About

Jorge Dubcovsky is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. His research focuses on understanding the effects of allelic variants of wheat genes that are relevant to agriculture and developing tools for efficient manipulation of these genes to improve wheat varieties. His program integrates a broad range of research projects, including whole genome studies, mapping, positional cloning, marker-assisted selection, and traditional breeding, to discover and deploy new genes or gene variants into commercial wheat varieties. Dr. Dubcovsky has led large consortiums of wheat public breeding programs for the past 18 years and has published more than 230 peer-reviewed papers. His work has identified key genes controlling wheat flowering, frost tolerance, stripe and stem rust resistance, and grain protein levels. His program has developed genomics tools, including re-sequencing of wheat mutant lines and identification of over 10 million mutations, facilitating functional characterization of wheat genes. He has released numerous wheat cultivars and germplasm used in California and directs the UC small grains breeding programs, including wheat, barley, and oats. Dr. Dubcovsky has trained numerous graduate students and is actively involved in outreach and extension activities related to wheat breeding. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, serves as an associate editor for prominent genetics journals, and has received multiple awards for his contributions to plant science and agriculture, including the UC Davis Innovator of the Year Award, the Wolf World Award in Agriculture, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute GBMF Investigator. His work significantly advances wheat breeding, genomics, and development, contributing to improved crop resilience, yield, and nutritional quality.

Research topics

• Genetics
• Biology
• Botany
• Cell biology

Selected publications

• WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat

  PLoS Genetics · 2022 · 90 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Genetics

  Improving our understanding of the genes regulating grain yield can contribute to the development of more productive wheat varieties. Previously, a highly significant QTL affecting spikelet number per spike (SNS), grain number per spike (GNS) and grain yield was detected on chromosome arm 7AL in multiple genome-wide association studies. Using a high-resolution genetic map, we established that the A-genome homeolog of WHEAT ORTHOLOG OF APO1 (WAPO-A1) was a leading candidate gene for this QTL. Using mutants and transgenic plants, we demonstrate in this study that WAPO-A1 is the causal gene underpinning this QTL. Loss-of-function mutants wapo-A1 and wapo-B1 showed reduced SNS in tetraploid wheat, and the effect was exacerbated in wapo1 combining both mutations. By contrast, spikes of transgenic wheat plants carrying extra copies of WAPO-A1 driven by its native promoter had higher SNS, a more compact spike apical region and a smaller terminal spikelet than the wild type. Taken together, these results indicate that WAPO1 affects SNS by regulating the timing of terminal spikelet formation. Both transgenic and wapo1 mutant plants showed a wide range of floral abnormalities, indicating additional roles of WAPO1 on wheat floral development. Previously, we found three widespread haplotypes in the QTL region (H1, H2 and H3), each associated with particular WAPO-A1 alleles. Results from this and our previous study show that the WAPO-A1 allele in the H1 haplotype (115-bp deletion in the promoter) is expressed at significantly lower levels in the developing spikes than the alleles in the H2 and H3 haplotypes, resulting in reduced SNS. Field experiments also showed that the H2 haplotype is associated with the strongest effects in increasing SNS and GNS (H2>H3>H1). The H2 haplotype is already present in most modern common wheat varieties but is rare in durum wheat, where it might be particularly useful to improve grain yield.

  PublisherDOI

• A GRF–GIF chimeric protein improves the regeneration efficiency of transgenic plants

  Nature Biotechnology · 2020 · 606 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Biology
  • Botany
  • Cell biology
  DOI

Frequent coauthors

• Chengxia Li

  Howard Hughes Medical Institute

  123 shared

• G. Tranquilli

  National Institute of Industrial Technology

  103 shared

• Tzion Fahima

  University of Haifa

  101 shared

• Cristóbal Uauy

  98 shared

• Assaf Distelfeld

  University of Haifa

  96 shared

• Eduard Akhunov

  Kansas State University

  95 shared

• Ann E. Blechl

  Western Regional Research Center

  93 shared

• Liuling Yan

  Oklahoma State University

  88 shared

Education

• PhD, Biology

  Universidad de Buenos Aires

  1989

Awards & honors

• UC Davis Innovator of the Year Award (2017)
• USDA-NIFA Partnership Award (2015)
• Wolf World Award in Agriculture (2014)
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute GBMF Investigator (2011-2014…
• Dennis R. Hoagland Award, American Society of Plant Biologis…

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