Profile of Dr LI, Liguan 李麗觀 - The Education University of Hong Kong


Assistant Professor	Department of Science and Environmental Studies

Contact

ORCiD

0000-0003-4349-0532

Phone

(852) 2948 7520

lilig@eduhk.hk

Address

10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong

Website

https://pappl.eduhk.hk/rich/web/person.xhtml?pid=312560&name=LI, Liguan

Scopus ID

57040130600

Research Interests

My overarching research interests revolve around environmental microbiome – microbial communities and their interactions with the environment. I use a combination of modern experimental methods (molecular methods, bacteria culture, etc.) and advanced bioinformatic approaches (metagenomics, big-data mining, etc.) to answer fundamental and applied microbial ecological questions in the environment.

More specifically, I am interested in exploring the potential of environmental microbiology research for public health management, elucidating effect of environmental pollutants on the development of antibiotic resistance, deciphering the behaviour of antibiotic resistance genes in the human related environment,. Under current One Health Initiative, I firmly believe pursuing environmental microbiology research in the context of human health and sustainable environment will largely facilitate tackling grand challenges facing humanity today like infectious disease, antibiotic resistance and climate change.

Teaching Interests

Microbiology

Environmental science

Environmental engineering

STEM education

External Appointments

Editorial board of Frontiers in Environmental Science

Editorial board Frontiers in Microbiology

Personal Profile

I received my BSc and MSc in Environmental Science, got PhD in Environmental Engineering from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 2016. After that, I went to the Denmark to pursue Postdoc research in microbial ecology in the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). In 2021, I came back to Hong Kong and joined HKU as Research Assistant Professor in Department of Civil Engineering. In July 2024, I joined Department of Science and Environmental Studies (SES), EdUHK.

I am committed to delivering teaching and research excellence, believe that the vibrant teaching and research environment at EdUHK will foster numerous productive collaborations in near future.

