2004年和2007年在天津理工大学分别获学士和硕士学位，2011年3月在日本茨城大学获博士学位。2011年4月至2014年1月在日本茨城大学进行博士后研究，2014年2月至2018年12月在日本冈山大学任助理教授，2018年12月到中国科学院植物研究所工作，在Nature、Science、Nature Communications等刊物发表论文40余篇。

主要研究工作：

主要研究方向是光合生物参与光合作用及其代谢调控相关的一系列膜蛋白复合物的结构与功能。利用生物物理、生物化学和分子生物学等手段，在分子·原子水平上阐明生物大分子之间错综复杂的相互作用网络，来进一步加深对光合作用的理解。

主持和参加的科研项目

[1] “人工生物叶片”（2022.11-2027.10），国家重点研发计划，项目负责人。

[2]  “光合系统关键蛋白复合体结构和功能解析”（2020.01-2024.12），国家重点研发计划子课题，负责人。

[3] “极端环境光合细菌Halorhodospira halochloris LH1-RC复合体的结构与功能研究” （2020.01-2023.12），国家自然科学基金面上项目，项目负责人。

[4]  国家人才计划（2019.01-2021.12），项目负责人。

研究论文（注*为通讯作者，#为共同第一作者）

2022

Liu XH, Liu PC, Li HJ, Xu Z, Jia L, Xia Y, Yu ML, Tang WQ, Zhu XL, Chen C, Zhang Y, Nango EK, Tanaka R, Luo FJ, Kato K, Nakajima Y, Kishi S, Yu HX, Matsubara N, Owada S, Tono K, Iwata S, Yu LJ*, Shen JR*, Wang JY*. 2022. Excited-state intermediates in a designer protein encoding a phototrigger caught by an X-ray free-electron laser. Nat Chem., 14: 1054-1060.

Ma F*, Romero E, Jones MR, Novoderezhkin VI, Yu LJ*, van Grondelle R. 2022. Dynamics of diverse coherences in primary charge separation of bacterial reaction center at 77 K revealed by wavelet analysis.  Photosynth Res., 151: 225-234.  

Zhang Y, Qi CH, Yamano N, Wang P, Yu LJ*, Wang-Otomo ZY, Zhang JP*. 2022. Carotenoid Single-Molecular Singlet Fission and the Photoprotection of a Bacteriochlorophyll b-Type Core Light-Harvesting Antenna. J Phys Chem Lett., 13 (16):3534-3541.

Tani K, Kanno R, Kurosawa K, Takaichi S, Nagashima KVP, Hall M, Yu LJ, Kimura Y, Madigan MT, Mizoguchi A, Humbel BM, Wang-Otomo Z-Y. 2022. An LH1–RC photocomplex from an extremophilic phototroph provides insight into origins of two photosynthesis proteins. Commun Biol., 5 (1): 1197.

Tani K, Kobayashi K, Hosogi N, Ji X C, Nagashima S, Nagashima KVP, Izumida A, Inoue K, Tsukatani Y, Kanno R, Hall M, Yu LJ, Ishikawa I, Okura Y, Madigan MT, Mizoguchi A, Humbel BM, Kimura Y, Wang-Otomo ZY. 2022. A Ca²⁺-binding motif underlies the unusual properties of certain photosynthetic bacterial core light-harvesting complexes. J Biol Chem., 298 (6), 101967.

2021

Zheng DD#, Tao M#, Yu LJ#, Liu XH, Xia AD, Wang JY .2021. Ultrafast Photoinduced Electron Transfer in a Photosensitizer Protein. CCS Chemistry, 4 (4): 1217-1223.

Kimura Y, Nojima S, Nakata K, Yamashita T, Wang XP, Takenaka S, Akimoto S, Kobayashi M, Madigan MT, Wang-Otomo ZY*, and Yu LJ*. 2021. Electrostatic charge controls the lowest LH1 Q(y) transition energy in the triply extremophilic purple phototrophic bacterium, Halorhodospira halochloris. BBA Bioenergetics, 1862: 148473.

Yang ZH# Qi CH#, Liu WZ, Yin DB, Yu LJ*, Li LD*, Guo XF* .2021. Revealing conformational transition dynamics of photosynthetic proteins in single-molecule electrical circuits.  J Phys Chem Lett., 12: 3853-3859.

