1. Kong Zhaoyu, He Yong, Xue Jiaxiang, Chen Zhaohao, Gui Yongqi, Wu Jiahao, Chen Xiaomeng. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) inoculants enhance the bacterial network connectivity more than non-PGPB in heavy metal-contaminated soil. Frontiers in Plant Science, 16, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1717976

2. Kong Zhaoyu, Li Tao, Glick, Bernard R., Liu Hongguang. Priority effects of inoculation timing of   plant growth-promoting microbial inoculants: role, mechanisms and perspectives. Plant and Soil, 2025,  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-025-07291-z

3. Kong Zhaoyu, Ye J, Pei K, He Y, Wang B, Huang S, Cai Q, Liu Y, Ge G, Wu L. A synthetic bacterial community engineered from Miscanthus floridulus roots enhances ammonia nitrogen removal in ionic rare earth mine tailings. Chemosphere. 2024 Oct 31;367:143650. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143650. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39481489.

4. Kong, Zhaoyu, Zhong, Hui, Jin, Xin, et al., Linking microbial community structure to function underneath moss-dominated biocrusts in rare earth elements mine areas under a subtropical climate. Land Degradation & Development, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.4737.

5. Kong Zhaoyu, Liu Hongguang. Modification of Rhizosphere Microbial Communities: A Possible Mechanism of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria Enhancing Plant Growth and Fitness. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2022, 920813.

6. Zhang, Shan, Hu, Wanjin, Zhong, Hui, Kong, Zhaoyu*, Wu Lan*. Linking bacterial and fungal assemblages to soil nutrient cycling within different aggregate sizes in agroecosystem. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2022. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1038536.

7. Liu H., Hart M., Kong Z.*The distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities at soil aggregate level in subtropical grasslands. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 2021, 1928088.

8. Kong Z, Wu Z, Glick B R, et al. Co-occurrence patterns of microbial communities affected by inoculants of plant growth-promoting bacteria during phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2019, 183(Nov.):109504.1-109504.10.

9. Wu Z^#, Kong Z^#, Lu S., et al., Isolation, characterization and the effect of indigenous heavy metal-resistant plant growth-promoting bacteria on sorghum grown in acid mine drainage polluted soils. The Journal of General and Applied Microbiology, 2019, 65(5):254-264.

10. Kong, Zhaoyu, Hart, Miranda, Liu, Hongguang. Paving the Way from the Lab to the Field: Using Synthetic Microbial Consortia to Produce High-Quality Crops. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2018. DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2018.01465    

11. Kong Z., Kou W., Ma Y., et al., Seasonal dynamics of bacterioplankton community in a large, shallow, highly dynamic freshwater lake. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 2018, 64(11): 786-797

12. Kong, Z.Y*, Glick, B. R. The Role of Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria in Metal Phytoremediation. Advances in Microbial Physiology, 2017, Vol 71, pp. 97-132.

13. Zhaoyu Kong*, Bernard R. Glick. The role of bacteria in Phytoremediation. In: Toshiomi Yoshida (ed) Advances in Bioengineering. Wiley-Blackwell publication. 2017.

14. Zhaoyu Kong, Zhenshan Deng, Bernard R. Glick, Gehong Wei, Minxia Chou. A nodule endophytic plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas and its effects on growth, nodulation and metal uptake in Medicago lupulina under copper stress. Annals of Microbiology, 2016, 67(1):1-10.

15. Kong Z, Glick B R, Duan J, et al. Effects of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase-overproducing Sinorhizobium meliloti on plant growth and copper tolerance of Medicago lupulina. Plant and Soil, 2015, 391(1-2): 383-398.

16. Kong Z, Mohamad O A, Deng Z, et al. Rhizobial symbiosis effect on the growth, metal uptake, and antioxidant responses of Medicago lupulina under copper stress. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2015, 22(16): 12479-12489.