NEW WEST GENETICS PUBLICATIONS
We’re leaders in applying the most up-to-date technology to marker selected breeding projects. New West Genetics is well versed in Next Generation Sequencing technology. These genome-enabled approaches also require the knowledge and skills to interpret the tremendous volume of data generated. New West Genetics regularly utilizes statistical genomic tools and collaborates with statistical geneticists to refine those methods.
DR. JOHN MCKAY
Dr. John McKay is a professor at a leading US agricultural university. His research has appeared in journals such as Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Evolution, Industrial Crops and Products, Theoretical and Applied Genetics, Nature Biotechnology, and many others. See below for a full list of publications
Dr. McKay’s projects include consulting with the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, US Department of Energy, USDA, Colorado Office of Economic Development, Uppsala University, and multiple collaborations with colleagues across US universities. See below for a complete list of contracts and grants.
Dr. McKay has been a keynote speaker at various plant genetics research conferences and well known universities from as far as Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, and New Zealand; and as close as Missouri, Colorado, Kansas, and Washington. See below for a complete list of speaking engagements.
GM Stack, SI Snyder, JA Toth, MA Quade, JL Crawford, JK McKay, JN Jackowetz, P Wang, G Philippe, JL Hansen, VM Moore, JKC Rose, LB Smart, Cannabinoids function in defense against chewing herbivores in Cannabis sativa L., Horticulture Research, 2023;, uhad207,
P Woods, BJ Campbell, TJ Nicodemus, EB Cahoon, JL Mullen, JK McKay. 2021. Quantitative trait loci controlling agronomic and biochemical traits in Cannabis sativa. Genetics. doi: 10.1093/genetics/iyab099
MR Shao, N Jiang, M Li, A Howard, K Lehner, JL Mullen, SL Gunn, JK McKay, CN Topp. 2021. Complementary Phenotyping of Maize Root System Architecture by Root Pulling Force and X-Ray Imaging. Plant Phenomics, vol. 2021, Article ID 9859254, 12 pages, 2021.
AR Rogers, JC Dunne, C Romay, M Bohn, ES Buckler, IA Ciampitti, J Edwards, D Ertl, S Flint-Garcia, MA Gore, C Graham, CN Hirsch, E Hood, DC Hooker, J Knoll, EC Lee, A Lorenz, JP Lynch, JK McKay, SP Moose, SC Murray, R Nelson, T Rocheford, JC Schnable, PS Schnable, R Sekhon, M Singh, M Smith, N Springer, K Thelen, P Thomison, A Thompson, M Tuinstra, J Wallace, RJ Wisser, W Xu, AR Gilmour, SM Kaeppler, N De Leon, JB Holland. 2021. The importance of dominance and genotype-by-environment interactions on grain yield variation in a large-scale public cooperative maize experiment. G3 Genes,Genomes,Genetics. doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkaa050
X Li, T Guo, J Wang, W Bekele, S Sukumaran, AV Vanous, J McNellie, L Tibbs Cortes, M Da Silva, K Lamkey, M Westgate, JK McKay, S Archontoulis, M Reynolds, N Tinker, P Schnable, J Yu, 2021. An Integrated Framework Reinstating the Environmental Dimension for Genome-Wide Association Studies and Genomic Selection in Crops. Molecular Plant. doi.org/10.1016/j.molp.2021.03.010
JG Monroe, JK McKay, D Weigel, PJ Flood. 2021. The population genomics of adaptive loss of function. Heredity. doi.org/10.1038/s41437-021-00403-2
J Liu, K Rana, JK McKay, Z Xiong, F Yu, J Mei, W Qian. 2021. Investigating genetic relationship of Brassica juncea with B. nigra via virtual allopolyploidy and hexaploidy strategy. Molecular Breeding. 41:5 doi.org/10.1007/s11032-020-01197-7
BA McFarland, Al Khalifah N, Bohn M, Bubert J, Buckler ES, Ciampitti I, Edwards J, Ertl D, Gage JL, Falcon CM, Flint-Garcia S, Gore MA, Graham C, Hirsch CN, Holland JB, Hood E, Hooker D, Jarquin D, Kaeppler SM, Knoll J, Kruger G, Lauter N, Lee EC, Lima DC, Lorenz A, Lynch JP, McKay JK, Miller ND, Moose SP, Murray SC Nelson R, Poudyal P, Rocheford T, Rodriguez O, Romay C, Schnable JC, Schnable PS Scully B, Sekhon R, Silverstein K, Singh M, Smith M, Spalding EP, Springer N, Thelen T, Thomison P, Tuinstra M, Wallace J, Walls R, Wills D, Randall J, Wisser J, Xu W, Yeh CT, de Leon N. Maize genomes to fields (G2F): 2014–2017 field seasons: genotype, phenotype, climatic, soil, and inbred ear image datasets. 2020. BMC Research Notes.
