Chris Jones (UK) is program leader for feed and forage development, a multidisciplinary research program involving a team of plant molecular biologists, physiologists and geneticists, and animal nutrition scientists. His work is directed towards accelerating the genetic improvement of feed and forage species in support of livestock production in developing countries. He has a PhD from the University of Dundee and has researched all aspects of plant biotechnology from academic to highly commercially driven projects. He Joined ILRI in July 2015 from the New Zealand Crown Research Institute, AgResearch.

Recent publications:

Simeão RM, Resende MDV, Alves RS, Pessoa-Filho M, Azevedo ALS, Jones CS, Pereira JF and Machado JC. (2021). Genomic Selection in Tropical Forage Grasses: Current Status and Future Applications. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12: 761. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.665195.

Atumo TT and Jones CS. (2021). Varietal differences in yield and nutritional quality of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) accessions during consecutive harvests. Tropical Grasslands-Forrajes Tropicales, 9: 89-96. https://doi.org/10.17138/tgft(9)89-96.

Yan Q, Wu F, Xu P, Li J, Chen D, Sun Z, Gao L, Lu L, Muktar M, Jones C, Yi X and Zhang J. (2020). The elephant grass (Cenchrus purpureus) genome provides insights into anthocyanidin accumulation and fast growth. Molecular Ecology Resources, https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13271.

Halewood M, Jamora N, Noriega IL, Anglin NL, Wenzl P, Payne T, Ndjiondjop M-N, Guarino L, Kumar PL, Yazbek M, Muchugi A, Azevedo V, Tchamba M, Jones CS, Venuprasad R, Roux N, Rojas E and Lusty C. (2020). Germplasm Acquisition and Distribution by CGIAR Genebanks. Plants, 9: 1296.

Sánchez RA, Hanson J, Jones C, Jurado P, Santellano E, Melgoza A and Morales-Nieto CR. (2020). Phenotypic variation of buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare (L.)) and accessions with potential for forage and seed production. Revista Fitotecnia Mexicana, 43: 343 - 347.

Kumar A, Hanson J, Jones CS, Assefa Y and Mulatu F. (2020). Screening and characterisation of virus causing leaf yellow disease of Tephrosia in Ethiopia. Australasian Plant Pathology, 49: 447-450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-020-00717-5. 

Habte E, Muktar MS, Abdena A, Hanson J, Sartie A, Negawo AT, Machado JC, Lédo FJdS and  Jones CS. (2020). Forage Performance and Detection of Marker Trait Associations with Potential for Napier Grass (Cenchrus Purpureus) Improvement. Agronomy, 10: 542. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10040542.

Negawo AT, Assefa Y, Hanson J, Abdena A, Muktar MS, Habte E, Sartie AM and Jones CS. (2020). Genotyping-By-Sequencing Reveals Population Structure and Genetic Diversity of a Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) Collection. Diversity, 12: 88. https://doi.org/10.3390/d12030088.

Liu Q, Rasmussen S, Johnson LJ, Xue H, Parsons AJ, and Jones CS. (2020). Molecular mechanisms regulating carbohydrate metabolism during Lolium perenne regrowth vary in response to nitrogen and gibberellin supply. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-020-10070-y.

Habte E, Muktar MS, Negawo AT, Lee S-H, Lee K-W and Jones CS. (2019). An Overview of Teff (Eragrostis teff Zuccagni) Trotter) as a Potential Summer Forage Crop in Temperate Systems. Journal of The Korean Society of Grassland Science. 39: 185-188. http://db.koreascholar.com/article.aspx?code=380828.

Wang Z, Wang X, Zhang H, Ma L, Zhao H, Jones CS, Chen J, Liu G. (2019). A genome-wide association study approach to the identification of candidate genes underlying agronomic traits in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Plant Biotechnology Journal, 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13251.

Lee KW, Hong S, Rahman MA, Ji HC, Cha JY, Jones CS and Son D. (2019) Ectopic Overexpression of Teff Grass (Eragrostis tef) Phi-class Glutathione S-transferase 1 (EtGSTF1) Enhances Prokaryotic Cell Survivability against Diverse Abiotic Stresses. Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering, 24: 552–559. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12257-018-0495-y.

