Zhenglong Gu

Zhenglong Gu

Dr. Zhenglong Gu received his Bachelors of Science degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Peking University in 1998, and his PhD degree in Ecology and Evolution in 2003 from University of Chicago. He conducted his postdoctoral research at Stanford Genome and Technology Center from 2004 to 2006. He became an Assistant Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University in 2006.

Dr. Gu's laboratory uses a combination of computational and experimental approaches to understand the structure of metabolic networks and how these have been shaped over evolutionary time by selective pressures, such as those imposed by nutrient constraints. Much of the effort is devoted to understanding these issues in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, because of its simplicity, rapid growth and the availability of robust experimental and computational tools. Specific interests include evolution of aerobic fermentation in yeast and its implication in ethanol production and cancer physiology, duplicate gene regulation and evolution of antagonistic pleiotropy, genetic and evolution of complex life traits in pathogenic fungi. His laboratory also has interests in using computational approach to address the relationship between nutrition and evolution of metabolic genes, particularly in different human populations.

Teaching: I believe the primary goal of teaching at a prestigious academic institution is to provide knowledge and instruction to students, encourage them to fulfill their potential and challenge them to perform above their own expectations.  There is a saying in China that “if a son/daughter is not educated, it is the father’s fault; if a student does not get strict education, the teacher is too lazy.” With this in mind, I have been trying my best to help students. In the past several years, with encouragement and advice from my colleagues, I have made significant improvement in my teaching skills, and I see opportunities for further improvement in the future.

Advisory: The primary goals of an advisor are to serve as a mentor to students, and assist them in their pursuit of meaningful educational programs, which is important for fulfilling their life goals. The positive experience for students during their years at Cornell will have a great impact on their future. I have been fortunate to serve as an advisor to many students, and I have performed this role with care.

Genomics (minor field), 2009-present
Genetics & Development, 2008- present
Computational Biology, 2008-present
Nutritional Sciences, 2006-present

Genetic and Evolutionary Basis of Pathogenic Fungal Growth

Evolution of Aerobic Fermentation in Yeast and Its Implication in Cancer Physiolog

Metabolic Adaptation during Human Evolution

Mitochondrial DNA Variation and Their Phenotypic Consequences

Mitochondrial Function and Diseases

I served as a voluntary faculty advisor for the Peer Partnership Program in the college of Human Ecology. The program was created to address the needs of incoming minority students as they make their transition to Cornell. 

I also worked with a local high school (Cascadilla School, Ithaca, NY) to give guest lectures and interact with their students.

• PhD 2003 - University of Chicago, Ecology & Evolution
• BS 1998 - Peking University, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

NS2750, Human Biology and Evolution

NS4130, Nutritional Genomics-Evolution and Environment

NS7030 Seminar Nutritional Science

BIOG 4990, Independent Undergraduate Research

NS 4010, Empirical Research (Independent Study)

Gu Lab website
Cornell Center for Comparative & Population Genomics

Division Curriculum Committee, Chair, 2012-present

Executive Committee (Seed Funding and Shared Resources), VERGE, 2011-present

1.       Chen, H. & Gu, Z. Duplication and functional innovation of pyruvate kinase gene during aerobic fermentation in yeasts, In preparation

2.       Ye, K. Lu, J., Madhura Raj, S., Clark, A. & Gu, Z. Human expression QTLs are enriched in signals of environmental adaptation , in preparation

3.       Jiang, H., Xu, L., Keene, J. & Gu, Z. Stabilizing gene expression by RNA binding proteins., In submission (2012)

4.       Barker, B., Xu, L. & Gu, Z. Dynamic epistasis under varying environmental perturbations., In submission (2012)

5.       Xu, L., Barker, B. & Gu, Z. Dynamic epistasis for the different alleles of the same gene, PNAS, 109:10420-10425 (2012)

6.       Jiang, H., Guo, X., Xu, L. & Gu, Z. Rewiring of post-transcriptional RNA regulons: Puf4p in fungi as an example, Mol Biol Evol. 29:2169-2176 (2012)

7.       Stover, P. & Gu, Z.  Polymorphism: effect on nutrient utilization and metabolism.  Book Chapter,  Modern Nutrition in Health and Diseases, (2011)

8.       Ye, K. & Gu, Z. Recent advances in understanding the role of nutrition in genome evolution, Advances in Nutrition, 2:486-496, (2011)

9.       Xue, Z., He, Y., Ye, K., Gu, Z., Mao, Y. & Qi, L. A highly-conserved structural “hinge” bridging the kinase and RNase domains of the IRE1 protein is critical for its stability and activation. J Biol Chem 286:30859-30866 (2011)

