Jenna Hershberger

Educational Background

Ph.D. Plant Breeding and Genetics
Cornell University 2021

B.S. Horticulture
University of Wisconsin-Madison 2016

Research Interests

To holistically meet the dietary needs of a growing population, improved crop varieties must adhere to consumer preferences and provide adequate quantities of micronutrients. But what makes a vegetable high quality, and how might this assessment differ across stakeholder groups? What is the genetic control of good flavor? How might available genetic resources be used to improve quality both efficiently and effectively?

Using tools from genomics, proximal sensing, and programming, the Hershberger lab seeks to explore these questions while breeding flavorful and nutritionally dense vegetables for South Carolina. Long-term goals include 1) establish an efficient and effective vegetable breeding program focused on nutritional quality and flavor; 2) characterize the genetic variation and control of target traits in focus crops; and 3) assess and implement new phenotyping methods and breeding schemes.

Publications

• Mbanjo EGN, Hershberger J, Peteti P, Agbona A, Ikpan A, Ogunpaimo K, Kayondo SI, Abioye RS, Nafiu K, Alamu EO, Adesokan M, Maziya-Dixon B, Kulakow P, Gore MA, Egesi C, Rabbi IY. (2022). Predicting Starch Content in Cassava Fresh Roots Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13:990250. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.990250

• Morales N, Ogbonna AC, [and 55 others, including Hershberger JM]. (2022). Breedbase: a digital ecosystem for modern plant breeding. G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics, jkac078. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkac078

• Hershberger J, Mbanjo EGN, Peteti P, Ikpan AS, Ogunpaimo K, Nafiu K, Rabbi IY, Gore MA. (2022). Low-cost, handheld near-infrared spectroscopy for root dry matter prediction in cassava. The Plant Phenome Journal, 5:e20040. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.20040

• Hershberger J, Tanaka R, Wood JC, Kaczmar N, Wu D, Hamilton JP, DellaPenna D, Buell CR, Gore MA. (2022). Transcriptome-wide association and prediction for carotenoids and tocochromanols in fresh sweet corn kernels. The Plant Genome. e20197. https://doi.org/10.1002/tpg2.20197

• Van Tassel DL, DeHaan LR, Diaz-Garcia L, Hershberger J, Rubin MJ, Schlautman B, Turner MK, Miller A. (2022). Reimagining crop domestication in the era of high throughput phenomics. Current Opinions in Plant Biology. 65:102150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbi.2021.102150

• Rife TW, Courtney C, Hershberger J, Gore MA, Neilsen M, Poland JA. (2021). Prospector: a mobile application for portable, high-throughput near-infrared spectroscopy phenotyping. The Plant Phenome Journal. 4:e20024. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.20024

• Hershberger J, Morales N, Simoes CC, Ellerbrock B, Bauchet G, Mueller LA, Gore MA. (2021). Making WAVES in Breedbase: An Integrated Spectral Data Storage and Analysis Pipeline for Plant Breeding Programs. The Plant Phenome Journal. 4:e20012. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.20012

Links