CHENG GAO                            

321 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Email: [email protected]; Telephone: 1-510-229-8119

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Ø  2019 – present    Assistant Project Scientist, Prof. John W. Taylor Lab, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California Berkeley, USA

Ø  2016 – 2019          Postdoctoral Scholar, Prof. John W. Taylor Lab, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California Berkeley, USA

Ø  2013 – 2016          Assistant Professor, Prof. Liang-Dong Guo Lab, State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

EDUCATION

Ø  2007 – 2013          Ph.D., Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ø  2003 – 2007          B.S., Biotechnology, Shandong University

TEACHING EXPERIENCES

Ø  2014.08        Lecturer               < Modern fungal taxonomic system and nomenclature>

Ø  2014.10        Lecturer               <Diversity analysis of microbes in oil reservoirs>

Ø  2015.09 – 2016.01        Teaching Assistant     <Microbial Ecology>

 

Publications

1.   Gao C, Montoya L, Xu L, Madera M, Hollingsworth J, Purdom E, Singan V, Vogel J, Hutmacher RB, Dahlberg JA, Coleman-Derr D, Lemaux PG, Taylor JW*. Fungal community assembly in drought stressed sorghum shows stochasticity, selection, and universal ecological dynamics. Nature Communications, 2020, 11:34

2.   Wang YL, Gao C, Chen L, Ji NN, Wu BW, Li XC, Lü PP, Zheng Y, Guo LD*. (2020) Community assembly of endophytic fungi in ectomycorrhizae of Betulaceae plants at a regional scale. Frontier in Microbiology 10: 3105.

3.   Varoquaux N#, Cole B#, Gao C# (co-first author), Pierroz G, Baker C, Patel D, Madera M, Jeffers T, Hollingsworth J, Sievert J, Yoshinaga Y, Owiti J, Singan V, DeGraaf S, Xu L, Blow M, Harrison MJ, Visel A, Jansson C, Niyogi KK, Hutmacher RB, Coleman-Derr D, O’Malley R, Taylor JW, Dahlberg JA, Vogel JP*, Lemaux PG*, Purdom E*. Transcriptomic analysis of field-droughted sorghum from seedling to maturity reveals biotic and metabolic responses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2019, 116 (52) 27124–27132.

4.   Gao C, Montoya L, Xu L, Madera M, Hollingsworth J, Purdom E, Hutmacher RB, Dahlberg JA, Coleman-Derr D, Lemaux PG, Taylor JW*. Strong succession in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities. The ISME Journal, 2019, 13(1): 214–226.

5.   Ji NN, Gao C, Sandel B, Zheng Y, Chen L, Wu BW, Li XC, Wang YL, Lü PP, Sun X, Guo LD*. (2019). Late Quaternary climate change explains soil fungal community composition rather than richness in forest ecosystems Ecology & Evolution 9:6678–6692

6.   Wang XW*, Benoit I, Groenewald E, Houbraken J, Dai X, Peng M, Yang X, Gao C, Guo LD*. (2019). Community dynamics of Neocallimastigomycota in the yak rumen indicate an essential role for fungi with a bulbous morphotype in digesting lignin-rich plant biomass. Fungal Ecology 41: 34–44.

7.   Wang YL, Gao C, Chen L, Ji NN, Wu BW, Li XC, Lü PP, Zheng Y, Guo LD*. (2019). Host plant phylogeny and geographic distance strongly structure Betulaceae-associated ectomycorrhizal fungal communities at a regional scale. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 95: fiz037.

8.   Xu L, Naylor D, Dong Z, Simmons T, Pierroz G, Hixson K, Kim Y, Zink E, Engbrecht K, Wang Y, Gao C, DeGraaf S, Madera M, Sievert J, Hollingsworth J, Birdseye D, Scheller H, Hutmacher R, Dahlberg J, Jansson C, Taylor J, Lemaux P, Coleman-Derr D. 2018. Drought delays development of the sorghum root microbiome and enriches for monoderm bacteria. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115: E4284–E4293.

9.   Wu BW, Gao C, Chen L, Buscot F, Goldmann K, Purahong W, Ji NN, Wang YL, Lü PP, Li XC, Guo LD* (2018). Host phylogeny is a major determinant of Fagaceae-associated ectomycorrhizal fungal community assembly at a regional scale. Frontier in Microbiology 9: 2409.

10. Gao C, Shi NN, Chen L, Ji NN, Wu BW, Wang YL, Xu Y, Zheng Y, Mi XC, Ma KP, Guo LD*. Relationships between soil fungal and woody plant assemblages differ between ridge and valley habitats in a subtropical mountain forest. New Phytologist, 2017, 213(4): 1874–1885.

11. Chen L, Zheng Y, Gao C, Mi XC, Ma KP, Wubet T, Guo LD*. (2017). Phylogeny drives highly interconnected and nested mutualistic networks of woody plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in a Chinese subtropical forest. Molecular Ecology 26: 2563–2575.

