Rex Bernardo

Professor and Endowed Chair in Corn Breeding and Genetics

Office Address

301 Hayes Hall

Mailing Address

411 Borlaug Hall

1991 Upper Buford Circle

St. Paul, MN 55108

bernardo@umn.edu

+1 612 625 6282

Bernardo Group website

Education

Ph.D.: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1988)
Year Appointed: 2000
Rank: Professor and Endowed Chair Corn Breeding and Genetics

Areas of Interest

Maize breeding and statistical genetics

Teaching

Breeding for Quantitative Traits in Plants (Agro 8202, 3 credits) Graduate students learn how quantitative genetics principles are helpful in designing and implementing a breeding program.
Professional Skills for Scientists (CFAN 8101, 2 credits) This course helps prepare graduate students for their future careers. Specific goals are to increase student awareness and improve student skills in leading people, and in managing money, time, operations, and projects.
International Industry Internships (Agro 5999, 3 credits) Students spend 8–10 weeks in a summer internship to gain first-hand experience in a large-scale breeding program and to become immersed in a foreign culture.
Marker-Assisted Plant Breeding (noncredit) This 4-day course focuses on principles, concepts, and practices regarding the use of molecular markers to improve quantitative traits in plants. The course includes both theory and hands-on computer sessions in an active-learning format

Research

I discover new ways of breeding corn, breed corn for new uses, and educate future plant breeders. My interests include exploiting new technologies in applied corn breeding and elucidating the nature of genetic variation for quantitative traits.

Selected Publications

Bernardo, R. 2017. Prospective targeted recombination and genetics gains for quantitative traits in maize. Plant Genome doi: 10.3835/plantgenome2016.11.0118.
Bernardo, R. 2016. Bandwagons I, too, have known. Theor. Appl. Genet. 129: 2323-2332.
Lian, L., A. Jacobson, S. Zhong, and R. Bernardo. 2014. Genomewide prediction accuracy within 969 maize biparental populations. Crop Sci. 54: 1514–1522.
Jacobson, A., L. Lian, S. Zhong, and R. Bernardo. 2014. General combining ability model for genomewide selection in biparental populations. Crop Sci. 54: 895–905.
Bernardo, R. 2014. Genomewide selection when major genes are known. Crop Sci. 54: 68–75.
Bernardo, R. 2013. Genomewide markers for controlling background variation in association mapping. Plant Genome doi: 10.3835/plantgenome2012.11.0028.
Massman, J.M., H.-J.G. Jung, and R. Bernardo. 2013. Genomewide selection versus marker-assisted recurrent selection to improve grain yield and stover-quality traits for cellulosic ethanol in maize. Crop Sci. 53: 58-66.
Bernardo, R. 2008. Molecular markers and selection for complex traits: Learning from the last 20 years. Crop Sci. 48: 1649-1664.
Bernardo, R., and J. Yu. 2007. Prospects for genomewide selection for quantitative traits in maize. Crop Sci. 47:1082-1090.
Bernardo, R. 1994. Prediction of maize single-cross performance using RFLPs and information from related hybrids. Crop Sci. 34: 20-25. (The GBLUP procedure, and therefore genomewide selection as a whole, was invented in this paper.)