MD Mekonnen, Mullen JL, Arathi HS, Assefa Y, McKay JK, Byrne PF. 2020. Quantitative trait locus mapping for carbon isotope ratio and root pulling force in canola. Agrosystems, Geosciences and Environment. doi: 10.1002/agg2.20095
I Kovalchuk, M Pellino, P Rigault, R van Velzen, J Ebersbach, J R. Ashnest, M Mau, ME Schranz, J Alcorn, RB Laprairie, JK McKay, C Burbridge, D Schneider, D Vergara, NC Kane, TF Sharbel. 2020. The Genomics of Cannabis and Its Close Relatives. Annual Review of Plant Biology. doi: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-081519-040203
JT Heun, SAttalah, AN French, KR Lehner, JK McKay, JL Mullen, MJ Ottman, P Andrade-Sanchez. 2019. Deployment of Lidar from a Ground Platform: Customizing a Low-Cost, Information-Rich and User-Friendly Application for Field Phenomics Research. Sensors 2019, 19, 5358. doi: 10.3390/s19245358
JG Monroe, B Gill, KG Turner, JK McKay. 2019. Drought regimes predict life history strategies in Heliophila. New Phytologist. doi: 10.1111/nph.15919
JG Monroe, T Powell, N Price, JL Mullen, A Howard, K Evans, JT Lovell, JK McKay. 2019. Drought adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana by extensive loss of function. eLife. doi: 10.7554/eLife.41038
BJ Campbell, D Zhang, JK McKay. 2019. Industrial Hemp as a Modern Commodity Crop. Chapter 1: 94-108 Hemp Genetics and Genomics.
BJ Campbell, AF Berrada, C Hudalla, S Amaducci, and JK McKay. 2019. Genotype × Environment Interactions of Industrial Hemp Cultivars Highlight Diverse Responses to Environmental Factors. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment 2:180057. doi: 10.2134/age2018.11.0057
N Price, BT Moyers, L Lopez, JR Lasky, JG Monroe, JL Mullen, CG Oakley, J Lin, J Ågren, DR Schrider, AD Kern, JK McKay. 2018. Combining population genomics and fitness QTL to identify the genetics of local adaptation inArabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, doi: 10.1073/pnas.1719998115.
BT Moyers, PL Morell, JK McKay. 2018. Genetic costs of domestication and improvement. Journal of Heredity. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esx069.
CE Gomola, JK McKay, MD Wallenstein, C Wagg, MJ Obrien. 2018. Within species tradeoffs in plant stimulated soil enzyme activity and growth, flowering and seed size. Ecology and Evolution. DOI 10.1002/ece3.4623
Fletcher RS, McKay JK. INDUSTRIAL HEMP CANNABIS CULTIVARS AND SEEDS WITH STABLE CANNABINOID PROFILES. United States Patent Application US/2017/0339907A1. 30 November, 2017.
JG Monroe; ZA Allen; P Tanger; JL Mullen; JT Lovell; BT Moyers; D Whitley; JK McKay. 2017. TSPmap, a tool making use of traveling salesperson problem solvers in the efficient and accurate construction of high-density genetic linkage maps. BioData Mining. doi: 10.1186/s13040-017-0158-0.
D Pater, JL Mullen, JK McKay, JI Schroeder. 2017. Screening for Natural Variation in Water Use Efficiency Traits in a Diversity Set of Brassica napus L. Identifies Candidate Variants in Photosynthetic Assimilation. Plant and Cell Physiology 58: 1700-1709.
CE Gomola, EK Espeland, JK McKay. 2017. Genetic lineages of the invasive Aegilops triuncialis differ in competitive response to neighboring grassland species. Biological Invasions. doi: 10.1007/s10530-016-1366-0
P Tanger, S Klassen, JP Mojica, JT Lovell, BT Moyers, M Baraoidan, MEB Naredo, KL McNally, J Poland, DR Bush, H Leung, JE Leach, JK McKay. 2017. Field-based high throughput phenotyping rapidly identifies genomic regions controlling yield components in rice. Scientific Reports.
JT Lovell, RJ Williamson, SI Wright, JK McKay, TF Sharbel. 2017. Mutation accumulation in an asexual relative of Arabidopsis. PLoS Genetics. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006550.
JP Mojica, J Mullen, JT Lovell, JG Monroe, JR Paul, CG Oakley, JK McKay. 2016. Genetics of water use physiology in locally adapted Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Science 251:12-22.
JG Monroe, C McGovern, JR Lasky, K Grogan, J Beck, JK McKay. 2016. Adaptation to warmer climates by parallel functional evolution of CBF genes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular Ecology 25:3632-3644.
M Zhu, JG Monroe, Y Suhail, F Villers, J Mullen, D Pater, F Houser, BW Jeon, JS Bader, JM Kwak, JI Schroeder, JK McKay, SM Assmann. 2016. Molecular and systems approaches towards drought-tolerant canola crops. New Phytologist 210: 1169-1189. doi: 10.1111/nph.13866. Epub 2016 Feb 16.
RS Fletcher, D Hermann, JL Mullen, Q Li, DR Schrider, N Price, J Lin, K Grogan, A Kern, JK McKay. 2016. Identification of polymorphisms associated with drought adaptation QTL in Brassica napus by resequencing. G3 7: 793-803. doi: 10.1534/g3.115.021279.
JT Lovell, JL Mullen, DB Lowry, K Awole, JH Richards, S Sen, PE Verslues, TE Juenger, JK McKay. 2015. Exploiting differential gene expression and epistasis to discover candidate genes for drought-associated QTLs in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell 27:969-83. doi: 10.1105/tpc.15.00122
JT Lovell, JK McKay. 2015. Ecological genetics of range size variation in Boechera spp. (Brassicaceae). Ecology and Evolution. doi: 10.1002/ece3.1746
P Tanger, ME Vega-Sanchez, M Fleming, K Tran, S Singh, JB Abrahamson, CE Jahn, N Santoro, EB Naredo, M Baraoidan, JMC Danku, DE Salt, KL McNally, BS Simmons, PC Ronald, H Leung, DR Bush, JK McKay, JE Leach. 2015. Cell Wall Composition and Bioenergy Potential of Rice Straw Tissues Are Influenced by Environment, Tissue Type, and Genotype. Bioenergy Research 8:1165-1182
SR Becker, PF Byrne, SD Reid, WL Bauerle, JK McKay, SD Haley. 2016. Root traits contributing to drought tolerance of synthetic hexaploid wheat in a greenhouse study Euphytica. doi: 10.1007/s10681-015-1574-1
HM Easlon, E Carlisle, JK McKay, AJ Bloom. 2015. Does low stomatal conductance enhance growth at elevated CO2 in Arabidopsis thaliana? Plant Physiology, 167: 793-799.
