Xiaolei Liu

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Xiaolei Liu

Norman R. Gelphman Chair

Associate Professor

xlliu@ou.edu

Sarkeys Energy Center, 810D

Xiaolei Liu's Website
Xiaolei Liu's CV (pdf)

About

Understanding the diversity of microbial activities in the environment is a fundamental target of geobiological research. Lipid biomarkers can serve as robust molecular tracers to study the composition of microorganisms and their metabolisms. To make lipid biomarkers the powerful tool of geobiological study, my research will focus on 1) developing efficient analytical protocols to detect, identify and quantify lipid biomarkers in various samples; 2) understanding the biological sources, transportation and preservation of lipids in sediment records; 3) demonstrating the biosynthetic pathways and biological function of lipids.

Education

Ph.D., 2011, Organic Geochemistry, MARUM, University of Bremen, Germany
M.Sc., 2007, Palaeontology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
B.S., 2003, Ecology and Environmental Microbiology, Shandong University, China

Research Interests

Geobiology
Lipid Biomarkers
Origins of Life

Courses Taught

Organic Geochemistry
Physical Geology

Selected Publications

Liu, X.-L., 2023. Streamlined arsenolipid identification via direct arsenic detection using RPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS with collision-induced dissociation. Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry. https://doi.org/10.1021/jasms.3c00367
Parks, D., Liu, X.-L., 2023. Distributions of vanadyl and nickel porphyrins in the Woodford Shale and selective chelation of metal species by different tetrapyrrole configurations. Organic Geochemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orggeochem.2023.104693
Connock, G.T., Liu, X.-L., 2023. Tocopherols and associated derivatives track the phytoplanktonic response to evolving pelagic redox conditions spanning Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. Geobiology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12570
Liu, X.-L., 2023. Collision induced dissociation as ‘mass spectrometric filter’ for rapid screening of tetrapyrrole derivatives and their chelated metal species in complex biological and environmental samples. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.9413
Connock, G.T., Owens, J.D., Liu, X.-L., 2022. Biotic induction and microbial ecological dynamics of Oceanic Anoxic Event 2. Communications Earth & Environment, 3, 136, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00466-x.
Cui, X., Liu, X.-L., Shen, G., Ma, J., Husain, F., Rocher, D., Zumberge, J.E., Bryant, D.A., Liu, X., 2020. Niche expansion for phototrophic sulfur bacteria at the Proterozoic–Phanerozoic transition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, 17599–17606.
Zeng, Z., Liu, X.-L., Farley, K.R., Wei, J.H., Metcalf, W.W., Summons, R.E., Welander, P.V., 2019. GDGT cyclization proteins identify the dominant archaeal sources of tetraether lipids in the ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, 22505–22511. (co-first author with equal contributions)
Liu, X.-L., Russell, D.A., Bonfio, C., Summons, R.E., 2019. Glycerol configurations of environmental GDGTs investigated using a selective sn2 ether cleavage protocol. Organic Geochemistry, 128, 57 –62.
Liu X.-L., Birgel D., Elling F., Sutton P.A., Lipp J.S., Zhu R., Zhang C., Könneke M., Peckmann J., Rowland S.J., Summons R.E., Hinrichs K.-U., 2016. From ether to acid: a plausible degradation pathway of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 183, 138–152.
Liu, X.-L., Lipp, J.S., Simpson, J.H., Lin, Y.-S. Summons, R.E., Hinrichs, K.-U., 2012. Mono- and dihydroxyl Glycerol Dibiphytanyl Glycerol Tetraethers in marine sediments: identification of both core and intact polar lipid forms. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 89, 102-115.

School of Geosciences
Sarkeys Energy Center
100 East Boyd Street, RM 710
Norman, Oklahoma 73019
Phone: (405) 325-3253

Updated 12/2/2024 by School of Geosciences: geology@ou.edu