Research Interests

I am tranined as a biogeochemist and microbial ecologist. My research interests focus on microbial processes involved in carbon and nitrogen cycling, as well as on the mechanisms controlling the production and consumption of climate-relevant gases, particularly CH₄, in both freshwater lakes and coastal systems such as mangrove wetlands. My research seeks to answer the following questions: (i) What governs the rates and metabolic pathways of methanogenesis and anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM)? (ii) How do key microbial lineages, e.g., Candidatus Methanoperedens, mediate AOM via their intracellular metabolic processes? (iii) How are these processes responding to climate change and anthropogenic activities, and what determines whether systems act as methane sinks or sources? To address these questions, I integrate a multidisciplinary toolkit, including radioisotope-based rate quantification, stable isotope geochemistry, pore-water and sediment biogeochemistry, incubation assays, organic geochemistry, microbial community analyses, and multi-omics approaches (metagenomics and metatranscriptomics).

Education and Professional Experience

• August 2024 – present: Research Associate, Department of Environmental Sciences, Biogeochemistry Group, University of Basel, Switzerland
• May 2022 – April 2024: Postdoctoral Researcher, State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Xiamen University, China
• October 2020 – August 2021: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Environmental Sciences, Biogeochemistry Group, University of Basel, Switzerland
• May 2019 – September 2020: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Surface Waters Research and Management, Eawag, Switzerland
• January 2019 – April 2019: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Environmental Sciences, Biogeochemistry Group, University of Basel, Switzerland
• November 2014 – December 2018: PhD in Biogeochemistry (CSC fellowship), University of Basel, Switzerland
• September 2012 – July 2014: MSc in Environmental Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, China
• September 2008 – July 2012: BSc in Environmental Engineering, Fuzhou University, China

Publications

(10) Jana Tischer*, Moritz F. Lehmann, Guangyi Su, Fabio Lepori, Jakob Zopfi*. Microbial nitrogen removal and recycling in the redox transition zone of a meromictic lake and its coupling to sulfur cycling. Limnology and Oceanography, 2026, 71, e70315. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.70315

(9) Guangyi Su, Julie Tolu, Clemens Glombitza, Jakob Zopfi, Moritz F. Lehmann, Mark A. Lever, Carsten J. Schubert. Methanogenesis by CO₂ reduction dominates lake sediments with different organic matter compositions. Biogeosciences, 2025, 22, 4449–4466. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4449-2025

(8) Maider J. Echeveste Medrano, Guangyi Su, Lucas A. Blattner, Mike S. M. Jetten, Cornelia U. Welte, Jakob Zopfi. Methanotrophic flexibility of “Ca. Methanoperedens” and its interactions with sulfate-reducing bacteria in the sediment of meromictic Lake Cadagno. Environmental Microbiology, 2025, 27, 1–14. doi: 10.1111/1462-2920.70133. 

(7) Guangyi Su, Zhenli Guo, Yuxing Hu, Qiang Zheng, Jakob Zopfi, Moritz F. Lehmann, Nianzhi Jiao. Tidal control on aerobic methane oxidation and mitigation of methane emissions from coastal mangrove sediments. Environmental Research, 2024, 263, 120049. https://doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.120049

(6) Guangyi Su, Moritz F. Lehmann, Jana Tischer, Yuki Weber, Fabio Lepori, Jean-Claude Walser, Helge Niemann, Jakob Zopfi*. Water column dynamics control nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation by Candidatus ‘Methylomirabilis’ in stratified lake basins. The ISME Journal, 2023, 17, 693-702. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-023-01382-4

(5) Guangyi Su, Jakob Zopfi, Helge Niemann, Moritz F. Lehmann. Multiple groups of methanotrophic bacteria mediate methane oxidation in anoxic lake sediments. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2022, 13, 864630. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.864630 

(4) Jasmine S. Berg*, Mathilde Lepine, Emile Laymand, Xingguo Han, Hendrik Vogel, Marina A. Morlock, Niroshan Gajendra, Adrian Gilli, Stefano M. Bernasconi, Carsten J. Schubert, Guangyi Su, Mark A. Lever. Ancient and modern geochemical signatures in the 13,500-year sedimentary record of Lake Cadagno. Frontiers in Earth Science, 2022, 9, 754888. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.754888

(3) Guangyi Su, Jakob Zopfi, Haoyi Yao, Lea Steinle, Helge Niemann, Moritz F. Lehmann. Manganese/iron-supported sulfate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane by archaea in lake sediments. Limnology and Oceanography, 2020, 65, 863-875. doi.org/10.1002/lno.11354

(2) Guangyi Su, Helge Niemann, Lea Steinle, Jakob Zopfi, Moritz F. Lehmann. Evaluating radioisotope-based approaches to measure anaerobic methane oxidation rates in lacustrine sediments. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 2019, 17, 429-438. doi: 10.1002/lom3.10323.

(1) Fangang Meng, Guangyi Su, Yifang Hu, Hui Lu, Linan Huang, Guanghao Chen. Improving nitrogen removal in an ANAMMOX reactor using a permeable reactive biobarrier. Water Research, 2014, 58, 82-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.03.049