10.   Xu, L, Jiang, H & Gu,  Z. Genetic architecture of complex traits revealed by epistatic interaction. In press, Genome Biol. & Evol. 3:909-914 (2011)

11.   Zou, Y., Huang, W., Gu, Z. & Gu, X. Predominant gain of promoter TATA box after gene duplication associated with stress responses. Mol Biol Evol. 28:2893-2904 (2011)

12.   Jiang, H. Xu, L & Gu, Z. Growth of novel epistatic interaction by gene duplication,  Genome Biol & Evol, 3:295-301 (2011)

13.   Xu, L. & Gu, Z. Asynchronous regulation of backup circuits as a strategy for survival in the fluctuating environments. International Journal of Systems and Synthetic Biology, 1: 227-239 (2010)

14.   K.T. Nishant , Wei, W., Mancera, E., Argueso, J.L., Schlattl, A., Delhomme, N., Ma, X., Bustamante, C., Korbel, J., Gu, Z., Steinmetz, L., Alani, E.  The baker's yeast diploid genome is remarkably stable in vegetative growth and meiosis, PLoS Genetics 6(9): e1001109 (2010)

15.   Zanders, S., Ma, X., RoyChoudhury, A., Hernandez, R., Demogines, A., Barker, B., Indap, A., Gu, Z., Bustamante, C.,  & Alani, E. Detection of heterozygous mutations in the genome of mismatch repair defective diploid yeast using a Bayesian approach. Genetics 186:493-503 (2010)

16.   Jiang, H., Guan, W. & Gu, Z. Tinkering evolution of a posttranscriptional RNA regulon by Puf3p in yeast. PLoS Genetics 6(7): e1001030 (2010)

17.   Guan, W., Jiang, H., Xu, L., Li, Y., Steinmetz, L.M., Li, Y. & Gu, Z. Antagonistic changes in sensitivity to antifungal drugs by functional loss of an important ABC transporter gene. PLoS ONE 5(6): e11309 (2010)

18.   Li, Y., Liang, H., Gu, Z., Lin, Z., Guan, L., Zhou, L., Li, Y. & Li, W.-H. Detecting positive selection in the budding yeast genome, J . Evol. Bio. 22:2430-2437 (2009)

19.   Gu, Z. & Oliver, S.G. Yeasts as models in evolutionary biology. Genome Biology 10:304 (2009)

20.   Xu, L., Su, Z. Gu, Z. & Gu, X. Parallel adaptation vs. mutation hotspot for the evolution of RNases in leaf monkeys. Mol. Phyl. & Evol. 50:397-400 (2009)

21.   Jiang, H., Wang, W. & Gu, Z. Genetic diversities detected by translational efficiency between Ashbya gossypii and yeasts. BMC Evol Biol. 8:343 (2008)

22.   Chen, H., Xu, L. & Gu, Z. Regulation dynamics of the WGD genes during the yeast metabolic oscillation. Mol. Biol. & Evol 25:2513-2516 (2008)

23.   Jiang, H, Guan, W., Pinney, D., Wang, W. & Gu, Z. Functional relaxation of mitochondria after WGD in yeast. Genome Res. 18:1466-1471 (2008)

24.   Wu, W., McCusker, J.H. …Gu, Z. ... Genome sequencing and comparative analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain YJM789. P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 104:12825-12830
(2007)

25.   Jiang, H., Liu, D., Gu, Z. & Wang, W. Rapid evolution in a pair of recent duplicate segments of rice. Exp Zoolog B Mol Dev Evol. 308:50-57 (2007)

26.   Oakley, T. H., Gu, Z., Abouheif, E., Patel, N. H. & Li, W.-H. Comparative analyses of gene expression evolution using functional genomic data. Mol. Biol. & Evol. 22:40-50 (2005)

27.   Maltsev, N., Glass, E.M., Ovchinnikova, G., Gu, Z. Molecular mechanisms involved in robustness of yeast central metabolism against null mutations. J Biochem. (Tokyo) 137:177-187 (2005)

28.   Gu, Z., David, L., Petrov, D., Jones, T., Davis, R. W. & Steinmetz, L. M.  Elevated evolutionary rates in the lab strain of S. cerevisiae.  P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 102:1092-1097 (2005)

29.   Gu, Z., Rifkin, S.A., White, K. P. & Li, W.-H. Duplicate genes increase expression diversity within and between species. Nat. Genet.