Shafer ABA, Wolf JBW, Alves PC, Bergström L, Bruford MW, Brännström I, Colling G, Dalén L, De Meester L, Ekblom R, Fawcett KD, Fior S, Hajibabaei M, Hill JA, Hoezel AR, Höglund J, Jensen EL, Krause J, Kristensen TN, Krützen M, McKay JK, Norman AJ, Ogden R, Österling EM, Ouborg NJ, Piccolo J, Popovic D, Primmer CR, Reed FA, Roumet M, Salmona J, Schenekar T, Schwartz MK, Segelbacher G, Senn H, Thaulow J, Valtonen M, Veale A, Vergeer P, Vijay N, Vilà C, Weissensteiner M, Wennerström L, Wheat CW, Zieliński P. 2015. Genomics and the challenging translation into conservation practice. Trends in Ecology & Evolution doi:10.1016/j.tree.2014.11.009
RS Fletcher, JL Mullen, A Heiliger, JK McKay. 2015. QTL analysis of root morphology, flowering time and yield reveals tradeoffs in response to drought in Brassica napus. Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/eru423.
G Reuning, WL Bauerle, JL Mullen, JK McKay. 2015. Combining quantitative trait loci analysis with physiological models to predict genotype specific transpiration rates. Plant, Cell and Environment, 38: 710-7. doi: 10.1111/pce.12429.
JR Lasky, DL Des Marais, DB Lowry DB, I Povolotskaya, JK McKay, JH Richard, TH Keitt, TE Juenger. 2014. Natural variation in abiotic stress responsive gene expression and local adaptation to climate in Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular Biology and Evolution 31: 2283-2296. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msu170
DL Des Marais, L C Auchincloss, E Sukamtoh, JK McKay, T Logan, JH Richards, TE Juenger. Variation at MPK12 affects water use efficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana and reveals a pleiotropic link between guard cell size and ABA response. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2014 Feb 18;111(7):2836-41. PDF
J Ågren, CG Oakley, JK McKay, JT Lovell, DW Schemske. Genetic mapping of adaptation reveals fitness trade-offs in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences doi:10.1073/pnas.1316773110. PDF
RS Fletcher*, JL Mullen†, S Yoder‡, WL Bauerle, G Reuning*, S Sen, E Meyer, TE Juenger, JK McKay. 2013. Development of a next-generation NIL library in Arabidopsis thaliana for dissecting complex traits. BMC Genomics 14: 655. PDF
Lowry, D. B., T. L. Logan, L. Santuari, C. S. Hardtke, J. H. Richards, L. J. DeRose-Wilson†, J. K. McKay, S. Sen, T. E. Juenger. 2013. Expression QTL mapping across water availability environments reveals contrasting associations with genomic features in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell, DOI 10.1105/tpc.113.115352. PDF
HM Easlon†, KS Nemali†, JH Richards, DT Hanson, TE Juenger, JK McKay. 2013. The physiological basis for genetic variation in water use efficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana. Photosynthesis Research, DOI 10.1007/s11120-013-9891-5. PDF
JT Lovell*, TE Juenger, SD Michaels, JR Lasky*, A Platt, JH Richards, X Yu, HM Easlon†, S Sen, JK McKay. 2013. Pleiotropy of FRIGIDA enhances the potential for multivariate adaptation. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, DOI 10.1098/rspb.2013.1043. PDF
J-N Enjalbert*, S Zheng†, JJ Johnson, JL Mullen†, PF Byrne, JK McKay. 2013.Brassicaceae germplasm diversity for agronomic and seed quality traits under drought stress. Industrial Crops and Products 47: 176-185. PDF
J Mei, Y Ding, K Lu, D Wei, Y Liu, JO Disi, J Li, L Liu, S Liu, JK McKay, W Qian. 2013. Identification of genomic regions involved in resistance against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum from wild Brassica oleracea. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 126: 549-556. PDF
KJ Rice, JD Gerlach, AR Dyer, JK McKay. 2013. Evolutionary ecology along invasion fronts of the annual grass Aegilops triuncialis. Biological Invasions, DOI 10.1007/s10530-013-0471-6 PDF
BF Econopoly*, JK McKay, P Westra, SD Reid, AL Helm, PF Byrne. 2013. Phenotypic diversity of Aegilops cylindrica (jointed goatgrass) accessions from the western United States under irrigated and dryland conditions. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 164: 244-251. PDF
WC Funk, JK McKay, PA Hohenlohe, FW Allendorf. 2012. Harnessing genomics for delineating conservation units. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 27: 489-496. PDF
JR Lasky, JK McKay, JH Richards, TE Juenger, TH Keitt. 2012. The role of geography, climate and phenology in explaining genomic variation of Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular Ecology 22: 5512-5529. PDF
DL Des Marais, JK McKay, JH Richards, S Sen, T Wayne, TE Juenger. 2012. Variation and conservation of gene expression and physiological responses to soil drying stress among Arabidopsis thaliana accessions. Plant Cell 24: 893-914. PDF
