Xiongjie Zheng is interested in the key enzymes required for biosynthesis of important carotenoids and apocarotenoids. He is keen to understand the genetic and evolutionary basis of apocarotenoids and their derived plant hormones or signaling molecule diversity. Zheng researches plant metabolic engineering for producing high value carotenoid and apocarotenoid compounds. 

• LC-MS-based profiling provides new insights into apocarotenoid biosynthesis and modifications in citrus fruit, Xiongjie Zheng, Jianing Mi, Xiuxin Deng, Salim Al-Babili, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2021, 69(6): 1842-1851.
• Carotenoid Biofortification of Crops in the CRISPR Era, Xiongjie Zheng, Hendrik N.J. Kuijer, Salim Al-Babili, Trends in Biotechnology, 2020.
• Carotenoid biofortification in crop plants: citius, altius, fortius. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, Xiongjie Zheng, Giovanni Giuliano, Salim Al-Babili, 2020.
• Natural Variation in CCD4 Promoter Underpins Species-specific Evolution of Red Coloration in Citrus Peel, Xiongjie Zheng, Kaijie Zhu, Quan Sun, Weiyi Zhang, Xia Wang, Hongbo Cao, Meilian Tan, Zongzhou Xie, Yunliu Zeng, Junli Ye, Lijun Chai, Qiang Xu1, Zhiyong Pan, Shunyuan Xiao, Paul D. Fraser, Xiuxin Deng, Molecular Plant, 2019, 12, 1294-1307.
• SLAF-based construction of a high-density genetic map and its application in QTL mapping of carotenoids content in citrus fruit, Xiongjie Zheng, Yuqing Tang, Junli Ye, Zhiyong Pan, Meilian Tan, Zongzhou Xie, Lijun Chai, Qiang Xu, Paul D. Fraser, Xiuxin Deng,  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2019, 67, 994-1002.
• Genome sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of an early flowering Mini‐Citrus (Fortunella hindsii), Chenqiao Zhu, Xiongjie Zheng, Yue Huang, Junli Ye, Peng Chen, Chenglei Zhang, Fei Zhao et al.,  Plant Biotechnology Journal, 2019, 17, no. 11: 2199-2210.

• PhD, Molecular biology and genetics, Huazhong Agricultural University, China, 2018

• 2019-present: Postdoctoral Fellow, KAUST, Saudi Arabia 

• Professor Salim Al-Babili's group
• Center for Desert Agriculture (CDA)
• Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE)