Weilan Shao, Ph.D., Distinguished professor

Weilan Shao, Ph.D., Distinguished professor

Education:

1982, B.S., Plant protection, Nanjing Agricultural University

1985, M.S., Plant pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University

1993, Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Georgia , USA

Working experience:

1994 -1997, Post-doc., UW, UCSD;

1997-1999, Research associate, Scripps Research Institute, USA

2000-2002, Distinguished professor, Wuxi University of Light Industry, China

2002-2012, Distinguished professor, Nanjing Normal University , China

2012 -,    Distinguished professor, Jiangsu University , China                            

Main Research Interests:

Molecular microbiology and pathway engineering for cellulosic ethanol fermentation;

Methodology of gene cloning, expression, directed evolution and regulation;

Molecular engineering for biomedical proteins and lignocellulases.

Contribution to Science and Technology:

1.         Identification and characterization of more than 10 novel lignocellulases, including a xylosidase differed from all known glycosyl hydrolases and became the first member of a new GH family.

2.         Discovery of the regulation and its mechanisms for ethanol fermentation pathway while studying cellulosic ethanol fermentation by thermophilic bacteria.

3.         Invention of new methods for gene manipulation: 1) the RSD-PCR method for identifying and cloning new genes, 2) a novel gene expression vector system, pHsh, 3) the in situ gene evolution method, 4) a method for soluble expression of aggregation-prone protein, and 5) a novel selection marker for E. coli and yeast.

4.         Modification of genes to achieve overexpression of many industrial enzymes, including cellulases, xylanases, a lacase, xylosidases, arabinosidase, glucose isomerase, DNA ligase and so on.

Selected Publications:

1.         Chun-Hsiang Huang, Yu Sun, Tzu-Ping Ko, Chun-Chi Chen, Yingying Zheng, Hsiu-Chien Chan, Xuefei Pang, Juergen Wiegel*, Weilan Shao*, and Rey-Ting Guo*. 2013. The substrate/product-binding modes of a novel GH120 β-xylosidase (XylC) from Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485. Biochem. J, doi: 10.1042/BJ 20121359. (IF 4.897)

2.         Yanzhen Mei, Yu Sun, Jiarong He, Qin Wang, Yijing Sun, Weilan Shao*. 2012. Genome Sequences of Pseudomonas fragi Strains A22 and B25. J Bacteriol, 194(12):3276. (IF 3.825)

3.         Yilin Le, Jingjing Peng, Huawei Wu, Jianzhong Sun, Weilan Shao*. 2011. An approach to the production of soluble protein from a fungal gene encoding an aggregation-prone xylanase in Escherichia coli. PLoS ONE, 6(4): e18489. (IF 4.092)

4.         Guogan Wu, Yu Sun, Wei Qu, Ying Huang, Ling Lu Lun Li, Weilan Shao*. 2011. Application of GFAT as a novel selection marker to mediate gene expression. PLoS ONE, 6(2): e17082. (IF 4.092)

5.         Jianjun Pei, Qing Zhou, Qingqing Jing, Lun Li, Chuanchao Dai, Huazhong Li, Juergen Wiegel*, Weilan Shao*. 2011. The mechanism for regulating ethanol fermentation by Redox levels in Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus. Metabolic Engineering, 13: 186–193. (IF 5.614)

6.         Weilan Shao, Yemin Xue, Ailian Wu, Irina Kataeva, Jianjun Pei,  Huawei Wu, Juergen Wiegel*. 2011. Characterization of a novel beta-xylosidase XylC from Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485. Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 77(3): 719-726. (IF 3.829)

7.         Jianjun Pei , Qing Zhou, Yu Jiang, Yilin Le, Huazhong Li, Hui Peng, Weilan Shao*, Juergen Wiegel*. 2010. Thermoanaerobacter spp control ethanol pathway via transcriptional regulation and versatility of key enzymes. Metabolic Engineering, 12: 420–428. (IF 5.614)

8.         Pei, Jianjun, and Weilan Shao*. 2008. Purification and characterization of an extracellular a-L-arabinosidase from a novel isolate Bacillus pumilus ARA and its over-expression in Escherichia coli. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol, 78: 115-121. (IF 3.425)

9.         Jiang,Yu, Jianjun Pei , Xin Song, and Weilan Shao*. 2007. Restriction site-dependent PCR: an efficient technique for cloning of new genes from genomic DNA. DNA Res, 14: 283-290. (IF 5.164)

10.     Zeng, Hongyan, Yemin Xue, Tingting Peng, and Weilan Shao*. 2007. Properties of xylanolytic enzyme system in bifidobacteria and their effects on the utilization of xylooligosaccharides Food Chemistry, 101: 1172-1177. (IF 3.655)

Patents:

PCT/CN2004/000742, PCT/US2010/027364;

US patent US7,807,460B2;

Chinese patents:

ZL2003131524.0, ZL200410065776.8, ZL200410064667.4, ZL200410044977.X, ZL200510039239.0, ZL200510038237.X, ZL200610096305.2, ZL200710020315.2, ZL200910025925.0.