Dr. Huayi Liu received his Ph.D. from the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, Sichuan University in 2021, followed by postdoctoral training at Tianjin University. His research focuses on microbial synthetic biology, with particular emphasis on engineering microbial cell factories for the sustainable production of high-value compounds, including bioactive ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine and cosmetic-related natural products.As principal investigator, Dr. Liu has led research projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program. He has published multiple papers as first author or corresponding author, including co-first and co-corresponding authorship, in journals such as Nature Communications, Bioresource Technology, and Biotechnology Advances. He is also an inventor on six patent applications, and has completed the technology transfer of several high-value pharmaceutical raw materials.

Over the past five years, his representative publications include studies on high-titer gastrodin biosynthesis in yeast, CRISPR-Cas tools for Saccharomyces cerevisiae engineering, metabolic and enzyme engineering of natural product biosynthesis, and structural studies of key biomolecular systems.

Undergraduate students are welcome to join the laboratory for research training. Prospective graduate students with backgrounds in chemistry, chemical engineering, pharmacy, environmental science, food science, biology, or related fields are also encouraged to apply. Graduate study is a process of learning again, exploring deeply, and building independent research ability.

Email: huayi0814@126.com; huayi@swtju.edu.cn

Selected Publications in the Past Five Years:

^† Co-first author; * Corresponding author.

1. Xiaowen Wan^†, Donghao Li^†, Minghai Tang^†, Zewen Liu, Jiayu Pan, Hongbin Yu, Jinliang Yang*, Huayi Liu*. System-level metabolic and enzyme engineering enables high-titer gastrodin biosynthesis in yeast. Bioresource Technology, 2026: 134802. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2026.134802.

2. He Ma^†, Huayi Liu^†, Qingjie Xiao, Jian Li, Honghao Li, Mengsha Li, and Yunzi Luo*. Directed evolution boosts UGT85A1 glycosylation for enhanced phenylethanoid glucoside production, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2026, 74(4): 3868-3878. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.5c14563.

3. Jialu Li^†, Huayi Liu^†, Jian Li^†, Juxiu Liu^†, Xinli Dai, Angqi Zhu, Qingjie Xiao, Wenyu Qian, Honghao Li, Li Guo, Chuangye Yan, Dong Deng*, Yunzi Luo* & Xiang Wang*. Cryo-EM structure of the β-1,3-glucan synthase FKS1-Rho1 complex, Nature Communications, 2025, 16(1): 2054. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57152-7.

4. Xinxin Wu, Xiaowen Wan, Hongbin Yu,Huayi Liu*. Recent advances in CRISPR-Cas system for Saccharomyces cerevisiae engineering, Biotechnology Advances, 2025, 81: 108557. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biotechadv.2025.108557.

5. Huayi Liu, Qingjie Xiao, Xinxin Wu, He Ma, Jian Li, Xufan Guo, Zhenyu Liu, Yunzi Luo*. Mechanistic investigation of a D to N mutation in DAHP synthase that dictates carbon flux into the shikimate pathway in yeast, Communications Chemistry, 2023, 6(1): 152.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-023-00946-x.

6. Huayi Liu, Xinxin Wu, He Ma, Jian Li, Zhenyu Liu, Xufan Guo, Jia Dong, Shaolan Zou, Yunzi Luo*. High level production of hydroxytyrosol in engineered Saccharomyces cerevisiae, ACS synthetic biology, 2022, 11(11): 3706-3713. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acssynbio.2c00316.

7. Huayi Liu^†, Yi Zhou^†, Yingjie Song^†, Qianqian Zhang^†, Yeyi Kan, Xinyue Tang, Qingjie Xiao, Qianyin Xiang, Huanxiang Liu,* Yunzi Luo,* and Rui Bao*. Structural and dynamics studies of the Spcas9 variant provide insights into the regulatory role of the REC1 domain, ACS Catalysis, 2022, 12(14): 8687-8697. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.2c01804.

8. Huayi Liu, Yujuan Tian, Yi Zhou, Yeyi Kan, Tingting Wu, Wenhai Xiao, Yunzi Luo*. Multi-modular engineering of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for high-titre production of tyrosol and salidroside. Microbial Biotechnology, 2021, 14(6): 2605-2616. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.13667.