Principal Investigator

Dr. Xingping Zhang

Deputy Director

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

Email: xingping.zhang@pku-iaas.edu.cn

Education

1993-1995, PhD major in Genetics and minor in Statistics, Clemson University, USA

1983-1986, MS in Vegetable Science, Northwestern Agricultural University (now Northwest A&F University), China

1979-1983, BS in Horticulture, Gansu Agricultural University, China

Working Experience

August 2019 - Present, Peking UniversityInstitute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences,China

January 2017 - July 2019, Science and Technology Fellow, Syngenta Biotechnology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (), China

October 2013 - December 2016, Chief Scientist, Director at Ming Kang Hui Ecological Agriculture Group, Hailiang Ecological Agriculture Research Institute, China

October 1999 - October 2013, Plant Scientist, Chief Watermelon Breeder, Head of Global Cucurbits Research and Development, Science and TechnologyFellow, Syngenta, USA

March 1996 - September 1999, Plant Breeder/Research Department Director at Hollar Seeds, USA

May 1991 - March 1996, Research Assistant, Postdoctoral Fellow at Clemson University, USA

July 1986 - May 1991, Assistant, Lecturer at Northwest A&F University, China

Research Interests

·       Construction of the reference genomes for cucurbit crops, and the discovery of functional genes for important traits (including gene identification, cloning, and functional verification).

·       Rapid traits introgression.

·       Development of new and accelerated breeding methods.

·       Generation of new germplasm using new technologies.

·       Generation of enhanced germplasm and breeding of commercial varieties.

Selected Publications

Pingli Yuan†, Congping Xu†, Nan He†, Xuqiang Lu, Xingping Zhang, Jianli Shang, Hongju Zhu, Chengsheng Gong, Hanhui Kaung, Tang Tang, Yong Xu, Shuangwu Ma, Dexi Sun, Weiqin Zhang, Muhammad J. Umar, Jian Shi, Alisdair R. Fernie, Wenge Liu* & Jie Luo (2022) Watermelon domestication was shaped by stepwise selection and regulation of the metabolome.Science China-Life Sciences, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-022-2198-5

Yun Deng, Shoucheng Liu, Yilin Zhang, Jingsheng Tan, Xiaopeng Li, Xiao Chu, Binghua Xu, Yao Tian, Yudong Sun, Bosheng Li, Yunbi Xu, Xing Wang Deng, Hang He*, Xingping 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, Volume 15, 1268-1284.

Yunbi Xu*, Xingping Zhang, Huihui Li, Hongjian Zheng, Jianan Zhang, Michael S Olsen, Rajeev K Varshney, Boddupalli M Prasanna, Qian Qian (2022) Smart breeding driven by big data, artificial intelligence, and integrated genomic-enviromic prediction. Molecular Plant, Volume 15, 1664-1695.

ZHANG Xingping, QIAN Qian, ZHANG JiaNan, DENG XingWang, WAN JianMin, XU Yunbi* (2021) Transforming and Upgrading Off-Season Breeding in Hainan Through Molecular Plant Breeding. Scientia Agricultura Sinica, 54(18):3789-3804.

Lv J, Yu K, Wei J, Gui H, Liu C,Liang D, Wang Y, Zhou H, Carlin R, Rich R, Lu T, Que Q, Wang W, Zhang X* and Kelliher T. (2020) Generation of paternal haploids in wheat by genome editing of the centromeric histone CENH3. Nature Biotechnology, 38: 1397-1401.

Guo S, Zhao S, Sun H, Wang X, Wu S, Lin T, Ren Y, Gao L, Deng Y, Zhang J, Lu X, Zhang H, Shang J, Gong G, Wen C, He N, Tian S, Li M, Liu J, Wang Y, Zhu Y, Jarret R, Levi A, Zhang X*, Huang S, Fei Z, Liu W, Xu Y. (2019) Resequencing of 414 cultivated and wild watermelon accessions identifies selection for fruit quality traits.Nature Genetics, 51:1616-1623.