Roldan MB, Cousins G, Fraser K, Hancock K, Collette V, Denmer J, Woodfield D, Caradus J, Jones C and Voisey C. (2019). Elevation of condensed tannins in the leaves of Ta-MYB14-1 white clover (Trifolium repens L.) outcrossed with high anthocyanin lines. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b01185. 

Lee KW, Rahman MA, Lee SH, Kim YG, Lee DG, Jones CS and Lee BH. (2019). Nitric oxide-induced proteomic analysis in rice leaves. Plant Biotechnology Reports, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11816-019-00544-1.

Muktar MS, Teshome A, Hanson J, Negawo AT, Habte E, Domelevo Entfellner J-B, Lee K-W and Jones CS. (2019). Genotyping by sequencing provides new insights into the diversity of Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) and reveals variation in genome-wide LD patterns between collections. Scientific Reports, 9: 6936. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43406-0.

Subbaraj AK, Huege J, Fraser K, Cao M, Rassmussen S, Faville M, Harrison SJ and Jones CS. (2019). A large-scale metabolomics study to harness chemical diversity and explore biochemical mechanisms in ryegrass. Communications Biology, 2: 87. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-019-0289-6.

Rahman MA, Lee S-H, Ji HC, Kabir AH Jones CS and Lee K-W. (2018). Importance of Mineral Nutrition for Mitigating Aluminum Toxicity in Plants on Acidic Soils: Current Status and Opportunities. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 19, 3073. doi:10.3390/ijms19103073.

Bezabih M, Adie A, Ravi D, Prasad KVSV, Jones C, Abeyo B, Tadesse Z, Zegeye H, Solomon T, and Blümmel M. (2018). Variations in food-fodder traits of bread wheat cultivars released for the Ethiopian highlands. Field Crops Research, 229: 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2018.09.006.

Negawo AT, Jorge A, Hanson J, Teshome A, Muktar MS, Azevedo ALS, Lédo FJdS, Machado JC and Jones CS. (2018). Molecular markers as a tool for germplasm acquisition to enhance the genetic diversity of a Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) collection. Tropical Forages, 6: 58–69. DOI: 10.17138/TGFT(6)58-69.

Gill GP, Bryant CJ, Fokin M, Huege J, Fraser K, Jones CS, Cao M and Faville MJ. (2018). Low pyrrolizidine alkaloid levels in perennial ryegrass is associated with the absence of a homospermidine synthase gene. BMC Plant Biology, 18: 56 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-018-1269-6.

Lee K-W, Rahman MA, Kim K-Y, Choi GJ, Cha J-Y, Cheong MS, Shohael AM, Jones C and Lee S-H. (2018). Overexpression of the alfalfa DnaJ-like protein (MsDJLP) gene enhances tolerance to chilling and heat stresses in transgenic tobacco plants. Turkish Journal of Biology 42: 12-22. doi:10.3906/biy-1705-30.

Kumar A, Mulatu F, Assefa Y, Hanson J and Jones CS. (2018). First report of Johnsongrass mosaic virus infecting Urochloa mosambicensis in Ethiopia. Plant Disease, 102: 459. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-06-17-0925-PDN.

Wambua L, Schneider B, Okwaro A, Odhiambo J, Imali O, Nduku Wambua P, Agutu L, Olds C, Jones CS, Masiga D, Midega C, Khan Z, Jores J and Fischer A. (2017). Development of field-applicable tests for rapid and sensitive detection of Candidatus Phytoplasma oryzae. Molecular and Cellular Probes, 35: 44-56. doi.org/10.1016/j.mcp.2017.06.004.

Negawo AT, Kumar A, Teshome A, Hanson J and Jones CS. (2017). Opportunities from Molecular Genetics for the Improvement of Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum). Agronomy, 7: 28. doi:10.3390/agronomy7020028.

He L, Matthew C, Jones CS and Hatier J-HB. (2017). Productivity in simulated drought and post-drought recovery of eight ryegrass cultivars and a tall fescue cultivar with and without Epichloë endophyte. Crop & Pasture Science, 68: 176–187. doi.org/10.1071/CP16208.

Cao M, Fraser K, Jones C, Stewart A, Lyons T, Faville M and Barrett B. (2017). Untargeted metabotyping Lolium perenne reveals population-level variation in plant flavonoids and alkaloids. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8: 133. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00133.