学科负责人：曾晓丽青年研究员　　　  　 

　　研究组成员：    

研究员：张承才，邓运

副研究员：杨毅玲、张巨源、Cesar Augusto VALADES CRUZ、邢伟越、马海燕

实验师：何晨柳

科研助理：林桂铭，余昭君

博士后：徐晓梅、孙庆学、刘静、刘素娟、冉文硕

博士生：曹淑可、关文盈、于帆、黄丹青、解涛、田霞霞、贾世豪

硕士生：邱雯静、李佳、丁兆茹、郑然、杨柯、李希烨、甘力予、于小雅

招生导师及招生方向：

博 导：邓运（硕士：遗传学，博士：水生生物学） 

硕 导：杨毅玲（硕士：水生生物学），张巨源（硕士：水生生物学），曾晓丽（硕士：水生生物学），邢伟越（硕士：水生生物学），马海燕（硕士：水生生物学）

研究组介绍：

本研究组成立于2015年，由学术带头人张承才研究员领衔。研究组以蓝藻作为材料，综合分子遗传学、细胞生物学、生物化学、结构生物学等多学科手段，一方面系统解答蓝藻调控生长发育适应环境变化的基础生命科学问题，另一方面基于合成生物学手段，开展蓝藻水华治理以及蓝藻在绿色制造与可持续农业中的应用研究。

蓝藻出现在二十五亿年前，是地球上最古老的生命之一。它们是最早能进行放氧光合作用的生物，其产生的氧气使地球大气层由无氧转换为富氧，进而为整个地球环境动植物和人类的进化打下了基础。蓝藻广泛存在于海洋、湖泊、湿地、荒漠等各种生态环境中，目前依然为地球碳氮氧等元素循环起着巨大的作用。

近年来，蓝藻日益受到人们关注。一方面，在富营养化水体中，蓝细菌经常呈暴发性生长（形成水华），造成极大的环境问题。另一方面，蓝藻也能利用太阳能将CO₂转化为油脂、药物等化合物，在绿色能源及制药等领域显示出巨大应用潜力。本学科组对蓝藻生长过程及其调控机理进行研究，以期能为抑制水华爆发及构建高效蓝藻生物反应器提供理论依据；同时也致力于通过合成生物学手段提升蓝藻光合固碳效率，以蓝藻为底盘表达高价值产物（色素、蛋白等），以期将蓝藻开发为具有重要经济价值的高效的绿色细胞工厂。

蓝藻也是用于研究许多重要基础生物学问题的模式生物。不同蓝藻的细胞大小各异、形态多样；部分蓝藻还具有细胞发育的能力，例如形成执行固氮功能的异形胞（最古老的细胞分化现象之一）。细胞大小、形态以及细胞发育通过怎样的分子机制进行调控？它们同代谢调控、细胞生长、细胞周期等生物过程的关系又是如何确立的？本学科组以蓝藻为材料对这些重大科学理论问题开展深入研究。

我们的研究手段强调多学科融合，涉及光学及实验物理学技术，单细胞操作技术，组学技术，生理、遗传、生化与分子生物学技术等。学科组在蓝藻分子遗传学特别是蓝藻异形胞发育研究方面已取得国际公认的学术成就，在国际期刊上发表文章140余篇，其中包括PNAS, Annual Review of Microbiology, Trends in Plant Sciences，Nucl Acid Res, Cell Reports, PLoS Biology, FEMS Microbiol Rev, mLife等杂志。此外，蓝藻在特定生长阶段会向环境中释放毒素及其他一些具有重要生态效应的次级代谢产物，本学科组也致力于阐明这些代谢产物在胞内的合成及代谢途径。

仪器设备：

荧光显微镜；生物显微镜；微流控操作平台；细胞破碎仪；PCR仪；超微分光光度计；核酸、蛋白分离检测系统；蛋白纯化系统；组学分析仪器；紫外分光光度计；冷冻高速离心机；微藻高通量培养系统；低温超高压连续流细胞破碎仪；制冰机；氮吹仪；光照培养箱等170余件固定资产设备。