 Wu S, Wang X, Reddy U, Sun H, Bao K, Gao L, Mao L, Patel T, Ortiz C, Abburi VL, Nimmakayala P, Branham SE, Wechter P, Massey L, Ling K-S, Kousik C, Hammar SA, Tadmor Y, Portnoy V, Gur A, Katzir N, Nihat G, Davis A, Ha G, Wright CL, Mcgregor C, Jarret R, Zhang X*, Xu Y, Wehner TC, Grummet R, Levi A, Fei Z. (2019) Genome of ‘Charleston Gray’, the principal American watermelon cultivar, and genetic characterization of accessions in the US National Plant Germplasm System watermelon collection. Plant Biotechnol J, 17:2246–2258

Patents

US PVP

·         2000, “90-4194” (US PVP No. 200100260)

·         2003, “SP-1”（US PVP No. 200300006）

·         2005, “90-4262” (US PVP No. 200600019)

·         2006, “SP-4”（US PVP No. 200700023）

·         2007, “4XMSAS” (US PVP No. 200800012)

·         2007, “4XHDML6” (US PVP No. 200800025)

·         2007, “90-4343ts” (US PVP No. 200800033)

·         2009, “SP-5”（US PVP No. 201000008）

·         2009, “4XASSS4” (US PVP No. 201000270)

·         2009, “4XCS34” (US PVP No. 201000271)

·         2009, “Fascination” (US PVP No. 201100269)

CHINAPVP

·         2019，“Sumeng 2”（ChinaPVP No. 2019014159）

·         2019，“Sumeng 6”（ChinaPVP No. 2019014164）

·         2019，“Sumeng 7”（ChinaPVP No. 2019014160）

·         2019，“Sumeng 9”（ChinaPVP No. 2020015071）

Honorables and Awards

November 2018, Cucurbitaceae 2018 "Lifetime Achievement Award"

2003 Syngenta Science and Technology Award

2001 National Science and Technology Progress Second Prize

1997 5th China Patent Invention Award Gold Prize

Research Achievements

The first discovery and application of the technology and method of inducing tetraploids in watermelons using dinitroaniline herbicides, which is not only effective but also safe and widely applied to chromosome doubling in watermelons and other plants.

Co-planning, initiating, and leading the world's first watermelon whole-genome sequencing project, the results of which were published in Nature Genetics in January 2013.

Construction of a genomic selection platform for major traits in watermelons, including traits such as Fusarium wilt, anthracnose, powdery mildew, ZYMV, early maturity, fruit skin thickness, and small seeds.

Leading the construction of the first watermelon BAC library in collaboration with North Carolina State University, and leading the construction and application of the watermelon SNP marker assisted breeding selection platform.

Collaborative generation of the first T2T gap-free watermelon reference genome and an EMS mutant library induced by pollen mutagenesis.

Leading gene editing projects, successfully creating haploid induction lines for wheat CenH3 mutations.Implemented other gene editing projects at the Syngenta Beijing Innovation Center, including disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, and quality improvement.

Representative Varieties

XiNong 8: A hybrid watermelon variety released in 1991, which is the main cultivated variety in open field cultivation in China and has made important contributions to the development of Chinese agriculture.

PureHeart^TMseries of mini seedless watermelon varieties: First developed in 2001, widely promoted and successful commercialized in multiple countries, which has changed the portfolio of seedless watermelons.

Super pollination variety SP-1 and improved series varieties: SP-1, successfully developed in 2003, brought revolutionary leaps in seedless watermelon production, and subsequent improved varieties continued to enhance production efficiency.

Seeded watermelon varieties Manchester, El Gahli, Karistan, etc.: Developed in 2008, which have become benchmark varieties in Brazil, Africa, and the Middle East.

Seedless watermelon variety Fascination: Developed in 2009, which has changed the variety portfolio of large size seedless watermelons in North America and has had a significant impact on global seedless watermelon production.

Fresh-cut seedless watermelon variety Crisp Delight: Developed in 2010, it is a super firm seedless watermelon variety suitable for fresh cut, resistant Fusarium wilt and anthracnose, high yielding, and high quality.

Social Services:

·       Member of the Cucurbit Crop Germplasm Committee at the United States Department of Agriculture, participating in research project reviews and recommendations.

·       Keynote speaker on "Genetic Improvement of Watermelon in the United States" at the 3rd International Symposium on Cucurbits of the International Society for Horticultural Science (May 2005, Townsville, Australia).

·       Scientific Committee member at the Cucurbitaceae 2006 (September 2006, Asheville, NC, USA).

·       Scientific Committee chairat the 4th International Symposium on Cucurbits of the International Society for Horticultural Science (September 2009. Changsha, China).

·       Scientific Committee member at the Cucurbitaceae 2010 (November 2010, Charleston, SC, USA).

·       Scientific Committee member and keynote speaker at the Eucarpia Cucurbitaceae 2012 (October 2012, Antalya, Turkey).

·       ScientificCommittee member and keynote speaker at the Cucurbitaceae 2022 (October 30 – November 2, 2022, Naples, FL, USA).

·       Scientific Committee member and keynote speaker at the VII International Symposium on Cucurbits of the International Society for Horticultural Science (June 2023, Zhengzhou, Henan, China)