Research Interests

Teaching Interests

Microbiology

Environmental science

Environmental engineering

STEM education

External Appointments

Editorial board of Frontiers in Environmental Science

Editorial board Frontiers in Microbiology

Research Outputs


Journal Publications Ding, J., Wang, M., Xu, X., Wang, D., Chen, X., Li, S., Zheng, X., Che, Y., Deng, Y., Li, L., Zhang, T. (2026). Highly resolved community sewage metagenomics unveiling landscape and transmission patterns of antibiotic resistome in Hong Kong populations. Advanced Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202508389 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Tian, L., Li, G., Li, L., Yang, M., Li, H., Li, Q., Mao, Y. (2025). Environmentally relevant low metal concentrations drive co-selection of antibiotic and metal resistance genes in activated sludge. Environmental Research, 287, Article 123042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.123042 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Li, L., Li, B., Yin, X., Xia, Y., Yang, Y., Xu, X., Lam, T.T.Y., Leung, K.M.Y., Xu, F., Zhang, X., Guo, J., Schmitt, H., Wright, G.D., Midega, J., Bezuidenhout, C., Picão, R.C., Ahammad, S.Z., Smalla, K., Djordjevic, S.P., Pruden, A., Vikesland, P., Frigon, D., Walsh, F., Berendonk, T.U., Corno, G., Fatta-Kassinos, D., Cha, C.-J., Ashbolt, N., Ying, G., Luo, Y., Wang, Y., Shen, J., Zhang, Y., Yang, M., Li, X., Hu, B., Zhu, L., Wu, Y., Tang, S., Kan, B., Zhu, Y.-G., Smets, B.F., Graham, D., Honda (2025). Assessing antimicrobial resistance connectivity across One Health sectors. Nature Water, 3, 1100-1113. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-025-00514-8 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Mao X, Yin X, Yang Y, Gao F, Li S, Shi X, Deng Y, Li L, Leung KMY, Zhang, T. (2025). Longitudinal metagenomic analysis on antibiotic resistome, mobilome, and microbiome of river ecosystems in a sub-tropical metropolitan city. Water Research, 274, Article 123102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.123102 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water Li Q, Li H, Tian L, Wang Y, Ouyang Z, Li LG, Mao Y. (2025). Genomic insights and metabolic pathways of an enriched bacterial community capable of degrading polyethylene. Environmental International, 197, Article 109334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109334 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Wang C, Yang Y, Xu X, Wang D, Shi X, Liu L, Deng Y, Li L, Zhang T. (2025). The quest for environmental analytical microbiology: Absolute quantitative microbiome using cellular internal standards. Microbiome, 13, Article 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-02009-2 SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Tian L, Fang G, Li G, L Li LG, Zhang T, Mao Y (2024). Metagenomic approach revealed the mobility and co-occurrence of antibiotic resistomes between non-intensive aquaculture environment and human. Microbiome, 12, Article 107. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01824-x Tian L, Fang G, Li LG, Zhang T, Mao Y. (2024). Metagenomic approach revealed the mobility and co-occurrence of antibiotic resistomes between non-intensive aquaculture environment and human. Microbiome, 12, 107. SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water Mao X, Yin X, Yang Y, Che Y, Xu X, Deng Y, Li LG, Zhang T (2024). Standardization in global environmental antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) surveillance. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2024.2344453 Manaia CM, Aga DS, Cytryn E, Gaze WH, Graham DW, Guo J, Leonard AFC, Li LG, Murray AK, Nunes OC, Rodriguez‐Mozaz S, Topp E, Zhang T (2024). The complex interplay between antibiotic resistance and pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 43(3), 637-652. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5555 Zheng Q, Li LG, Yin X, Che Y, Zhang T. (2023). Is ICE hot? A genomic comparative study reveals integrative and conjugative elements as “hot” vectors for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. mSystems, 8(6), Article e00178-23. https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00178-23 Li LG, Zhang T (2023). Roadmap to tackle antibiotic resistance in the environment under the One Health framework. mLife, 2(3), 224-228. https://doi.org/10.1002/mlf2.12078 Li LG, Zhang T (2023). Plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance gene transfer under environmental stresses: Insights from laboratory-based studies. Science of the Total Environment, 887, Article 163870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163870 Yin X, Zheng X, Li LG, Zhang AN, Jiang XT, Zhang T (2023). ARGs-OAP v3.0: Antibiotic-resistance gene database curation and analysis pipeline optimization. Engineering, 27, 234-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2022.10.011 Moradigaravand D, Li LG, Dechesne A, Nesme J, Cruz R, Ahmad H, Banzhaf M, Sørensen SJ, Smets BF, Kreft JU (2023). Plasmid permissiveness of wastewater microbiomes can be predicted from 16S rRNA sequences by machine learning. Bioinformatics, 39(7), Article btad400. