World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Award Badge
Ecology and Evolution
China
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
100
Citations
37525
World Ranking
278
National Ranking
5

Microbiology

D-Index
100
Citations
36346
World Ranking
409
National Ranking
14

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in China Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in China Leader Award
  • 2023 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in China Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in China Leader Award

Overview

Zhili He is affiliated with Sun Yat-sen University in China. Their research primarily focuses on environmental science and biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, with extensive work published in these fields.

The scientist's core subfields of study include ecology, molecular biology, pollution, environmental chemistry, and health, toxicology, and mutagenesis. Their research topics center mainly on microbial community ecology and physiology, gut microbiota and health, wastewater treatment and nitrogen removal, coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics, protist diversity and phylogeny, pharmaceutical and antibiotic environmental impacts, and methane hydrates and related phenomena.

Zhili He has contributed numerous scholarly articles across several publication venues. The most frequent venues for their publications are:

  • The Science of The Total Environment
  • Journal of Hazardous Materials
  • Frontiers in Microbiology
  • Microbiome
  • Environmental Science & Technology

Their recent papers include:

  • Small and mighty: adaptation of superphylum Patescibacteria to groundwater environment drives their genome simplicity (2020, Microbiome)
  • Ecological stability of microbial communities in Lake Donghu regulated by keystone taxa (2022, Ecological Indicators)
  • Microbial sulfur metabolism and environmental implications (2021, The Science of The Total Environment)
  • Alkaline phosphatase activity mediates soil organic phosphorus mineralization in a subalpine forest ecosystem (2021, Geoderma)
  • Bacteria-driven phthalic acid ester biodegradation: Current status and emerging opportunities (2021, Environment International)

Zhili He frequently collaborates with several coauthors, including:

  • Qingyun Yan
  • Longfei Shu
  • Bo Wu
  • Yu Huang
  • Fanshu Xiao

Best Publications

  • Molecular ecological network analyses

    Ye Deng;Yi-Huei Jiang;Yunfeng Yang;Zhili He

  • The interconnected rhizosphere: High network complexity dominates rhizosphere assemblages

    Shengjing Shi;Shengjing Shi;Erin E. Nuccio;Erin E. Nuccio;Zhou J. Shi;Zhili He

  • Functional Molecular Ecological Networks

    Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Ye Deng;Feng Luo;Zhili He

  • Phylogenetic Molecular Ecological Network of Soil Microbial Communities in Response to Elevated CO2

    Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Ye Deng;Feng Luo;Zhili He

  • Stochasticity, succession, and environmental perturbations in a fluidic ecosystem

    Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Ye Deng;Ye Deng;Ping Zhang;Kai Xue

  • Global diversity and biogeography of bacterial communities in wastewater treatment plants

    Linwei Wu;Daliang Ning;Bing Zhang;Yong Li

  • GeoChip: a comprehensive microarray for investigating biogeochemical, ecological and environmental processes

    Zhili He;Terry J Gentry;Terry J Gentry;Christopher W Schadt;Liyou Wu;Liyou Wu

  • Microbial mediation of carbon-cycle feedbacks to climate warming

    Jizhong Zhou;Kai Xue;Jianping Xie;Jianping Xie;Ye Deng

  • Temperature mediates continental-scale diversity of microbes in forest soils

    Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Ye Deng;Ye Deng;Lina Shen;Chongqing Wen

  • Reproducibility and quantitation of amplicon sequencing-based detection

    Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Liyou Wu;Ye Deng;Xiaoyang Zhi

  • Biodiversity and species competition regulate the resilience of microbial biofilm community.

    Kai Feng;Zhaojing Zhang;Zhaojing Zhang;Weiwei Cai;Weiwei Cai;Wenzong Liu

  • Network succession reveals the importance of competition in response to emulsified vegetable oil amendment for uranium bioremediation.

    Ye Deng;Ye Deng;Ping Zhang;Yujia Qin;Qichao Tu

  • High-Throughput Metagenomic Technologies for Complex Microbial Community Analysis: Open and Closed Formats

    Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Zhili He;Yunfeng Yang;Ye Deng;Ye Deng

  • NCycDB: a curated integrative database for fast and accurate metagenomic profiling of nitrogen cycling genes.

    Qichao Tu;Lu Lin;Lei Cheng;Ye Deng

  • Metagenomic insights into evolution of a heavy metal-contaminated groundwater microbial community

    Christopher L Hemme;Ye Deng;Terry J Gentry;Terry J Gentry;Matthew W Fields

  • GeoChip 3.0 as a high-throughput tool for analyzing microbial community composition, structure and functional activity

    Zhili He;Ye Deng;Joy D Van Nostrand;Qichao Tu

  • Tundra soil carbon is vulnerable to rapid microbial decomposition under climate warming

    Kai Xue;Kai Xue;Mengting M. Yuan;Zhou J. Shi;Yujia Qin

  • Small and mighty: adaptation of superphylum Patescibacteria to groundwater environment drives their genome simplicity

    Renmao Tian;Daliang Ning;Zhili He;Ping Zhang

  • Climate warming leads to divergent succession of grassland microbial communities

    Xue Guo;Jiajie Feng;Zhou Shi;Xishu Zhou;Xishu Zhou

  • Stochastic assembly leads to alternative communities with distinct functions in a bioreactor microbial community.

    Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Jizhong Zhou;Wenzong Liu;Wenzong Liu;Ye Deng;Yi-Huei Jiang

  • Metagenomic analysis reveals a marked divergence in the structure of belowground microbial communities at elevated CO2

    Zhili He;Meiying Xu;Ye Deng;Sanghoon Kang

  • The microbial gene diversity along an elevation gradient of the Tibetan grassland

    Yunfeng Yang;Ying Gao;Shiping Wang;Depeng Xu

  • Microbial gene functions enriched in the Deepwater Horizon deep-sea oil plume

    Zhenmei Lu;Zhenmei Lu;Ye Deng;Joy D Van Nostrand;Zhili He

Frequent Co-Authors

Jizhong Zhou
Jizhong Zhou University of Oklahoma
Joy D. Van Nostrand
Joy D. Van Nostrand University of Oklahoma
Ye Deng
Ye Deng Chinese Academy of Sciences
Liyou Wu
Liyou Wu University of Oklahoma
Terry C. Hazen
Terry C. Hazen University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Adam P. Arkin
Adam P. Arkin Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Yunfeng Yang
Yunfeng Yang Tsinghua University
Kai Xue
Kai Xue Chinese Academy of Sciences
Judy D. Wall
Judy D. Wall University of Missouri
Matthew W. Fields
Matthew W. Fields Montana State University

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring Ecology and Evolution can open doors to diverse career paths, especially when paired with in-demand skills from related online degrees. For those seeking roles that combine science and community service, online msw programs are an excellent way to apply ecological knowledge to social welfare and public policy.

Professionals interested in human behavior and environmental psychology may consider a fast track masters in psychology to enhance their qualifications. Accelerated options allow for quicker entry into fields that address both natural and psychological aspects of human communities.

Those who aspire to support individuals and groups dealing with ecological or social change can explore a masters degree in counseling online. This pathway bridges the gap between environmental change and mental health.

If you're interested in the intersection of ecology, law, and justice, learning how much does a forensic psychologist make can help you plan a lucrative career in forensic psychology with an ecological perspective.

Best Scientists Citing Zhili He

Trending Scientists

Recently Published Articles