S Wang, E Meyer, JK McKay, MV Matz. 2012. 2b-RAD: a simple and cost-effective method for genotyping on a genome-wide scale. Nature Methods 9: 808-810. PDF
JK McKay, JE Leach. 2011. Linkage illuminates a complex genome. Nature Biotechnology 29: 717-718. PDF
BF Econopoly*, JK McKay, P Westra, NLV Lapitan, PL Chapman, PF Byrne. 2011. Backcrossing provides an avenue for gene introgression from wheat to jointed goatgrass in the Great Plains. Weed Science 59: 188-194. PDF
CE Jahn‡ J Stephens, DR Bush, H Leung, JK McKay, JE Leach. 2011. Genetic variation in biomass traits among 20 diverse rice varieties. Plant Physiology 155: 157-168. PDF
H Meimberg‡, NF Milan†, M Karatassiou‡, EK Espeland*, JK McKay,KJ Rice. 2010. Patterns of introduction and adaptation during the invasion of Aegilops triuncialis (Poaceae) into Californian serpentine soils. Molecular Ecology 19: 5308-5319. PDF
TE Juenger, S Sen, E Bray, E Stahl, T Wayne, JK McKay, JH Richards. 2010. Exploring genetic and expression differences between physiologically extreme ecotypes: comparative genomic hybridization and gene expression studies of Kas-1 and Tsu-1 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant, Cell and Environment 33: 1268-1284. PDF
AR Dyer, CS Brown, EK Espeland*, JK McKay, H Meimberg‡, KJ Rice. 2010. The role of adaptive trans-generational plasticity in biological invasions of plants. Evolutionary Applications 3: 179-192. PDF
JD Gerlach, BS Bushman, JK McKay, H Meimberg‡. 2009. Taxonomic Confusion Permits the Unchecked Invasion of Vernal Pools in California by Low Mannagrass (Glyceria declinata). Invasive Plant Science and Management 2: 92-97. PDF
H Meimberg‡, KJ Rice, NF Milan†, CC Njoku†, JK McKay. 2009. Multiple origins promote the ecological amplitude of allopolyploid Aegilops (Poaceae). American Journal of Botany, 96: 1262-1273. PDF
JK McKay,JR Stinchcombe. 2008. Ecological genomics of model eukaryotes. Evolution 62: 2953-2957. PDF
JK McKay, JH Richards, HM Easlon†, T Mitchell-Olds, EA Stahl, T Wayne, T Juenger. 2008. Genetics of drought adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana II. QTL analysis of drought avoidance traits in a new mapping population. Evolution 62: 3014-3026. PDF
MA Christman*, JH Richards, JK McKay, EA Stahl, TE Juenger, LA Donovan. 2008. Genetic variation in Arabidopsis thaliana for night-time leaf conductance. Plant, Cell and Environment 31: 1170-1178. PDF
JA Lau*, AC McCall*, KF Davies, JK McKay, JW Wright. 2008. Herbivores and edaphic factors constrain the realized niche of a native plant. Ecology 89: 754-762. PDF
C Ghalambor, JK McKay, S Carroll, D Reznick. 2007. Adaptive versus non-adaptive phenotypic plasticity and the potential for contemporary adaptation in new environments. Functional Ecology 21:394–407. PDF
H Meimberg‡, T Abele, C Bräuchler, J K McKay, PL Pérez de Paz, G Heubl. 2007. Molecular evidence for adaptive radiation of Micromeria Benth. (Lamiaceae) on the Canary Islands as inferred from chloroplast and nuclear DNA sequences and ISSR fingerprint data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 41: 566-578. PDF
J Wright, K Davies, J Lau*, A McCall*, JK McKay. 2006. Experimental determination of the niche reveals the importance of local adaptation in a species with broad tolerance. Ecology 87: 2433-2439. PDF
TE Juenger, T Wayne, S Boles, V Symonds, JK McKay, SJ Coughlan. 2006. Natural genetic variation in whole-genome expression in Arabidopsis thaliana: the impact of physiological QTL introgression. Molecular Ecology 15: 1351-1365. PDF
H Meimberg‡, J Hammond*, C Jorgensen†, T Park†, KJ Rice, JK McKay. 2006. Molecular evidence for an extreme genetic bottleneck during introduction of an invading grass to California. Biological Invasions 8: 1355- 1366. PDF
M Forister, JK McKay. 2005. Post-Modern Speciation. Book Review of Speciation by JA Coyne and HA Orr. Ecology 86: 808-809.
JK McKay, C Christian, S Harrison, KJ Rice. 2005. “How local is local?” Practical and conceptual Issues in the genetics of restoration. Restoration Ecology 13: 432-440. PDF
T Juenger, JK McKay, N Hausman, JH Richards, E Simms, T Dawson, S Sen. 2005. Identification and characterization of physiological QTL in Arabidopsis thaliana: δ1C, stomatal conductance, and plant performance. Plant, Cell and Environment 28: 697-708. PDF
PR Martin, JK McKay. 2004. Latitudinal variation in genetic divergence of populations and the potential for future speciation. Evolution 58: 938-945. PDF
JK McKay, JH Richards, T Mitchell-Olds. 2003. Genetics of drought adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana. I. Pleiotropy contributes to genetic correlations among ecological traits. Molecular Ecology 12: 1137-1151. PDF
KJ Rice, J Gerlach, A Dyer, JK McKay. 2003. Evolutionary changes along invasion fronts in a range weed. 7th International Rangeland Congress Proceedings. Durban, South Africa.