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btad400 Yin X, Li LG, Chen X, Liu YY, Lam TTY, Topp E, Zhang T (2023). Global environmental resistome: Distinction and connectivity across diverse habitats benchmarked by metagenomic analyses. Water Research, 235, Article 119875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.119875 Huang Y, Li LG, Yin X, Zhang T (2023). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) biodegradation capacity revealed by a genome-function relationship approach. Environmental Microbiome, 18, Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-023-00497-7 Wang CX, Yang Y, Wang, Y, Wang D, Xu X, Wang Y, Li LG, Yang C, Zhang T (2022). Absolute quantification and genome-centric analyses elucidate the dynamics of microbial populations in anaerobic digesters. Water Research, 224, Article 119049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.119049 Wang Y, Li LG, Xia Y, Zhang T (2022). Reliable and scalable identification and prioritization of putative cellulolytic anaerobes with large genome data. Frontiers in Bioinformatics, 2, Article 813771. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbinf.2022.813771 Yin X, Yang Y, Deng Y, Huang Y, Li LG, Chan LYL, Zhang T (2022). An assessment of resistome and mobilome in wastewater treatment plants through temporal and spatial metagenomic analysis. Water Research, 209, Article 117885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117885 Zhang AN, Gaston JM, Dai CL, Zhao S, Poyet M, Groussin M, Yin X, Li LG, Loosdrecht MCM, Topp E, Gillings MR, Hanage WP, Tiedje JM, Moniz K, Alm EJ, Zhang T (2021). An omics-based framework for assessing the health risk of antimicrobial resistance genes. Nature Communications, 12, Article 4765. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25096-3 Li LG, Nesme J, Quintela-Baluja M, Balboa S, Hashsham SA, Williams M, Yu Z, Sorensen S, Graham D, Romalde J, Dechesne A, Smets BF (2021). Extended-spectrum β-lactamase and carbapenemase genes are substantially and sequentially reduced during conveyance and treatment of urban sewage. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(9), 5939-5949. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c08548 Li LG, Huang Q, Yin X, Zhang T (2020). Source tracking of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment: Challenges, progress, and prospects. Water Research, 185, Article 116127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116127 Zhang AN, Hou CJ, Negi M, Li LG, Zhang T (2020). Online searching platform for the antibiotic resistome in bacterial tree of life and global habitats. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 96(7), Article fiaa107. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiaa107 Pan Y, Zeng J, Li LG, Yang J, Tang Z, Xiong W, Li Y, Chen S, Zeng Z (2020). Coexistence of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors deciphered by large-scale complete genome analysis. mSystems, 5(3), Article e00821-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00821-19 Zhai W, Qin T, Li LG, Guo T, Yin X, Khan MI, Hashmi MZ, Liu X, Tang X, Xu J (2020). Abundance and diversity of microbial arsenic biotransformation genes in the sludge of full-scale anaerobic digesters from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Environmental International, 138, Article 105535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105535 Li LG, Dechesne A, Madsen JS, Nesme J, Sørensen SJ, Smets BF (2020). Plasmids persist in a microbial community by providing fitness benefit to multiple phylotypes. The ISME Journal, 14(5), 1170-1181. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-0596-4 Guo T, Li LG, Zhai W, Xu B, Xiaole Yin, He Y, Xu J, Zhang T, Tang X (2019). Distribution of arsenic and its biotransformation genes in sediments from the East China Sea. Environmental Pollution, 253, 949-958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.091 Xu JX, Li XM, Sun GX, Cui L, Ding LJ, He C, Li LG, Shi Q, Smets BF, Zhu YG (2019). Fate of labile organic carbon in paddy soil is regulated by microbial ferric iron reduction. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(15), 8533-8542. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01323 Li LG, Yin X, Zhang, T (2018). Tracking antibiotic resistance gene pollution from different sources using machine-learning classification. Microbiome, 6, Article 93. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0480-x Yin X, Jiang XT, Chai B, Li LG, Yang Y, Cole JR, Tiedje JM and Zhang T (2018). ARGs-OAP v2.0 with an expanded SARG database and Hidden Markov Models for enhancement characterization and quantification of antibiotic resistance genes in environmental metagenomes. Bioinformatics, 34(13), 2263-2270. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/bty053 Zhang AN, Li LG, Ma L, Gillings MR, Tiedje JM and Zhang T (2018). Conserved phylogenetic distribution and limited antibiotic resistance of class 1 integrons revealed by assessing the bacterial genome and plasmid collection. Microbiome, 6, Article 130. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0516-2 Li LG, Dechesne A, He Z, Madsen JS, Nesme J, Sørensen SJ, and Smets BF (2018). Estimating the transfer range of plasmids encoding antimicrobial resistance in a wastewater treatment plant microbial community. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 5(5), 260-265. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00105 Xia Y, Li AD, Deng Y, Jiang X, Li LG, Zhang T (2017). MinION Nanopore sequencing enables correlation between resistome phenotype and genotype of coliform bacteria in municipal sewage. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, Article 2105. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02105 Yang C, Yang Y, Che Y, Xia Y, Li LG, Xiong W, Zhang T (2017). Bioprospecting for β-lactam resistance genes using a metagenomics-guided strategy. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 101, 6253-6260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8343-0 Luo G, Li B, Li LG, Zhang T, Irini Angelidaki (2017). Antibiotic resistance genes and correlations with microbial community and metal resistance genes in full-scale biogas reactors as revealed by metagenomic analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(7), 4069-4080. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b05100 Li LG, Xia Y, Zhang T (2017). Co-occurrence of antibiotic and metal resistance genes revealed in complete genome collection. The ISME Journal, 11(3), 651-662. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2016.155 Xiao KQ, Li LG, Ma LP, Zhang SY, Bao P, Zhang T, Zhu YG (2016). Metagenomic analysis revealed highly diverse microbial arsenic metabolism genes in paddy soils with low-arsenic contents. Environmental Pollution, 211, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.12.023 Mao YP, Wang ZP, Li LG, Jiang XT, Zhang XX, Ren HQ, Zhang T (2016). Exploring the shift in structure and function of microbial communities performing biological phosphorus removal. PLoS One, 11(8), Article e0161506. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161506 Ma LP, Xia Y, Li B, Yang Y, Li LG, Tiedje J, Zhang T (2016). Metagenomic assembly reveals hosts of antibiotic resistance genes and the shared resistome in pig, chicken, and human feces. Environmental Science & Technology, 50(1), 420-427. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03522 Li AD, Li LG, Zhang T (2015). Exploring antibiotic resistance genes and metal resistance genes in plasmid metagenomes from wastewater treatment plants. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6, Article 1025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01025 Li LG, Cai L, Zhang XX, Zhang T (2014). Potentially novel copper resistance genes in copper-enriched activated sludge revealed by metagenomic analysis. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 98, 10255-10266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5939-5 Li LG, Cai L, Zhang, T (2013). Genome of Cupriavidus sp. HMR-1, a heavy metal-resistant bacterium. Genome Announcements, 1(1), Article e00202-12. https://doi.org/10.1128/genomeA.00202-12
Conference Papers Li, L. (2025, November). 城市污水公共卫生风险监测技术进展 —“同一健康”框架下抗菌耐药性传播关联的评估研究. 2025 年城市污水公共卫生风险监测暨重点传染病病原监测技术研讨会, Zhuhai, China. SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Li, L. (2025, October). What happens in hospitals stays in hospitals? - resistome surveillance of hospital-adjacent rivers in China. Joint Conference of the 1st ISME Asia Forum and the 2025 Annual Academic, Hangzhou, China. SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Li LG (2024, December). Plasmid transfer and maintenance in microbial communities of urban wastewater environment. The 1st International Conference on Health, Environment, Education and Research 2024 (CHEER2024) & The 10th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment 2024 (WRE2024), Hong Kong. SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land Li Liguan, Zhao Yuxiang, Zhu Dong, Zhang Tong. (2024, September). Distribution profile and health risk of antibiotic resistance genes in soil at national and global scales. SETAC Asia-Pacific 14th Biennial Meeting 2024, Tianjin, China. https://www.setac.org/discover-events/global-meetings/setac-asia-pacific-14th-biennial-meeting.html SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 15 - Life on Land

