Jiayu Li

Dr Jiayu Li

Postdoc research fellow

School of Agriculture, Food and Wine

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

I am a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Adelaide, focusing on plant–microbiome interactions and their roles in improving crop resilience and productivity. My research integrates soil microbiome ecology, metagenomics, and whole-genome analyses to unravel the complex relationships between plants and their associated microbial communities.
I am particularly interested in understanding how wheat responds to drought stress through microbial recruitment and functional adaptation. My work also explores the development and application of microbial inoculants as sustainable strategies to enhance plant health, yield, and stress tolerance.
By combining field studies, high-throughput sequencing, and computational approaches, my research aims to bridge fundamental microbial ecology with applied agricultural solutions that contribute to climate-resilient and sustainable farming systems.

My research focuses on plant–microbiome interactions and the ecological mechanisms through which microbial communities influence crop performance under stress. I am particularly interested in how plants recruit and assemble beneficial microbes, and how microbial inoculants and synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) can be harnessed to enhance agricultural resilience.

Key Work and Research Achievements 

  1. Meta-analysis of microbial inoculants
    Conducted a global meta-analysis of studies published over the last decade, showing that 54% of yield gains from microbial inoculants are due to stress mitigation in crops (Li et al., 2022). This was the first quantitative demonstration that the primary mechanism of microbial inoculants lies in yield enhancement, providing a foundation for future microbial product development.
  2. Bacillus as a keystone species under drought
    Discovered the ecological mechanism enabling Bacillus to successfully colonize the wheat rhizosphere during drought stress, identifying it as a keystone species in soil microbial interaction networks (Li et al., 2023).
  3. Wheat microbiome response to drought
    Revealed how wheat-associated microbial communities respond structurally and functionally to drought stress, identifying the proline metabolic pathway as a key route for recruiting drought-resistant microorganisms. Several growth-promoting strains with potential application were also isolated (Cell Host & Microbe, Li et al., 2025).
  4. Microbiomes and SynComs in biotic stress resistance
    Uncovered ecological mechanisms by which crop microbiomes and synthetic microbial communities strengthen wheat resistance to biotic stress.

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2025 Li, J., Liu, H., Wang, J., Macdonald, C. A., Singh, P., Cong, V. T., . . . Singh, B. K. (2025). Drought-induced plant microbiome and metabolic enrichments improve drought resistance. Cell Host & Microbe, 33(6), 882-900.e7.
    DOI
    2023 Li, J., Wang, J., Liu, H., Macdonald, C. A., & Singh, B. K. (2023). Microbial inoculants with higher capacity to colonize soils improved wheat drought tolerance. Microbial Biotechnology, 16(11), 2131-2144.
    DOI
    2023 Liu, H., Wang, J., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Zhang, H., Li, J., & Singh, B. K. (2023). Crop microbiome responses to pathogen colonisation regulate the host plant defence. Plant and Soil, 488(1-2), 393-410.
    DOI
    2022 Li, J., Wang, J., Liu, H., Macdonald, C. A., & Singh, B. K. (2022). Application of microbial inoculants significantly  enhances crop productivity: A meta‐analysis of studies from 2010 to 2020. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, 1(3), 216-225.
    DOI
    2022 Liu, H., Qiu, Z., Ye, J., Verma, J. P., Li, J., & Singh, B. K. (2022). Effective colonisation by a bacterial synthetic community promotes plant growth and alters soil microbial community. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, 1(1), 30-42.
    DOI
    2021 Liu, H., Li, J., Carvalhais, L. C., Percy, C. D., Prakash Verma, J., Schenk, P. M., & Singh, B. K. (2021). Evidence for the plant recruitment of beneficial microbes to suppress soil-borne pathogens. New Phytologist, 229(5), 2873-2885.
    DOI Scopus307 WoS278
    2019 LI Jiayu, 李., LIN Jiayi, 林., PEI Chenyu, 裴., HUANG Lin, 黄., HUANG Ruizhou, 黄., & TANG Guangda, 唐. (2019). Diversity and structure of the soil arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community are altered by <i>Eucalyptus</i> plantations. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 39(8).
    DOI
    - Li, J., Lin, J., Pei, C., Lai, K., Jeffries, T. C., & Tang, G. (2018). Variation of soil bacterial communities along a chronosequence of <i>Eucalyptus</i> plantation. PeerJ, 6, e5648.
    DOI
    - TANG, G. -D., HUANG, L. I. N., LI, J. -Y., HE, Z. -L., & ZHANG, L. -B. (2017). Polystichum hastipinnum (subg. Haplopolystichum; Dryopteridaceae), a new cave fern from Guangdong, China. Phytotaxa, 309(1), 66.
    DOI
    - Li, J., Tang, G., Liu, H., Luo, X., & Wang, J. (2025). Characterizing the microbiome recruited by the endangered plant Firmiana danxiaensis in phosphorus-deficient acidic soil. Frontiers in Microbiology, 15.
    DOI
    - Liu, H., Li, J., & Singh, B. K. (2024). Harnessing co-evolutionary interactions between plants and Streptomyces to combat drought stress. Nature Plants, 10(8), 1159-1171.
    DOI
  • Position: Postdoc research fellow
  • Email: jiayu.li02@adelaide.edu.au
  • Campus: Waite
  • Building: Waite Building, floor Lower Ground
  • Room: LG10
  • Org Unit: School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
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