12. Taylor JW, Branco S, Gao C, Hann-Soden C, Montoya L, Sylvain I, Gladieux P. 2017. Sources of fungal genetic variation and associating it with phenotypic diversity. Microbiology Spectrum 5(5): FUNK-0057-2016.

13. Shi NN, Gao C, Zheng Y, Guo LD*. (2017). Effects of ectomycorrhizal fungal identity and diversity on subtropical tree competition. Journal of Plant Ecology 10: 47–55.

14. Gao C, Kim YC, Zheng Y, Yang W, Chen L, Ji NN, Wan SQ, Guo LD*. (2016). Increased precipitation, rather than warming exerts strong influence on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community in a semiarid steppe ecosystem. Botany 94: 471–479.

15. Yang W, Zheng Y, Gao C, Duan JC, Wang SP, Guo LD*. (2016) Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition affected by original elevation rather than translocation along an altitudinal gradient on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Scientific Reports 6: 36606.

16. Shi NN, Gao C, Zheng Y, Guo LD*. (2016). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus identity and diversity influence subtropical tree competition. Fungal Ecology 20: 115–123

17. Gao C, Zhang Y, Shi NN, Zheng Y, Chen L, Wubet T, Bruelheide H, Both S, Buscot F, Ding Q, Erfmeier A, Kuhn P, Nadrowski K, Scholten T, Guo LD*. Community assembly of ectomycorrhizal fungi along a subtropical secondary forest succession. New Phytologist, 2015, 205(2): 771–785.

18. Kim YC#, Gao C# (co-first author), Zheng Y, He XH, Yang W, Chen L, Wan SQ, Guo LD*. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community response to warming and nitrogen addition in a semiarid steppe ecosystem. Mycorrhiza, 2015, 25(4): 267–276.

19. Kim YC, Gao C, Zheng Y, Yang W, Chen L, He XH, Wan SQ, Guo LD. (2014). Different responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community to day-time and night-time warming in a semiarid steppe. Chinese Science Bulletin 59: 5080–5089.

20. Zheng Y, Kim YC, Tian XF, Chen L, Yang W, Gao C, Song MH, Xu XL, Guo LD*. (2014). Differential responses of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to nitrogen addition in a near pristine Tibetan alpine meadow. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 89: 594–605.

21. Gao C, Shi NN, Liu YX, Peay KG, Zheng Y, Ding Q, Mi XC, Ma KP, Wubet T, Buscot F, Guo LD*. Host plant genus-level diversity is the best predictor of ectomycorrhizal fungal diversity in a Chinese subtropical forest. Molecular Ecology, 2013, 22(12): 3403–3414.

22. Gao C, Guo LD*. (2013). Distribution pattern and maintenance of ectomycorrhizal fungus diversity. Biodiversity Science 21: 488-498. (In Chinese with English Abstract).

23. Gao C. (2013). Community and Diversity Maintenance Mechanisms of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi and Soil Fungi in a Subtropical Forest. Ph.D. Dissertation. Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. (PhD dissertation)

24. Sun X, Gao C, Guo LD*. (2013). Changes in soil microbial community and enzyme activity along an exotic plant Eupatorium adenophorum invasion in a Chinese secondary forest. Chinese Science Bulletin 58: 4101–4108

25. Sun X, Gao C, Guo LD*. (2013). Changes in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus community along an exotic plant Eupatorium adenophorum invasion in a Chinese secondary forest. Journal of Microbiology 51: 295–300

26. Yang W, Zheng Y, Gao C, He XH, Ding Q, Kim YC, Rui YC, Wan SQ, Guo LD*. (2013). The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community response to warming and grazing differs between soil and roots on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. PLoS ONE 8: e76447

27. Sun CY, Xie LJ, Ding WJ, Yu JL, Ma K, Wang YW, Wang YH, Ji R, Shen SK, Li XZ, Zhang FL, Zhou J, Guo LD, Liang XC, Miao JH, Ma C, Ma S, Ma XF, Wang C, Wang HF, Long X, Liu B, Liu TM, Liu LN, Sun X, Yang WD, Yang PZ, Wu FQ, Zhang LQ, Zhang MZ, Lin QW, Hou QB, Xia W, Gao C, Huang YF, You J, Pan CL (2013). Poisonous Organisms. Beijing, China: People’s Medical Publication House. (Monograph; in Chinese).

28. Gao C, Huang MR, Tao S, Sun X, Li J, Guo LD*. (2011). Seasonal dynamics of culturable bacterium numbers in freshwater bodies of different water quality in Beijing. Acta Ecologia Sinica 31: 1157-1163 (In Chinese with English Abstract).

29. Wang Q, Gao C, Guo LD* (2011). Ectomycorrhizae associated with Castanopsis fargesii (Fagaceae) in a subtropical forest, China. Mycological Progress 10: 323–332

 

GRANTS

1.     Gao C, Sun X. Community structure and maintenance mechanism of ectomycorrhizal fungi associated with Castanopsis woody plants in China (NSFC, 31470545, PI: Gao C).