JK McKay, RG Latta. 2002. Adaptive population divergence: markers, QTL and traits. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17: 285-291. PDF
JP Sexton*, JK McKay, A Sala. 2002. Ecological genetics of the invasive shrub, Tamarix ramosissima, at latitudinal extremes. Ecological Applications 12: 1652-1660. PDF
RG Latta, JK McKay. 2002. Genetic population divergence: markers and traits. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17: 501-502. PDF
JK McKay, JG Bishop, J-Z Lin, A Sala,JH Richards, T. Mitchell-Olds. 2001. Local adaptation across a climatic gradient despite small effective population size in the rare sapphire rockcress. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Biological Sciences 268: 1715-1721. PDF
HD Bradshaw, KG Otto, BE Frewen, JK McKay, DW Schemske. 1998. Quantitative trait loci affecting differences in floral morphology between two species of monkeyflower (Mimulus). Genetics 149: 367-382. PDF
2023-2025. EDGE CMT: Genetic basis of plant root growth traits and their response to environment. NSF. PI McKay. $2,000,000.
2017-2025. Root genetics in the field to understand drought adaptation and carbon sequestration. DOE ARPA-E. PI McKay. $10,741,602
2016-2019. Evolutionary genetics of adaptation in natural populations of Arabidopsis thaliana. NSF. McKay co-PI. Collaboration with PI Chris Oakley (Purdue University), Doug Schemske, Mike Thomashow (Michigan State). $980,000.
2014 – 2017. Biofuels in the Arid West: Germplasm Development for Sustainable Production of Camelina Oilseed. USDOE. PI McKay. Collaboration with Luca Comai (UC Davis), Ed Cahoon (Nebraska) and Timothy Durrett (Kansas State). $1,500,000.
2011 – 2014. An Integrated Approach to Improving Plant Biomass Production. USDOE and NIFA. $1,350,000. This is a collaboration with Jan Leach and Dan Bush (CSU), Hei Leung (IRRI) Bingyu Zhao (Virginia Tech.) and Andrew Kern (Rutgers).
2010 – 2014. Collaborative Research (Arabidopsis 2010): Ecological Genomics of Adaptation to the Environment. NSF Evolutionary Processes Cluster. Total funding is $3,154,225, of which $700,179 is budgeted to McKay at CSU. This is a collaboration with Doug Schemske and Mike Thomashow (Mich. State) and William Adams and Barbara Demmig-Adams (CU-Boulder).
2010 – 2014. TRMS: Cell-type specific networks: Systems analysis of Brassica guard cells in response to ABA and drought. NSF Plant Genome. Total funding is $5,109,278, of which $697,130 is budgeted to McKay as Co-PI. This is a collaboration with June Kwak (PI, Univ. Maryland), Sally Assman (Penn State), Julian Schroeder (UC San Diego), Scott Peck (Univ. Missouri, and Joel Bader (Johns Hopkins).
2010 – 2011. Two week short course: Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance. NSF Plant Genome. $23,435.
2009 – 2010. Modification of Camelina sativa and Development of Straight Vegetable Oil as an Alternative Fuel for Colorado. Colorado Office of Economic Development. $87,736.
2008 – 2011. Identification of genes that control biomass production using Rice as a model system. USDOE, USDA $1,500,000 of which $1,100,000 came to CSU. This was a collaboration with Jan Leach (PI), Dan Bush and Hei Leung (IRRI).
2008-2012. Enhancing education and research capacity in plant breeding for drought tolerance. USDA. $499,382 of which $384,968 came to CSU. This is a collaboration with Pat Byrne (PI) and Steve Baenziger (U Nebraska).
2007 – 2011. Estimating the frequency and impact of transgene introgression from wheat to jointed goatgrass. USDA-CSREES-NRI. Funds awarded to CSU $388,221. This was a collaboration with Pat Byrne (PI), Nora Lapitan and Phil Westra.
2007 –2010. Physiological genetics of plant water use efficiency: cloning WUE QTL in Arabidopsis thaliana. USDA-CSREES-NRI. Total funding is $399,000, of which $72,116 came to CSU. This was a collaboration with Tom Juenger (PI, UT Austin) and Jim Richards (UC Davis)
2006 – 2009. Arabidopsis 2010: Collaborative Research: Physiological and genetical genomics of drought adaptation and acclimation networks. PI McKay. NSF 2010 panel. Funds Awarded to CSU $287,704.
