Forage Improvement Division
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
2510 Sam Noble Parkway
Ardmore, OK 73401
Tel: 580-224-6829
Cell: 515-291-5531
Fax: 580-224-6802
Email: xli@noble.org
My research interests are to develop and implement plant breeding methods to accelerate cultivar improvement programs. My research experience broadly covered traditional quantitative genetics, molecular marker development, QTL and association mapping, gene expression profiling, high-throughput SNP genotyping, and recently genotyping-bysequencing as a means of conducting genomic selection. Currently, I am working on genetic dissection of biomass yield under varied abiotic stress.
Ph.D.
Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 2009
Dissertation: Genetic investigations of heterosis and inbreeding depression in diploid and tetraploid alfalfa.
Advisors: EC Brummer, ML Arnold, HR Boerma, SJ Knapp, and WA Parrott
M.S. Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 2007
Research project: Comparative gene expression profiles between heterotic and non-heterotic hybrids of tetraploid Medicago sativa .
Advisors: TB Bailey, EC Brummer, and D Nettleton
M.S. Agronomy, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China 2001
B.S. Agronomy, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China 1998
01/2013-Present Research Scientist , Forage Improvement Division
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK
08/2010-12/2012 Postdoctoral Fellow , Forage Improvement Division
The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Ardmore, OK
06/2009-08/2010 Postdoctoral Fellow , Center for Applied Genetic Technologies,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA
01/2007-05/2009 Research Assistant , Center for Applied Genetic Technologies,
University of Georgia, Athens, GA
10/2002-12/2006 Research Assistant , Department of Agronomy,
Iowa State University, Ames, IA
09/1998-07/2001 Research Assistant , Department of Agronomy

China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
09/1997-12/1997 Teaching Assistant , Department of Agronomy
China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
Li, X.
, A. Acharya, A.D. Farmer, J.A. Crow, A.K. Bharti, R.S. Krammer, Y. Wei, Y.
Han, J. Gou, G.D. May, M.J. Monteros, and E.C. Brummer. 2012. Prevalence of single nucleotide polymorphism among 27 diverse alfalfa genotypes as assessed by transcriptome sequencing. BMC Genomics 13:568.
Li, X. and E.C. Brummer. 2012. Applied genetics and genomics in alfalfa breeding.
Agronomy 2(1): 40-61.
Li, X.
, X. Wang, Y. Wei and E.C. Brummer. 2011. Prevalence of segregation distortion in diploid alfalfa and its implications for genetics and breeding applications. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 123(4): 667-679.
Li, X.
, Y. Wei, K.J. Moore, R. Michaud, D. Viands, J.L. Hansen, A. Acharya and E.C.
Brummer. 2011. Association mapping of biomass yield and stem composition in a tetraploid alfalfa breeding population. The Plant Genome 4:1.
Li, X.
, Y. Wei, D. Nettleton, and E.C. Brummer. 2009. Comparative gene expression profiles between heterotic and non-heterotic hybrids of tetraploid Medicago sativa . BMC
Plant Biology 9:107.
Li X.
and E.C. Brummer. 2009. Inbreeding depression for fertility and biomass in advanced generations of inter- and intra-subspecies hybrids of tetraploid alfalfa. Crop
Science 49:13-19.
Li , X.
, Y. Han, Y. Wei, A. Acharya, A.D. Farmer, J. Ho, M.J. Monteros, and E.C.
Brummer. 2013. Development and use of a high density SNP array to evaluate genetic diversity in alfalfa. To be submitted to Theoretical and Applied Genetics.
Li , X.
, J. Kang, B. Alarcón-Zúñiga, M. Hammad Nadeem Tahir, Q. Jiang, Y. Wei, R.
Reyno, J.G. Robins, and E.C. Brummer. 2013. Interval mapping of fall growth and winter survival in tetraploid alfalfa. To be submitted to Crop Science .
Li , X.
, J. Kang, Y. Wei, Q. Jiang, Y. Han, M.J. Monteros, and E.C. Brummer. 2013. QTL mapping of forage yield and quality in diploid alfalfa. To be submitted to Crop Science.
06/2012 Identifying SNP among diverse alfalfa genotypes using transcriptome sequencing. 7 th
International Symposium on Molecular Breeding of
Forage and Turf. Salt Lake City, UT
11/2011 Sequencing 27 cultivated and wild alfalfa transcriptomes for gene and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery. The 6 th
International
Conference on Genomics, Shenzhen, China

11/2011 QTL mapping of agronomic traits in diploid and tetraploid alfalfa. Chinese
Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute of Animal Science, Beijing,
China

Li , X., A. Acharya, A.D. Farmer, J.A. Crow, A.K. Bharti, Y. Wei, Y. Han, J. Gou, G.D.
May, M.J. Monteros, and E.C. Brummer. 2012. Sequencing 27 cultivated and wild alfalfa transcriptomes for gene and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) discovery.
International Plant and Animal Genome XX Conference. 14-18 January 2012. San Diego,
CA.
Wei, Y., X. Li , A. Acharya, and E.C. Brummer. 2011. Genotyping-By-Sequencing
(GBS) in alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ). ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Annual Meetings. 16-19
October 2011. San Antonio, TX.
Kang, J., X. Li , Y. Wei, Q. Jiang, R. Reyno, and E.C. Brummer. 2011. QTL mapping of yield and biofuel-related traits in diploid alfalfa. ASA, CSSA, and SSSA Annual
Meetings. 16-19 October 2011. San Antonio, TX.
Li, X., Y. Wei, X. Wang, and E.C. Brummer. 2010. Segregation distortion and genetic maps in diploid alfalfa. International Plant and Animal Genomes XVIII Conference. 9-13
January 2010. San Diego, CA.
Wei, Y., X. Li , X. Wang, A. Acharya, and E.C. Brummer. 2010. Association mapping of yield and cell wall compositions in tetraploid alfalfa breeding population. International
Plant and Animal Genomes XVIII Conference. 9-13 January 2010. San Diego, CA.
Li , X.
, Y. Wei, D. Nettleton, and E.C. Brummer. 2008. Comparative gene expression profiles between heterotic and non-heterotic hybrids of tetraploid Medicago sativa . Joint
Meeting of the 41 st
North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference & 20 th
Trifolium
Conference. 1-4 June 2008, Dallas, TX.
Li, X.
and E.C. Brummer. 2007. Gene expression profiling of heterotic and non-heterotic hybrids in tetraploid alfalfa. International Plant and Animal Genomes XV Conference.
13-17 January 2007. San Diego, CA.
Li, X.
and E.C. Brummer. 2006. Heterosis and outbreeding depression on fertility and biomass of inter- and intra-subspecies crosses in tetraploid alfalfa. Joint Meeting of the
40 th
North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference and19 th
Trifolium Conference. 16-
19 July 2006, Bloomington, MN