Sorrells, Mark E.
Professor of Plant Breeding
The Cornell Small Grains Project has a history of 100 years of developing innovative approaches to crop improvement. Our research program utilizes appropriate technologies encompassing molecular genetics, physiology, pathology, and breeding to research strategies that contribute to the development of superior crop varieties.
research
research and scholarship focus
Our basic research projects are primarily focused on comparative genomics that emphasizes comparison of genes and genomes across species and genera using sequence and map-based tools. Elucidation of structure-function relationships of genes and genomes is more efficient in model species and efficient methods of transferring that information to other species are vitally important for crop species with large, complex genomes such as wheat. We also use trait dissection, integration of information about metabolic pathways, gene expression, and chromosome location to facilitate the rational selection of candidate genes. Allelic diversity experiments are employed to facilitate the identification of superior alleles for genes of economic importance so that they can be assembled in superior crop varieties.
primary investigator of
- ACQUISITION OF GOODS AND SERVICES | Research Grant
- CEREAL BREEDING | Research Grant
- FUSARIUM HEAD BLIGHT RESISTANT WHEAT VARIETY DEVELOPMENT - CORNELL | Research Grant
- GENETIC IMPROVEMENT, TECHNOLOGY DISSEMINATION AND SEED SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICAN CHLORIDOID CEREALS | Research Grant
- MAPPING EXPRESSION PROFILES OF GENES CONTROLLING SEED DORMANCY IN WHEAT | Research Grant
- WHEAT APPLIED GENOMICS | Research Grant
co investigator of
- ADVANCING CROP IMPROVEMENT THROUGH INTEGRATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES | Research Grant
- LINKING CROP GENOTYPES AND PHENOTYPES VIA GENOMICS AND BIOINFORMATICS: PH.D. FELLOWSHIPS FOR PLANT BREEDERS | Research Grant
- PLANT BREEDING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: UTILIZING GENOMICS FOR CROP IMPROVEMENT | Research Grant
research areas
- adult and extension education | collaborative research area (CALS)
- agricultural biotechnology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- bioinformatics | collaborative research area (CALS)
- biotechnology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- computational biology | research concentration area (Engineering)
- evolution | collaborative research area (CALS)
- food science | collaborative research area (CALS)
- genetics | collaborative research area (CALS)
- genomics | collaborative research area (CALS)
- international agriculture | collaborative research area (CALS)
- molecular biology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- molecular genetics | collaborative research area (CALS)
- new life sciences | collaborative research area (CALS)
- plant biology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- plant breeding and genetics | collaborative research area (CALS)
- plant pathology | collaborative research area (CALS)
- plant sciences | collaborative research area (CALS)
- science education | collaborative research area (CALS)
- seed science | collaborative research area (CALS)
- sustainable agriculture | collaborative research area (CALS)
submitted impact statement
- A new Cornell wheat variety with improved grain yield and disease resistance | 2007 Impact statement
- Improving tef in Ethiopia by providing researchers access to the benefits of molecular markers | 2007 Impact statement
- A new high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat variety | 2006 Impact statement
- A New Genomics Tool for Cross-Linking the Genomes of Crops to Model Species | 2005 Impact statement
- A new genomics tool for cross-linking the genomes of crops to model species | 2004 Impact statement
affiliations
head of
- Plant Breeding and Genetics (PB&G) | Cornell department
faculty appointment in
- Plant Breeding and Genetics (PB&G) | Cornell department
administrative appointment
- Plant Breeding and Genetics (PB&G) | Cornell department
member of graduate field
- Plant Breeding | graduate field
other Cornell affiliations
- Cornell Small Grains Breeding & Genetics Research Project | research program
teaching
teaching focus
The objectives of my courses are to: i) stimulate original thought, ii) teach critical thinking and writing, iii) expose students to decisions and problems encountered in plant breeding research programs, and iv) bring together plant breeding methods and principles to form logical, innovative crop improvement programs.
teaches
- BIOG 2990 - Introduction to Research Methods in Biology (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- BIOG 4990 - Independent Undergraduate Research in Biology (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 4060 - Methods of Plant Breeding Laboratory (TR 01:25:PM-04:25:PM) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 4970 - Individual Study in Plant Breeding (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 4980 - Undergraduate Teaching (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 4990 - Undergraduate Research (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 5990 - Plant Breeding MPS Project Paper (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 7900 - Graduate-Level Dissertation (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 8900 - Master's-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- PLBR 9900 - Doctoral-Level Dissertation Research (TBA -) | fall 2009 class
- BIOG 2990 - Introduction to Research Methods in Biology (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- PLBR 4970 - Individual Study in Plant Breeding (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- PLBR 4980 - Undergraduate Teaching (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- PLBR 4990 - Undergraduate Research (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- PLBR 7160 - Perspectives in Plant Breeding Strategies (WF 03:35:PM-05:15:PM) | spring 2009 class
- PLBR 7900 - Graduate-Level Dissertation (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- PLBR 8900 - Master's-Level Thesis Research (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
- PLBR 9900 - Doctoral-Level Dissertation Research (TBA -) | spring 2009 class
service
outreach focus
The more applied goals of our program are to: (1) develop, evaluate, and introduce new cultivars and germplasm of small grains having improved yield, nutritional quality, disease resistance, and other characteristics that increase the crop value and production efficiency; (2) develop and evaluate novel breeding strategies for crop improvement and (3) elucidate the inheritance of agronomic plant characters, the gene expression controlling these characters, and their correlations with other traits. A regional variety testing program is conducted annually for wheat, oats, and barley.
background
educational background
Bachelor's Degree
Southern Illinois Univ
1973
Master's Degree
Southern Illinois Univ
1975
Doctorate
Univ of Wisconsin-Madison
1977
publications
linked articles
- Applications of comparative genomics to crop improvement | journal article
- Association analysis as a strategy for improvement of quantitative traits in plants | journal article
- Development and mapping of EST-derived simple sequence repeat markers for hexaploid wheat | journal article
- Group 3 chromosome bin maps of wheat and their relationship to rice chromosome 1 | journal article
- Identification of drought-inducible genes and differentially expressed sequence tags in barley | journal article
- Identification of small grains genotypes resistant to Wheat spindle streak mosaic virus | journal article
- Nonrandom distribution and frequencies of genomic and EST-derived microsatellite markers in rice, wheat, and barley. | journal article
- Phytochemicals and antioxidant activity of milled fractions of different wheat varieties. | journal article
Keywords: association mapping, barley, bioinformatics, comparative genomics, crop improvement, drought tolerance, gene expression, genetics, genomics, grains, maize, molecular breeding, molecular genetics, oats, preharvest sprouting, QTL mapping, rice, seed dormancy, seed size gnetics, small grains breeding and genetics, wheat, wheat baking quality, wheat milling quality