Kawakami T#, Yu LJ#*, Liang T, Okazaki K, Madigan M, Kimura Y*, & Wang-Otomo Z-Y*. 2021. Crystal structure of a photosynthetic LH1-RC in complex with its electron donor HiPIP.  Nat Commun., 12: 1104.

Ma F*, Romero E,  Jones MR,  Novoderezhkin VI,  Yu LJ*, van Grondelle R. 2021. Dynamic stark effect in two-dimensional spectroscopy revealing modulation of ultrafast charge separation in bacterial reaction centers by an inherent electric field. J Phys Chem Lett., 12: 5526-5533.

Wang J#,  Yu LJ#, Wang W#, Yan Q, Kuang T, Qin, X, Shen JR. 2021. Structure of plant photosystem I-light harvesting complex I supercomplex at 2.4 A resolution. J Integr Plant Biol., 63 (7): 1367-1381.

Tani K, Nagashima KVP, Kanno R, Kawamura S, Kikuchi R, Hall M, Yu, LJ, Kimura Y, Madigan, M T, Mizoguchi A, Humbel BM, Wang-Otomo Z-Y. 2021. A previously unrecognized membrane protein in the Rhodobacter sphaeroides LH1-RC photocomplex. Nat Commun., 12 (1): 6300.

Tani K, Kanno R, Ji X-C, Hall M, Yu LJ, Kimura Y, Madigan MT, Mizoguchi A, Humbel BM, Wang-Otomo Z-Y. 2021. Cryo-EM Structure of the Photosynthetic LH1-RC Complex from Rhodospirillum rubrum. Biochemistry, 60 (32): 2483-2491.

Lin RC, Y W, Wang BC, Yu LJ, Wang W, Tian L, Chi W, Lu Q, Han G, Kuang T. 2021. Advances and perspectives in several areas of photosynthesis research. Sci Sin Vitae., 51: 1-9.

Kimura Y, Yamashita T, Seto R, Imanishi M, Honda M, Nakagawa S, Saga Y, Takenaka S, Yu LJ, Madigan MT, Wang-Otomo Z-Y. 2021. Circular dichroism and resonance Raman spectroscopies of bacteriochlorophyll b-containing LH1-RC complexes. Photosynth Res., 148 (1-2): 77-86.

Kimura Y, Nojima S, Nakata K, Yamashita T, Wang XP, Takenaka S, Akimoto S, Kobayashi M, Madigan M T, Wang-Otomo Z-Y, Yu LJ. 2021. Electrostatic charge controls the lowest LH1 Qy transition energy in the triply extremophilic purple phototrophic bacterium, Halorhodospira halochloris. Biochim Biophys Acta Bioenerg., 1862 (11): 148473.

2020

Tani K, Kanno R, Makino Y, Hall M, Takenouchi M, Imanishi M, Yu LJ, Overmann J, Madigan M , Kimura Y, Mizoguchi A, Humbel B & Wang-Otomo Z-Y. 2020. Cryo-EM structure of a Ca2+-bound photosynthetic LH1-RC complex containing multiple αβ-polypeptides. Nat Commun., 11: 4955.

Zou M, Mu Y, Chai X, Ouyang M, Yu LJ, Zhang L, Meurer J, and Chi W .2020. The critical function of a plastid rRNA methyltransferase, CMAL, in ribosome biogenesis and plant development. Nucleic Acids Res., 48: 3195-3210.

2019

Wang W#, Yu LJ#, Xu C, Tomizaki T, Zhao S, Umena Y, Chen X, Qin X, Xin Y, Suga M, Han G, Kuang T, Shen JR. 2019. Structural basis for blue-green light-harvesting and energy dissipation in diatoms. Science, 363: eaav0365.

Chen JH#, Yu LJ#, Boussac A, Wang-Otomo ZY, Kuang T, Shen JR. 2019. Properties and structure of a low-potential, penta-heme cytochrome c552 from a thermophilic purple sulfur photosynthetic bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. Photosynth Res., 139: 281-293.

2018

Yu LJ, Suga M, Wang-Otomo ZY, Shen J R. 2018. Structure of photosynthetic LH1-RC supercomplex at 1.9 Å resolution. Nature, 556 (7700): 209-213.

