier, Kelsey J. Ramirez, Peter C. St. John, Sean P. Woodworth, Jon K. Magnuson, Kristin E. Burnum-Johnson, Adam M. Guss*, Christopher W. Johnson* & Gregg T. Beckham*. Muconic acid production from glucose and xylose in Pseudomonas putida via evolution and metabolic engineering. Nature Communications, 2022. 13(1): 1-14.
7. Chen Ling#, Guan-Qing Qiao#, Bo-Wen Shuai#, Kun-Nan Song, Wen-Xi Yao, Xiao-Ran Jiang*, Guo-Qiang Chen*. Engineering self-flocculating Halomonas campaniensis for wastewaterless open and continuous fermentation. Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 2019, 116(4): 805-815.
8. Chen Ling, Guan-Qing Qiao, Bo-Wen Shuai, Karel Olavarria, Jin Yin, Rui-Juan Xiang, Kun-Nan Song, Yun-Hao Shen, Yingying Guo*, Guo-Qiang Chen*. Engineering NADH/NAD+ ratio in Halomonas bluephagenesis for enhanced production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). Metabolic Engineering, 2018, 49: 275-286.
