Associate professor, State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems and College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University

CONTACT INFORMATION

768 West Jiayuguan Road, Lanzhou 730020, P.R.China

State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems,

College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, 

Lanzhou University

E-mail: xiewg@lzu.edu.cn

RESEARCH INTEREST 

My research focus on forage grass breeding and genetics:

Through DNA markers and common field experiments we are characterizing genetic diversity, population structures, and agronomic potential of promising Elymus sibiricus and E. nutans collections.

By developing EST-SSR, SNP marker, and constructing mapping populations, and association populations for Elymus grasses, we are dissecting the complex traits of interest for seed shattering, flowering time, awn length and other related agronomic traits.

Identifying genetic and molecular mechanisms for seed shattering and other traits in Elymus sibiricus. This species is a commonly grown pasture grass in the Northern and Western China, yet is difficult for commercial seed production due to serious seed shattering. We are generating genetic association mapping populations, identifying genes and molecular marker related to seed shattering, and trait evaluation field-plots to help overcome this issue.

EDUCATION

2006-2012: Ph.D. Grassland Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, China.

2010-2012: Visiting student, USDA-FRRL, USA

2002-2006: B.Sc. Grassland Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, China

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Jun. 2013-Present: Associate Professor, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China.

Jun.2018-Jul.2018: Visiting scientist under China-New Zealand Scientist Exchange Program, Grasslands Research Centre, AgResearch, New Zealand.

PUBLICATIONS (2013 - Present): *Corresponding author

 Zongyu Zhang,Wengang Xie*, Junchao Zhang, Xuhong Zhao, Yongqiang Zhao, Yanrong Wang*. Phenotype- and SSR-Based Estimates of Genetic Variation between and within Two Important Elymus Species in Western and Northern China. Genes，2018, 9(3) , 147. 

Wengang Xie, Junchao Zhang, Xuhong Zhao, Zongyu Zhang, Yanrong Wang. Transcriptome profiling of Elymus sibiricus, an important forage grass in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, reveals novel insights into candidate genes that potentially connected to seed shattering. BMC Plant Biology, 2017,17:78. 

Xuhong Zhao, Wengang Xie*, Junchao Zhang, Zongyu Zhang, Yanrong Wang. Histological characteristics, cell wall hydrolytic enzymes activity and candidate genes expression associated with seed shattering of Elymus sibiricus accessions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 2017, 8:606.

Xuhong Zhao, Zongyu Zhang, Junchao Zhang, Yongqiang Zhao, Yanrong Wang and Wengang Xie*. Hybrid identification and genetic variation of Elymus sibiricus hybrid populations using EST-SSR markers. Hereditas. 2017, 154: 15.  

Zongyu Zhang, Junchao Zhang, Xuhong Zhao, Wengang Xie*, Yanrong Wang. Assessing and broadening genetic diversity of Elymus sibiricus germplasm for the improvement of seed shattering. Molecules, 2016, 21, 869.

Junchao Zhang, Wengang Xie*, Yanrong Wang, Xuhong Zhao. Potential of Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) markers to estimate genetic diversity and relationships among Chinese Elymus sibiricus accessions. Molecules, 2015, 20: 5987-6001.

Wengang Xie, Junchao Zhang, Xuhong Zhao, Jianquan Zhang, Ranyong Wang. Siberian wild rye (Elymus sibiricus L.) : Genetic diversity of germplasm determined using DNA fingerprinting and SCoT markers. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 2015, 60, 186-192. 

Wengang Xie, Xuhong Zhao, Jianquan Zhang, Yanrong Wang, Wenxian Liu. Assessment of genetic diversity of Siberian wild rye (Elymus sibiricus L.) germplasms with variation of seed shattering and implication for future genetic improvement. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 2015, 58:211-218.

Wengang Xie, Joseph G. Robins, Sandra Escribano, B. Shaun Bushman, Xin-Quan Zhang. Cultivar × binary mixture interaction effect on agronomic traits in orchardgrass. Grassland Science, 2014, 60,104-111.

Wengang Xie, B. Shaun Bushman, Yingmei Ma, Mark S. West, Joseph G. Robins, Lisa Michaels, Kevin B. Jensen, Xinquan Zhang, Michael D. Casler, Samuel D. Stratton. Genetic Diversity and Variation in North American Orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) Cultivars and Breeding Lines. Grassland Science, 2014, 60, 185-193. 

Qiang Zhou, Dong Luo, Lichao Ma, Wengang Xie, Yu Wang, Yanrong Wang, Zhipeng Liu*. Development and cross-species transferability of EST-SSR markers in Siberian wildrye (Elymus sibiricus L.) using Illumina sequencing. Scientific Reports, 2016, 6: 20549. 

Dong Luo, Qiang Zhou, Lichao Ma, Wengang Xie, Yanrong Wang, Xiaowen Hu, Zhipeng Liu*. Novel polymorphic expressed-sequence tag-simple-sequence repeat markers in Campeiostachys nutans for genetic diversity analyses. Crop Science, 2015, 55: 2712-2718.

Wenxian Liu, Xitao Jia, Zhimin Liu, Zhengshe Zhang, Yanrong Wang, Zhipeng Liu, Wengang Xie. Development and Characterization of Transcription Factor Gene-Derived Microsatellite (TFGM) Markers in Medicago truncatula and Their Transferability in Leguminous and Non-Leguminous Species. Molecules. 2015, 20, 8759-8771.

RESEARCH GRANTS

The National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB138701). Jan. 2014 –Aug. 2018

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (31302023). Jan. 2014 – Dec. 2016

The Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (lzujbky-2013-83; LZUJBKY-2016-7)

The Open Project Program of State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-ecosystems

AWARDS

2017: The third prize of teaching competition in College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University

2013: Progress Award in Science and Technology, The Grassland Society of China

2012: National Fellowship for PhD student