长期以鱼类为研究对象，在鱼类基因组进化和适应辐射领域取得了系列研究进展。包括：：1）发现基部辐鳍鱼类已经具备从水生到陆生环境适应的基因元件；2）揭示骨鳔鱼类从海水向淡水环境适应的分子机制；3）阐明鱼类适应青藏高原极端环境的趋同进化及裂腹鱼类同域物种形成的遗传基础。申请人以第一或通讯作者（含共同）发表论文35篇，包括Cell，Molecular Biology and Evolution，Systematic Biology，National Science Review，Molecular Ecology，Molecular Ecology Resources，Communications Biology，Genome Biology and Evolution等国际学术刊物。受邀担任国际期刊BMC Biology与BMC Genomics的编辑。长期担任Molecular Biology and Evolution、The Innovation、BMC biology、Molecular Ecology Resources、Genome biology and evolution、BMC Evolutionary Biology、BMC Genomics、生物多样性、水生生物学报等刊物的审稿人。

代表性论文：

1．Xupeng Bi^#, Kun Wang^#, Liandong Yang^#, Hailin Pan^#, Haifeng Jiang^#, Qiwei Wei^#, Miaoquan Fang, Hao Yu, Chenglong Zhu, Yiran Cai, Yuming He, Xiaoni Gan, Honghui Zeng, Daqi Yu, Youan Zhu, Huifeng Jiang, Qiang Qiu, Huanming Yang, Yong E. Zhang, Wen Wang*, Min Zhu*, Shunping He*, and Guojie Zhang*, Tracing the genetic footprints of vertebrate landing in non-teleost ray-finned fishes. Cell, 2021, 184 (5), 1377-1391.

2．Kun Wang^#, Jun Wang^#, Chenglong Zhu^#, Liandong Yang^#, Yandong Ren^#, Jue Ruan^#, Guangyi Fan^#, Jiang Hu^#, Wenjie Xu, Xupeng Bi, Youan Zhu, Yue Song, Huatao Chen, Tiantian Ma, Ruoping Zhao, Haifeng Jiang, Bin Zhang, Chenguang Feng, Yuan Yuan, Xiaoni Gan, Yongxin Li, Honghui Zeng, Qun Liu, Yaolei Zhang, Feng Shao, Shijie Hao, He Zhang, Xun Xu, Xin Liu, Depeng Wang, Min Zhu, Guojie Zhang, Wenming Zhao*, Qiang Qiu*, Shunping He*, and Wen Wang*, African lungfish genome sheds light on the vertebrate water-to-land transition. Cell, 2021, 184 (5), 1362-1376.

3．Yuting Qian^#, Minghui Meng^#, Chaowei Zhou^#, Haiping Liu*, Haifeng Jiang, Youwei Xu, Wenjun Chen Zufa Ding, Yang Liu, Xiong Gong, Cheng Wang, Yi Lei, Tai Wang, Ying Wang, Xiaoni Gan, Axel Meyer, Shunping He*, and Liandong Yang*, The role of introgression during the radiation of endemic fishes adapted to living at extreme altitudes in the Tibetan Plateau. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2023, 40(6): msad129.

4．Haifeng Jiang^#, Wenqi Lv^#, Ying Wang*, Yuting Qian, Cheng Wang, Ning Sun, Chengchi Fang, David M. Irwin, Xiaoni Gan*, Shunping He, and Liandong Yang*, Multi-omics investigation of freeze tolerance in the Amur sleeper, an aquatic ectothermic vertebrate. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2023, 40(3): msad040.

5．Chase Doran Brownstein*, Liandong Yang*, Matt Friedman, and Thomas J. Near*, Phylogenomics of the Ancient and Species-Depauperate Gars Tracks 150 Million Years of Continental Fragmentation in the Northern Hemisphere. Systematic Biology, 2023, 72(1):213-227.

6．Ning Sun^#, Liandong Yang^#, Fei Tian^#, Honghui Zeng^#, Ziwen He*, Kai Zhao*, Cheng Wang, Minghui Meng, Chenguang Feng, Chengchi Fang, Wenqi Lv, Jing Bo, Yongtao Tang, Xiaoni Gan, Zuogang Peng, Yiyu Chen*, Shunping He*, Sympatric or micro-allopatric speciation in a glacial lake? Genomic islands support neither. National Science Review, 2022, 9(12): nwac291.

7．Ying Wang^#*, Xuejing Zhang^#,Jing Wang^#,Cheng Wang^#,Fei Xiong^#, Yuting Qian^#, Minghui Meng, Min Zhou, Wenjun Chen, Zufa Ding, Dan Yu, Yang Liu, Yumei Chang, Shunping He*, Liandong Yang*,Genomic insights into the seawater adaptation in Cyprinidae. BMC Biology, 2024, 22(1):87.

8．Liandong Yang^#, Ying Wang^#, Ning Sun^#, Juan Chen, and Shunping He*, Genomic and functional evidence reveals convergent evolution in fishes on the Tibetan Plateau. Molecular Ecology, 2021, 30:5752-5764.

9．Ying Wang* and Liandong Yang*, Deep-sea Adaptation: Surviving under pressure. Elife, 2023.

10．Liandong Yang^#, Ning Sun^#, Honghui Zeng^#, Ying Wang^#, Wenjun Chen, Zufa Ding, Yang Liu, Jing Wang, Minghui Meng, Yanjun Shen, Jingliang Kang, Xiuhui Ma, Wenqi Lv, Juan Chen, Axel Meyer*, Baocheng Guo*, and Shunping He*, Enlarged fins of Tibetan catfish provide new evidence of adaptation to high plateau. SCIENCE CHINA Life Sciences, 2023

11．Haifeng Jiang^#, Yuting Qian^#, Zhi Zhang, Minghui Meng, Yu Deng, Gaoxue Wang, Shunping He* and Liandong Yang*, Chromosome-level genome assembly and whole-genome resequencing of topmouth culter (Culter alburnus) provide insights into the intraspecific variation of its semi-buoyant and adhesive eggs. Molecular Ecology Resources, 2023.

12．Yu Deng, Yuting Qian, Minghui Meng, Haifeng Jiang, Yang Dong, Shunping He*, and Liandong Yang*, Extensive sequence divergence between the reference genomes of two zebrafish strains Tuebingen and AB. Molecular Ecology Resources, 2022, 22(6): 2148-2157.

13．Liandong Yang, Haifeng Jiang, Ying Wang, Yi Lei, Juan Chen, Ning Sun, Wenqi Lv, Cheng Wang, Thomas J. Near*, and Shunping He*, Expansion of vomeronasal receptor genes (OlfC) in the evolution of fright reaction in Ostariophysan fishes. Communications Biology, 2019, 2:235.

Jing Bo, Han Xu, Wenqi Lv, Cheng Wang, Shunping He*, and Liandong Yang*, Molecular Mechanisms of the Convergent Adaptation of Bathypelagic and Abyssopelagic Fishes. Genome Biology and Evolution, 2022, 14:8.