@article{zhao_qu_li_xu_frazier_2014, title={Tissue culture, genetic transformation, and improvement of switchgrass through genetic engineering}, journal={Compendium of bioenergy plants: switchgrass}, author={Zhao, B. Y. and Qu, R. D. and Li, R. Y. and Xu, B. and Frazier, T.}, year={2014}, pages={253–293} }
 @article{zhou_xu_wang_cheng_li_qu_2012, title={Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of transgenic switchgrass for sugar production}, volume={104}, ISSN={["0960-8524"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.biortech.2011.11.051}, abstractNote={Conventional Alamo switchgrass and its transgenic counterparts with reduced/modified lignin were subjected to dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment for improved sugar production. At 150 °C, the effects of acid concentration (0.75%, 1%, 1.25%) and residence time (5, 10, 20, 30 min) on sugar productions in pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were investigated, with the optimal pretreatment conditions determined for each switchgrass genotype based on total sugar yield and the amounts of sugar degradation products generated during the pretreatment. The results show that genetic engineering, although did not cause an appreciable lignin reduction, resulted in a substantial increase in the ratio of acid soluble lignin:acid insoluble lignin, which led to considerably increased sugar productions in both pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. At an elevated threshold concentration of combined 5-hydroxyfuranmethal and furfural (2.0 g/L), the overall carbohydrate conversions of conventional switchgrass and its transgenic counterparts, 10/9-40 and 11/5-47, reached 75.9%, 82.6%, and 82.2%, respectively.}, journal={BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY}, author={Zhou, Xu and Xu, Jiele and Wang, Ziyu and Cheng, Jay J. and Li, Ruyu and Qu, Rongda}, year={2012}, month={Jan}, pages={823–827} }
 @article{wang_xu_pandey_cheng_li_qu_2012, title={Improvement of Sugar Production from Transgenic Switchgrass with Low-Temperature Alkali Pretreatment}, volume={26}, ISSN={["1520-5029"]}, DOI={10.1021/ef3004575}, abstractNote={Genetically modified switchgrass (cv. Alamo) and its conventional plant were both pretreated using two groups of conditions: lime at 50 °C and the combination of lime and NaOH at ambient temperature. The results show that the transgenic plant (with altered lignin content and composition) was more susceptible to alkali pretreatment than the conventional plant. At the recommended conditions (0.1 g/g of raw biomass and 12 h) for lime pretreatment at 50 °C, the glucan and xylan conversions of transgenic switchgrass were 12 and 10%, respectively, higher than those of the conventional plant. These increases were reduced to 7 and 8% for glucan and xylan conversions, respectively, when the best conditions (0.025 g of lime/g of raw biomass, 0.1 g of NaOH/g of raw biomass, and 6 h) for combined alkali pretreatment at ambient temperature were employed. The advantage of transgenics over a conventional plant in sugar production could be maximized if proper pretreatment conditions were used.}, number={5}, journal={ENERGY & FUELS}, author={Wang, Ziyu and Xu, Jiele and Pandey, Pankaj and Cheng, Jay J. and Li, Ruyu and Qu, Rongda}, year={2012}, month={May}, pages={3054–3061} }
 @article{li_qu_2011, title={High throughput Agrobacterium-mediated switchgrass transformation}, volume={35}, ISSN={["1873-2909"]}, DOI={10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.11.025}, abstractNote={Switchgrass is one of the most important biomass/bioenergy crops. For its improvement as a feedstock through biotechnological approach, we have developed a high throughput Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for cv. Alamo and two new elite cultivars, Performer and Colony. Highly regenerable and transformation-competent embryogenic calli were identified and used for genetic transformation. GFP reporter gene was employed to identify transformation events at early stages and to guide modifications at various stages for improvement of transformation efficiency. The modifications included infection under vacuum, co-cultivation at desiccation conditions, resting between co-cultivation and selection, and supplement of L-proline in the callus culture and selection media. Transformation efficiency over 90% was routinely achieved for Performer, and around 50% for Alamo and Colony. The new system substantially improved switchgrass transformation efficiency and will significantly contribute to the genetic improvement of this important biofuel feedstock via biotechnological approach.}, number={3}, journal={BIOMASS & BIOENERGY}, author={Li, Ruyu and Qu, Rongda}, year={2011}, month={Mar}, pages={1046–1054} }
 @article{li_bruneau_qu_2010, title={Morphological mutants of St. Augustinegrass induced by gamma ray irradiation}, volume={129}, ISSN={["1439-0523"]}, DOI={10.1111/j.1439-0523.2009.01735.x}, abstractNote={With 3 figures and 3 tables 
 
 
 
