“Plant Genetic Resources: Management, Utilization, and Improvement”

Dr. Adam Mahan,

Wednesday, April 15th, 2026

Agronomy 3140, 3:00 – 4:00 pm

Session Description: The USDA-ARS Plant Introduction (PI) Station is one of four PI stations in the United States and the first of its kind, established in 1948. The PI station is part of the National Plant Germplasm System and is focused on the acquisition, conservation, distribution, documentation, evaluation, and utilization of the genetic resources and associated information of approximately 55,000 distinct plant samples from a range of crops including maize, sunflower, carrots, melons, cucumbers, spinach, quinoa, amaranth, purple cone flower, ash tree germplasm, and many others. The PI station is also home to the Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM) project whose primary mission is to introduce novel, useful, and selectable variation into elite commercial maize breeding programs primarily from tropical sources. Request for plant germplasm and examples of its use towards genetic enhancement will also be discussed.

Dr. Mahan is Research Leader of the USDA-ARS Plant Introduction Research Unit (PIRU) in Ames, IA. Dr. Mahan received his B.S. in Agronomy from Iowa State University, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Breeding from Texas A&M University.  Dr. Mahan’s graduate work focused on antioxidant and amino acid content characterization in maize, as well as comparison of breeding population designs for genetic mapping effectiveness. 

Prior to his current role, Dr. Mahan served as the curator of the USDA-ARS National Soybean Collection in Urbana, IL and led a soybean breeding program. Dr. Mahan also has industry experience as a commercial maize breeder with AgReliant Genetics in Boone, Iowa.  During his time at AgReliant, Dr. Mahan oversaw a commercial maize breeding program and coordinated the breeding strategy of four additional breeding programs. Breeding program deliverables included 39 proprietary inbred lines and three inbred line utility patents.