Yan Jianbing, president of Huazhong Agricultural University (HZAU), met with Richard Michelmore, an academician with the United States' National Academy of Sciences and a professor at the University of California, and presented him with a guest professorship appointment on Oct 12.
Yan Jianbing meets with Richard Michelmore. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]
Yan briefed him on the university’s mission and strengths, highlighting horticulture as one of HZAU’s traditional areas of excellence, with the research team making progress in fundamental research, technology development and the breeding of high-quality new varieties.
He said he hoped Michelmore would play a key role in driving further advances in scientific research, international training of young faculty and students, and the establishment of an international joint horticultural laboratory.
During his visit, Michelmore delivered a lecture titled "Building Foundational Resources for Understanding Disease Resistance in Lettuce" to the university's faculty and students.
Michelmore is a world-renowned expert in plant genetics, plant disease resistance and lettuce biology. He is the inventor of the Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA) genetic research method, using it to identify several disease resistance genes in lettuce.
In addition, he constructed the first genetic map of lettuce. As the first one to clone a lettuce gene using genetic methods, he developed an efficient genetic transformation system for lettuce, and sequenced the genomes of lettuce, wild lettuce, and the pathogen responsible for lettuce downy mildew.