Feng Liu

Research Associate

  • 2010-2012 Postdoctoral Fellow, Lab Manager, University of Oxford, UK. Supervisor: Prof. Benjamin G. Davis
  • 2003-2010 Ph.D. in Bioorganic Chemistry, University of British Columbia. Supervisor: Prof. Martin E. Tanner
  • 2001-2003 Research Scientist, Tianjin Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Tianjin, China
  • 1998-2001 M.Eng. in Applied Chemistry, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China. Supervisor:  Prof. Jiugao Yu
  • 1997-1998 Research Assistant, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
  • 1993-1997 B.Sc. in Applied Chemistry, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

 

Phone: 604-822-9300
Email:  liufeng(at)chem.ubc.ca

 

INTEREST

My research interests lie in discovering and studying the action of enzymes, as well as using them as tools to create modified sugars or proteins. I am currently doing high throughput screening on metagenomic fosmid libraries to identify various glycosidic activities.

 

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

  • Liu, F.; Armstrong, Z.; Chen, H.-M.; Withers, S. G., Azido Groups Hamper Glucan Acceptance by Carbohydrate Processing Enzymes. ACS Central Science 2022, in press.
  • Macdonald, S. S.; Pereira, J. H.; Liu, F.; Tegl, G.; DeGiovanni, A.; Wardman, J. F.; Deutsch, S.; Yoshikuni, Y.; Adams, P. D.; Withers, S. G., A Synthetic Gene Library Yields a Previously Unknown Glycoside Phosphorylase That Degrades and Assembles Poly-β-1,3-GlcNAc, Completing the Suite of β-Linked GlcNAc Polysaccharides. ACS Central Science 2022, 8 (4), 430-440.
  • Wardman, J. F.; Rahfeld, P.; Liu, F.; Morgan-Lang, C.; Sim, L.; Hallam, S. J.; Withers, S. G., Discovery and Development of Promiscuous O-Glycan Hydrolases for Removal of Intact Sialyl T-Antigen, ACS CHEM BIOL 2021, 16(10), 2004-2015.
  • Rowland, R. J.; Wu, L.; Liu, F.; Davies, G. J., A baculoviral system for the production of human β-glucocerebrosidase enables atomic resolution analysis. Acta Cryst D 2020, 76 (6), 565-580.
  • Armstrong, Z.; Liu, F.; Kheirandish, S.; Chen, H.-M.; Mewis, K.; Duo, T.; Morgan-Lang, C.; Hallam, S. J.; Withers, S. G., High-Throughput Recovery and Characterization of Metagenome-Derived Glycoside Hydrolase-Containing Clones as a Resource for Biocatalyst Development. mSystems. 2019, 4 (4), e00082-19.
  • Gao, Z. ; Ovchinnikova, O. G. ; Huang, B. – S. ; Liu, F. ; Williams, D. E. ; Andersen, R. J. ; Lowary, T. L. ; Whitfield, C. ; Withers, S. G., High-Throughput “fp-Tag” Assay For The Identification Of Glycosyltransferase Inhibitors. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 2201-2204
  • Armstrong, Z. ; Liu, F. ; Chen, H. – M. ; Hallam, S. J. ; Withers, S. G. Systematic Screening Of Synthetic Gene-Encoded Enzymes For Synthesis Of Modified Glycosides. ACS CATALYSIS. 2019, 9, 3219-3227
  • Vickers, C.; Liu, F.; Abe, K.; Salama-Alber, O.; Jenkins, M.; Springate, C. M. K.; Burke, J. E.; Withers, S. G.; Boraston, A. B., Endo-fucoidan hydrolases from glycoside hydrolase family 107 (GH107) display structural and mechanistic similarities to α-l-fucosidases from GH29. J. Biol. Chem. 2018, 293 (47), 18296-18308
  • Urresti, S.; Cartmell, A.; Liu, F.; Walton, P. H.; Davies, G. J., Structural studies of the unusual metal-ion site of the GH124 endoglucanase from Ruminiclostridium thermocellum. Acta Cryst F 2018, 74 (8), 496-505.
  • Armstrong, Z.; Mewis, K.; Liu, F.; Morgan-Lang, C.; Scofield, M.; Durno, E.; Chen, H. M.; Mehr, K.; Withers, S. G.; Hallam, S. J., Metagenomics reveals functional synergy and novel polysaccharide utilization loci in the Castor canadensis fecal microbiome. The ISME Journal 2018, 12 (11), 2757-2769.
  • Hettle, A. G.; Vickers, C.; Robb, C. S.; Liu, F.; Withers, S. G.; Hehemann, J.-H.; Boraston, A. B., The Molecular Basis of Polysaccharide Sulfatase Activity and a Nomenclature for Catalytic Subsites in this Class of Enzyme. Structure 2018, 26 (5), 747-758.
  • Liu, F.; Vijayakrishnan, B.; Faridmoayer, A.; Taylor, T. A.; Parsons, T. B.; Bernardes, G. J. L.; Kowarik, M.; Davis, B. G., Rationally Designed Short Polyisoprenol-Linked PglB Substrates for Engineered Polypeptide and Protein N-Glycosylation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136 (2), 566-569
  • Liu, F.; Lee, H. J.; Strynadka, N. C. J.; Tanner, M. E., Inhibition of Neisseria meningitidis Sialic Acid Synthase by a Tetrahedral Intermediate Analogue. Biochemistry 2009, 48 (39), 9194-9201.
  • Liu, F.; Aubry, A. J.; Schoenhofen, I. C.; Logan, S. M.; Tanner, M. E., The Engineering of Bacteria Bearing Azido-Pseudaminic Acid-Modified Flagella. ChemBioChem 2009, 10 (8), 1317-1320.
  • Liu, F.; Tanner, M. E., PseG of Pseudaminic Acid Biosynthesis: A UDP-Sugar Hydrolase as a Masked Glycosyltransferase. J. Biol. Chem. 2006, 281 (30), 20902-20909.