Journal Publications
Ding, J., Wang, M., Xu, X., Wang, D., Chen, X., Li, S., Zheng, X., Che, Y., Deng, Y., Li, L., Zhang, T. (2026). Highly resolved community sewage metagenomics unveiling landscape and transmission patterns of antibiotic resistome in Hong Kong populations. Advanced Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202508389
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Tian, L., Li, G., Li, L., Yang, M., Li, H., Li, Q., Mao, Y. (2025). Environmentally relevant low metal concentrations drive co-selection of antibiotic and metal resistance genes in activated sludge. Environmental Research, 287, Article 123042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2025.123042
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Li, L., Li, B., Yin, X., Xia, Y., Yang, Y., Xu, X., Lam, T.T.Y., Leung, K.M.Y., Xu, F., Zhang, X., Guo, J., Schmitt, H., Wright, G.D., Midega, J., Bezuidenhout, C., Picão, R.C., Ahammad, S.Z., Smalla, K., Djordjevic, S.P., Pruden, A., Vikesland, P., Frigon, D., Walsh, F., Berendonk, T.U., Corno, G., Fatta-Kassinos, D., Cha, C.-J., Ashbolt, N., Ying, G., Luo, Y., Wang, Y., Shen, J., Zhang, Y., Yang, M., Li, X., Hu, B., Zhu, L., Wu, Y., Tang, S., Kan, B., Zhu, Y.-G., Smets, B.F., Graham, D., Honda (2025). Assessing antimicrobial resistance connectivity across One Health sectors. Nature Water, 3, 1100-1113. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-025-00514-8
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Mao X, Yin X, Yang Y, Gao F, Li S, Shi X, Deng Y, Li L, Leung KMY, Zhang, T. (2025). Longitudinal metagenomic analysis on antibiotic resistome, mobilome, and microbiome of river ecosystems in a sub-tropical metropolitan city. Water Research, 274, Article 123102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.123102
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water
Li Q, Li H, Tian L, Wang Y, Ouyang Z, Li LG, Mao Y. (2025). Genomic insights and metabolic pathways of an enriched bacterial community capable of degrading polyethylene. Environmental International, 197, Article 109334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109334
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Wang C, Yang Y, Xu X, Wang D, Shi X, Liu L, Deng Y, Li L, Zhang T. (2025). The quest for environmental analytical microbiology: Absolute quantitative microbiome using cellular internal standards. Microbiome, 13, Article 26. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-02009-2
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Tian L, Fang G, Li G, L Li LG, Zhang T, Mao Y (2024). Metagenomic approach revealed the mobility and co-occurrence of antibiotic resistomes between non-intensive aquaculture environment and human. Microbiome, 12, Article 107. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-024-01824-x
Tian L, Fang G, Li LG, Zhang T, Mao Y. (2024). Metagenomic approach revealed the mobility and co-occurrence of antibiotic resistomes between non-intensive aquaculture environment and human. Microbiome, 12, 107.
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water
Mao X, Yin X, Yang Y, Che Y, Xu X, Deng Y, Li LG, Zhang T (2024). Standardization in global environmental antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) surveillance. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2024.2344453
Manaia CM, Aga DS, Cytryn E, Gaze WH, Graham DW, Guo J, Leonard AFC, Li LG, Murray AK, Nunes OC, Rodriguez‐Mozaz S, Topp E, Zhang T (2024). The complex interplay between antibiotic resistance and pharmaceutical and personal care products in the environment. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 43(3), 637-652. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.5555
Zheng Q, Li LG, Yin X, Che Y, Zhang T. (2023). Is ICE hot? A genomic comparative study reveals integrative and conjugative elements as “hot” vectors for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes. mSystems, 8(6), Article e00178-23. https://doi.org/10.1128/msystems.00178-23
Li LG, Zhang T (2023). Roadmap to tackle antibiotic resistance in the environment under the One Health framework. mLife, 2(3), 224-228. https://doi.org/10.1002/mlf2.12078
Li LG, Zhang T (2023). Plasmid-mediated antibiotic resistance gene transfer under environmental stresses: Insights from laboratory-based studies. Science of the Total Environment, 887, Article 163870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163870
Yin X, Zheng X, Li LG, Zhang AN, Jiang XT, Zhang T (2023). ARGs-OAP v3.0: Antibiotic-resistance gene database curation and analysis pipeline optimization. Engineering, 27, 234-241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2022.10.011
Moradigaravand D, Li LG, Dechesne A, Nesme J, Cruz R, Ahmad H, Banzhaf M, Sørensen SJ, Smets BF, Kreft JU (2023). Plasmid permissiveness of wastewater microbiomes can be predicted from 16S rRNA sequences by machine learning. Bioinformatics, 39(7), Article btad400. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btad400
Yin X, Li LG, Chen X, Liu YY, Lam TTY, Topp E, Zhang T (2023). Global environmental resistome: Distinction and connectivity across diverse habitats benchmarked by metagenomic analyses. Water Research, 235, Article 119875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.119875
Huang Y, Li LG, Yin X, Zhang T (2023). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) biodegradation capacity revealed by a genome-function relationship approach. Environmental Microbiome, 18, Article 39. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40793-023-00497-7
Wang CX, Yang Y, Wang, Y, Wang D, Xu X, Wang Y, Li LG, Yang C, Zhang T (2022). Absolute quantification and genome-centric analyses elucidate the dynamics of microbial populations in anaerobic digesters. Water Research, 224, Article 119049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.119049
Wang Y, Li LG, Xia Y, Zhang T (2022). Reliable and scalable identification and prioritization of putative cellulolytic anaerobes with large genome data. Frontiers in Bioinformatics, 2, Article 813771. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbinf.2022.813771
Yin X, Yang Y, Deng Y, Huang Y, Li LG, Chan LYL, Zhang T (2022). An assessment of resistome and mobilome in wastewater treatment plants through temporal and spatial metagenomic analysis. Water Research, 209, Article 117885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2021.117885
