徐强，中共党员，教授、博士、博士生导师、园艺林学学院副院长。曾入选国家杰出青年科学基金资助（2020-2025），国家万人计划领军人才，国家优秀青年科学基金资助（2013-2015）。2007年留校任教。主要从事果树基因组学与分子育种研究，带领团队在柑橘基因组研究取得突破，克隆了控制柑橘“多胚”无融合生殖基因、果实品质调控基因以及抗溃疡病和耐黄龙病基因，基于基因组信息从野生柑橘从头驯化研究，创制优质绿色高效新品种。研究成果发表在Nature Genetics, Nature Plants和Molecular Plant等国际影响力刊物。2009年和2018年曾赴美国康奈尔（Cornell）大学开展合作研究。兼职中国园艺学会青年分会副理事长，Molecular Breeding刊物编委，Horticultural Plant Journal编委，华中农业大学学报副主编，园艺植物生物学教育部重点实验室主任。

主持国家自然科学基金（青年、面上和杰青）、国家重点研发计划项目、科技部973计划子课题、霍英东青年教师基金、湖北省自然科学基金创新群体、重点项目等10余项。

主要研究方向：1. 基因组数据及其育种，建立国际上最完整的柑橘基因组数据库，开发柑橘品种鉴定软件，构建柑橘品种DNA指纹数据库，筛选我国地方优良地方资源及优株；研究柑橘“芽变”“从头驯化”“基因组选择”“快速育种”等重要育种方法，提升育种效率。2. 无性繁殖及嫁接生物学，挖掘控制无融合生殖“多胚”的关键基因并构建其调控网络，解析砧木和接穗之间的互作机制及传递信号，为果树高效生产提供理论和技术支撑。3. 耐黄龙病基因发掘与利用，从柑橘近缘野生种及耐黄龙的资源发掘基因资源，探索抗病性与品质的交叉调控网络，应用于抗性改良。4 果实品质调控与遗传改良，发掘控制果实色泽、风味和维生素C的基因并应用于育种，朝着“好看、好吃、好种”的新需求创制优质绿色高值的新品种。

代表性论文：

1)     Wang X(#), Xu YT(#), Zhang SQ(#), Cao L(#), Huang Y, Cheng JF, Wu GZ, Tian SL, Chen CL, Liu Y, Yu HW, Yang XM, Lan H, Wang N, Wang L, Xu JD, Jiang XL, Xie ZZ, Tan ML, Larkin RM, Chen LL, Ma BG, Ruan YJ, Deng XX, Xu Q* (2017) Genomic analyses of primitive, wild and cultivated citrus provide insights into asexual reproduction, Nature Genetics 49: 765-772

2)     Xu Q, Chen LL, Ruan X, Chen D, Zhu A, Chen C, Bertrand D, Jiao WB, Hao BH, Lyon MP, Chen J, Gao S, Xing F, Lan H, Chang JW, Ge X, Lei Y, Hu Q, Miao Y, Wang L, Xiao S, Biswas MK, Zeng W, Guo F, Cao H, Yang X, Xu XW, Cheng YJ, Xu J, Liu JH, Luo OJ, Tang Z, Guo WW, Kuang H, Zhang HY, Roose ML, Nagarajan N, Deng XX, Ruan Y. (2013) The draft genome of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). Nature Genetics 45:59-66

3)     Wang L(#), Huang Y#, Liu ZA#, He JX, Jiang XL, He F, Lu ZH, Yang SZ, Chen P, Yu HW, Zeng B, Ke LJ, Xie ZZ, Larkin RM, Jiang D, Ming R, Buckler ES, Deng XX, Xu Q* (2021) Somatic variations led to selection of acidic and acidless orange cultivars. Nature Plants https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00941-x

4)     Huang D, Wang X, Tang Z, Yuan Y, Xu Y, He J, Jiang X, Peng SA, Li L,   Butelli E, Deng X, Xu Q* (2018) Subfunctionalization of   the Ruby2-Ruby1 gene cluster during the domestication of citrus. Nature   Plants 4: 930-941 (2018)

5)     Wang L, Wang L, He F, Huang Y, He J, Yang SZ, Zeng JW, Deng CL, Jiang   XL, Fang YW, Wen SH, Xu RW, Yu HW, Yang XM, Zhong GY, Chen CW, Yan X, Zhou   CF, Zhang HY, Xie ZZ, Larkin RM, Deng XX and Xu Q*(2018) Genome   of wild mandarin and domestication history of mandarin. Molecular Plant,   11: 1024-1037

6）Wang X(#), Liu SJ(#), Zuo H(#), Zheng WK(#), Zhang SS(#), Huang Y, Pingcuo G, Ying H, Zhao F, Li YR, Liu JW, Yi TS, Zan YJ, Larkin RM, Deng XX, Zeng XL*, Xu Q* (2021) Genomic basis of high altitude adaptation in Tibetan Prunus fruit trees. Current Biology doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.062.

7）Tang XM, Wang X, Huang Y, Ma L, Jiang XL, Rao MJ, Xu YT, Yin P, Yuan M, Deng XX, Xu Q* (2021) Natural variations of TFIIAγ gene and LOB1 promoter contribute to citrus canker disease resistance in Atalantia buxifolia. PLoS Genetics 2021 Jan 25;17(1):e1009316

8)     Xu YT, Jia HH, Wu XM, Koltunow AM, Deng XX, Xu Q* (2021) Regulation of nucellar embryony, a mode of sporophytic apomixis in Citrus resembling somatic embryogenesis. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 2021, 59:101984

9)     Zhu CQ(#), Zheng XJ(#), Huang Y(#), Ye JL, Chen P, Zhang CL, Zhao F, Xie ZZ, Zhang SQ, Wang N, Li H, Wang L, Tang XM, Chai LJ, Xu Q* and Deng XX* (2019) Genome sequencing and CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of an early flowering mini citrus (Fortunella hindsii). Plant Biotechnology Journal, 2019, 17(11) 2199-2210

10)  Rao MJ, Ding F, Wang N, Deng XX, Xu Q* (2019) Metabolic mechanisms of host species against Citrus Huanglongbing (greening disease). Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 37(6): 496-511

11）Liu YL(#), Ke LL(#), Wu GZ, Xu YT, Wu XM, Xia R, Deng XX, Xu Q*(2017)   miR3954 is a trigger of phasiRNAs that affects flowering time in citrus. Plant Journal 92: 263-275

12)  Huang Y(#), Xu YT(#), Jiang XL, Yu HW, Jia HH, Tan CM, Hu G, Hu YB, Rao MJ, Deng XX, Xu Q* (2021) Genome of a citrus rootstock and global DNA demethylation caused by heterografting. Horticulture Research, 8:69

13) Yu HW(#), Lu ZH(#), Wang X, Liu D, He JX, Jiang XL, Ke LJ, Guo WW, Deng XX, Xu Q* (2021) Identification of a delayed leaf greening gene from a mutation of pummelo. 中国科学生命科学卷. 64(7), 1165-1173

14) Huang D(#) ,  Yuan Y(#),  Tang ZZ,  Huang Y, Kang CY, Deng XX, Xu Q*(2019) Retrotransposon promoter of ruby1 controls both light‐ and cold‐induced accumulation of anthocyanins in blood orange. Plant, Cell & Environment, 42(11), 3092-3104

15) Ke LL(#), Zhou ZW(#), Xu XW, Wang X, Liu YL, Xu YT, Huang Y, Wang ST, Deng XX, Chen LL, Xu Q*(2019) Evolutionary dynamics of lincrna transcription in nine citrus species. The Plant Journal, 98(5), 912-927