Michael Yuchi——Professor
Nationality:
Canadian
Phone:
022-87401830
Email:
yuchi@tju.edu.cn
Office:
Room 417-6, Building 24, Tianjin University
School:
School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology
ResearcherID:
N-5184-2016
Group weblink
www.yuchilab.com
Education Experience
2003-2009 Ph. D. Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences McMaster University
1999-2003 B.Sc. Life Sciences Fudan University
Professional Experience
2021- Professor Tianjin University
2016-2021 Associate Professor Tianjin Univeristy
2010-2016 Research Associate Univeristy of British Columbia
2009-2010 Postdoctoral Fellow Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Research Area

The research of Yuchi’s group centers on the structure and function of ion channels. Ion channels are the second largest target class for approved drugs. Drugs targeting ion channels are used to treat arrhythmia, neuropathic pain, epilepsy, anxiety and more. The ultimate goal of our group is to understand the physiological and pathological roles of ion channels at the molecular level. The specific questions we are tackling include: 1) the interaction network and regulation of ion channels involved in heart and muscle diseases; 2) how disease-causing mutations perturb the structure and function of critical ion channels; 3) how to target insect ion channels to develop novel biopesticides. To answer these questions, our lab combines a variety of complementary techniques, including X-ray crystallography, electrophysiology, calorimetry, in-silico drug screening, as well as many other biochemical, biophysical and computational methods.

For detailed information, check our lab website @ www.yuchilab.com 

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Channel Regulation at High Resolution613074.jpg

