WRI Seminar Series: Professor Zenglu Li – Accelerating Genetic Gain in Soybean Through Omics-Driven Breeding Strategies

Professor Zenglu Li, Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics and Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

Title: Accelerating Genetic Gain in Soybean Through Omics-Driven Breeding Strategies

Abstract: Advances in next-gen sequencing and high throughput phenotyping technologies have provided transformative tools in crop improvement. These tools have empowered plant breeders to identify genes for the traits of interest, dissect the genetic architecture of complex traits, and implement genomics and phenomics-assisted selection strategies to increase breeding efficiency and accelerate genetic gain. In this seminar, I will present the development and application of genomic and phenomic tools within our soybean breeding program and outline a practical workflow for integrating marker-assisted selection, genomic prediction and high throughput phenotyping to enhance breeding efficiency and develop improved soybean cultivars.

Bio: Dr. Zenglu Li is a professor with Georgia Seed Development Professorship in Soybean Breeding and Genetics in the Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, and Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at the University of Georgia, USA. Li earned his Ph.D. degree in Plant Breeding and Genetics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and obtained his postdoctoral training from the University of Georgia. He worked as a Research Scientist/Lab Manager at DuPont Pioneer and then was a Corn Genotyping Lead and Soybean Discovery Breeding Lead at Monsanto company. During his time at Monsanto, Li was the recipient of two Above & Beyond Awards and one Research Innovation Award. Li joined the University of Georgia faculty in 2012. His research focuses on the development of improved soybean cultivars by integrating classical breeding with genomic technologies, QTL/gene discovery, molecular breeding, and high throughput/precision phenotyping. He has released >40 soybean cultivars and germplasm, held five patents, published over 110 peer-reviewed papers, and trained 32 graduate students and postdoc scientists. In 2021, he received the D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Research from the University of Georgia. Currently, Li serves as vice chair of Soybean Genomics Executive Committee and on the World Soybean Research Conference Continuing Committee.