重点在研项目（部分）：

Ÿ 中国科学院B类先导专项项目及课题

Ÿ 国家重点研发计划合成生物学重点专项课题

Ÿ 国家自然科学基金重大研究计划项目

Ÿ 国家自然科学基金重点项目

Ÿ 国家自然科学基金面上项目

Ÿ 国家自然科学基金青年基金项目

近年发表论文：

2026年度

1）. Jie Zheng, Ye Liu, Yulu Liu, Hongliang Mao, Zhiqing Zhong, Yanhua Li, Cheng-Cai Zhang,Danxiang Han, Jin Liu* and Haiyan Ma* (2026) Relieving an elongation bottleneck unlocks eicosapentaenoicacid biosynthesis in the industrial microalgaNannochloropsis oceanica. The Plant Journal. 125:e70765

2）. Yun Deng, Jie Xiong,Kaiyao Huang* Wei Miao* and Chengcai Zhang* (2026) From gene editing to cell editing: An emerging technology for synthetic biology[J]. The Innovation Life, 4:100225

3）. Thomas Wallner, Chenliu He, Sherihan Samir, Eduardo Sabatine Lopes，Xiaoli Zeng , Cheng-Cai Zhang, Khaled A. Selim* , Yiling Yang* , Annegret Wilde*（2026）Regulation of cyanobacterial type IV pilus-dependent functions by interaction between a c-di-GMP receptor and two transcription factors. Microbiological Research. 311 :128607

4）. Dai, Z., Aoki, W., Chaiyen, P. et al. (2026) A framework for building a synthetic cell from the SynCell Asia Initiative. Nature Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-026-03153-w

5）. Gai Liu, Wei Luo, Sheng Yao, Ming-kun Yang, Xiaoyu Yuan, Zhao Peng, Xuan Deng, Cuihong Wan, Chengtian Zhao, Cheng-cai Zhang, Wei Miao, Senjie Lin & Kaiyao Huang（2026）A chromosome-level assembly of the alpine snow alga Chloromonas typhlos. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07557-w

6）. Qing-Xue Sun, Min Huang, Yiling Yang, Xiaoli Zeng*, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2026) A dual-threshold system relying on multiple c-di-GMP metabolic enzymes controls cell fate of a cyanobacterium. Plos Biology. 24(4), e3003750.

2025年度

1）. Wen-Shuo Ran, Xiaoli Zeng*，Cheng-Cai Zhang*（2025）Carbon metabolism shapes FtsZ levels and cell division in the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120.Communications Biology.8(1):1440

2）. Wen-Kai Li; Tian-Cai Niu; Su-Juan Liu; Shi-Hao Jia; Jing Liu; Xiao-Li Zeng; Ju-Yuan Zhang*; Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2025) The DEAD-box RNA helicase CrhB exhibits pleiotropic functions in the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. Water Biology and Security.100454

3）. Qianqian Ni*, Jing Wu, Christina Galanakou, Cheng-Cai Zhang, Donald A. Tomalia*, Ling Peng* (2025) Dendrimer engineering to overcome delivery challenges of nucleic acids. Nature Reviews Bioengineering. 3:806-806.

4）. Jie Zheng, Liuye ye Liu, Feng Ge, Cheng-Cai Zhang, Danxiang Han, Haiyan Ma* (2025) Synergistic Genetic Module Engineering for Optimized Eicosapentaenoic Acid Production in Nannochloropsis oceanica. Algal Research. 90:104262.

5）. Hong Chen，Haiyan Ma*,Lihua Yu，Song Zou,Yanhua Li,Yuanchen Lu,Mingkun Yang,Feng Ge,Li Yuan, Xiaoli Zeng, Cheng-Cai Zhang, Kangsup Yoon, Danxiang Han*,Qiang Hu*(2025)Functional characterization of the plastidial enzyme GPAT in microalgae and its potential role in lipid biosynthesis. Plant Physiology. 199(1):kiaf395

6）. Haiyan Ma*, Zhaokun Wang, Feng Ge, Cheng-Cai Zhang (2025) Chloroplast Budding Mediates β-Carotene Transport for early stage astaxanthin hyperaccumulation in microalgae. Plant Physiology. 199(2):kiaf243.

7）. Sujuan Liu, Zhenyu Wang, Guiming Lin, Wenkai Li, Xiaoli Zeng, Ju-Yuan Zhang* and Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2025) The ribonuclease E regulator RebA is essential for diazotrophic growth in the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. mLife. 4 (5):516-526.

2024年度

1）. Su-Juan Liu, Gui-Ming Lin, Yu-Qi Yuan, Wenli Chen, Ju-Yuan Zhang* and Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2024) A protein inhibitor brings under check the activity of RNase E in cyanobacteria. Nucleic Acids Research 52:404-419.