Disease-causing Mutations in Ion Channel
Honors and Awards
NSFC Excellent Young Scientist 2020
Tianjin 1000-talent Scholar 2017
Peiyang Scholar 2016
Michael John Page Award 2014
Michael Smith Award 2013
Patents
Yuchi, Z and Yao, L. (2021) Tools and methods for screening insecticides, 202110884938.4
Yuchi, Z., Ma, R., Ma, D., Jiang, H., Zhang, J., Li, Z., Li, Y., Zhou, S., Mao, M., Van Petegem, F., Haji-Ghassemi, O., Murayama, T. (2021) The new uses of compounds, 202110771594.6
Yuchi, Z., Lin, L, and Liu, C. (2018) A novel protein purification strategy based on calmodulin, 201810033972.9
Ji, J., An, T., Si, Z., and Yuchi, Z. (2017) A highly effective method for tissue culture of lily flowers, 201710631938.7
Highlighted Publications
Lin, L., Wang, C., Wang, W., Jiang, H., Murayama, T., Kobayashi, T., Hadiatullah, H., Chen, Y. S., Wu, S., Wang, Y., Korza, H., Gu, Y., Zhang, Y., Du, J., Van Petegem, F.*, and Yuchi, Z.* (2024) Cryo-EM structures of ryanodine receptors and diamide insecticides reveal the mechanisms of selectivity and resistance. Nat. Commun. 15, 9056
Qin J., Yuchi Z*. (2024) Identification of a Novel Inhibitor of Cimex lectularius Acetylcholinesterase. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c03157.
Chen, L., Hadiatullah H., Yuchi Z*. (2024) Identification of a potent SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing nanobody targeting the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.136403.
Chen W., Cao P., Liu Y., Yu A., Wang D., Chen L., Sundarraj R., Yuchi Z., Gong Y.*, Merzendorfer H.*, Yang Q.* (2022) Structural basis for directional chitin biosynthesis. Nature, doi: 10.1038/s41586-022-05244-5.
Qin, J., Zhang, J., Lin, L., Haji-Ghassemi, O., Lin, Z., Woycechowsky, K.J., Van Petegem, F., Zhang, Y.*, Yuchi, Z.* (2022) Structures of PKA-phospholamban complexes reveal a mechanism of familial dilated cardiomyopathy. eLife, doi: 10.7554/eLife.75346.
Duan Y., Wei Y., Xing M., Liu J., Jiang L., Lu Q., Liu X., Liu Y., Ang EL., Liao RZ., Yuchi Z.*, Zhao H.*, Zhang Y.* (2022) Anaerobic Hydroxproline Degradation Involving C-N Cleavage by a Glycyl Radical Enzyme. J Am Chem Soc, doi: 10.1021/jacs.2c01673.
Hadiatullah, H., Zhang, Y., Samurkas, A., Xie, Y., Sundarraj, R., Zuilhof, H., Qiao, J.*, Yuchi, Z.* (2022) Recent progress in the structural study of ion channels as insecticide targets. Insect Science, doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.13032.
Jia, Z., Liu, C., Chen, Y., Jiang, H., Wang, Z., Yao, J., Yang, J., Zhu, J., Zhang, B., Yuchi, Z. (2021) Crystal structures of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein C-terminal domain and development of nucleocapsid-targeting nanobodies. FEBS J, doi: 10.1111/febs.16239.
Samurkas, A., Yao, L., Hadiatullah, H., Ma, R., Xie, Y., Sundarraj, R., Zuilhof, H., Yuchi, Z. (2021) Ryanodine receptor as insecticide target. Curr Pharm Design. doi: 10.2174/1381612827666210902150224.
Lu, Q.#, Wei, Y.#, Lin, L., Liu, J., Duan, Y., Li, Y., Zhai, W., Liu, Y., Ang, E., Zhao, H.*, Yuchi, Z.*, Zhang, Y.* (2021) The Glycyl Radical Enzyme Arylacetate Decarboxylase from Olsenella scatoligenes. ACS Catalysis, doi: 10.1021/acscatal.1c01253
Ma, R.#, Haji-Ghassemi, O.#, Ma, D.#, Jiang, H.#, Lin, L., Yao, L., Samurkas, A., Li, Y., Wang, Y., Cao, P., Wu, S., Zhang, Y., Murayama, T., Moussian, B., Van Petegem, F.*,Yuchi, Z.* (2020) Structural Basis for Diamide Modulation of Ryanodine Receptor. Nature Chemical Biology, doi: 10.1038/s41589-020-0627-5
Zhou, Y.#, Wang, W.#, Salauddin, N., You, M.,You, S.*,Yuchi, Z.* (2020) Crystal structure of the N-terminal domain of ryanodine receptor from the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2020.103454
Liu, J.#, Wei, Y., Lin, L., Teng, L., Yin, J., Lu, Q., Chen, J., Zheng, Y., Li, Y., Xu, R., Zhai, W., Liu, Y., Liu, Y., Cao, P., Ang, E., Zhao, H.*, Yuchi, Z.*,Zhang, Y.* (2020) Two radical-dependent mechanisms for anaerobic degradation of the globally abundant organosulfur compound dihydroxypropanesulfonate. Proc.Nati.Acad. Sci., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2003434117
Samurkas, A., Fan, X., Ma, D., Sundarraj, R., Lin, L., Yao, L., Ma, R., Jiang, H., Cao, P., Gao, Q., and Yuchi, Z. (2020) Discovery of potential species-specific green insecticides targeting lepidopteran ryanodine receptor. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.0c01063
You, M.*, Ke,F.#, You,S.#, Wu, Z.#, Liu, Q.#, He, W.#, Baxter, S.#, Yuchi, Z.#, Vasseur, L.*, Gurr, G.*, Ward, C., Cerda, H., Yang, G., Peng, L., Jin, Y., Xie, M., Cai, L., Douglas, C., Isman, M., Goettel, M., Song, Q., Fan, Q., Wang-Pruski, G., Lees, D., Yue, Z.*, Bai, J., Liu, Y., Lin, L., Zheng, Y., Zeng, Z., Lin, S., Wang, Y., Zhao,Q., Xia, X., Chen, W., Chen, L., Zou, M., Liao, J., Gao, Q., Fang, X., Yin, Y., Yang, H., Wang, J., Han, L., Lin, Y., Lu, Y., and Zhuang, M. (2020) Variation among 532 genomes unveils the origin and evolutionary history of a global insect herbivore. Nature Communications, doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16178-9
Xu., T., and Yuchi, Z. (2019) Crystal structure of diamondback moth ryanodine receptor Repeat34 domain reveals insect-specific phosphorylation sites. BMC Biology, doi: 10.1186/s12915-019-0698-5
Lin, L., Hao, Z., Cao, P, and Yuchi, Z. (2019) Homology modeling and docking study of diamondback moth ryanodine receptor reveals the mechanisms for channel activation, insecticide binding and resistance. Pest Management Science, doi: 10.1002/ps.5640
Haji-Ghassemi, O., Yuchi, Z., and Van Petegem, F. (2019) The Cardiac Ryanodine Receptor Phosphorylation Hot Spot Embraces PKA in a Phosphorylation-Dependent Manner. Molecular Cell., pii: S1097-2765(19)30311-9
Xing, M., Wei, Y., Zhou, Y., Zhang, J., Lin, L., Hu, Y., Hua, G., Nanja, A., Liu, D., Wang, F., Guo, C., Tong, Y., Li, M., Liu, Y., Ang, EL., Zhao, H.*, Yuchi, Z.*, and Zhang, Y.* (2019) Radical-mediated C-S bond cleavage in C2 sulfonate degradation by anaerobic bacteria. Nature Communications., 10:1609
Lin, L., Liu, C., Nayak, BC., He, W., You, M.*, and Yuchi, Z*. (2018) A two-step purification strategy using calmodulin as an affinity tag. J Chromatogr A., 1544, 16-22
Lin, L., Liu, C., Qin, J., Wang, J., Dong, S., Chen, W., He, W., Gao, Q., You, M.*, and Yuchi, Z.* (2018) Crystal structure of ryanodine receptor N-terminal domain from Plutella xylostella reveals two potential species-specific insecticide-targeting sites. Insect Biochem Mol Biol, 92, 73-83
Yuchi, Z., Wong King Yuen, S.M., Lau, K., Underhill, A., Cornea, R., Fessenden, J.D., and Van Petegem, F. (2015) Crystal structures of Ryanodine Receptor SPRY1 and tandem-repeat domains reveal a critical FKBP12 binding determinant. Nature Communications 6:7947