Li HUANG

Hyperthermophilic Archaeal Genetic Mechanisms Laboratory

Principal Investigator
Li HuangPh.D., Professor

Tel: 86-10-64807430
Fax: 86-10-64807429
Email: huangl@im.ac.cn

Research Area

Genetic Mechanisms in Hyperthermophilic Archaea

Current Research

Archaea represent the third form of life, in addition to Bacteria and Eukarya. Most archaea that have been studied inhabit extreme environments. In recent decades, biochemical, molecular biological and genomic studies have revealed a number of fascinating features of this newly discovered group of prokaryotic organisms. Chief among them is the apparent similarity between Archaea and Eukarya in genetic mechanisms. Sulfolobus belongs to the kingdom Crenarchaeota, which is one of the two kingdoms of culturable archaea. Sulfolobus species live in acidic hot springs around the globe with optimal growth temperatures of ~80 oC and pH’s of ~3. Because Sulfolobus is aerobic and relatively easy to grow and handle in the lab, it has been widely used as a model system for the study of Archaea. The intense interest in Sulfolobus is evidenced by recent completion of three Sulfolobus genome projects. It is believed that knowledge gained from the study of Sulfolobus will increase the understanding of the biology of Archaea and their adaptation to living in extreme environments, and facilitate the biotechnological exploitation of this unique group of organisms. Moreover, Sulfolobus offers a prokaryotic model for analyzing the genetic mechanisms in more complex eukaryotic systems.
Dr. Huang’s laboratory studies chromosomal organization and DNA replication in the hyperthermophilic archaea of the genus Sulfolobus. The following projects are currently ongoing in his laboratory.

• DNA-binding proteins Sul7d and Cren7 from Sulfolobus and their roles in chromosomal organization
• Biochemical properties and physiological function of the highly conserved Sac10b protein family
• Key steps in DNA replication in Sulfolobus solfataricus
• Sulfolobus viruses from hot springs in Yunnan and Tibet

Group Members

Principal Investigator

Li HuangPh.D., Professor

Education & Professional Experience
Professor Huang received his PhD in the Department ofMicrobiology at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in 1988. He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biochemistry of the School of Hygiene and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, from 1988 to 1993. He became assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Pomona College, California, in 1993 before joining the faculty in the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 1996. He was appointed to full professorship in 1998 and had been director of the State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources from 2000 to 2008. He served as the Deputy Director and then Director of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in April 2008 to September 2013.

Staff

Xin Dai  Associate Professor  daixin@mail.im.ac.cn
Zhenfeng Zhang Assistant Researcher zhangzf@mail.im.ac.cn

Graduate Students
Xin Guo   guoxin724@163.com
Li Guo   guoli@mail.im.ac.cn
Likui Zhang   likuizhang@hotmail.com
Jinchuan Hu   hjclxzk@163.com
Zhengyan Zhan   zhanzhengyan1982@163.com
Xiyang Li   lixiyang168@yahoo.com.cn
Yi Ren   renyi-82@hotmail.com
Jiali Wang   wang.jiali@hotmail.com
Xuan Xing   xingxuanxuan06@mails.gucas.ac.cn
Yindi Chu   cylah@163.com
Bing Liu   chinaliubing@sina.com
Shiwei Lang   langshiwei@163.com

Former Students

Xulin Chen, Researcher Institute of Virology, CAS chenxl@wh.iov.cn	Danxu Liu, Post-Doc University of Nottingham Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre danxuliu@ymail.com
Penggao Dai, Assistant Researcher Biochemistry and Biophysics Department University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Huiqiang Lou, Post-Doc California Institute of Technology, Divisions of Biology and Chemistry hqlou@caltech.edu
Xiaoyu Xiang , Post-Doc University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Medicine xiangxy@uab.edu	Xiaoqin Lai, Post-Doc University of Pennsylvania, Department of Biology xiaoqinl@sas.upenn.edu
Rong Guo, Post-Doc National Institute on Aging/National Institue of Healthlaboratory of Genetics guor@grc.nia.nih.gov	Kangyun Wu, Post-Doc Weill Medical college of Cornell University wukangyun@hotmail.com
Liang Chen, Assistant Researcher Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, CAS chenl@im.ac.cn	Ying Wang State Intellectual Property Office wangyinglh@yahoo.com.cn

