1985年毕业于四川大学生物系生化专业，1985-1991年获中国农科院研究生院生物物理专业理学硕士和农学博士学位。1988,8－1993,8，中国农科院原子能所生物技术室；1993,8－1994,5，法国巴斯德研究所生物技术系博士后，从事联合固氮基因克隆和表达研究；1997,6-1998,4，荷兰瓦赫宁根荷兰农业科学院植保所访问学者，从事基因工程固氮微生物环境释放生物安全评价技术研究
现任中国农业生物技术学会副理事长、中国生物工程学会生物农业分会主任、国家重点研发计划合成生物学重点专项专家组成员、第九届农业农村部肥料登记评审委员会专家，中关村量子生物农业产业技术创新战略联盟理事长和《生物技术进展》杂志主编。

主要从事作物根际联合固氮微生物的功能基因组学、合成生物学研究以及特殊功能微生物基因资源的开发利用。近年来主持国家973计划项目 “生物固氮及相关抗逆模块的人工设计与系统优化”、国家自然科学基金重点课题“根际联合固氮施氏假单胞菌碳氮代谢基因偶联调控的分子机制”，未来生物技术指南项目“人工高效根际生物固氮技术及其田间示范应用”以及国家转基因重大专项课题“抗逆和抗除草剂关键基因克隆及功能验证”等。发表SCI论文80余篇，主编或参编专著5部。获得国内外专利40余项，其中生物抗逆和固氮固氮相关专利成果整体转让高科技企业。

主要论著（*通讯作者）

1. Yan YL, Yang J, Dou YT, Chen M, Ping SZ, Peng J, Lu W, Zhang W, Yao Z, Li H, Liu W, He S, Geng L, Zhang X, Yang F, Yu H, Zhan Y, Li D, Lin ZL, Wang YP, Elmerich C, Lin M*, and Jin Q. 2008. Nitrogen fixation island and rhizosphere competence traits in the genome of root-associated Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 105:7564-7569

2. Li DH, Yan YL, Ping SZ, Chen M, Zhang W, Li L, Lin W, Geng LZ, Liu W, Lu W, and Lin M*. 2010. Genome-wide investigation and functional characterization of the beta-ketoadipate pathway in the nitrogen-fixing and root-associated bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501. BMC Microbiol 10:36

3. Yan, YL, Ping SZ, Peng J, Han Y, Li L, Yang J, Dou YT, Li Y, Fan H, Fan Y, Li DH, Zhan Y, Chen M, Lu W, Zhang W, Cheng Q, Jin Q, and Lin M*. 2010. Global transcriptional analysis of nitrogen fixation and ammonium repression in root-associated Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501. BMC Genomics 11:11

4. Yan YL., Lu W., Chen M., Wang J., Zhang W., Zhang YH., Ping SZ., Elmerich C. and Lin M*. 2013. Genome transcriptome analysis and functional characterization of a nitrogen fixation island in root-associated Pseudomonas stutzeri. In: Fans J. de Bruijn ed. Molecular Microbial Ecology of the Rhizosphere, Volume 2. Wiley-Blackwell. p.853-863

5. Xu YQ, Zhou T, Zhou ZF, Su SY, Roberts SA , Montfort WR., Zeng J, Chen M, Zhang W, Lin M, Zhan JX, Molnar I. 2013. Rational reprogramming of fungal polyketide first ring cyclization. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 110:5398-5403

6. 6、Xu YQ, Zhou T, Zhang SW, Espinosa-Artiles P, Wang LY, Zhang W, Lin M, Leslie Gunatilak AA, Zhan JX, and Molnár I. 2014. Diversity-oriented combinatorial biosynthesis of benzenediol lactone scaffolds by subunit shuffling of fungal polyketide synthases. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 34：12354–12359.

7. Lin M*, Yan YL, Lu W, Zhan YH, Zhang YH, and Elmerich C. 2015. Regulatory coupling of nitrogen and carbon metabolism in nitrogen-fixing Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501. In: Fans J. de Bruijn ed. Biological Nitrogen Fixation, Volume 2. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 109-120

8. Bai J, Lu Y, Xu YM, Zhang W, Chen M, Lin M, Gunatilaka AA, Xu Y, Molnár I. 2016. Diversity-Oriented Combinatorial Biosynthesis of Hybrid Polyketide Scaffolds from Azaphilone and Benzenediol Lactone Biosynthons. Org Lett. 18(6):1262-5.

9. Zhan YH, Yan YY, Deng ZP, Chen M, Lu W, Lu C, Shang LG, Yang ZM, Zhang W, Wang W, Li Y, Ke Q, Lu JS, Xu Y, Zhang LW, Xie ZH, Cheng Q, Elmerich C, Lin M*. 2016. The novel regulatory ncRNA, NfiS, optimizes nitrogen fixation via base pairing with the nitrogenase gene nifK mRNA in Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 30: 4348-4356.