2）. Ye-Jun Peng, Yuxing Chen, Cong-Zhao Zhou, Wei Miao, Yong-Liang Jiang*, Xiaoli Zeng* and Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2024) Modular catalytic activity of nonribosomal peptide synthetases depends on the dynamic interaction between adenylation and condensation domains. Structure. 32(1-13):e1-e4

3）. Heng Zheng, Pier-Luc Tremblay, Wang Chen, Qi Wang, Danni Hu, Yuanzheng Huang, Xiaoxuan Liu, Cheng-Cai Zhang, Ling Peng*, Tian Zhang* (2024)Capture and flocculation of toxic cyanobacteria by amphiphilic peptide dendrimers for mitigating harmful blooms. Chemical Engineering Journal. 489:151382

4）. Weiwei Qin,Che Hu,Siyu Gu,Jing Zhang, Chuanqi Jiang, Xiaocui Chai, Zaitian Liao, Mingkun Yang, Fang Zhou, Dingbang Kang, Tingting Pan, Yuan Xiao, Kai Chen, Guangying Wang, Feng Ge, Kaiyao Huang,Chengcai Zhang, Alan Warren, Jie Xiong*, Wei Miao* (2024)Dynamic shape-shifting of the single-celled eukaryotic predator Lacrymaria via unconventional cytoskeletal components. CURRENT BIOLOGY. 34,1-15

5）. Shang-Yu Li, Chenliu He, Cesar Augusto Valades-Cruz, Cheng-Cai Zhang*, Yiling Yang* (2024) Phototactic signaling network in rod-shaped cyanobacteria: A study on Synechococcus elongatus UTEX 3055. Microbiological Research. 292:127967

6）. Gui-Ming Lin, Ju-Yuan Zhang*, Zhi-Hui Shao, Chen Yang, Guo-Ping Zhao, Kai-Yao Huang, Cheng-Cai Zhang*（2024）The LysR-type transcriptional factor PacR controls heterocyst differentiation and C/N metabolism in the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. Microbiological Research. 290:127970

2023年度

1) Qin-Xue Sun, Min Huang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Xiaoli Zeng*, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2023) Control of Cell Size by c-di-GMP Requires a Two-Component Signaling System in the Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. Strain PCC 7120. Microbiology Spectrum. 10.1128

2) Xiaoli Zeng, Min Huang, Qing-Xue Sun, Ye-Jun Peng, Xiaomei Xu, Yun-Bin Tang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Yiling Yang, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2023) A c-di-GMP binding effector controls cell size in a cyanobacterium. PNAS. 120(13):e2221874120

3) Zi-Qian Wang, Yiling Yang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Xiaoli Zeng, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2023) Global translational control by the transcriptional repressor TrcR in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Communications Biology. 6:643

4) Wei-Yue Xing, Jing Liu, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2023) HetF defines a transition point from commitment to morphogenesis during heterocyst differentiation in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Molecular Microbiology. 00:740-753.

5) Jing Liu, Wei-Yue Xing, Bowen Liu, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2023) Three-dimensional coordination of cell-division site positioning in a filamentous cyanobacterium. PNAS nexus. 10.1093

6) Ziqian Wang, Suqin Wang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Gui-Ming Lin, Nanqin Gan, Lirong Song, Xiaoli Zeng, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2023) Investigation on cyanobacterial production of the proposed neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA). Water Biol. Security. P 100208.

2022年度

1) Wei-Yue Xing, Jing Liu, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Xiaoli Zeng, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2022) A proteolytic pathway coordinates cell division and heterocyst differentiation in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. PNAS. 119 (36):e2207963119

2) Xiaoli Zeng*, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2022) The making of a heterocyst in cyanobacteria. Annu Rev Microbiol. 76:597-618.

3) JuYuan Zhang, Wolfgang R. Hess*, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2022) “Life is short, and art is long”: RNA degradation in cyanobacteria and model bacteria. mLife. 00(00):1-19

4) Zi-Qian Wang, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2022) A tRNA t6A modification system contributes to the sensitivity towards the toxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Aquatic Toxicology. 245:106121

5) Ju-Yuan Zhang, Tian-Cai Niu, Gui-Ming Lin, Cheng-Cai Zhang (2022) A CRISPR-Based Method for Constructing Conditional Mutations of Essential Genes in Cyanobacteria. Essential Genes and Genomes. Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB, volume 2377). pp 143-157.