Former Staff

Zhenhong Duan, Ph.D. student University of Nottingham,Queen's Medical centre zhhduan@yahoo.com.cn	Fang Wang, Ph.D. student Temple University, School of Medicine fw_ang2003@yahoo.com.cn

Representitive Picture

Selected Publications

1. Zhenfeng Zhang^#, Yong Gong^#,Li Guo, Tao Jiang,Li Huang*. Structural insights into the interaction of the crenarchaeal chromatin protein Cren7 with DNA.Molecular Microbiology. In press. (# shared the first author)(IF 5.213)
2. Xin GuoandLi Huang*. 2010. An SF3 DNA helicase encoded by plasmid pSSVi from the hyperthermophilic ArchaeonSulfolobus solfataricusunwinds DNA as a higher-order oligomer and interacts with host primase.The Journal of Bacteriology, 192(7):1853-64.(IF 3.636)
3. Likui Zhang, HuiqiangLou,Li Guo,Zhengyan Zhan, Zhenhong Duan,Xin GuoandLi Huang*. 2010. Accurate DNA synthesis bySulfolobus solfataricusDNA polymerase B1 at high temperature.Extremophiles, 14(1):107-17.(IF 1.782)
4. Xianyang Fang, Qiu Cu, Yufeng Tong, Yingang Feng, Lu Shan,Li Huangand Jinfeng Wang*,A stabilizing α/β-hydrophobic core greatly contributes to hyperthermostability of archaeal [P62A]Ssh10b.Biochemistry2008, 47(43): 11212-21. (IF 3.368)
5. Li Guo, Yingang Feng, Zhenfeng Zhang, Hongwei Yao, Yuanming Luo,Jinfeng Wang andLi Huang*. Biochemical and structural characterization of Cren7, a novel chromatin protein conserved among Crenarchaea.Nucleic Acids Research36:( 4 )1129-1137PDF(IF 6.954)
6. Sha Wang, Wei-Feng Liu,Yong-Zhi He, Ao Zhang,Li Huang, Zhiyang Dong*, Yong-Bin Yan*, 2008,Multistate folding of a hyperthermostable Fe-superoxide dismutase (TcSOD) in guanidinium hydrochloride: The importance of the quaternary structure.Biochimica et Biophysica Acta-Proteins and Proteomics1784:445–454  PDF(IF 3.078)
7. Wang Y, Duan Z, Zhu H, Guo X, Wang Z, Zhou J, She Q,Huang L. 2007. A novel Sulfolobus non-conjugative extrachromosomal genetic element capable of integration into the host genome and spreading in the presence of a fusellovirus.Virology363: 124-33.
8. Wu K, Lai X, Guo X, Hu J, Xiang X,Huang L. 2007. Interplay between primase and replication factor C in the hyperthermophilic archaeonSulfolobus solfataricus.Mol Microbiol. 63(3):826–837.
9. Chen L,Huang L. 2006. Oligonucleotide cleavage and rejoining by topoisomerase III from the hyperthermophilic archaeonSulfolobus solfataricus: temperature dependence and strand annealing-promoted DNA religation.Mol Microbiol. 60:783-94.
10. Xiang X, Chen N, Huang X, Luo Y, She Q,Huang L. 2005. Spindle-Shaped Virus STSV1: Virus-Host Interactions and Genomic Features.J Virol. 79:8677-86.
11. Lou H, Duan Z, Huo X,Huang L. 2004. Modulation of hyperthermophilic DNA polymerase activity by archaeal chromatin proteins.J Biol Chem. 279:127-32.
12. Guo R, Xue H,Huang L. 2003. Ssh10b, a conserved thermophilic archaeal protein, binds RNA in vivo.Mol. Microbiol. 50:1605-15.