Position: Professor
School/Academic Group: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Email: wqchen@whu.edu.cn
Education：
2001.09 - 2004.06 College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University，Master
2005.04 - 2009.11 School of Life Sciences & Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University，Ph.D.
Working Experience:
2009 - 2011 State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences & Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University，Postdoc
2013.01- 2014.01 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles，Postdoc
2014- now School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wuhan University, Professor
Current Teaching Interests/Responsibilities:
Microbial pharmaceutics
Research Interests:
Biosynthesis, physiological function and biological metabolism of important nucleoside functional molecules
Publications：
1. Wang Z, Li J, Wang X, Jin B, Zhou L, Zhao Z, Gu M, Song X, Wang J, Deng Z, Wu S*, Zhang Z*, Chen W*. (2025). Efficient Synthesis of Glycodiversified Nucleoside Analogues by a Thermophilic Promiscuous Glycosyltransferase. ACS Catalysis, 15, 1217-1229.
2. Yu L#, Gao Y#, He Y, Liu Y, Shen J, Liang H, Gong R, Duan He, Price N, Song X, Deng Z, Chen W*. (2024) Developing the E. coli platform for efficient production of UMP-derived chemicals. Metabolic Engineering,83, 61-74.
3. Zhai G#, Gong R#, Lin Y, Zhang M, Li J, Deng Z, Sun J, Chen W*, Zhang Z*. (2022) Structural insight into the catalytic mechanism of non-heme iron halogenase AdaV in 2′-chloropentostatin biosynthesis. ACS Catal. 12:13910-13920.
4. Zhang M#, Kong L#, Gong R#, Iorio M, Donadio S, Deng Z, Sosio M, Chen W*. (2022). Biosynthesis of C-nucleoside antibiotics in actinobacteria: recent advances and future developments. Microb Cell Fact. 21(1):2.
5. Yu L#, Zhou W#, She Y#, Ma H, Cai Y-S, Jiang M, Deng Z, Price NPJ*, Chen W*. (2021) Efficient biosynthesis of nucleoside cytokinin angustmycin A containing an unusual sugar system. Nat Commun. 12(1):6633.
6. Gong R#, Yu L#, Qin Y, Price NPJ, He X, Deng Z*, Chen W*. (2021) Harnessing synthetic biology-based strategies for engineered biosynthesis of nucleoside natural products in actinobacteria. Biotechnol Adv, 46:107673.
7. Zhang M#, Zhang P#, Xu G#, Zhou W, Gao Y, Gong R, Cai Y-S, Cong H, Deng Z, Price NPJ, Mao X*, Chen W*. (2020) Comparative investigation into formycin A and pyrazofurin A biosynthesis reveals branch pathways for the construction of C-nucleoside scaffolds. Appl Environ Microbiol. 86(2).
8. Kong L#, Xu G#, Liu X#, Wang J, Tang Z, Cai Y-S, Shen K, Tao W, Zheng Y, Deng Z, Price NPJ, Chen W*. (2019) Divergent biosynthesis of C-nucleoside minimycin and indigoidine in bacteria. iScience, 22:430-440.
9. Xu G , Kong L, Xu L, Gao Y, Jiang M, Cai Y-S, Hong K, Hu Y, Liu P, Deng Z, Price NPJ, Chen W*. (2018) Coordinated biosynthesis of the purine nucleoside antibiotics aristeromycin and coformycin in Actinomycetes. Appl Environ Microbiol. 84(22).
10. Liu Y, Gong R, Liu X, Zhang P, Zhang Q, Cai Y-S, Deng Z, Winkler M, Wu J*, Chen W*. (2018) Discovery and characterization of the tubercidin biosynthetic pathway from Streptomyces tubercidicusNBRC 13090. Microb Cell Fact. 17:131.
11. Gong R, Qi J, Wu P, Cai Y-S, Ma H, Liu Y, Duan H, Wang M, Deng Z, Price NPJ, Chen W*.(2018) An ATP-dependent ligase with substrate flexibility involved in assembly of the peptidyl nucleoside antibiotic polyoxin. Appl Environ Microbiol. 84(13).
12. Gao Y#, Xu G#, Wu P#, Liu J, Deng Z, Chen W*. (2017) Biosynthesis of 2′-chloropentostatin and 2′-amino-2′-deoxyadenosine highlights a single gene cluster responsible for two individual pathways in Actinomadura sp. ATCC 39365. Appl Environ Microbiol. 83(10).
