• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Collage of Life Sciences, Shaanxi Normal University, China (2018-2021)
• Ph.D. in Genetics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China (2016)
• M.Sc in Biotechnology, Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2012)
• B.Sc in Agricultural Technology & Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (2010)

APPOINTMENTS

• Senior Lecturer - Department of Agricultural Biology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya - 2022 to to-date
• Visiting Lecturer - Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture, University of Peradeniya - 2022 to to-date

JOURNAL PAPERS

• Somaratne, Y., Guan, D. L., Wang, W., Zhao, L., & Xu, S. Q. (2020). The complete chloroplast genomes of two Lespedeza species: Insights into codon usage bias, RNA editing sites, and phylogenetic relationships in Desmodieae (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae). Plants, 9(1), 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9010051
• Somaratne, Y., Guan, D. L., Abbood, N. N., Zhao, L., Wang, W., & Xu, S. Q. (2019). Comparison of the complete Eragrostis pilosa chloroplast genome with its relatives in Eragrostideae (Chloridoideae; Poaceae). Plants, 8(11), 485. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants8110485
• Somaratne, Y., Guan, D. L., Wang, W., Zhao, L., & Xu, S. Q. (2019). Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Xanthium sibiricum provides useful DNA barcodes for future species identification and phylogeny. Plant Systematics and Evolution. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-019-01614-1
• Somaratne, Y., Tian, Y., Zhang, H., Wang, M., Huo, Y., Cao, F., Zhao, L., & Chen, H. (2017). ABNORMAL POLLEN VACUOLATION1 (APV1) is required for male fertility by contributing to anther cuticle and pollen exine formation in maize. The Plant Journal, 90, 96–110. http://www.maizegdb.org/data_center/variation/9036320
• Tian, Y., Xiao, S., Liu, J., Somaratne, Y., Zhang, H., Wang, M., Zhang, H., Zhao, L., & Chen, H. (2017). MALE STERILE6021 (MS6021) is required for the development of anther cuticle and pollen exine in maize. Scientific Reports, 7, 16736.
• Cui, D., Wu, D., Somaratne, Y., Xu, C., Li, S., Li, P., Zhang, H., Chen, H., & Li, Z. (2015). QTL mapping for salt tolerance based on SNP markers at seedling stage in maize (Zea mays L.). Euphytica, 203, 273–283.