Education

Ph.D.in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, 2005

Current position

South Dakota State University, Senior Research Scientist

Publications

1. Xu, X., Gu, L., He, P. and Zhou, R. (2015). Characterization of five putative aspartate aminotransferase genes in the N2-fixing heterocystous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. Microbiology 161(6): 1219-1230.

2. Zhou, R., Gu, L., Gibbons, W. and Halfmann, C. (2015). On the Cyanofactory Floor: Next-generation biofuel. International Innovation, A renewable future V178:118-119.  An invited review by the editor. 

3. Johnson, T. J., Hildreth, M. B., Gu, L., Zhou, R. and Gibbons, W. R. (2015). Testing a dual-fluorescence assay to monitor the viability of filamentous cyanobacteria. J Microbiol Methods 113: 57-64.

4.  Chen, K., Xu, X., Gu, L., Hildreth, M. and Zhou, R. (2015). Simultaneous gene inactivation and promoter reporting in cyanobacteria. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99(4): 1779-1793.

5. Halfmann, C., Gu, L. and Zhou, R. (2014). Engineering Cyanobacteria for Production of a Cyclic Hydrocarbon from CO2 and H2O. Green Chem. 16 (6), 3175 – 3185

6. Halfmann, C., Gu, L., Gibbons, W. and Zhou, R. (2014). Genetically engineering cyanobacteria to convert CO(2), water, and light into the long-chain hydrocarbon farnesene. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98(23): 9869-9877.

7. Zhou, R., Chen, K., Xiang, X., Gu, L. and Kroos, L. (2013). Features of Pro-sigmaK important for cleavage by SpoIVFB, an intramembrane metalloprotease. J Bacteriol 195(12): 2793-2806.

8. Gu, L., Xiang, X., Raynie, D., Gibbons, W. and Zhou, R. (2012). Biosolar conversion of H2O and CO2 into linalool by engineered cyanobacteria.  2012 Sun Grant National Conference.

9. Chen, K., Gu, L., Xiang, X., Lynch, M. and Zhou, R. (2012). Identification and characterization of five intramembrane metalloproteases in Anabaena variabilis. J Bacteriol 194(22): 6105-6115.

10. Gu, L., Jones, A. D. and Last, R. L. (2010). Broad connections in the Arabidopsis seed metabolic network revealed by metabolite profiling of an amino acid catabolism mutant. Plant J 61(4): 579-590.

11. Gu, L., Husain-Ponnampalam, R., Hoffmann-Benning, S. and Henry, R. W. (2007). The protein kinase CK2 phosphorylates SNAP190 to negatively regulate SNAPC DNA binding and human U6 transcription by RNA polymerase III. J Biol Chem 282(38): 27887-27896.

12. Gu, L., Jones, A. D. and Last, R. L. (2007). LC-MS/MS assay for protein amino acids and metabolically related compounds for large-scale screening of metabolic phenotypes. Anal Chem 79(21): 8067-8075.

13. Gu, L., Esselman, W. J. and Henry, R. W. (2005). Cooperation between small nuclear RNA-activating protein complex (SNAPC) and TATA-box-binding protein antagonizes protein kinase CK2 inhibition of DNA binding by SNAPC. J Biol Chem 280(30): 27697-27704.