13. Wu P#, Wan D#, Xu G #, Wang G, Ma H, Wang T, Gao Y, Qi J, Chen X, Zhu J, Li Y-Q, Deng Z,Chen W*. (2017) An unusual protector-protégé strategy for the biosynthesis of purine nucleoside antibiotics. Cell Chem Biol. 24(2):171-181.
14. He N#, Wu P#, Lei Y, Xu B, Zhu X, Xu G, Gao Y, Qi J, Deng Z, Tang G, Chen W*, Xiao Y*. (2017) Construction of the octosyl acid backbone catalyzed by a radical S-adenosylmethionine enzyme and a phosphatase in the biosynthesis of high-carbon sugar nucleoside antibiotics. Chem Sci. 8:444-451.
15. Zhao H, Wang L, Wan D, Qi J, Gong R, Deng Z, Chen W*. (2016) Characterization of the aurantimycin biosynthetic gene cluster and enhancing its production by manipulating two pathway-specific activators in Streptomyces aurantiacus JA 4570. Microb Cell Fact. 15:160.
16. Qi J, Wan D, Ma H, Liu Y, Gong R, Qu X, Sun Y, Deng Z, Chen W*. (2016) Deciphering carbamoylpolyoxamic acid biosynthesis reveals unusual acetylation cycle associated with tandem reduction and sequential hydroxylation. Cell Chem Biol. 23(8):935-944.
17. Chen W#, Li Y#, Li J, Wu L, Li Y, Wang R, Deng Z, Zhou J. (2016) An unusual UMP C-5 methylase in nucleoside antibiotic polyoxin biosynthesis. Protein Cell. 7(9):673-683.
18. Chen W, Qi J, Wu P, Wan D, Liu J, Deng Z. (2016) Natural and engineered biosynthesis of nucleoside antibiotics in Actinomycetes. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol. 43(2-3):401-17.
19. Qi J, Liu J, Wan D, Wang Y, Cai Y, Feng X, Wu P, Li S, Qiu G, Yang S, Chen W*, Deng Z. (2015) Metabolic engineering of an industrial polyoxin producer for the targeted overproduction of designer nucleoside antibiotics. Biotechnol Bioeng. 112(9):1865-1871.
20. Chen W, Dai D, Wang C, Huang T, Zhai L, Deng Z. (2013) Genetic dissection of the polyoxin building block-carbamoylpolyoxamic acid biosynthesis revealing the "pathway redundancy" in metabolic networks. Microb Cell Fact. 12:121.
21. Xu D, Liu G, Cheng L, Lu X, Chen W*, Deng Z*. (2013) Identification of Mur34 as the novel negative regulator responsible for the biosynthesis of muraymycin in Streptomyces sp. NRRL 30471. PLoS One. 8(10):e76068
22. Zhai L, Lin S, Qu D, Hong X, Bai L, Chen W*, Deng Z*. (2012) Engineering of an industrial polyoxin producer for the rational production of hybrid peptidyl nucleoside antibiotics. Metab Eng. 14(4):388-93.
23. Doroghazi J, Ju K, Brown D, Labeda D, Deng Z, Metcalf W, Chen W*, Price NPJ*. (2011) Genome sequences of three tunicamycin-producing Streptomyces strains; S. chartreusis NRRL 12338, S. chartreusis NRRL 3882, and S. lysosuperificus ATCC 31396. J Bacteriol. 193(24):7021-2.
24. Cheng L, Chen W*, Zhai L, Xu D, Huang T, Lin S, Zhou X, Deng Z*. (2011) Identification of the gene cluster involved in muraymycin biosynthesis from Streptomyces sp. NRRL 30471. Mol Biosyst. 7(3):920-927.
25. Chen W#, Qu D#, Zhai L, Tao M, Wang Y, Lin S, Price NPJ, Deng Z. (2010) Characterization of the tunicamycin gene cluster unveiling unique steps involved in its biosynthesis. Protein Cell. 1(12):1093-1105.
26. Chen W, Huang T, He X, Meng Q, You D, Bai L, Li J, Wu M, Li R, Xie Z, Zhou H, Zhou X, Tan H, Deng Z. (2009) Characterization of the polyoxin biosynthetic gene cluster from Streptomyces cacaoiand engineered production of polyoxin H. J Biol Chem. 284(16): 10627-10638.
