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:

Muktar MS, Habte E, Teshome A, Assefa Y, Negawo AT, Lee K-W, Zhang J and Jones CS. (2022). Insights into the genetic architecture of complex traits in Napier grass (Cenchrus purpureus) and QTL regions governing forage biomass yield, water use efficiency and feed quality traits. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12: 678862. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2021.678862.

Girija A, Jifar H, Jones C, Yadav R, Doonan J and Mur LAJ. (2021). Tef: a tiny grain with enormous potential. Trends in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2021.11.011.

Wu F, Duan Z, X, P, Yan Q, Meng M, Cao M, Jones CS, Zong X, Zhou P, Wang Y, Luo K, Wang S, Yan Z, Wang P, Di H, Ouyang Z, Wang Y and Zhang, J. (2021). Genome and systems biology of Melilotus albus provides insights into coumarin biosynthesis and agronomic traits. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 1−18. https://doi.org/10.1111/pbi.13742.

Bedaso NH, Bezabih M, Kelkay TZ, Adie A, Khan NA, Mekonnen K, Jones CS, Wolde-meskel E. (2021). Effect of fertilizer inputs on productivity and herbage quality of native pasture in degraded tropical grasslands. Agronomy, 1−12. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20862.

Balehegn M, Varijakshapanicker P, Zampaligre N, Blummel M, Ayantunde A, Jones C, Prasad KVSZ, Duncan A, Dejene M and Adesogan AT. (2021). Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for forage nutritive value analysis in sub-Saharan African countries. Agronomy, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20801.

Negawo AT, Muktar MS, Assefa Y, Hanson J, Sartie AM, Habte E and Jones CS. (2021). Genetic diversity and population structure of a Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) collection. Genes, 12: 1233. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12081233.

Worku M, Lemma H, Shawle K, Adie A, Duncan AJ, Jones CS, Mekonnen K, Notenbaert A and Bezabih M. (2021). Potential of Urochloa grass hybrids as fodder in the Ethiopian highlands. Agronomy, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.20789

Vinutha KS, Khan AA, Ravi D, Prasad KVSV, Ramana Reddy Y, Jones CS and Blümmel M. (2021). Comparative Evaluation of Sorghum and Pearl Millet Forage Silages with Maize. Animal Nutrition and Feed Technology, 21: 1-14.

Angadi U.B. Animut G, Anandan S, Blümmel M, Moyo S, Rahman H and Jones C. (2021) FeedBase-Ethiopia: The Role of Database in Developing Livestock Feed. In: Modi R., Venkatachalam M. (eds) India–Africa Partnerships for Food Security and Capacity Building. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54112-5_6.

Mengistu S, Nurfeta A, Tolera A, Adie A, Mekonnen K, Wolde-meskel E, Khan NA, Jones CS and Bezabih M. (2021). Forage yield and replacing concentrate supplements with oat and vetch mixed forage on the performance of sheep fed Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) based diets. Ethiopian Journal of Science and Technology, 12: 10-17.

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.