10. Wang J, Guo C, Dai QL, Feng B, Zuo KJ, Lin M*. 2016. Salt tolerance conferred by expression of a global regulator IrrE from Deinococcus radiodurans in oilseed rape. Mol Breeding 36(7):88

11. Yang, ZM, Han YL, Ma Y, Chen QH, Zhan YH, Lu W, Cai L, Hou MS, Chen SF, Yan YL* and Lin M*. 2018. Global investigation of an engineered nitrogen-fixing Escherichia coli strain reveals regulatory coupling between host and heterologous nitrogen-fixation genes. Scientific Reports 8, 10928.

12. Xie LN, Zhang LW, Wang C, Wang XJ, Xu YM, Yue HF, Wu P, Li SL, Han LD, Gunatilaka L, Wei XY, Lin M*, Molnár I*, and Xu YQ*. 2018. Methylglucosylation of aromatic amino and phenolic moieties of drug-like biosynthons by combinatorial biosynthesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 115(22):4980-4989

13. Zhang SW, Heyes DJ, Feng LL, Sun WL, Johannissen LO, Liu HT,  Levy CW, Li XM, Yang J, Yu XL, Lin M, Hardman SJO, Hoeven R, Sakuma M, Hay S, Leys D, Rao ZH, Zhou AW, Cheng Q, Scrutton NS. 2019. Structural basis for light-driven enzyme catalysis in chlorophyll biosynthesis, Nature 574: 722–725.

14. Ke XB, Feng S, Wang J, Lu W, Zhang W, Chen M, Lin M*. 2019. Effect of inoculation with nitrogen-fixing bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501 on maize plant growth and the microbiome indigenous to the rhizosphere. Syst Appl Microbiol. 42(2):248-260.

15. Zhan YH Deng ZP, YL Yan, HY Zhang, C Lu, ZM Yang, LG Shang, Y Huang, FY Lv, YQ Liu, YH Liu, SS Wang, SF Chen, XX Zhang, Q Cheng*, Lin M*. 2019. NfiR, a new regulatory noncoding RNA (ncRNA), is required in concert with the NfiS ncRNA for optimal expression of nitrogenase genes in Pseudomonas stutzeri A1501. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 85(14): e00762-19

16. Zhang HY, Zhan YH, YY Yan, YH Liu, GH Hu, SS Wang, H Yang, XM Qiu, YQ Liu, J Li, W Lu, C Elmerich, Lin M*. 2019. The Pseudomonas stutzeri-specific regulatory noncoding RNA NfiS targets katB mRNA encoding a catalase essential for optimal oxidative resistance and nitrogenase activity. J Bacteriol. 201:e00334-19.

17. Wang X, C Wang, L Duan, Zhang L, Liu H, Xu YM, Liu Q, Mao T, Zhang W, Chen M, Lin M, AAL Gunatilaka, Y Xu, I Molnár. 2019. Rational Reprogramming of O-Methylation Regioselectivity for Combinatorial Biosynthetic Tailoring of Benzenediol Lactone Scaffolds. J Am Chem Soc. 141(10):4355-4364.

18. Zhang QZ, Liang MJ, YY Liu, Yang CX, Zeng JL, Qin JB, Lan XZ, Lin M, Chen M, Wang J, Liao ZH. 2021. Development of homozygous transgenic Atropa belladonna plants with glyphosate resistance and high-yield scopolamine using metabolic engineering. Industrial Crops & Products 171: 113953.

19. Shang LG, Yan YL, Zhan YH, XB Ke, Shao YH, YQ Liu, H Yang, SH Wang, SL Dai, JS Lu, Yan N, Yang ZM, Lu W, Liu Z, Chen SC, Elemerich C, Lin M*. 2021. A regulatory network involving Rpo, Gac and Rsm for nitrogen-fixing biofilm formation by Pseudomonas stutzeri, npj Biofilms and Microbiomes 7(1):54.

20. Zhang Q, Liang M, Zeng J, Yang C, Qin J, Qiang W, Lan X, Chen M, Lin M, Liao Z. 2022. Engineering tropane alkaloid production and glyphosate resistance by overexpressing AbCaM1 and G2-EPSPS in Atropa belladonna. Metab Eng. 72:237-246.

21. Wang C, Xiao D, Dun B, Yin M, Tsega AS, Xie L, Li W, Yue Q, Wang S, Gao H, Lin M, Zhang L, Molnár I, Xu Y. Chemometrics and genome mining reveal an unprecedented family of sugar acid-containing fungal nonribosomal cyclodepsipeptides. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2022; 119(32):e2123379119.

22. Lv FY, Zhang YH, Lu W, Ke XB, Shao YH, Ma YY, Zheng J, Yang ZM, Jiang SS, Shang LG, Ma Y, Cheng L, Elmerich C, Yan YL*, Lin M*. Regulation of hierarchical carbon substrate utilization, nitrogen fixation, and root colonization by the Hfq/Crc/CrcZY genes in Pseudomonas stutzeri. iScience. (2022), 25(12),105663.