September 2023 – Invited Speaker, University of Kentucky Hemp Field Day, Lexington, KY
August 2023 – Invited Speaker, University of Illinois Department of Crop Science Seminar, Campaign-Urbana, IL
February 2023 – Invited Speaker, Quantitative Genetics & Genomics GRC, Ventura, CA
June 2022 – Invited Participant, ARPA-E Carbon Farming Workshop, Kansas City, MO
June 2022 – Invited Speaker, CROPS Symposium, Hudson-Alpha, Huntsville, AL
April 2022 – Invited Speaker, AGBT Ag meeting, San Diego, CA
December 2021 – Invited Speaker, Salk Institute, San Diego, CA
November 2021 – Invited Participant and Speaker, Spruce Capital Carbon Workshop, Berkeley, CA
October 2021 – Invited Speaker, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
April 2021 – Invited Speaker, Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies, Virtual
March 2021 – Invited Speaker, Plant Breeding and Genetics Seminar, Cornell University
November 2020 – Invited Speaker, Annual Meeting, Crop Science Society of America, Virtual
July 2020 – Invited Speaker, National Hemp Research and Education Conference, Virtual
January 2020 – Invited Lecture, Queens University, Kingston, Canada
January 2020 – Invited Speaker, Plant Animal Genome Meeting, San Diego, CA
October 2019 – Invited Lecture, Advances in Agricultural Sciences Symposium, Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research, Addis Ababa (Talk given via Zoom)
September 2019 – Invited Lecture, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
August 2019 – Invited Speaker, American Society of Plant Biologists, San Jose, CA
June 2019 – Invited Speaker, Society for In Vitro Biology, Tampa, FL
February 2019 – Invited Lecture, Genome British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
December 2018 – Invited Lecture, Plant and Microbial Biology, U Minnesota, St Paul, MN
July 2018 – Invited Speaker, USDA/DOE Circular Carbon Economy Summit, Golden, CO
May 2018 – Invited Lecture, Dept. of Plant Sciences, Univ. California Davis, Davis, CA
April 2018 – Plenary Speaker, Biological Society of Ethiopia Annual Conf., Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
April 2018 – Invited Speaker, Ethiopian Biotechnology Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
April 2018 – Invited Speaker, CIMMYT Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
April 2018 – Invited Speaker, Colorado Corn Growers, Broomfield, CO
March 2018 – Invited Speaker, Agronomy Dept., Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN
February 2018 – Invited Speaker, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. Colorado, Boulder, CO
February 2018 – Invited Speaker, Governor’s Forum on Agriculture, Denver, CO
January 2018 – Invited Speaker, Plant Animal Genome Meeting, San Diego, CA
December 2017 – Invited Speaker, Genomes to Fields GxE meeting, Chicago, IL
August 2017 – Invited Speaker, Polygenic Adaptation, Zurich Switzerland
June 2017 – Invited Speaker, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
June 2017 – Invited Speaker, CROPS Conference, Hudson-Alpha, Huntsville, AL
April 2017 – Invited Speaker, Institute for Cannabis Research CSU Pueblo, Pueblo, CO
March 2017 – Invited Speaker, Biology Seminar, University Maryland, Baltimore, MD
February 2017 – Invited Lecture, D. Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, MO
February 2017 – Invited Speaker, Phenome 2017 Conference, Tucson, AZ
February 2017 – Speaker, DOCE Genomic Sciences annual meeting, Washington, DC
August 2016 – Invited Lecture, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Phillippines.
July 2016 – Keynote Speaker, Genomics of Adaptation to Human Contexts Symposium
June 2016 – Invited Lecture, Population Genetics, University of Dusseldorf, Germany
April 2016 – Invited Lecture, Plant, Soil and Microbiology, Michigan State University
March 2016 – Invited Lecture, Evolutionary Genomics, University of Arizona
February 2016 – Invited Lecture, Plant Biology, Michigan State University
January 2016 – Invited Speaker, Plant and Animal Genome, San Diego, CA
December 2015 – Keynote Speaker, Canola Innovation Day, Saskatoon, Canada
November 2015 – Invited Speaker, Plant Development and Drought Stress, Asilomar, CA
October 2015 – Invited Lecture, Population Biology, Duke University
August 2015 – Keynote Speaker, International Humulus Symposium, Yakima, Washington
July 2015 – Invited Speaker, Quantitative Biology Symposium, Colorado State University
July 2015 – Keynote Speaker, Brassica Congress, Saskatoon, Canada
June 2015 – Invited Speaker, Quantitative Genomics Symposium, Michigan State University
April 2015 – Invited Lecture, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
April 2015 – Invited Lecture, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Phillippines.
November 2014 – University of the Sacred Heart, Piacenza, Italy
Sept 2014 – Invited Lecture, University of Maryland
Sept 2014 – Symposium organizer and speaker, UC Davis
May 2014 – Invited Lecture, University of Giessen, Germany
April 2014 – Invited Speaker, New England Biolabs, Ipswitch, MA
April 2014 – Invited Speaker, Plant Breeding, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
March 2014 – Invited Speaker and Discussion leader, Conservation Genomics meeting, Sweden
January 2014 – Plant and Animal Genome, Invited Speaker, San Diego, CA
September 2013: Invited Speaker, Plant Genomics Congress, St. Louis, MO
June 2013: Invited Lecture, Drought Adaptation, EMBRAPA Rice and Beans
June 2013: Keynote Lecture, Abiotic Stress in Plants, EMBRAPA, Brazil.
April 2013: Invited Lecture, International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Phillippines.
April 2013: Plenary Speaker, Graduate School on Genomes and Phenotypes, Evolutionary Biology Center, Uppsala, Sweden
March 2013: Invited Lecture, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
March 2013: Invited Lecture, Plant Breeding Institute (IPK), Gatersleben, Germany.
November 2012: Invited Lecture, Max Planck Inst. of Developmental Biology, Tuebingen, Germany.
November 2012: Invited Lecture, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
October 2012: Plenary Speaker, Plant Sciences for Future Needs, Uppsala, Sweden.
March 2012: Invited Lecture, Dept. of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY.
December 2011: Invited Lecture, CO/WY USDA-ARS Seminar, Fort Collins, CO.
October 2011: Invited Lecture, Dept. of Genetics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
January 2011 – Featured Speaker, Keystone Meeting on Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance Mechanisms, Water and Global Agriculture, Keystone, CO.
