Associate research professor, Leader of Microbial Synthesis Supporting Technologies Group

Research Interest

Enzyme molecular engineering and Biocatalytic transformation;

Biosynthesis of pharmatheutical intermediates, food products and functional compounds;

Functional and mechanistic elucidation of key protein elements in microbial physiological and metabolic processes using protein structural and engineering technologies;

Bioinformatics and enzyme mining.

Positions and Employment

2020-Present, Leader of Microbial Synthesis Supporting Technologies Group,

Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, CAS;

2015-2020, Associate Professor,

Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, CAS;

2008-2015, Senior Research Associate,

National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London;

2004-2007, Research Associate,

Department of Metabolic Medicine, Imperial College London;

2002-2004 Product Manager then R&D Director,

New England BioLabs (Beijing) Ltd.

Education

1999–2002 Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ph.D.

Selected publications

1. Huifang Xu, Weinan Liang, Linlin Ning, Yuanyuan Jiang, Wenxia Yang, Cong Wang, Feifei Qi, Li Ma, Lei Du, Laurent Fourage, Yongjin J. Zhou and Shengying Li*. Directed Evolution of P450 Fatty Acid Decarboxylases via High‐Throughput Screening towards Improved Catalytic Activity. ChemCatChem. 2020, 12(1): 80-84.

2. Yuanyuan Jiang, Zhong Li, Shanmin Zheng, Huifang Xu, Yongjin J. Zhou, Zhengquan Gao, Chunxiao Meng*, Shengying Li*. Establishing an Enzyme Cascade for One-pot Production of α-olefins from Low-cost Triglycerides and Oils without Exogenous H2O2 Addition. Biotechnology for Biofuels. 2020.13:52.

3. Yuanyuan Jiang, Zhong Li, Cong Wang, Yongjin J. Zhou, Huifang Xu* and Shengying Li*. Biochemical characterization of three new α-olefin-producing P450 fatty acid decarboxylases with a halophilic property. Biotechnology for Biofuels. 2019. 12: 79.

4. Huifang Xu, Linlin Ning, Wenxia Yang, Bo Fang, Cong Wang, Yun Wang, Jian Xu, Laurent Fourage and Shengying Li. In vitro oxidative decarboxylation of free fatty acids to terminal alkenes by two new P450 peroxygenases. Biotechnology for Biofuels. 2017. 10: 208.

5. Bo Fang^#, Huifang Xu^#, Yi Liu, Fengxia Qi, Wei Zhang, Cong Wang, Yilin Wang, Wenxia Yang, Shengying Li^*. Mutagenesis and redox partners analysis of the P450 fatty acid decarboxylase OleT_JE, Scientific Reports. 2017, 7: 44258

6. Yue Sun, Li Ma, Hui Chen, Huifang Xu, Xianliang Zheng, Fengxia, Qi, Shengying Li. Production of a-alkenes by the fused lipase and P450 fatty acid de-carboxylas. Chinese Science Bulletin. 2017，62(31): 3576-3582.

7. Bo An^#, V Abbonante^#, Huifang Xu, Despoina Gavriilidou, Ayumi Yoshizumi, Dominique Bihan, Richard W Farndale, David L Kaplan, Alessandra Balduini, Birgit Leitinger*, Barbara Brodsky *. Recombinant Collagen Engineered to Bind to Discoidin Domain Receptors Functions as a Receptor Inhibitor. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2016, 291 (9): 4343-4355. ^#co-first authors.

8. Huifang Xu, Takemoto Abe, Justin KH Liu, Irina Zalivina, Erhard Hohenester, Birgit Leitinger. Normal activation of DDR1 mutants with disulphide cross-links, insertions or deletions in the extracellular juxtamembrane region: mechanistic implications. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2014, 289:13565-13574.

9. Huifang Xu, Dominique Bihan, Francis Chang, Paul H Huang, Richard W Farndale, Birgit Leitinger. Discoidin domain receptors promote α1β1- and α2β1-integrin mediated cell adhesion to collagen by enhancing integrin activation. PLoS One. 2012, 7 (12): e52209.

10. Huifang Xu, Nicholas Raynal, Stavros Stathopoulos, Johanna Myllyharju, Richard W Farndale, Birgit Leitinger. Collagen binding specificity of the discoidin domain receptors: binding sites on collagens II and III and molecular determinants for collagen IV recognition by DDR1. Matrix Biol. 2011, 30: 16 – 26.

11. Bassam R Ali^#, Huifang Xu^#, Nadia A Akawi, Anne John, Noushad S Karuvantevida, Ruth Langer, Lihadh Al-Gazali, Birgit Leitinger. Trafficking defects and loss of ligand binding are the underlying causes of all reported DDR2 missense mutations found in SMED-SL patients. Human Molecular Genetics. 2010, 19: 2239 - 2250  ^#co-first authors.

12. Huifang Xu, Xian-En Zhang*, Zhi-Ping Zhang, Yong-Mei Zhang, Anthony EG Cass, Directed Evolution of E.coli Alkaline Phosphatase Towards Higher Catalytic Activity. Biocatalysis and Biotransformation. 2003, 21: 41-47.

13. Adila Al-Kindi^#, Praseetha Kizhakkedath^#, Huifang Xu, Anne John, Abeer AlSayegh, Anuradha Ganesh, Maha Al-Awadi, Lamya Al-Anbouri, Linhadh Al-Gazali, Birgit Leitinger, Bassam R Ali. Molecular and cellular analysis of a novel mutation in DDR2 causing Spondylo-meta-epiphyseal dysplasia with short limbs and abnormal calcifications (SMED-SL). BMC Medical Genetics. 2014, 15:42.

14. Fanhui Kong, Jie Chen, Xiangquan Qin, Chuanfei Liu, Yiping Jiang, Li Ma, Huifang Xu*, Shengying Li*, and Zhiqi Cong*. Evolving a P450BM3 Peroxygenase for the Production of IndigoidDyes from Indoles. ChemCatChem. 2022, e202201151.

Patents Granted and Published

1. Laurent Fourage, Frederic Laeuffer, Henri Strub, Yun Wang，Jian Xu，Huifang Xu，Shengying Li, Production of Alpha-Olefins. US10407638B2，2019.09.10

2. Shengying Li,Huifang Xu,Linlin Ning, Laurent Fourage, Improved cytochrome P450 fatty acid decarboxylases. WO 2020020992 A1，Published 2020.01.30

3. Laurent Fourage,Shengying Li,Huifang Xu,Linlin Ning,et al. Method for detecting hydrogen peroxide conversion activity of an enzyme. WO 2019052907 A2，Published：2019.03.21