Research

The main goals of Monteros' laboratory are to develop genetic solutions for biotic and abiotic limitations of forage legume productivity and to utilize molecular technologies to improve the efficiency of cultivar development. Legumes represent an important component of the world's crop production due to their ability to reduce atmospheric nitrogen (N2) to ammonia via symbiosis with bacteria called rhizobia and therefore contribute a free source of nitrogen to agricultural systems. Monteros' group focuses on the identification of target traits, evaluation of germplasm to identify and conserve variation in natural populations and legume collections of desirable alleles to improve the target traits, and selection and breeding to develop elite cultivars.

Plant genomics research can contribute to targeted breeding or engineering of plants that are able to thrive under adverse environmental conditions by increasing the understanding of mechanisms used for growth, development and adaptation to abiotic and biotic stress. The close relationship between alfalfa and the model legume M. truncatula allows the use of advances in molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics in M. truncatula through translational genomics approaches to advance the forage legume breeding program. The group has developed M. truncatula nested core collections from the USDA germplasm collection and is implementing strategies to characterize genetic variation and to identify genes involved in abiotic and biotic stress responses, leaf and seed morphology, and forage composition which can be used to improve agricultural crops. These core collections can be used to enhance the utilization of the entire collection and are useful to those who wish to exploit these plant genetic resources to further understand plant development, identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers, select diverse genotypes to use in breeding programs, and conduct QTL, association, and comparative mapping studies to facilitate subsequent map-based cloning of desirable genes. Integrating genomics information from model and crop legumes has immediate applications including the use of molecular breeding strategies to develop enhanced legume cultivars.

Breeding efforts in the Monteros group are mainly focused on the legume species alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.). Her current work includes the identification of genomic regions and candidate genes associated with desirable traits in alfalfa including biotic (disease resistance in collaboration with the Mycology Group) and abiotic stress tolerance (biomass yield production under drought conditions and aluminum toxicity), enhanced forage quality and agronomic performance (in collaboration with Dr. Dixon's group), and persistence. Her research group is developing and using molecular markers to target these traits, utilizing some of the resources available from M. truncatula. In white clover, the identification of molecular markers consistently linked to morphological and agronomic traits (persistence under grazing and grass competition, plant growth and stolon production) across multiple years and locations can facilitate the development of superior white clover cultivars. Overall, research in the Monteros laboratory integrates a combination of high-throughput genotyping technologies, the identification of genes and regulators of gene networks underlying complex traits of agronomic importance, molecular breeding approaches (marker-assisted selection) and traditional breeding strategies to accelerate the development of high-yielding forage legume cultivars enhanced for traits with a high impact potential for farmers and ranchers.

Personnel

Maria Monteros
Assistant Professor

Will Chaney
Research Technician

Bonnie Farris
Research Technician

Dong-Man Khu
Postdoctoral Fellow

Christy Motes
Research Associate

Shanmugam Rajasekar
Research Associate

Kazuyo Ueda
Research Assistant