Principal Investigator

Dr. Yunbi Xu

Contact Address: No. 699 Binhu Road, Fangzi District, Weifang, Shandong, China

E-mail: yunbi.xu@pku.iaas.edu.cn

Education

1993 Ph. D., Genetics and plant breeding, Zhejiang Agricultural University (now Zhejiang University), China

1985 M.S., Genetics and Plant Breeding. Zhejiang Agricultural University (now Zhejiang University), China

1982 B.S., Agronomy, Huazhong Agricultural College (now Huanzhong Agricultural University), China

Working Experience

2023.11 –   present Senior Principal Investigator, Peking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, China

2018.1-2023.10 Molecular maize breeder/Principal scientist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) / State Specially Recruited Scientist, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China

2013.10– 2017.12  Molecular maize breeder/senior scientist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) /State Specially Recruited Scientist, Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China

2010.8 – 2013.10  Molecular maize breeder/senior scientist, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) / Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China

2008.6 – 2010.7  Molecular maize breeder/senior scientist and head of Applied Biotechnology Center, CIMMYT, Mexico

2006.4 -2008.6  Molecular maize breeder/senior scientist, CIMMYT, Mexico

2003- 2006.3 Research associate, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Cornell University, USA

1998 - 2003 Plant Molecular Biologist and Molecular Breeder, RiceTec, Inc., Texas, USA

1995 – 1998 Postdoctoral Associate and Visiting Associate Professor, Department of Plant Breeding and Biometry, Cornell University, USA

1992 – 1995 Associate Professor and Deputy Director of Department of Agronomy, Zhejiang Agricultural University, China.

1985 – 1992 Assistant Professor and Lecturer, Department of Agronomy, Zhejiang Agricultural University, China.

ACADEMIC MEMBERSHIP AND ACTIVITIES

Deputy Editor-in Chief, The Crop Journal (Feb. 2020 - May 2024)

Editor, Theoretical and Applied Genetics (Oct. 2007 - )

Technical editor, The Crop Journal (Jan. 2013 - 2020)

Editor, Agriculture Communications (Jan. 2023 - )

Editor, Crop Design (June 2021- )

Editor, in silico Plants (Sept 2019- )

Associate Editor, International Journal of Plant Genomics (Nov. 2006 – Dec. 2017)

Editor, Journal of Integrative Agriculture (Jan. 2008 – May 2017)

Associate Editor, Molecular Breeding (April 2006 – Dec. 2013)

Editor, Scientia Agricultura Sinica (Jan. 2007 - 2016)

Editor, Acta Agronomica Sinica (Jan. 2007 -2019)

AWARDS AND HONORS

Magnolia Silver Award (for outstanding contribution to international collaboration), Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, China 2014

Internationally Recruited Scientist, Chinese Government, 2013

Chief Scientist for “Molecular Breeding Technology and Application in Maize Improvement”, a project of the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program (ASTIP) of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 2013

Co-supervisor for “The Top 100 National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation, China” (Molecular characterization of global maize breeding germplasm and joint linkage-linkage disequilibrium mapping for drought tolerance, by Yanli Lu, through a joint training program by CIMMYT and Sichuan Agricultural University), awarded by Ministry of Education of China, 2012

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biotechnology, the Rockefeller Foundation, March 1995 – July 1997

KEY SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECTS

The project “Development and application of speed breeding technology in maize” and “Maize Speed Breeding Team” (2024-2028), Shenzhen Science and Technology Program (KQTD20230301092839007)

Senior principal investigator project for the Provincial Technology Innovation Program of Shandong, a grant for the Peking University of Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, China (2023-2028)

Trait discovery for Northern corn leaf blight (NCLB) resistance (2020-2024). Syngenta Biotechnology (China) Co., Ltd Collaborative Project (ZKSXZD202002)

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Refereed Journal Articles

Yunbi Xu, Feng Qin, Chengcai Chu, Rajeev K. Varshney. 2023. Abiotic stress tolerance: genetics, genomics, and breeding. The Crop Journal 11: 969–974.

Xiong W, Reynolds M, Xu Y. 2022. Climate changes challenges plant breeding. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 70:102308.

Xu Y., Zhang X., Li H., Zheng H., Zhang J., Olsen M.S., Varshney R.K., Prasanna B.M., and Qian Q. (2022). Smart breeding driven by big data, artificial intelligence and integrated genomic-enviromic prediction. Molecular Plant 15: 1664–1695.

Deng, Y., S. Liu, Y. Zhang, J.Tan, X. Li, X. Chu, B. Xu, Y.Tian, Y. Sun, B. Li, Y. Xu, X. W. Deng, H. He, X. Zhang. 2022. A telomere-to-telomere gap-free reference genome of watermelon and its mutation library provide important resources for gene discovery and breeding. Molecular Plant 15: 1268-1284.

Zhu X, Xu Y, Li J, Zhang X. 2022. Establishment of heterosis groups for hybrid wheat breeding (in Chinese). Chin Sci Bull 67:3152-3164.

Zhang, Xingping, Qian Qian, JiaNan Zhang, Xing Wang Deng, JianMin Wang, Yunbi Xu. 2021. Transforming and upgrading off-season breeding in Hainan through molecular plant breeding. Scientia Agricultura Sinica 54: 3789-3804.

Books

Xu, Yunbi (author), Jianguo Chen, Jinping Hua, Shuangyong Yan, Zaijun Zhang, Songwen Wang and Pengbo Li (translators). 2014. Molecular Plant Breeding (Chinese Edition, with an update chapter), Science Press, Beijing, 732pp.

Xu, Yunbi. 2010. Molecular Plant Breeding. CABI Publisher, Wallingford, UK, 734pp.

Xu, Yunbi, Zhining Wang and Zhihua Yu (Translators). 1996. Genetic Data Analysis. (by B. S. Weir, Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, MA 1990). China Agriculture Press, Beijing, China

Xu, Yunbi and Lihuang Zhu. 1994. Molecular Quantitative Genetics (in Chinese). China Agriculture Press, Beijing, China. 291pp.

1997. International Rice Research Institute, Manila, Philippines