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  • Expert Resources

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    From farms and gardens to families and finances, our expert resources empower Georgians with trustworthy, practical science.

    Gardening
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    Food and food safety
    Ants, termites and other pests
    Pollinators
    Livestock
    Emergency preparedness
    Home safety and maintenance
    Health, family and finances
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    Water quality
    Lawn maintenance and landscaping
    Turfgrass
    View all topics

    What is an Expert Resource?


    We publish unbiased, research-backed expert advice to empower Georgians with practical, trustworthy information they can trust.

    These resources are written and reviewed by experts in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences.

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  1. Home
  2. Our People
  3. Zenglu Li

Zenglu Li


Georgia Seed Development Professor in Soybean Breeding and Genetics

  • Crop & Soil Sciences
  • Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics (IPBGG)
Zenglu Li
Zenglu Li
Areas of expertiseAboutEducationAwards and honorsCoursesScholarly works

Areas of expertise

Crop and Pasture Improvement (Selection and Breeding)GenomicsQuantitative Genetics (incl. Disease and Trait Mapping Genetics)Agricultural BiotechnologyGenetically Modified Field Crops and Pasture

About

80% Research, 15% Teaching and 5% Service

My major responsibilities at UGA include: 1) Integration of traditional breeding with genomic technologies to develop improved cultivars and germplasm of soybean adapted to the Southeastern U .S. with flexibility to solve other agricultural problems based on industry needs and program direction.; 2) Deploying transgenes in the breeding program and releasing improved cultivars and germplasm; 3) QTL/gene discovery for traits of importance; 4) Conducting predictive breeding and high throughput/precision phenotyping to improve breeding efficiency; and 4) Mentoring graduate students and teaching a graduate course in quantitative plant breeding

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding

University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign, IL, United States (1999)

Master of Science, Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding

Yangzhou University, China (1987)

Bachelor of Science, Agronomy and Crop Science

Laiying Institute of Agriculture, China (1983)

Awards and Honors

  • 2021 D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Research (2021)
  • Above & Beyond (2010)
  • Above & Beyond Award (2008)
  • Research Innovation Award (2008)

Courses

  • PBGG 8880: Plant Quantitative Genetics and Molecular Breeding (Spring 2026)

Scholarly Works

  • Allele variation at the Rdm3 locus conferring resistance to soybean southern stem canker, THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS, (2026).
    Widyawan MH, Buck JW, Li Z
  • Selection of four mutant alleles of fatty acid desaturase genes for a stable high oleic and low linolenic acid soybean seed oil trait, THEORETICAL AND APPLIED GENETICS, (2026).
    Jo H, Lorenz A, Diers B, Scaboo A, Pantalone V … 2 more
  • Registration of three near-isogenic soybean lines carrying the Rcs3 allele for frogeye leaf spot resistance, JOURNAL OF PLANT REGISTRATIONS, (2026).
    McDonald SC, Kreisa D, Buck JW, Mian MAR, Phillips DV … 2 more
  • Developing and deploying an unmanned aerial system-based phenotyping program for maturity to support soybean breeding, PLANT PHENOME JOURNAL, (2026).
    Burner N, Bastos LM, Li Z
  • A Pathway-Based Metabolomics Approach Reveals Metabolic Strategies and Reprogramming in Drought-Tolerant Soybean Genotypes, LEGUME SCIENCE, (2026).
    Lee N, Harris DK, Li Z, Suh JH

View full list of scholarly works

Contact

zli@uga.edu 706-542-9805

Mailing Address

Center for Applied Genetic Technologies
111 Riverbend Road
Athens, GA 30602

  • https://www.cropsoil.uga.edu/personnel/faculty/li.html
  • UGA Soybean Breeding and Genetics Lab

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Stories

  • March 3, 2020

    UGA professor, soybean breeder named to Georgia Seed Development Professorship

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  • Sept. 5, 2018

    Scientists put soy in the spotlight at international conference hosted by UGA

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  • July 5, 2018

    CAES scientists go live on Facebook this fall

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  • April 26, 2018

    Monsanto global plant breeding donates second research planter to UGA’s Iron Horse Farm

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