November 2010: Featured Speaker, 8th Ecological Genomics Symposium, Kansas City, MO.
November 2010: Invited Lecture, Dept. Plant Biology, Michigan State University.
November 2010: Invited Lecture, Dept. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas.
September 2010: Invited Lectures, Inst. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Univ. of Amsterdam.
July 2010: Invited Speaker, Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance, Colorado State University.
March 2010: Invited Lecture, Systems Biology Seminar, Colorado State University.
March 2010: Invited Lecture, Dept. of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.
February 2010: Invited Lecture, Dept. Horticulture, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.
October 2009: Invited Lecture, Dept. of Plant Pathology, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS.
October 2009: Invited Lecture, Cargill Specialty Oils, Fort Collins, CO.
October 2009: Invited Lecture, NREL – Isotopes in Ecology, CSU, Fort Collins, CO.
July 2009: Invited Speaker, Evolutionary Genomics Gordon Conference, Tilton, NH.
July 2009: Invited Lecture, Dept. of Systems Biology, New York University, New York, NY.
June 2009: Paper Presented, Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Meeting, Moscow, ID.
May 2009: Paper Presented, Genes to Products, USDA NRI Project Directors Mtg, Bethesda, MD.
March 2009: Invited Lecture, Dept. of Horticulture, CSU, Fort Collins, CO.
February 2009: Invited Lecture, Dept. of Biology, Dartmouth University, Hanover, NH.
February 2009: Invited Lecture to General Public, Denver Botanical Gardens, Denver, CO.
September 2008: Invited participant, Workshop, NSF iPLANT cyber infrastructure for plant adaptation meeting, Oracle, Arizona.
June 2008: Invited Lecture, Plant Breeding Institute (IPK) Gatersleben, Germany.
June 2008: Paper Presented, Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, Barcelona, Spain.
March 2008: Paper Presented, Complex Traits, Keystone Meeting, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
October 2007: Invited Lecture, Dept. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado.
June 2007: Organized symposium (with J. Stinchcombe) entitled “Ecological Genomics of Model Eukaryotes” at Society for the Study of Evolution Annual Meeting, Christchurch, New Zealand.
April 2007: Invited Lecture, Dept. Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago.
2019: Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
2012 – 2013: Wenner-Gren Foundation Fellow, Sweden
2012 – 2014: Monfort Professorship
2011: Promoted to early tenure
2011: Featured Speaker, Keystone Meeting on Plant Abiotic Stress Tolerance Mechanisms, Water and Global Agriculture. Keystone, CO.
2010: Featured Speaker, 8th Annual Ecological Genomics Symposium. Kansas City, MO.
2009: Featured Speaker, Gordon Conference on Evolutionary and Functional Genomics. Tilton, NH.
2009: Community Science Outreach Award, Putnam Elementary School. Fort Collins, CO.
2000: Bertha Morton Scholarship for Research Excellence, Graduate School, University of Montana. Missoula, MT.
DR. RICHARD S. FLETCHER
Dr. Fletcher has over twenty years experience with commercial breeding for specific value-added products. He has experience guiding products from development through commercialization including protection using patent and other intellectual property processes. He has also led successful collaborative projects with external companies. Dr. Fletcher has been published in BMC Genomics and has given presentations in Canada, Italy, China and Colorado. See below for a complete list of publications and presentations.
Zheng H, Brandt K, Fletcher R, Coonrod DC. BRASSICA PLANTS YIELDING OILS WITH A LOW TOTAL SATURATED FATTY ACID CONTENT. United States Patent # 10709079 B2. 14 July, 2020.
Fletcher R. CANNABIS VARIETY WHICH PRODUCES GREATER THAN 50% FEMALE PLANTS. International Publication Number WO 2020/010102 A1. 09 January, 2020 A1.
Fletcher RS, McKay J. INDUSTRIAL HEMP CANNABIS CULTIVARS AND SEEDS WITH STABLE CANNABINOID PROFILES. United States Patent # 10499584 B2. 10 December, 2019.
Fletcher R. CANOLA CULTIVAR 15RH0611. United States Patent # 10440915 B2. 15 October, 2019.
Fletcher R. CANOLA CULTIVAR 15RH0612 United States Patent # 10440916 B2. 15 October, 2019.
Fletcher R. CANOLA CULTIVAR 15RH0613. United States Patent # 10440909B2. 15 October, 2019.
Fletcher R. SPECIALTY LOW SATURATES CANOLA OIL. United States Patent Application WO/2018/031293 A1. 15 February, 2018.
Coonrod, DC, Brandt K, Zheng H, Chen Z, Fletcher R. BRASSICA PLANTS YIELDING OILS WITH A LOW ALPHA LINOLENIC ACID CONTENT. United States Patent # 9695434 B2. 4 July, 2017.
Fletcher R, Herrmann D, Zheng H. NOVEL QTL OF BRASSICA PLANT CORRELATED TO FATTY ACID PROFILE. United States Patent Application WO/2016/089677 A2. 9 June, 2016.
Zheng H, Brandt K, Fletcher R, Coonrod DC. BRASSICA PLANTS WITH MUTANT FATA2 ALLELES YIELDING OILS WITH A LOW TOTAL SATURATED FATTY ACID CONTENT. United States Patent # 9334483 B2. 10 May, 2016
Fletcher RS, Herrmann D, Li Q, Schrider D, Price N, Lin J, Grogan K, Mullen JL, Kern S, McKay JK. 2016. Identification of polymorphisms associated with drought adaptation QTL in Brassica napusby resequencing. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics 6:793-803
Coonrod, DC, Brandt K, Zheng H, Chen Z, Fletcher R. BRASSICA PLANTS YIELDING OILS WITH A LOW ALPHA LINOLENIC ACID CONTENT. United States Patent #9185861 B2. 17 May, 2015.
