Assistant Professor Maria Monteros

Maria Monteros, Ph.D

Assistant Professor

Noble Researcher since 2007

Legume Breeding Lab

Ph.D., 2006, Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Georgia

Research emphasis: Forage legume improvement

Work in Monteros' lab focuses on forage legume improvement, particularly alfalfa, white clover and red clover. Her goal is to identify QTL and candidate genes associated with desirable traits in these legume species, including biotic (disease resistance) and abiotic stress tolerance (drought and aluminum), enhanced forage quality, yield and persistence. The lab is developing and utilizing molecular markers (SSRs and SNPs) to target these desired traits utilizing some of the resources available from the model legume Medicago truncatula. Identification of molecular markers associated with traits of interest can be used to develop adapted high-yielding forage legume cultivars to integrate beneficial alleles for these traits using a combination of classical and molecular breeding technologies (marker-assisted selection).

Recent Publications

Zhang, Y., Han, Y. , Jiang, G., Sledge, M. K., Coyne, C., Greene, S., Kisha, T., & Monteros, M. J. (In Press).Maximizing genetic diversity of the model legume Medicago truncatula using nested core collections. Genome.

Jiang, Q., Zhang, J., Guo, X., Monteros, M. J., & Wang, Z - Y. (2009). Physiological characterization of transgenic alfalfa (Medicago sativa) plants for improved drought tolerance. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 170 (8), 969-978 doi: 10.1086/600138.

Monteros, M. J., Burton, J. W., & Boerma, H. R. (2008). Molecular mapping and confirmation of QTLs associated with oleic acid content in N00-3350 soybean. Crop Science, 48, 2223-2234.

Zhang, Y., He, J., Zhao, P. X., Bouton, J. H., & Monteros, M. J. (2008). Genome-wide identification of microsatellites in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) using FIASCO and phpSSRMiner. Plant Methods, 4 (19), DOI:doi:10.1186/1746-4811-4-19.

Monteros, M. J., Missaoui, A. M., Phillips, D. V., Walker, D. R., & Boerma, H. R. (2007). Mapping and confirmation of the ‘Hyuuga’ red-brown lesion resistance gene for Asian soybean rust. Crop Science, 47, 829-834.