Meet Jim Anderson, a professor in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota where he leads breeding programs focused on spring wheat, intermediate wheatgrass (Kernza®), and field pennycress. Research on each species focuses on cultivar development and the investigation of genetics for important traits. Working on wheat breeding and genetics for the past 36 years, Anderson has received grant funding from the USWBSI since 1999 where his projects have focused on enhancing spring wheat resistance to FHB for Minnesota growers.

Simultaneously Learning and Working in Plant Breeding

Anderson grew up on a small dairy farm in south central Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota and received his bachelor’s degree in agronomy. As a college freshman, he started working in an alfalfa breeding program and then got the idea to simultaneously enroll in a genetics and plant breeding course his junior year while continuing to work for the breeding project. This joint experience allowed Anderson to better understand and appreciate the improvement process when breeding plants. Following graduation, he moved to the University of Kentucky and received a master’s of science degree in crop science, and then completed his doctorate degree from Cornell University where his focus on wheat breeding and genetics started.

Collaborating to Achieve Resistance

Building his professional network is important to Anderson and something he recommends to younger professionals. Being a wheat breeder in the USWBSI allows him to have access to a great system of other researchers to keep up to date on the latest germplasm releases, gene discoveries, and breeding procedures for FHB. When attending the National Fusarium Head Blight Forum, he appreciates seeing first-hand what other researchers are doing outside of breeding (epidemiology, fungicides, and pathogen biology). “Attending meetings like the Forum is a great way to immerse yourself into your field of research and develop new collaborations,” said Anderson.

As a wheat breeder, Anderson is part of the Variety Development and Host Resistant Spring Wheat Coordinated Project, and is proud to have played a valuable role in improving FHB resistance for the U.S. hard red spring wheat region. The process to develop germplasm and resources for spring wheat began in the mid ‘90’s and since then these materials have been used to develop many moderately resistant varieties. Another rewarding accomplishment Anderson has had was being the first lab to report on the discovery of what became known as Fhb1 and then seeing the impact it’s had across the different wheat classes.

While the resistance, like Fhb1, that’s been achieved in the last 30+ years appears stable, there are still susceptible varieties in commercial production. Anderson’s lab continues to work on developing new varieties using the latest technologies and incorporating the best FHB resistance genes as well as improved yield and other important traits that can compete with the more susceptible varieties. He hopes that breeders can continue to make progress with phenotypic selection, marker-assisted-selection, and genomic prediction to achieve the highest yielding levels of resistance.

Presenting on the Evolution of Breeding Hard Red Spring Wheat for FHB Resistance

Attendees of the 2024 National Fusarium Head Blight Forum in Austin, Texas, will have the chance to learn more about Anderson’s research on Tuesday, December 10. During his presentation, he’ll focus on how scab breeding methodologies have evolved and continue to improve. In addition, he’ll also discuss his breeding programs efforts to improve hard red spring wheat scab resistance.

For more information about Dr. Jim Anderson's research, visit his faculty profile.

To learn more about others in the FHB community, check out all the previous USWBSI Featured Researchers/Advocates.