Fletcher R, Zheng H, Herrmann, D. 2015. ALLELES MODIFYING BRASSICA PLANT TOTAL SATURATED FATTY ACID CONTENT. United States Patent Application WO/2015/077661 A1. 28 May, 2015.
Fletcher RS, Mullen, JL, Heiliger A, McKay JK. 2015. QTL analysis of root morphology, flowering time, and yield reveals trade-offs in response to drought in Brassica napus. Journal of Experimental Botany 66:245-256
Fletcher RS, Mullen JL, Yoder S, Bauerle WL, Reuning G, Sen S, Meyer E, Juenger TE, McKay JK. 2013. Development of a next-generation NIL library in Arabidopsis thaliana for dissecting complex traits. BMC Genomics 14:655
Fletcher RS, Herrmann D, Schrider D, Kern A, Mullen JL, McKay JK. In Prep. Drafting a Brassica napus genome to characterize sequence variation in quantitative trait loci associated with drought adaptation.
Fletcher RS, Mullen, JL, Heiliger A, McKay JK. In Revision. QTL analysis of root system morphology, flowering time and yield and their plasticity to drought in Brassica napus.
Fletcher RS, Mullen JL, Yoder S, Bauerle WL, Reuning G, Sen S, Meyer E, Juenger TE, McKay JK. 2013. Development of a next-generation NIL library in Arabidopsis thaliana for dissecting complex traits. BMC Genomics 14:655
Coonrod, DC, Brandt K, Zheng H, Chen Z, Fletcher R. BRASSICA PLANTS YIELDING OILS WITH A LOW ALPHA LINOLENIC ACID CONTENT. United States Patent Application #20130081156. March 28, 2013.
Zheng H, Brandt K, Fletcher R, Coonrod DC. BRASSICA PLANTS YIELDING OILS WITH A LOW TOTAL SATURATED FATTY ACID CONTENT. United States Patent Application #20130031678. January 31, 2013.
Fletcher R.S. 2020. Direct Seeding Dioecious CBD Hemp in a Row Cropping System, Agronomics and Equipment. 26 March, 2020. Novel CBD Production Webinar, hosted by Purdue University. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2020. Update on Hemp Production Innovations. 10 June, 2020. American Seed Trade Association Policy & Leadership Development Conference Virtual. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2020. Redefining Dual Purpose Hemp: Breeding for Large Scale Cannabinoid and Grain Production. 15 July, 2020. Invited Speaker. 2020National Hemp Research & Education Virtual Conference. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2019. Genetics and Production – How biology impacts commercialization. 17 June, 2019. Invited Speaker. American Seed Trade Association Policy & Leadership Development Conference. Denver, CO. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2018. Breeding & Innovation at Cargill. Invited Speaker. 7 August, 2018. Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Kunming Shi, China. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2018. Hemp history and contemporary market opportunities. Invited Speaker. 7 February, 2018. Southern Rocky Mountain Agriculture Conference. Monte Vista, CO. [Oral Presentation] Fletcher R.S. 2017. Canola Oil Innovation at Cargill. Invited Speaker. 25 April, 2017. National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, Huazhong Agricultural University. Wuhan, China. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2017. Hybrid Breeding in Canola (Brassica napus). Invited lecture. 22 April, 2017. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2016. Canola Breeding & New Trait Technology. Invited Speaker. Analytical Environmental Immunochemical Consortium (AEIC) Quarterly Meeting. 19 April, 2016. Raleigh, NC. [Oral Presentation] Fletcher R.S. 2014. Hybrid Breeding in Canola (Brassica napus). Invited lecture. 5 December, 2014. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Oral Presentation] Fletcher R.S. 2014. The Genetics of Drought Adaptation in Brassica napus. Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management Seminar Series. April 30, 2014. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Oral Presentation] Fletcher R.S. 2013. Harvesting Diversity From U: Capitalizing on Inter-Specific Variation in the Brassicas. Invited lecture. November 5, 2013. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Oral Presentation] Fletcher R.S. 2012. Breeding for Specialty Traits in Brassica napus. Invited lecture. November 28, 2012. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Oral Presentation] Fletcher R.S., Mullen J.A., McKay J.K. 2012. Mapping root and flowering time QTL in Brassica napus: evidence for pleiotropy. 6th International symposium on Brassica and 18th Crucifer genetics workshop. November 12-16, 2012. Catania, Sicily. [Poster Presentation]
Fletcher R.S., Mullen J.A., McKay J.K. 2012. Mapping root and flowering time QTL in Brassica napus: evidence for pleiotropy. Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance Short Course. June 21, 2012. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Poster Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2012. Roots: structure, function & relation to drought. Plant Breeding for Drought Tolerance Short Course. June 19, 2012. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2010. Translational genomics in the Brassiceae: predicting genomic regions affecting drought avoidance in Brassica napus. Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management Seminar Series. November 3, 2010. Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO. [Oral Presentation]
Fletcher R.S. 2010. Translational genomics in the Brassiceae: predicting genomic regions affecting drought avoidance in Brassica napus. Brassica 2010: 17th Crucifer Genetics Workshop. September 7, 2010. Saskatoon, SK, Canada. [Oral Presentation]