2019 ASHS Annual Conference

PhD from Huazhong Agricultural University in 1988. He has focused his research on

breeding and/or genetics of horticultural crops including caladium, citrus, Coreopsis,

gerbera, lantana, impatiens, and petunia. He has published 90 refereed articles, and a

number of his articles each have been cited more than 100 times.

Dr. Deng discovered multiple sources of resistance to major caladium and gerbera

diseases and incorporated the resistance into new cultivars. Over the last 15 years, Dr.

Deng has released 37 new cultivars in caladium, gerbera and lantana, received 31 plant

patents, and established more than 50 license agreements for commercial production of

these cultivars. The improved disease resistance in these caladium and gerbera cultivars

has benefited growers and consumers and helped reduce pesticide use. The new lantana

cultivars are male- and female-sterile and do not hybridize with native species. His

genetic sterilization work in lantana and other crops has served a dire need of the

industry, and the society in general, for non-invasive cultivars.

Dr. Deng has elucidated the inheritance of important horticultural and disease resistance

traits in caladium and gerbera and developed linkage maps of the genes controlling these

traits. He developed molecular markers for caladium, citrus, Coreopsis, gerbera, and

lantana. Using these markers and other biotechnological tools, he identified and mapped

major quantitative loci (QTL) controlling powdery mildew resistance in gerbera. Dr.

Deng discovered that lantana can bypass meiosis and double fertilization and reproduce

through seven modes of reproduction. He demonstrated that the production of unreduced

female gametes and apomictic seeds are the primary causes of invasiveness and are the

sources of polyploidization or haploidization in lantana. Dr. Deng cloned and

characterized multiple classes of resistance (R) genes in Citrus and Poncirus, discovered

a large cluster of R genes conferring immunity to citrus tristeza virus (CTV), developed

molecular markers for marker-assisted selection for CTV resistance, and constructed

physical maps for cloning CTV resistance genes. The biotechnological tools he

developed have been used by him and others to accelerate the genetic improvement of

horticultural crops.

Dr. Deng has received $5.9 million in research grants and delivered more than 70 invited

lectures and presentations at international/national/regional conferences and research

institutions. He has chaired ASHS working groups, organized workshops, served on

ASHS committees, conducted numerous outreach activities to serve the horticulture

industry, worked collaboratively with U.S. and international researchers, and promoted

national and international interest in horticulture.