Education and Research Experience
2017–present: Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC)
2014-2017: Postdoctoral Fellow (with Dr. Yigong Shi), School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
2009-2014: Ph.D., School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University
2005-2009: B.S., Department of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Tsinghua University
Honors & Awards
2010Longrich, Jiangsu-Tsinghua University Scholarship in Biology
2012National Scholarship for graduate students
2014Second-rank Scholarship for PhD Thesis of Tsinghua University
2014Third-rank Research Scholarship of Center for Life Sciences
2014Top-rank Postdoctoral Fellowship of Center for Life Sciences
2016 Advanced Innovation Fellow of the Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, Tsinghua University
2017 Qiushi Outstanding Young Scholar Award
2019 Cyrus Tang Young Scholar Award
Research Field of Interest
Mechanistic studies of membrane proteins combining structural biology techniques such as Cryo-EM 3D reconstruction and X-ray crystallography, biochemistry, electrophysiological methods, and so on. We mainly focus on the study of plant hormone transport and signal transduction, and have published several works in Nature, Science, Nature Plants, etc., including: elucidating the auxin export mechanism mediated by the PIN family transporter PIN1 in Arabidopsis (Nature, 2022); revealing the ABA export mechanism mediated by the ABC transporter ABCG25 in Arabidopsis (Nature Plants, 2023); identifying the first brassinosteroid transporter in plants, the Arabidopsis ABCB19 (Science, 2024).
Selected Publications
1. Wei Ying*, Yaowei Wang*, Hong Wei* , Yongming Luo*, Qian Ma, Heyuan Zhu, Hilde Janssens, Nemanja Vukašinović, Miroslav Kvasnica, Johan M Winne, Yongxiang Gao, Shutang Tan, Jiří Friml, Xin Liu#, Eugenia Russinova#, Linfeng Sun#. (2024). Structure and function of the Arabidopsis ABC transporter ABCB19 in brassinosteroid export. Science, 383(6689). (#, corresponding author)
2. Chunqiao Sun*, Bangguo He*, Yongxiang Gao, Xingbing Wang#, Xin Liu#, Linfeng Sun#. (2024). Structural insights into the calcium-coupled zinc export of human ZnT1. Science Advances, 10(17):eadk5128. (#, corresponding author)
3. W. Ying*, L. Liao*, H. Wei*, Y. Gao, X. Liu#, L. Sun#. (2023). Structural basis for abscisic acid efflux mediated by ABCG25 in Arabidopsis thaliana. Nature Plants, 9(10):1697-1708. (#, corresponding author)
4. Jing Xia*, Mengjuan Kong*, Zhisen Yang*, Lianghanxiao Sun, Yakun Peng, Yanbo Mao, Hong Wei, Wei Ying, Yongxiang Gao, Jiří Friml, Jianping Weng#, Xin Liu#, Linfeng Sun#, Shutang Tan#. (2023). Chemical inhibition of Arabidopsis PIN-FORMED auxin transporters by the anti-inflammatory drug naproxen. Plant Communications, 4(6):100632. (#, corresponding author)
5. X. Wang*, Y. Li*, H. Wei*, Z. Yang*, R. Luo, W. Zhang#, X. Liu#, L. Sun#. (2023). Molecular architecture and gating mechanisms of the Drosophila TRPA1 channel. Cell Discovery, 9(1):36. (#, corresponding author)
6. M. Kong, X. Liu, L. Sun#, S. Tan#. (2022). Molecular mechanisms of N-1-naphthylphthalamic acid, a chemical tool in plant biology and agriculture. Molecular Horticulture, 2, 22. (#, corresponding author)
7. T. Tian*, L. Chen*, Z. Dou*, Z. Yang*, X. Gao#, X. Yuan, C. Wang, R. Liu, Z. Shen, P. Gui, M. Teng, X. Meng, D. Hill, L. Li, X. Zhang, X. Liu, L. Sun#, J. Zang#, X. Yao#. (2022). Structural insights into human CCAN complex assembled onto DNA. Cell Discovery, 8, 90. (#, corresponding author)
8. Z. Yang, J. Xia, J. Hong, C. Zhang, H. Wei, W. Ying, C. Sun, Lianghanxiao Sun, Y. Mao, Y. Gao, S. Tan, J. Friml, D. Li, X. Liu#, L. Sun#. (2022). Structural insights into auxin recognition and efflux by Arabidopsis PIN1. Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05143-9. (#, corresponding author)
9. Y. Li*, Y. Ding*, L. Qu, X. Li, Q. Lai, P. Zhao, Y. Gao, C. Xiang, C. Cang#, X. Liu#, L. Sun#. (2022). Structure of the Arabidopsis guard cell anion channel SLAC1 suggests activation mechanism by phosphorylation. Nature Communications, 13(1):2511. (#, corresponding author)
10. Y. Zhou*, L. Liao*, C. Wang, J. Li, P. Chi, Q. Xiao, Q. Liu, L. Guo, L. Sun#, D. Deng#. (2020). Cryo-EM structure of the human concentrative nucleoside transporter CNT3. PLoS Biology, 18(8):e3000790. (#, corresponding author)
11. Y. Li*, Y. Hu*, J. Wang, X. Liu#, W. Zhang#, L. Sun#. (2020). Structural insights into a plant mechanosensitive ion channel MSL1. Cell Reports, 30, 1–10. (#, corresponding author)
12. L. Wang*, W. Hou*, L. Chen, Y. Jiang, D. Xu, L. Sun#, C. Zhou#, Y. Chen#. (2020). Cryo-EM structure of human bile salts exporter ABCB11. Cell Research, 2020 0:1–3; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-020-0302-0. (#, corresponding author)
13. L. Chen*, W. Hou*, T. Fan, B. Liu, T. Pan, Y. Li, Y. Jiang, W. Wen, Z. Chen, L. Sun#, C. Zhou#, Y. Chen#. (2020). Cryo-electron Microscopy Structure and Transport Mechanism of a Wall Teichoic Acid ABC Transporter. mBio, 2020 Mar 17;11(2). (#, corresponding author)
14. D. Xu*, Z. Feng*, W. Hou, Y. Jiang, L. Wang, L. Sun#, C. Zhou#, Y. Chen#. (2019). Cryo-EM structure of human lysosomal cobalamin exporter ABCD4. Cell Research, 2019 Aug 29.
15. X. Liu, J. Wang#, L. Sun#. (2018). Structure of the hyperosmolality-gated calcium permeable channel OSCA1.2. Nature Communications, 9(1):5060. (#, corresponding author)
16. Y. Liu*, H. Hu*, J. Wang*, Q. Zhou, P. Wu, N. Yan, HW. Wang, JW. Wu, L. Sun#. (2018). Cryo-EM structure of L-fucokinase/GDP-fucose pyrophosphorylase (FKP) in Bacteroides fragilis. Protein & Cell, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13238-018-0576-x. (#, corresponding author)
17. Sun L*, Zhou R*, Yang G*, Shi Y. (2017). Analysis of 138 pathogenic mutations in presenilin-1 on the in vitro production of Aβ42 and Aβ40 peptides by γ-secretase. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114(4), E476-E485. (*, co-first author)
18. Sun L, Li X, Shi Y. (2016). Structural biology of intramembrane proteases: mechanistic insights from rhomboid and S2P to γ-secretase. Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 37, 97–107.
19. Sun L*, Zhao L*, Yang G*, Yan C*, Zhou R*, Zhou X, Xie T, Zhao Y, Wu S, Li X, Shi Y. (2015). Structural basis of human γ-secretase assembly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 112(19), 6003-6008. (*, co-first author)
20. Madej MG*, Sun L*, Yan N, Kaback HR. (2014). Functional architecture of MFS D-glucose transporters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(7), E719-727. (*, co-first author)
21. Sun L*, Zeng X*, Yan C, Sun X, Gong X, Rao Y, Yan N. (2012). Crystal structure of a bacterial homologue of glucose transporters GLUT1-4. Nature, 490(7420), 361-366. (*, co-first author)
22. Bai XC*, Yan C*, Yang G*, Lu P, Ma D, Sun L, Zhou R, Scheres SH, Shi Y. (2015). An atomic structure of human γ-secretase. Nature, 525(7568), 212-217. (*, co-first author)
23. Xie T*, Yan C*, Zhou R, Zhao Y, Sun L, Yang G, Lu P, Ma D, Shi Y. (2014). Crystal structure of the γ-secretase component nicastrin. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111(37), 13349-13354. (*, co-first author)
24. Lu P*, Bai XC*, Ma D*, Xie T, Yan C, Sun L, Yang G, Zhao Y, Zhou R, Scheres SH, Shi Y. (2014). Three-dimensional structure of human γ-secretase. Nature, 512(7513),166-170. (*, co-first author)
25. Sugihara J, Sun L, Yan N, Kaback HR. (2012). Dynamics of the L-fucose/H+ symporter revealed by fluorescence spectroscopy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(37), 14847-14851.
26. Dang S, Sun L, Huang Y, Lu F, Liu Y, Gong H, Wang J, Yan N. (2010). Structure of a fucose transporter in an outward-open conformation. Nature, 467(7316), 734-738.
27. Gao X*, Lu F*, Zhou L*, Dang S, Sun L, Li X, Wang J, Shi Y. (2009). Structure and mechanism of an amino acid antiporter. Science, 324(5934):1565-1568. (*, co-first author)