Yanhong Dong

Research Associate Professor
[email protected]
+1 612 625 2751
103 Stakman Hall

1991 Upper Buford Circle
495 Borlaug Hall
St. Paul, MN 55108
United States

Grants and Publications
Education
  • Ph.D. (Inorganic Chemistry), Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, 1989
  • M.S. (Inorganic Chemistry), Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, 1985
  • B.S. (Inorganic Chemistry), Nanjing University, Nanjing, China, 1982

Areas of Interest

Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), commonly known as scab, is a devastating disease for all classes of wheat and barley in the world. The disease causes not only grain yield loss and quality reduction, but also the contamination of wheat and barley with mycotoxins, especially deoxynivalenol (DON). This results in grains unsuitable for human consumption and animal feed, which in turn leads to huge economic losses for the producers.

Teaching

My program focuses on diagnostics of mycotoxins produced by fungi, especially Fusarium species that cause Fusarium Head blight in small grains. We use gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to provide rapid, cost-effective and accurate measurement of mycotoxins in harvested grains, greenhouse samples as well as in fungal culture media. We collaborate closely with plant pathologists to study the factors involved in mycotoxins’ biosynthesis and to develop effective disease management strategies to mitigate disease severity and mycotoxin contamination. We also collaborate with wheat and barley breeders to develop new varieties with improved resistance to FHB and DON accumulation.