Yibo Li
Biography
Yibo Li is the Professor and PI focus on Regulation of Grain Size and Grain Chalkiness in Rice (Rice Seed Biology, Rice Grain Qulaity Biology and Germplasm Innovitaion) for 20 years. After obtaining bachelors degree in Biotechnology, Dept. of Life Science, Henan Agricultural University in 2004, he started PhD work at Huazhong Agricultural University. During this time he continued his research in rice genetics and molecular biology and obtained his Ph.D. in 2011. Dr. Li continued his focus work as a research associate in the same National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University, and obtained a professor and PI position at College of Life science & Technology and National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement of the same university in 2014. He was awarded Yong Yangtse Rive Scholar (2015), Excellent Yong Science Funding in China (2014, NSFC), Yong Yangtse Rive Scholar (2015), Top Ten Progresses in Science and Technology of Universities in China (2011), Ten Thousand Plan - National High Level Talents Special Support Plan (2018 and 2019). He published more than 20 papers with more than 2000 citations, including 4 papers published in Nature Genetics and Nature Communications. He serves as a Managing Editor/Executive Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Breeding from 2018 to now.
Grain shape/size is a major and very stable determinant of grain yield due to its very high heritability, an important appearance and milling quality trait, a target trait of crop domestication and a wonderful system of pattern formation research in seed morphogenesis. Grain chalkiness in rice, characterized by a chalky texture of the endosperm in cereals (called opaque in maize and grain hardness and softness in wheat), is a similar and important quality trait in cereals, greatly and generally impacting appearance, milling, cooking and eating and nutritional qualities, as well as milled yield and market value, thus is the most important quality trait in rice and other cereal crops. Grain chalkiness increase has long been known to be the most direct indicator of rice grain quality degradation that is easily and sensitively caused by high temperature. Both grain size and grain chalkiness are involved in important science questions in Grain Yield and Quality, plant G Protein Signalling, Seed shape Initiation and Development, Domestication, and High-temperature resistance mechanisms regulating grain quality, which are highly consistent with various National Strategic Needs in China and other countries to address the global issues of food security for enhancing agricultural sustainability, especially facing enormous challenges of rapid world population growth, diminishing land availability and climate change.
Therefore, the research goals of our lab are:
To discover the universal mechanisms regulating grain size/shape and chalkiness/quality and the trade-offs among grain size and number and quality in rice;
To define high-temperature resistance mechanisms regulating grain quality in rice.
To create superior quality rice with no change or even increase in grain yield, especailly planted in natural high temperature fields.
Five research sub-directions (also five-in-one research direction) our team currently focus on are:
(1) Regulating mechanisms of eight directions of grain shape in rice;
(2) Rice G protein signalling mechanisms controlling grain size and yield;
(3) QTL Cloning and function analysis of grain chalkiness and quality in rice;
(4) Resistance mechanisms of natural high temperature for grain chalkiness and quality in rice;
(5) Germplasm innovitaion for superior quality and yield rice by breaking the breeding bottleneck of the stress-growth and yield-quality trade-offs for a warmer future.
Abstracts this author is presenting: