Tom Warkentin
Professor

Plant Sciences, Crop Development Centre

My main focus is plant breeding of pea cultivars for western Canada and the northern tier states, as well as research related to improving the pea crop in terms of disease resistance and end-use quality.  I also collaborate on soybean breeding for the short season regions of western Canada.

• Plant breeding
• Pulse crops
• Disease resistance
• End-use quality
• Genomics

• Ph.D. University of Saskatchewan 
• M.Sc. University of Manitoba 
• B.S.A. University of Manitoba

As reflected in the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Mission, Vision and Values, the institution is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity in the workplace and believes that our workforce should reflect the diversity of our students and community. Awareness of these intrinsic values is actively promoted at all levels of the university, including by the President and senior leadership.

Present in our laboratory environment and thus our project team composition is a deep respect and awareness of the value and contribution of equity, diversity and inclusion. When assembling our research teams we strive to overcome inherent bias present in the workplace and overcome any potential barriers to inclusion by considering all qualified individuals, including women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible minority/racialized groups and members of LGBTQ2+ communities. Inequalities with age, education, parental status/responsibility, immigration status, religion, language, place of origin, ethnicity, culture, and socio-economic status are also taken into consideration.  The pulse crop breeding team at the University of Saskatchewan is diverse; within our team are people who were born in many countries and of this team ~40% are women.   

• We offer LBGTQ2+ Safe Zone Certification for our lab members
• Our lab is Accessibility-friendly for those with physical disabilities or limitations
• Team members have taken the Bias in Peer Review module and/or the online Status of Women Canada GBA+ training course.
• We follow human resources equity, diversity, and inclusion recruitment practices.

Chigwedere, C.M., Stone, A., Konieczny, D., Lindsay, D., Huang, S., Glahn, R., Warkentin, T.D. and Nickerson, M.T. (2023). Examination of the functional properties, protein quality, and iron bioavailability of low phytate pea protein ingredients. European Food Research and Technology [Accepted Feb 25, 2023]. IF: 2.4

Cober ER, Daba KA, Warkentin TD, Tomasiewicz DJ, Mooleki PS, Karppinen EM, Frey J, Mohr RM, Glenn AJ, Shaw L, Chalmers S, Hou A, O’Donoughue LS, and Hadinezhad M (2022) Soybean seed protein is lower but protein quality is higher in Western Canada compared to Eastern Canada. Can. J. Plant Sci. [accepted Dec 22, 2022] IF:1.0

Gungaabayar A, Jha AB, Warkentin, TD, Knight JD, Penner GB and Biligetu B (2022) Forage yield, nutritive value and biological N fixation of pea-cereal intercrops for hay production.  Agronomy J [accepted Nov 24, 2022] IF: 5.2

Zhou J, Wan Z, Gali KK, Jha AB, Nickerson M, House JD, Tar’an B, and Warkentin TD (2023) Quantitative Trait Loci associated with amino acid concentration and in vitro protein digestibility in pea (Pisum sativum L.). Frontiers in Plant Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1083086.  IF: 6.6

Boulfekhar R, Ohlund l, Warkentin TD, Ispas-Szabo P, Sleno L, and Mateescu MA (2023) Diamine oxidase as a therapeutic enzyme: study of germination from various vegetal sources and investigation of the eventual presence of β-N-Oxalyl-L-α,β-diaminopropionic acid (β-ODAP) by LC-MS/MS. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(5), 4625; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24054625. IF: 6.2

Zanetta C, Yusop R, Jaafar J, Warkentin TD, Waluyo B, and Ramlee S (2023) Variability and assessment of interrelationships among yield and yield-related characters of pea accessions under the influence of high temperature.  New Zealand Journal of Crop & Horticultural Science https://doi.org/10.1080/01140671.2023.2180760

Zhang H, Purves R, Warkentin TD, and Vandenberg A (2022) Validated approach for vicine, convicine and levodopa quantification from faba bean by flow injection analysis high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility mass spectrometry.  [for Food Chem, reviewed good draft on June 12, 2022; accepted Nov 2022] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2022.134857.   IF: 7.5

Osorio E, Davis AR, Warkentin TD, and Bueckert RA (2023) Ovule abortion and seed set of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) grown under high temperature.  Can. J Plant Sci. DOI: 10.1139/CJPS-2022-0156. IF: 1.0

Huang S, Gali KK, Arganosa GC, Tar’an B, Bueckert RA, and Warkentin TD (2022) Breeding indicators for high-yielding field pea under normal and heat stress environments. Can. J. Plant Sci. doi: 10.1139/CJPS-2022-0158. IF: 1.0

Hooker JC, Nissan N, Luckert D, Charette M, Zapata G, Lefebvre F, Mohr RM, Daba KA, Warkentin TD, Glenn AJ, Barlow B, Hou A, Golshani A, Cober ER, and Samanfar B (2023) A multi-year, multi-cultivar approach to differential expression analysis of high- and low-protein soybean (Glycine max).  International J Molecular Sci., doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010222. IF:6.2

Dhillon LK, Lindsay D, Yang, C, Zakeri, H, Tar’an B, Knight JD, and Warkentin TD (2022) Evaluation of biological nitrogen fixation potential of pea lines derived from crosses with nodulation mutants. Field Crops Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2022.108731 IF: 5.2

Huang, S., Zhang, H., Purves, R., Bueckert, R.A., Tar’an, B., Warkentin, T.D (2022) Comparative analysis of heat stress induced ABA and heat shock protein responses among pea varieties.  Crop Sci  https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20853; published September 25, 2022.   IF: 1.9

Hooker JC, Nissan N, Luckert D, Zapata G, Hou A, Mohr RM, Glenn AJ, Barlow B, Daba KA, Warkentin TD, Lefebvre F, Golshani A, Cober ER, Samanfar B (2022) GmSWEET29 and paralog GmSWEET34 are differentially expressed between soybeans grown in Eastern and Western Canada. Plants 11(18), 2337;  https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11182337.

Zhou J, Gali KK, Jha AB, Tar’an B, and Warkentin TD (2022) Identification of quantitative trait loci associated with seed protein concentration in a pea recombinant inbred line population. Genes 13(9), 1531;  https://doi.org/10.3390/genes13091531.

Shen Y, Johnson E, Syrovy L, Warkentin TD, DeSilva D, and Shirtliffe S (2022) Utilizing near-isogenic lines to determine yield and agronomic advantages of leafed and semi-leafless field pea blends. Agronomy 12: 1532; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12071532.  IF: 3.3

Shen Y, Syrovy LD, Johnson EN, Warkentin TD, Thuan H, De Silva D, and Shirtliffe SJ (2022) Evaluation of yield and agronomic performance of leafed and semi-leafless pea blends. Agronomy J https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.21134. IF: 2.2

Belzile F, Jean M, Torkamaneh D, Tardivel A, Lemay M-A, Boudhrioua C, Arsenault-Labrecque G, Dussault-Benoit C, Lebreton A, de Ronne M, Tremblay V, Labbé C,  O'Donoughue L, St-Amour Boucher V-T, Copley T, Fortier E, Mimee B, Cober E,  Rajcan I, Warkentin TD, Gagnon E, Legay S, Auclair J, Bélanger R (2022) The SoyaGen project: Putting genomics to work for soybean breeders. Frontiers in Plant Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.887553.  IF: 5.8

Shaw KA, Zello GA, Rodgers CD, Warkentin TD, Baerwald AR, Chilibeck PD (2022) Implications of a plant-based diet for health and athletic performance. European J. Applied Physiology doi: 10.1007/s00421-022-04902-w. IF: 3.1

Ren Y, Quilliam C, Weber LP, Warkentin TD, Tulbek MC, and Ai Y (2022) Effect of pulse crop varieties and extrusion parameters on the physicochemical properties, in vitro and in vivo starch digestibility of pet foods. Cereal Chem 99:625-639. IF: 2.0

Tafesse, E., Warkentin, T.D., Shirtliffe, S., Noble, S., and Bueckert, R.A. (2022) Leaf pigments, surface wax and spectral vegetation indices for heat stress resistance in pea. Agronomy 12: 739. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12030739. IF: 3.4. 

Bourgault M, Lamb P, McPhee K, McGee R, Vandenberg A, and Warkentin TD (2022) Genotypic variability in root length in pea (Pisum sativum) and lentil (Lens culinaris) varieties in a semi-arid environment based on mini-rhizotron image capture. The Plant Phenome Journal https://doi.org/10.1002/ppj2.20037.

Nosworthy MG, Huang S, Franczyk A, Arganosa GC, Warkentin TD, and House JD (2021) Effect of genotype, year, and location on the proximate composition and in vitro protein quality of select pea cultivars. Food Sci. Technol. 1:1670–1676, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.1c00186. IF:1.4

Huang S, Gali KK, Lachagari RVB, Chakravartty N, Bueckert RA, Tar’an B, and Warkentin TD (2021) Identification of heat responsive genes in pea stipules and anthers through transcriptional profiling. PLoS One. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251167.  IF: 3.2.

Tafesse EG, Gali KK, Lachagari VRB, Bueckert, R, and Warkentin, TD (2021) Genome-wide association mapping for heat and drought adaptive traits in pea. Genes 2021, 12(12), 1897; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12121897; IF: 4.1

Lagassé S, Boyd L, Young G, Frohlich P, Boyd R, Bourré L, Sarkar A, Sopiwnyk E, Warkentin TD, Vandenberg A, Crow G, Dyck A, and Malcolmson L.  (2021) Influence of genotype and environment on the flour and bread baking properties of peas and lentils. Cereal Chem; https://doi.org/10.1002/cche.10492. IF: 1.8

Bhattarai S, Liu N, Karunakaran C, Tanino KK, Fu Y-B, Coulman B, Warkentin TD, and Biligetu B (2021) Tissue specific changes in elements and organic compounds of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars differing in salt tolerance under salt stress.  J Plant Physiol. 264:153485.  doi.org/10.1016/j.jplph.2021.153485. IF: 3.1

Lindsay D, Jha A, Arganosa G, Glahn R, and Warkentin TD (2021) Agronomic performance in low phytic acid field peas.  Plants 10: 1589. https://doi.org/ 10.3390/plants10081589.  IF: 2.6

Zhang, H., De Silva, D., Dissanayaka, D., Warkentin, T.D., and Vandenberg, A. (2021) Validated B vitamin quantification from lentils by selected reaction monitoring mass spectrometry. Food Chemistry https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.129810. IF: 6.3. 

Jha AB, Gali KK, Alam Z, Lachagari VBR, and Warkentin TD (2021) Potential application of genomic technologies in breeding for fungal and oomycete disease resistance in pea.  Agronomy 11, 1260. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061260.  IF: 2.6.

Ashokkumar K, Murugan M, Dhanya MK, Arjun P and TD Warkentin. (2021). Phytochemistry and therapeutic potential of black pepper [Piper nigrum (L.)] essential oil and piperine: a review. Clinical Phytoscience 7, 52. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40816-021-00292-2 7:52.  IF: 0.8.

Ren, Y., Setia, R., Warkentin, T.D., and Ai, Y. (2021) Functionality and starch digestibility of wrinkled and round pea flours of two different particle sizes: A comparative study.  Food Chem. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.127711.  IF: 5.4.

Warkentin, TD, Kolba, N, and Tako, E (2020) Low phytate peas (Pisum sativum L.) improve iron status, gut microbiota and brush border membrane functionality in vivo (Gallus gallus). Nutrients 2020, 12(9), 2563; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092563. IF: 4.5

Mobini, S., Khazaei, H., Warkentin, T.D., and Vandenberg A. (2020) Shortening the generation cycle in faba bean by application of cytokinin and cold stress to assist speed breeding. Plant Breeding doi.org/10.1111/pbr.12868.  IF: 1.7

Ashokkumar K,  Sampathrajan V, Muthusamy M,  Dhanya MK,  Manoharan A, Gunaskeharan A, Aiswarya S, Warkentin TD, and Adhimoolam K (2021) Essential oil profile diversity in cardamom accessions from southern India. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5:639619. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2021.639619.  IF: 4.0

Froese, S., Wiens, J.T., Warkentin, T.D., and Schoenau, J.J. (2020) Response of canola, wheat and pea to foliar phosphorus fertilization at a phosphorus deficient site in eastern Saskatchewan.  Can. J. Plant Sci. 100: 642-652. IF:0.4

Pursley, AA, Biligetu, B, Warkentin, TD, Lardner, HA, and Penner, GB (2020) Effect of incorporating forage pea (Pisum sativum L.) into cereal hay on ruminal fermentation and apparent digestibility when fed to beef heifers.  Can. J. Animal Sci. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjas-2020-0002.  IF:0.8

Smitchger, J., Weeden, N., Akin, I.D., and Warkentin, T.D. (2020) Stress equation for a cantilever beam: a model of lodging resistance in field pea. International Agrophysics 34:213-222. 

Dissanayaka D, Gali KK, Jha AB, and Warkentin TD (2020) Genome-wide association study to identify SNPs associated with Fe, Zn, and Se concentration in field pea (Pisum sativum L.) Crop Sci. 60:2070–2084.  IF:1.6 

Tafesse, EG, Gali, KK, Lachagari, VBR, Bueckert, RA, and Warkentin, TD (2020) Genome-wide association mapping for heat stress responsive traits in field pea. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 21:2043. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21062043; IF: 4.2

Ashokkumar K, Govindaraj M, Karthikeyan A, Shobhana VG, and Warkentin TD (202X) Genomics integrated breeding for carotenoids and folates in staple cereal grains to reduce malnutrition. Frontiers in Genetics, https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2020.00414  IF: 3.8 

Pursley, AA, Biligetu, B, Warkentin, TD, Lardner, HA, and Penner, GB (2020) Effect of stage of maturity at harvest for forage pea (Pisum sativum L.) on eating behavior, ruminal fermentation, and digestibility when fed as hay to yearling beef heifers. Translational Animal Science, https://doi.org/10.1093/tas/txz167. IF: 1.0

Jha, AB and Warkentin, TD (2020) Biofortification of pulse crops: status and future perspectives.  Plants 9:73, doi:10.3390/plants9010073.  IF: 2.6

• Dean’s Award for Research Excellence, College of Agriculture and Bioresources, 2016
• North American Pulse Improvement Award Outstanding Achievement award 2013
• Pulse Promoter Award, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, 2014