A&P Seminar - Jie Li

The Analytical and Physical Seminar Series presents: Jie Li

College of Pharmacy, UT Austin

Host: Jenny Brodbelt

Title: From Genes to Molecules: Chemistry in the Biological Processes

Location: WEL 2.122

Refreshments served at 3:15pm

Life is chemistry at the molecular level. As Earth’s most ubiquitous life form, microbes produce tremendous chemistry with various applications, ranging from daily consumables to life-saving drugs. This talk will present our interdisciplinary approaches that convert microbial genes to molecules, leading to the discovery of novel chemistry in biological processes^1-5. Two examples will be discussed: 1). Using genome mining to discover sulfur-containing molecules and related enzymology, we identified a gene cassette in an environmental microbe that, in combination with primary metabolic genes, encodes a new functional group in nature. The discovery and biosynthesis of this functional group expanded our understanding of the chemical space in biology¹. 2). In different biological contexts (e.g., disease vs. health), biosynthetic enzymes in human microbiota are differentially expressed, shaping distinct chemical and biological outcomes. By establishing an enzyme–disease correlation strategy, we discovered gut microbial sulfonolipids with immunomodulatory activities⁴.

Key references:

1. Nature Chemistry, 2025, 17, 1011–1019.
2. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025, 147, 38951–38957.
3. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2025, 147, 265–277.
4. Nature Communications, 2024, 15, 9371.
5. Nature Communications, 2022, 13, 1647.