Yu LJ, Suga M, Wang-Otomo ZY, Shen JR. 2018. Novel features of LH1-RC from Thermochromatium tepidum revealed from its atomic resolution structure. FEBS J., 285: 4359-4366.

Kimura Y, Kawakami T, Arikawa T, Li Y, Yu LJ, Ohno T, Madigan MT, Wang-Otomo ZY. 2018. C-terminal cleavage of the LH1 alpha-polypeptide in the Sr²⁺-cultured Thermochromatium tepidum. Photosynth Res., 135: 23-31.

2017

Yu J, Fu LM, Yu LJ, Shi Y, Wang P, Wang-Otomo ZY, Zhang JP. 2017. Carotenoid singlet fission reactions in bacterial light harvesting complexes as revealed by triplet excitation profiles. J Am Chem Soc., 139 (44): 15984-15993.

Suga M, Akita F, Sugahara M, Kubo M, Nakajima Y, Nakane T, Yamashita K, Umena Y, Nakabayashi M, Yamane T, Nakano T, Suzuki M, Masuda T, Inoue S, Kimura T, Nomura T, Yonekura S, Yu LJ, Sakamoto T, Motomura T, Chen JH, Kato Y, Noguchi T, Tono K, Joti Y, Kameshima T, Hatsui T, Nango E, Tanaka R, Naitow H, Matsuura Y, Yamashita A, Yamamoto M, Nureki O, Yabashi M, Ishikawa T, Iwata S, Shen JR. 2017. Light-induced structural changes and the site of O=O bond formation in PSII caught by XFEL. Nature, 543 (7643): 131-135.

Nagashima KVP, Sasaki M, Hashimoto K, Takaichi S, Nagashima S, Yu LJ, Abe Y, Gotou K, Kawakami T, Takenouchi M, Shibuya Y, Yamaguchi A, Ohno T, Shen JR, Inoue K, Madigan MT, Kimura Y, Wang-Otomo ZY. 2017. Probing structure–function relationships in early events in photosynthesis using a chimeric photocomplex. Proc Natl Acad Sci., 114 (41): 10906-10911.

Ma F, Yu LJ, Llansola-Portoles MJ, Robert B, Wang-Otomo ZY, van Grondelle R. 2017. Metal cations induced alphabeta-bchl a heterogeneity in lh1 as revealed by temperature-dependent fluorescence splitting. Chemphyschem, 18 (16): 2295-2301.

Ma F, Yu LJ, Hendrikx R, Wang-Otomo ZY, van Grondelle R. 2017. Excitonic and vibrational coherence in the excitation relaxation process of two lh1 complexes as revealed by two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy. J Phys Chem Lett., 8 (12): 2751-2756.

Ma F, Yu LJ, Hendrikx R, Wang-Otomo ZY, van Grondelle R. 2017. Direct observation of energy detrapping in lh1-rc complex by two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy. J Am Chem Soc., 139 (2): 591-594.

2016

Yu LJ, Kawakami T, Kimura Y, Wang-Otomo ZY. 2016. Structural basis for the unusual qy red-shift and enhanced thermostability of the lh1 complex from Thermochromatium tepidum. Biochemistry, 55 (47): 6495-6504.

Ma F, Yu LJ, Ma XH, Wang P, Wang-Otomo ZY, Zhang JP. 2016. Bacterial light-harvesting complexes showing giant second-order nonlinear optical response as revealed by hyper-rayleigh light scattering. J Phys Chem B, 120 (35): 9395-401.

Kimura Y, Yura Y, Hayashi Y, Li Y, Onoda M, Yu LJ, Wang-Otomo ZY, Ohno T. 2016. Spectroscopic and thermodynamic characterization of the metal-binding sites in the lh1-rc complex from thermophilic photosynthetic bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. J Phys Chem B., 120 (49): 12466-12473.

Huo YL, Shi Y, Wang Q Y, Li L, Yu LJ, Wang P, Zhang JP, Wang ZY. 2016. Spectroscopic properties of LH2 from Thermochromatium tepidum in liposome and detergent micelles. Chem Chin Univ., 37 (9): 1678-1685.

