•  Ph.D. Fisheries Science- Ocean University of China, 2010
•  B.S. Fisheries Science - Ocean University of China, 2005

Research Experience:

•  2013 - 2017, Post-doc, Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, Rutgers University
•  2010 - 2013, Assistant Professor, Marine Biology Institute of Shandong Province,
  China

Research Interests:
Dr. Ming Liu joined PEARL in 2017 and currently leads the shellfish aquaculture
program, addressing the specific needs of Maryland’s aquaculture industry. His
research focuses on:
(1) Improving the economic traits of aquaculture species through genetic breeding
approaches, including polyploidy technology, marker-assisted selection, and
genomic selection.
(2) Developing breeding and culture techniques for new aquaculture species with
potential commercial value.
In addition to aquaculture, Dr. Liu’s interests extend to population genetics,
phylogenetics and the evolution of marine fish and shellfish.

Selected Publications:

•  Brianik, C.J., Espinosa, E.P., Liu, M., Topping, P., Rivara, G., Guo, X., Proestou, D.
  and Allam, B., 2025. Triploid eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) display high
  susceptibility to microbial infections but only during early ontogenetic stages.
  Aquaculture, 595, p.741613.
• Puritz, J.B., Guo, X., Hare, M., He, Y., Hillier, L.W., Jin, S., Liu, M., Lotterhos, K.E.,Minx, P., Modak, T. and Proestou, D., 2024. A second unveiling: Haplotig masking of
  the eastern oyster genome improves population‐level inference. Molecular Ecology
  Resources, 24(1), p.e13801.
•  Liu, M., Wolfe-Bryant, B., Farrington, J., Wolfe-Bryant, L. & Knoche, S. Development
  of genetic breeding to improve the eastern oysters’ growth and survival in Maryland
  low-salinity waters. Aquaculture America 2024, San Antonio, Feb 18 - 21, 2024.
•  Liu, M., Wolfe-Bryant, B., Farrington, J., Wolfe-Bryant, L. & Knoche, S. Development
  of the soft-shell clam aquaculture in Maryland waters. National Shellfisheries
  Association 116th Annual Meeting, Charlotte, March 17 – 21, 2024.
• Borsum, S., Parsaeimehr, A., Fuoco, M., Liu, M., Guo, X., Gaffney, P. and Ozbay,
  G., 2024. Population Genetics of Delaware Inland Bays Oysters: A Case Study on
  Hatchery-Stocked Oyster Gardening. Journal of Shellfish Research, 43(2), pp.229-
  237.
• Liu, M., Wolfe-Bryant, B., Farrington, J., & Wolfe-Bryant, L. Genomic selection
  models for the eastern oyster’s growth and survival traits in low salinity water.
  National Shellfisheries Association 115th Annual meeting, Baltimore, March 26 – 30,
  2023.
• Guo, X., Puritz, J.B., Wang, Z., Proestou, D., Allen Jr, S., Small, J., Verbyla, K.,
  Zhao, H., Haggard, J., Chriss, N., Zeng, D., Lundgren, K., Allam, B., Bushek, D.,
  Gomez-Chiarri, M., Hare, M., Hollenbeck, C., La Peyre, J., Liu, M., Lotterhos, K.,
  Plough, L., Rawson, P., Rikard, S., Saillant, E., Varney, R., Wikfors, G., and Wilbur.,
  A. 2023. Development and evaluation of high-density SNP arrays for the Eastern
  oyster Crassostrea virginica. Marine Biotechnology, 25(1), pp.174-191.
•  Bhatt, S., Fan, C., Liu, M. and Wolfe-Bryant, B., 2023. Effect of High-Density
  Polyethylene Microplastics on the Survival and Development of Eastern Oyster
  (Crassostrea virginica) Larvae. International Journal of Environmental Research and
  Public Health, 20(12), p.6142.
•  Liu, M., Ge, S., Bhandari, S., Fan, C., Jiao, Y., Gai, C., Wang, Y. and Liu, H., 2022.
  Genome characterization and comparative analysis among three swimming crab
  species. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, p.895119.
•  Wang, L., Song, J., Bi, H., Gray, M., Fan, C., Liu, M. and Mao, X.Z., 2020. Adaptive
  feeding in the American oyster Crassostrea virginica: Complex impacts of pulsatile
  flow during pseudofecal ejection events. Limnology and Oceanography, 65(9),
  pp.2010-2023.
•  Jiao, Y., Cao, Y., Zheng, Z., Liu, M. and Guo, X., 2019. Massive expansion and
  diversity of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in lophotrochozoans. BMC
  genomics, 20, pp.1-15.
•  Thongda, W., Zhao, H., Zhang, D., Jescovitch, L.N., Liu, M., Guo, X., Schrandt, M.,
  Powers, S.P. and Peatman, E., 2018. Development of SNP panels as a new tool to
  assess the genetic diversity, population structure, and parentage analysis of the
  eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica). Marine biotechnology, 20, pp.385-395.
•  Liu, M., and Guo, X. 2017. A novel and stress adaptive alternative oxidase derived
  from alternative splicing of duplicated exon in oyster Crassostrea virginica. Scientific
  Reports, 7(1), 10785.
• Song, N., Liu, M., Yanagimoto, T., Sakurai, Y., Han, Z., and Gao, T. 2016. Restricted Gene Flow for Gadus macrocephalus from Yellow Sea Based on Microsatellite Markers: Geographic Block of Tsushima Current. International journal of molecularsciences, 17(4), 467. Liu, Y., Yu, D., Wang, Q., Liu, H., Guan, S., and Liu, M. 2016. Isolation and
  characterization of novel polymorphic microsatellite loci in Perinereis aibuhitensis.
  Genetics and molecular research: GMR, 15(1).
• Tu, Z., Liu, M., Wang, Y., Xu, S., Song, N., Gao, T., and Han, Z. 2016. The low
  mitochondrial diversities in lizardfish Saurida elongate: Recent population expansion
  and selection. Biochemical systematics and ecology, 68, 44-50.
•  Zhang, Z., Zhang, N., Liu, M., and Gao, T. 2016. The complete mitochondrial
  genome of Coilia grayii (Clupeiformes: Engraulidae). Mitochondrial DNA Part A,
  27(5), 3175-3176.
•  Liu, M., Lin, L., Gao, T., Yanagimoto, T., Sakurai, Y., & Grant, W. S. 2012. What
  maintains the central North Pacific genetic discontinuity in Pacific herring? PLoS
  One, 7(12), e50340.
•  Grant, W. S., Liu, M., Gao, T., and Yanagimoto, T. 2012. Limits of Bayesian skyline
  plot analysis of mtDNA sequences to infer historical demographies in Pacific herring
  (and other species). Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 65(1), 203-212.
•  Liu, H., Liu, M., Ge, S., Wang, Q., Yu, D., and Guan, S. 2012. Population structuring
  and historical demography of a common clam worm Perinereris aibuhitensis near
  the coasts of Shandong Peninsula. Biochemical systematics and ecology, 44, 70-78.
•  Liu, M., Lu, Z., Gao, T., Yanagimoto, T., and Sakurai, Y. 2010. Remarkably low
  mtDNA control‐region diversity and shallow population structure in Pacific cod
  Gadus macrocephalus. Journal of fish biology, 77(5), 1071-1082.

All articles published by Dr. Liu can be found on his Google Scholar profile.