2021年度

1) Wei-Yue Xing, Jing Liu, Zi-Qian Wang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Xiaoli Zeng, Yiling Yang and Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2021) HetF protein is a new divisome component in a filamentous and developmental cyanobacterium. mBio. 12:e01382-21.

2) Li Wang, Tian-Cai Niu, Ana Valladares, Gui-Ming Lin, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Antonia Herrero*, Wenli Chen*, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2021) The developmental regulator PatD modulates assembly of the cell-division protein FtsZ in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Environmental Microbiology. 23(8):4823-4837.

3) Jing Liu, Wei-Yue Xing, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Xiaoli Zeng, Yiling Yang and Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2021) Functions of the Essential GenemraY in Cellular Morphogenesis and Development of the Filamentous Cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. Frontiers in Microbiology. 12:765878.

4) Min Huang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Xiaoli Zeng* and Cheng-Cai Zhang (2021) c-di-GMP Homeostasis Is Critical for Heterocyst Development in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Frontiers in Microbiology. 12:793336

2020年度

1) Zi-Qian Wang, Suqin Wang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Gui-Ming Lin, Nanqin Gan , Lirong Song, Xiaoli Zeng* & Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2020) The proposed neurotoxin β-n-methylamino-l-alanine (bmaa) is taken up through amino-acid transport systems in the cyanobacterium anabaena pcc 7120. Toxins. 12(8):518.

2) Xing, W. Y. , Xie, L. R. , Zeng, X. , Yang, Y. *, & Zhang, C. C. * (2020) Functional dissection of genes encoding dna polymerases based on conditional mutants in the heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium anabaena pcc 7120. Frontiers in Microbiology. 11:1108.

3) Cong Zhou, Juyuan Zhang , Xinyu Hu, Changchang Li , Li Wang , Qiaoyun Huang* and Wenli Chen* (2020) Rnase ii binds to rnase e and modulates its endoribonucleolytic activity in the cyanobacterium anabaena pcc 7120. Nucleic Acids Research. 48(7):3922-3934

2019年度

1) Li Wang, Tian-Cai Niu, Gui-Ming Lin, Shao-Ran Zhang, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Guo-Fang Tang, Wenli Chen*, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2019) patD, a gene regulated by NtcA, is involved in the optimization of heterocyst frequency in the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. J. Bacteriol. 201(21). pii:e00457-19.  

2) Wei-Yue Xing, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2019) Preventing accidental heterocyst development in cyanobacteria. J. Bacteriol. 201 (17):e00349-19.

3) Tian-Cai Niu, Gui-Ming Lin, Li-Rui Xie, Zi-Qian Wang, Wei-Yue Xing, Ju-Yuan Zhang*, Cheng-Cai Zhang (2019) Expanding the potential of CRISPR-Cpf1 based genome editing technology in the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120. ACS Synth. Biol. 8:170-180.

2018年度

1) Cheng-Cai Zhang*, Cong-Zhao Zhou, Robert L. Burnap, Ling Peng (2018) Carbon/Nitrogen Metabolic Balance: Lessons from Cyanobacteria. Trends in Plant Sci. 23:1116-1130.

2) Hai-Lin Chen, Amel Latifi, Cheng-Cai Zhang and Christophe Sébastien Bernard* (2018) Biosensors-Based In Vivo Quantification of 2-Oxoglutarate in Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria. Life. 8:51. 

3) Yali Wang, Yuan Gao, Chao Li, Hong Gao, Cheng-Cai Zhang and Xudong Xu* (2018) Three substrains of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 display divergence in genomic sequences and hetC function. J. Bacteriol. 200 (13):e00076-18.

4) Ju-Yuan Zhang, Gui-Min Lin, Wei-Yue Xin, Cheng-Cai Zhang* (2018) Diversity of the growth patterns probed in live cyanobacterial cells using a fluorescent analog of a peptidoglycan precursor. Frontiers in Microbiology. 9:791.

5) Yong-Liang Jiang, Xue-Ping Wang, Hui Sun, Shu-Jing Han, Wei-Fang Li, Ning Cui, Gui-Ming Lin, Ju-Yuan Zhang, Wang Cheng, Dong-Dong Cao, Zhi-Yong Zhang, Cheng-Cai Zhang*, Yuxing Chen*, Cong-Zhao Zhou* (2018) Coordinating carbon and nitrogen metabolic signaling through the cyanobacterial global repressor NdhR. PNAS. 115:403-408.