Zhang AN, Gaston JM, Dai CL, Zhao S, Poyet M, Groussin M, Yin X, Li LG, Loosdrecht MCM, Topp E, Gillings MR, Hanage WP, Tiedje JM, Moniz K, Alm EJ, Zhang T (2021). An omics-based framework for assessing the health risk of antimicrobial resistance genes. Nature Communications, 12, Article 4765. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25096-3
Li LG, Nesme J, Quintela-Baluja M, Balboa S, Hashsham SA, Williams M, Yu Z, Sorensen S, Graham D, Romalde J, Dechesne A, Smets BF (2021). Extended-spectrum β-lactamase and carbapenemase genes are substantially and sequentially reduced during conveyance and treatment of urban sewage. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(9), 5939-5949. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c08548
Li LG, Huang Q, Yin X, Zhang T (2020). Source tracking of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment: Challenges, progress, and prospects. Water Research, 185, Article 116127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2020.116127
Zhang AN, Hou CJ, Negi M, Li LG, Zhang T (2020). Online searching platform for the antibiotic resistome in bacterial tree of life and global habitats. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 96(7), Article fiaa107. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiaa107
Pan Y, Zeng J, Li LG, Yang J, Tang Z, Xiong W, Li Y, Chen S, Zeng Z (2020). Coexistence of antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors deciphered by large-scale complete genome analysis. mSystems, 5(3), Article e00821-19. https://doi.org/10.1128/mSystems.00821-19
Zhai W, Qin T, Li LG, Guo T, Yin X, Khan MI, Hashmi MZ, Liu X, Tang X, Xu J (2020). Abundance and diversity of microbial arsenic biotransformation genes in the sludge of full-scale anaerobic digesters from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Environmental International, 138, Article 105535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105535
Li LG, Dechesne A, Madsen JS, Nesme J, Sørensen SJ, Smets BF (2020). Plasmids persist in a microbial community by providing fitness benefit to multiple phylotypes. The ISME Journal, 14(5), 1170-1181. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-0596-4
Guo T, Li LG, Zhai W, Xu B, Xiaole Yin, He Y, Xu J, Zhang T, Tang X (2019). Distribution of arsenic and its biotransformation genes in sediments from the East China Sea. Environmental Pollution, 253, 949-958. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.07.091
Xu JX, Li XM, Sun GX, Cui L, Ding LJ, He C, Li LG, Shi Q, Smets BF, Zhu YG (2019). Fate of labile organic carbon in paddy soil is regulated by microbial ferric iron reduction. Environmental Science & Technology, 53(15), 8533-8542. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01323
Li LG, Yin X, Zhang, T (2018). Tracking antibiotic resistance gene pollution from different sources using machine-learning classification. Microbiome, 6, Article 93. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0480-x
Yin X, Jiang XT, Chai B, Li LG, Yang Y, Cole JR, Tiedje JM and Zhang T (2018). ARGs-OAP v2.0 with an expanded SARG database and Hidden Markov Models for enhancement characterization and quantification of antibiotic resistance genes in environmental metagenomes. Bioinformatics, 34(13), 2263-2270. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/bty053
Zhang AN, Li LG, Ma L, Gillings MR, Tiedje JM and Zhang T (2018). Conserved phylogenetic distribution and limited antibiotic resistance of class 1 integrons revealed by assessing the bacterial genome and plasmid collection. Microbiome, 6, Article 130. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0516-2
Li LG, Dechesne A, He Z, Madsen JS, Nesme J, Sørensen SJ, and Smets BF (2018). Estimating the transfer range of plasmids encoding antimicrobial resistance in a wastewater treatment plant microbial community. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 5(5), 260-265. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.8b00105
Xia Y, Li AD, Deng Y, Jiang X, Li LG, Zhang T (2017). MinION Nanopore sequencing enables correlation between resistome phenotype and genotype of coliform bacteria in municipal sewage. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8, Article 2105. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02105
Yang C, Yang Y, Che Y, Xia Y, Li LG, Xiong W, Zhang T (2017). Bioprospecting for β-lactam resistance genes using a metagenomics-guided strategy. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 101, 6253-6260. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8343-0
Luo G, Li B, Li LG, Zhang T, Irini Angelidaki (2017). Antibiotic resistance genes and correlations with microbial community and metal resistance genes in full-scale biogas reactors as revealed by metagenomic analysis. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(7), 4069-4080. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b05100
Li LG, Xia Y, Zhang T (2017). Co-occurrence of antibiotic and metal resistance genes revealed in complete genome collection. The ISME Journal, 11(3), 651-662. https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2016.155
Xiao KQ, Li LG, Ma LP, Zhang SY, Bao P, Zhang T, Zhu YG (2016). Metagenomic analysis revealed highly diverse microbial arsenic metabolism genes in paddy soils with low-arsenic contents. Environmental Pollution, 211, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.12.023
Mao YP, Wang ZP, Li LG, Jiang XT, Zhang XX, Ren HQ, Zhang T (2016). Exploring the shift in structure and function of microbial communities performing biological phosphorus removal. PLoS One, 11(8), Article e0161506. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161506
Ma LP, Xia Y, Li B, Yang Y, Li LG, Tiedje J, Zhang T (2016). Metagenomic assembly reveals hosts of antibiotic resistance genes and the shared resistome in pig, chicken, and human feces. Environmental Science & Technology, 50(1), 420-427. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b03522
Li AD, Li LG, Zhang T (2015). Exploring antibiotic resistance genes and metal resistance genes in plasmid metagenomes from wastewater treatment plants. Frontiers in Microbiology, 6, Article 1025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.01025
Li LG, Cai L, Zhang XX, Zhang T (2014). Potentially novel copper resistance genes in copper-enriched activated sludge revealed by metagenomic analysis. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 98, 10255-10266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-5939-5
Li LG, Cai L, Zhang, T (2013). Genome of Cupriavidus sp. HMR-1, a heavy metal-resistant bacterium. Genome Announcements, 1(1), Article e00202-12. https://doi.org/10.1128/genomeA.00202-12

