Topic: Genome assisted Breeding in Cotton

Speaker: Dr Mehboob-ur-Rahman

Deputy Chief Scientist & Professor, (NIBGE), Faisalabad, Pakistan

Dr Mehboob-ur-Rahman has been working on understanding cotton genome and translating the genomic information for the development of resilient cotton cultivars. His work has been published extensively in various journals including two in Nature and one in Nature Genetics. He also edited two books on cotton. He developed 10 cotton varieties as a Principal Breeder. Took lead in developing and introducing GM-cotton varieties in Pakistan in 2005. Of these, IR-NIBGE-3701 out yielded the countrywide national trial (2848 kg ha-1 for IR-3701 versus 1901 kg/ha-1 for control). This variety covered >30% of the total cotton area, and remained popular in Punjab till 2013. His varieties IR-NIBGE-901, IR-3701 and IR-1524 have been under cultivation in 15-50% of the total area in different years leading to an increase in cotton yield from 2.1 to ~4.00 million bales. Dr Rahman received more than a dozen Awards including the ICAC International Cotton Researcher of the Year in 2014.

Topic: The Power of Cotton Genomics

Speaker: Dr. John Z. Yu

Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS & Adjunct Professor, Texas A&M University, USA

Dr. John Yu has about four-decade research experience at national and international institutions and is globally renowned for his outstanding work on plant breeding, genetics, and genomics. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and other publications, with 10,310 Google Scholar citations. He has mentored more than 60 students and visiting scientists from the U.S. and abroad. Dr. Yu has been playing a seminal role in cotton genome mapping and sequencing including the public release of portable genetic, physical, and genome maps of core cotton species. Twice elected by his global peers to lead as the chairman, Dr. Yu advocates for the International Cotton Genome Initiative (ICGI) to increase knowledge and resources of cotton genomes for the benefit of the mankind. He serves as expert member of USDA National Life Science Patent Committee among many scientific advisory roles. Dr. Yu is the ICAC Cotton Researcher of the Year 2019.