Zewen Li
Current Organizations / Institutes
The organizations/institutes from the scholar's latest article
Zewen Li has a total of 9 co-authors. Here are the top co-authors by number of shared publications:
- Dengwei Zhang
Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
1 shared publication - Jiaze He
Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
1 shared publication - Nanzhu Chen
Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
1 shared publication - Peiyan Cai
Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
1 shared publication - Xiaoqian Lin
Department of Chemistry, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
1 shared publication - Yi Song
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Plant Genetic Engineering and Molecular Design, Institute of Plant and Food Science, Department of Biology, School of Life Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
1 shared publication
Latest Publications
- Open Access
- 20 June 2025
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science Advances
- Vol. 11 (25) , eadw5076
Autoinducing peptides regulate antibiotic production to potentially shape root microbiome
Microbes use signaling molecules to regulate multiple physiological processes and mediate chemical interactions. Decoding these chemical languages is instrumental in comprehending microbial regulatory mechanisms within complex microbiota. Here, we discover previously unidentified autoinducing peptides (AIPs) derived from the plant probiotic bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa , identified as Pp-AIPs. Omics analyses coupled with genetic manipulations revealed that Pp-AIP1 could effectively modulate the production of multiple antimicrobial secondary metabolites at nanomolar concentration, expanding known AIP functions. Furthermore, through inoculating P. polymyxa in the natural rhizosphere microbiome and analyzing its antagonistic interactions against root microbes, we suggest that Pp-AIPs may influence the microbial community composition through modulating the antimicrobial spectrum. Global analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) reveal widespread co-occurrence of uncharacterized AIPs with secondary metabolite BGCs. This study underscores the unreported roles of AIPs in antibiotic regulation and the microbiome interactions, advancing knowledge of quorum-sensing mechanisms in microbial ecosystems.
- 20 June 2025
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science Advances
- Vol. 11 (25) , eadw5076
Open AccessAutoinducing peptides regulate antibiotic production to potentially shape root microbiome
Microbes use signaling molecules to regulate multiple physiological processes and mediate chemical interactions. Decoding these chemical languages is instrumental in comprehending microbial regulatory mechanisms within complex microbiota. Here, we discover previously unidentified autoinducing peptides (AIPs) derived from the plant probiotic bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa , identified as Pp-AIPs. Omics analyses coupled with genetic manipulations revealed that Pp-AIP1 could effectively modulate the production of multiple antimicrobial secondary metabolites at nanomolar concentration, expanding known AIP functions. Furthermore, through inoculating P. polymyxa in the natural rhizosphere microbiome and analyzing its antagonistic interactions against root microbes, we suggest that Pp-AIPs may influence the microbial community composition through modulating the antimicrobial spectrum. Global analysis of biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) reveal widespread co-occurrence of uncharacterized AIPs with secondary metabolite BGCs. This study underscores the unreported roles of AIPs in antibiotic regulation and the microbiome interactions, advancing knowledge of quorum-sensing mechanisms in microbial ecosystems.