Conference Papers
Li, L. (2025, November). 城市污水公共卫生风险监测技术进展 —“同一健康”框架下抗菌耐药性传播关联的评估研究. 2025 年城市污水公共卫生风险监测暨重点传染病病原监测技术研讨会, Zhuhai, China.
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Li, L. (2025, October). What happens in hospitals stays in hospitals? - resistome surveillance of hospital-adjacent rivers in China. Joint Conference of the 1st ISME Asia Forum and the 2025 Annual Academic, Hangzhou, China.
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Li LG (2024, December). Plasmid transfer and maintenance in microbial communities of urban wastewater environment. The 1st International Conference on Health, Environment, Education and Research 2024 (CHEER2024) & The 10th International Conference on Water Resource and Environment 2024 (WRE2024), Hong Kong.
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 14 - Life Below Water, 15 - Life on Land
Li Liguan, Zhao Yuxiang, Zhu Dong, Zhang Tong. (2024, September). Distribution profile and health risk of antibiotic resistance genes in soil at national and global scales. SETAC Asia-Pacific 14th Biennial Meeting 2024, Tianjin, China. https://www.setac.org/discover-events/global-meetings/setac-asia-pacific-14th-biennial-meeting.html
SDGs infomation: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 15 - Life on Land

Projects


How Do Tripartite Bacteria-plasmid-phage Interactions Shape Gene Transmission in Microbial Communities? Project Start Year: 2026, Principal Investigator(s): LI, Liguan
Identification and Exploration of Effective and Eco-friendly Disinfectants from Halophenolic DBPs/Compounds Project Start Year: 2026, Principal Investigator(s): ZHANG, Xiangru (LI, Liguan as Co-Investigator)
Interactions of Mobile Genetic Elements and Microbial Communities on the Nutrient Removal and Carbon Cycle in Wastewater Treatment Systems Project Start Year: 2025, Principal Investigator(s): LI, Liguan
Matching Fund for Interactions of Mobile Genetic Elements and Microbial Communities on the Nutrient Removal and Carbon Cycle in Wastewater Treatment Systems Project Start Year: 2025, Principal Investigator(s): LI, Liguan
Carbon Emissions from China’s Inland Waters and Coastal Ecosystems under Global Change Project Start Year: 2025, Principal Investigator(s): RAN, Lishan (LI, Liguan as Co-Principal Investigator)
Conjugative Transfer of Plasmid-borne Antibiotic Resistance Genes to Environmental Bacteria in Crop Production Systems Irrigated with Municipal Wastewater Effluents Project Start Year: 2025, Principal Investigator(s): Zhang, Tong, Fabrice, Martin-Laurent (LI, Liguan as Co-Principal Investigator) SDGs Information: 2 - Zero Hunger, 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy, 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 15 - Life on Land
Air and Surface Contamination Patterns of Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria and Genes of in Hospital Environment Project Start Year: 2025, Principal Investigator(s): LI, Liguan
Deciphering plasmid mediated antibiotic resistance gene transmission through urban wastewater system Project Start Year: 2023, Principal Investigator(s): LI, Liguan SDGs Information: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 15 - Life on Land
Co-selection of antibiotic resistance genes by environmental pollutants Project Start Year: 2022, Principal Investigator(s): Zhang, Tong (LI, Liguan as Co-Investigator) SDGs Information: 3 - Good Health and Well-Being, 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation, 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production, 15 - Life on Land