Kai Zou

Dr. Kai Zou

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

7Years (2020-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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17 March 2020 in BMC Bioinformatics
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
DZDu Zhang
Du Zhang
QHQi Hu
Qi Hu
XLXinxing Liu
Xinxing Liu
KZKai Zou
Kai Zou
ESEmmanuel Konadu SARKODIE
Emmanuel Konadu SARKODIE
FGFei Gao
Fei Gao
Background: Function genomic studies will generally result in lists of genes that may provide clues for exploring biological questions and discovering unanticipated functions, based on differential gene expression analysis, differential epigenomic analysis or co-expression network analysis. While tools have been developed to identify biological functions that are enriched in the genes sets, there remains a need for comprehensive tools that identify functional enrichment of genes for both model and non-model species from a different function classification perspective. Results: We developed AllEnricher, a tool that calculates gene set function enrichment, with user-defined updatable libraries backing up for both model and non-model species as well as providing comprehensive functional interpretation from multiple dimensions, including GO, KEGG, Reactome, DO and DisGeNET. Conclusions: AllEnricher incorporates up to date information from different public resources and provides a comprehensive resolution for biologists to make sense out of specific gene sets, making it an advanced open-source tool for gene set function analysis.

21 July 2023 in Microorganisms
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
CJChou J
Chou J
KZKai Zou
Kai Zou
SFShaodong Fu
Shaodong Fu
ZDZhenchun Duan
Zhenchun Duan
GZGuoqing Zhang
Guoqing Zhang
YLYili Liang
Yili Liang
Flavonoids are crucial in physiological and pharmaceutical processes, especially the treatment of cancer and the prevention of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Flavonoid-producing plants and fungi have been extensively reported, but bacteria have been much less investigated as a source of flavonoid production. Deinococcus sp. 43, a spherical flavonoid-producing bacteria from the Ginkgo rhizosphere, was reported in this study. First, the whole genome of Deinococcus sp. 43 was sequenced and a series of flavonoid anabolic genes were annotated. Simultaneously, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) results showed that Deinococcus sp. 43 was capable of producing flavonoids, with a maximum quercetin output of 2.9 mg/L. Moreover, the relative expression of key genes involved in flavonoid synthesis was determined to test the completeness of the flavonoid anabolic pathway. The results of LC-MS analysis demonstrated that the flavonoids produced by Deinococcus sp. 43 were significantly different between intracellular and extracellular environments. The concentration of multiple glycosylated flavonoids was substantially higher in extracellular than intracellular environments, while the majority of flavonoids obtained in intracellular environments were hydroxylated multiple times. Lastly, the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway of Deinococcus sp. 43 was constructed based on the genomic analysis and the detected flavonoids. In conclusion, this study represents the first comprehensive characterization of the flavonoid-producing pathway of Deinococcus. The findings demonstrate that the strain has excellent potential as a genetically engineered strain for the industrial production of flavonoids.