2.     Zheng Y, Gao C. Response mechanism of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to nitrogen and phosphorus addition along a subtropical secondary forest succession (NSFC, PI: Zheng Y).

3.     Sun X, Gao C. Community structure and geographic distribution pattern of endophytic fungi of Chinese beach salted plants (NSFC, PI: Sun X).

4.     Guo LD, Gao C. Distribution patterns and maintenance of mycorrhizal fungal diversities in forest ecosystems (NSFC, PI: Guo LD).

5.     Guo LD, Gao C. Response mechanism of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to experimental warming and grazing in alpine steppe in Qinghai-Tibet plateau (NSFC, PI: Guo LD).

 

AWARDS

1.      Publons Peer Review Award, Top 1% of Reviewers in Multidisciplinary, 2018

2.      Zhuliyuehua Award for Outstanding Ph.D., CAS, China, 2013

3.      President Award of Institute of Microbiology, CAS, China, 2013

4.      Novozymes Outstanding Dissertation Award, China, 2013

5.      Novozymes Graduate Student Best Paper Award, China, 2013

6.      Award of Institute of Microbiology, CAS, China, 2011

7.      Award of Institute of Microbiology, CAS, China, 2010

8.      Outstanding Graduate Student of CAS, China, 2010

9.      Novozymes Outstanding Student Award, China, 2010

 

PEER REVIEWING:

Editor for: PLOS ONE, Biodiversity Science (生物多样性),

Reviewer for: Biodiversity Science (生物多样性), Current Opinion in Plant Biology, Current Microbiology; Environmental Microbiology, FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Forest Ecology and Management, Forest Ecosystems, Global Ecology Biogeography, Journal of Soil and Sediments, Journal of Plant Ecology, Journal of Plant Ecology(植物生态学报), Molecular Ecology, Mycology, New Phytologist, Pedobiologia, PeerJ, PLOS ONE, Scientific Reports, The ISME Journal

 

Conference / Symposium / Invited talks:

Ø  Kabir Peay Lab Seminar at Stanford, Palo Alto, CA, USA, 2019. 12. 04 (Oral presentation)

Ø  Editorial Board Meeting of Biodiversity Science, Taizhou, Zhejiang, 2019.11.17 (Oral presentation)

Ø  Seminar at Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China, 2019.11.08 (Oral presentation)

Ø  PKU Ecology Seminar at Peking University, Beijing, China, 2019. 10.11 (Oral presentation)

Ø  Seminar at Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China, 2019.10.24 (Oral presentation)

Ø  Seminar at Fujian A & F University, Fuzhou, Fujian, China, 2019.10.23 (Oral presentation)

Ø  Qilu Youth Symposium at Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong, China, 2019.10.17 (Oral presentation)

Ø  Ecological Society of America Annual meeting, Louisville, KT, USA, 2019.08 (Oral presentation)

Ø  America Society of Microbiology Annual meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA, 2019.06 (Oral presentation)

Ø  JBIMS Workshop: Technology for Microbiome Research, Berkeley Lab, CA, 2019. 05.23 (Oral presentation)

Ø  Switchgrass Microbiome, Berkeley, CA, USA. 2019.04.01 (Poster)

Ø  Neurospora 2018, Asilomar, CA, USA. 2018.10.18-10.21 (Poster)

Ø  The 11th International Mycological Congress, Puerto Rico, USA, 2018.07.15-07.22 (Poster)

Ø  The 9th International Conference on Mycorrhiza, Prague, Czech, 2017.07.30-08.04 (Poster)

Ø  The 29th Fungal Genetic Conference, Asilomar, CA, USA. 2017.03.14-19 (Poster)

Ø  The 14th Bay Area Population Genomics (BAPG) Conference, San Francisco, USA, 2016.09.

Ø  The 2015th annual meeting of Ecological Society of Beijing, Beijing, China, 2015.12 (Oral presentation).

Ø  The 2015th annual meeting of Mycological Society of China, Shanghai, China, 2015.9 (Oral presentation).

Ø  Sino-German-Swiss workshop “Next generation Biodiversity-Ecosystem Functioning research in Chinese subtropical forests”, Jingdezhen, China, 2015.3 (Oral presentation).

Ø  Asian Mycological Congress, Beijing, 2013.8 (Oral presentation).

Ø  BEF-China Summer School “Scientific writing in the context of Biodiversity Ecosystem functioning” Wuyuan, China, 2012. 3.

Ø  BEF-China Summer School “Experimental design and Data Analysis in the context of Biodiversity Ecosystem functioning” Gutianshan, China, 2011.5.

Ø  Symposium on BEF-China Project, Beijing, China, 2011.5 (Oral Presentation).

Ø  Symposium on BEF-China Project, Beijing, China, 2010.2.