Abstract 
 
St. Augustinegrass is a widely used turf and pasture grass in the southern US. ‘Raleigh’ is a cultivar known for superior cold tolerance than other St. Augustinegrass cultivars. However, its coarse-leaf texture and long internodes are undesirable when planted in home lawns. Mutagenesis by gamma ray irradiation was employed to treat node cuttings and calli for inducing semi-dwarf growth phenotype. Dosages of 48.5 and 72.6 Gy were determined as LD50 and LD20 for the cuttings, respectively. Regeneration ability of callus was greatly reduced when irradiated with higher dosages (over 100 Gy). Thirteen morphological mutants were identified among over 3000 node cuttings and 80 pieces of calli treated. Most mutants were semi-dwarf type with reduced internode length and leaf blade length. One mutant had much less and shorter stolons and displayed an upright and tufty growth pattern. The altered morphological traits were stable as shown by their growth performance in various locations and conditions.}, number={4}, journal={PLANT BREEDING}, author={Li, R. and Bruneau, A. H. and Qu, R.}, year={2010}, month={Aug}, pages={412–416} }
 @article{li_qu_bruneau_livingston_2010, title={Selection for freezing tolerance in St. Augustinegrass through somaclonal variation and germplasm evaluation}, volume={129}, ISSN={["1439-0523"]}, DOI={10.1111/j.1439-0523.2009.01743.x}, abstractNote={With 4 figures and 1 table 
 
 
 
Abstract 
 
St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze] is the least cold-hardy turfgrass species. Development of freezing-tolerant St. Augustinegrass cultivars would greatly benefit home owners in many southern states of the US. Towards this breeding goal, 7800 plants regenerated through tissue culture and 36 germplasm accessions were screened for improved freezing tolerance. Among the conditions tested, 1 week at 13°C followed by another week at 3°C, then freezing at −3 to −5°C for 3 h, was found to be suitable to distinguish genotypes in freezing tests. The experiments revealed that germplasm accession Elm4 was significantly more freezing-tolerant under a controlled environment than ‘Raleigh’, the current commercially available, most freezing-tolerant cultivar. In addition, out of 7800 regenerated plants from tissue culture, somaclonal variant SVC3 showed significantly more freezing-tolerant than its parent ‘Raleigh’.}, number={4}, journal={PLANT BREEDING}, author={Li, R. and Qu, R. and Bruneau, A. H. and Livingston, D. P.}, year={2010}, month={Aug}, pages={417–421} }
 @article{li_bruneau_qu_2010, title={Tissue culture-induced morphological somaclonal variation in St. Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze]}, volume={129}, ISSN={["1439-0523"]}, DOI={10.1111/j.1439-0523.2009.01647.x}, abstractNote={Somaclonal variation has been observed in many plant species and is an alternative way to create variants and expand the germplasm pool. A large scale tissue culture experiment was conducted with St. Augustinegrass, an important turfgrass species for the southern USA, to induce somaclonal variation to enlarge the germplasm pool for breeding efforts. Using an improved protocol, approximately 7900 St. Augustinegrass plants were regenerated from cv. Raleigh, and 119 morphological variants were identified. Among the variants, 115 had a semi-dwarf growth habit with shorter and narrower leaves, and shortened internodes and stolons. However, 100 of them showed little vigour, which either grew very slowly or did not survive. The remaining 15 showed reasonable growth vigour and were further investigated in the field. Among them, 13 were semi-dwarf and 2 had longer leaves. In addition, 2 other variants, with variegated (yellow striping) leaves, or significantly thicker stems were also observed and characterized. The altered traits in the variant lines were stable during vegetative propagation and when grown in different environments.}, number={1}, journal={PLANT BREEDING}, author={Li, R. and Bruneau, A. H. and Qu, R.}, year={2010}, month={Feb}, pages={96–99} }
 @article{li_bruneau_qu_2006, title={Improved plant regeneration and in vitro somatic embryogenesis of St Augustinegrass [Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze]}, volume={125}, ISSN={["1439-0523"]}, DOI={10.1111/j.1439-0523.2006.01193.x}, abstractNote={Abstract}, number={1}, journal={PLANT BREEDING}, author={Li, R and Bruneau, AH and Qu, R}, year={2006}, month={Feb}, pages={52–56} }
 @article{li_li_fei_qu_2005, title={Agrobacterium-Mediated transformation of common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)}, volume={83}, ISSN={["1573-5044"]}, DOI={10.1007/s11240-005-6838-3}, number={2}, journal={PLANT CELL TISSUE AND ORGAN CULTURE}, author={Li, L and Li, R and Fei, S and Qu, R}, year={2005}, month={Nov}, pages={223–229} }