Wenqing Shi

Wenqing Shi is a Researcher in the Marine Symbioses unit at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany, specializing in marine microbial ecology.

Education:

• M.Sc. Marine Biology, Xiamen University (2021-2024)
• B.Sc. Marine Science, Ocean University of China (2017-2021)

Her research employs multi-omics approaches to investigate phage-bacteria interactions and host-microbe coevolution in extreme environments. She examines how eco-evolutionary dynamics shape microbial communities in deep-sea habitats, with implications for understanding antibiotic resistance emergence and pathogenicity risks in ocean ecosystems.

Her 2025 mSystems publication analyzes deep-sea cold seep microorganisms, revealing horizontal gene transfer pathways for antibiotic resistance. This work demonstrates how extreme marine environments serve as reservoirs for resistance genes with potential ecological and human health impacts.

Shi actively engages in science communication through popular science posters (2021-2024) and is contactable at wshi@geomar.de.