Prof. Dr. Peng Yu

Professorship

Plant Genetics

Academic Career and Research Areas

Prof. Yu’s (b. 1986) research focuses on the genetic basis and environmental regulation of the formation and functioning of the root system and its biotic interaction with soil microbiome in plants, especially adaptive behavior of root and rhizosphere functions during crop evolution and domestication. Our team aims to develop a theoretical framework to incorporate beneficial root-microbe interactions into sustainable crop production and resilience. The final target is to understand and manipulate crop genetics to enhance system "One Health".

Prof. Yu completed his PhD in Plant Nutrition at China Agricultural University in 2016. He did a research stay (2013-2015) and postdoc (2016-2020) at Crop Functional Genomics at the University of Bonn. Since 2021, he was supported by the Emmy Noether program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and headed an independent research group at the Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES) at the University of Bonn. Since October 2024, Prof. Yu was appointed to the professorship for Plant Genetics at TUM School of Life Sciences.

    Awards

    • Emmy Noether Fellowship, German Research Foundation (2021-2027)
    • Excellent Doctoral Dissertation, Chinese Society of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Sciences, China (2017)
    • Outstanding graduates in Beijing, China (2016)
    • China Agricultural University President Fellowship, China (2016)
    • Chinese Scholarship Council Fellowship (2013-2015)

    He X, Wang D, Jiang Y, Li M, Delgado-Baquerizo M, McLaughlin C, Marcon C, Guo L, Baer M, Moya YAT., von Wirén N, Deichmann M, Schaaf G, Piepho H-P, Yang Z, Yang J, Yim B, Smalla K, Goormachtig S, de Vries F, Hüging H, Sawers RJH, Reif JC, Hochholdinger F, Chen X, Yu P "Heritable microbiome variation is correlated with source environment in locally adapted maize varieties." Nature Plants. 2024; 10(4): 598–617.

    Abstract

    Wang D, He X, Baer M, Lami K, Yu B, Tassinari A, Salvi S, Schaaf G, Hochholdinger F, Yu P "Lateral root enriched Massilia associated with plant flowering in maize." Microbiome. 2024; 12(1): 124.

    Abstract

    Yu B, Zhou C, Wang Z, Bucher M, Schaaf G, Sawers RJH, Chen X, Hochholdinger F, Zou C, Yu P "Maize zinc uptake is influenced by arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis under various soil phosphorus availabilities." New Phytologist. 2024; 243(5): 1936–1950.

    Abstract

    Yu P, Li C, Li M, He X, ..., Sawers RJH, Wang T, Hochholdinger F "Root system adaptation to water availability during maize domestication and global expansion." Nature Genetics. 2024; 56: 1245–1256.

    Abstract

    Yu P, He X, Baer M, Beirinckx S, Tian T, Moya YAT, Zhang Y, Deichmann M, Frey FP, Bresgen V, Li C, Razavi BS, Schaaf G, von Wirén N, Su Z, Bucher M, Tsuda K, Goormachtig S, Chen X, Hochholdinger F "Plant flavones enrich rhizosphere Oxalobacteraceae to improve maize performance under nitrogen deprivation." Nature Plants. 2021; 7: 481–499.

    Abstract

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