Ma F, Yu LJ, Wang-Otomo ZY, van Grondelle R. 2016. Temperature dependent LH1-->RC energy transfer in purple bacteria Tch. tepidum with shiftable LH1-Q band: A natural system to investigate thermally activated energy transfer in photosynthesis. Biochim Biophys Acta., 1857 (4): 408-414.

2015

Shi Y, Zhao NJ, Wang P, Fu LM, Yu LJ, Zhang J P, Wang-Otomo ZY. 2015. Thermal adaptability of the light-harvesting complex 2 from Thermochromatium tepidum: Temperature-dependent excitation transfer dynamics. J Phys Chem B., 119 (47): 14871-14879.

Ma F, Yu LJ, Wang-Otomo ZY, van Grondelle R. 2015. The origin of the unusual Qy red shift in LH1-RC complexes from purple bacteria Thermochromatium tepidum as revealed by Stark absorption spectroscopy. Biochim Biophys Acta, 1847 (12): 1479-1486.

Kimura Y, Kawakami T, Yu LJ, Yoshimura M, Kobayashi M, Wang-Otomo ZY. 2015. Characterization of the quinones in purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. FEBS Lett., 589 (15): 1761-5.

2014

Niwa S#, Yu LJ#, Takeda K, Hirano Y, Kawakami T, Wang-Otomo ZY, Miki K. 2014. Structure of the LH1-RC complex from Thermochromatium tepidum at 3.0 Å. Nature, 508 (7495): 228-32.

2013

Yu LJ, Unno M, Kimura Y, Yanagimoto K, Oh-oka H, Wang-Otomo ZY. 2013. Structure analysis and characterization of the cytochrome c-554 from thermophilic green sulfur photosynthetic bacterium Chlorobaculum tepidum. Photosynth Res., 118 (3): 249-258.

Kimura Y, Inada Y, Yu LJ, Ohno T, Wang Z. 2013. Strontium ions are functionally replaceable with calcium ions in the light-harvesting 1 reaction center core complex from thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. In Photosynthesis Research for Food, Fuel and the Future., (eds. Kuang, T. Y. et al.). 105-109 (Springer).

2012

Sekine F, Horiguchi K, Kashino Y, Shimizu Y, Yu LJ, Kobayashi M, Wang ZY. 2012. Gene sequencing and characterization of the light-harvesting complex 2 from thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. Photosynth Res., 111 (1-2): 9-18.

2011

Yang F, Yu LJ, Wang P, Ai XC, Wang ZY, Zhang JP. 2011. Effects of Aggregation on the excitation dynamics of LH2 from Thermochromatium tepidum in aqueous phase and in chromatophores. J Phys Chem B., 115 (24): 7906-7913.

Kimura Y, Inada Y, Yu LJ, Wang ZY, Ohno T. 2011. A Spectroscopic variant of the light-harvesting 1 core complex from the thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. Biochemistry, 50 (18): 3638-3648.

2010及以前

Yu LJ, Kato S, Wang ZY. 2010. Examination of the putative Ca²⁺-binding site in the light-harvesting complex 1 of thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. Photosynth Res., 106 (3): 215-220.

Yang F, Yu LJ, Wang P, Ai XC, Wang ZY, Zhang JP. 2010. Excitation Dynamics of the Light-Harvesting complex 2 from Thermochromatium tepidum. Acta Phys Chim Sin., 26 (7): 2021-2030.

Ma F, Kimura Y, Yu LJ, Wang P, Ai XC, Wang ZY, Zhang JP. 2009. Specific Ca²⁺-binding motif in the LH1 complex from photosynthetic bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum as revealed by optical spectroscopy and structural modeling. FEBS J., 276 (6): 1739-1749.

Kimura Y, Yu LJ, Hirano Y, Suzuki H, Wang ZY. 2009. Calcium Ions are required for the enhanced thermal stability of the light-harvesting-reaction center core complex from thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. J Biol Chem., 284 (1): 93-99.

Kimura Y, Hirano Y, Yu LJ, Suzuki H, Kobayashi M, Wang ZY. 2008. Calcium ions are involved in the unusual red shift of the light-harvesting 1 Qy transition of the core complex in thermophilic purple sulfur bacterium Thermochromatium tepidum. J Biol Chem., 283 (20): 13867-13873.