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Research NewsResearch Projects under Supervision of Dr. M Maroof ShahMany research projects are carried out at the campus with close association among students and supervisors. Find below a list of such projects under supervision of Dr. M. Maroof Shah, Department of Environmental Sciences.
Read Dr. M Maroof Shah profile here... Saturation mapping and the utility of Ph1 gene region for wheat improvementPrincipal Investigator: Dr. Mohammad Maroof Shah Project SummaryImprovement in bread wheat for economically important traits is imperative to support the economy and provide quality food grains. The major problem is the wheat’s narrow genetic background and suppression of gene actions in specific environments. Pakistan is appreciating a wealth of wild relatives of wheat that can be used to transfer useful genes into cultivated wheat to broaden its gene pool. However, the genetic activity of the gene ‘pairing homoeologous’ (Ph1), the chromosomes of wild relatives either do not pair or very poorly recombine with wheat, resulting in either no transfer or transferring of large segments of chromosomes with undesirable blocks of genes from the alien species. One option is to utilize deletion based mutant lines for Ph1 locus available in wheat for transferring the alien genes into cultivated wheat. The main difficulties during such alien gene transfer experiments are the scoring of the plants for the presence and or absence of Ph1 gene segment. With the advent of molecular marker techniques, the chromosomal region containing the Ph1 gene may be enriched and the identified linked markers will provide a direct and swift mean to score the gene where alien transfer will be employed. Saturation mapping in the Ph1 gene region will lead to eventually clone the gene which will have tremendous impact on all of the biological systems in living species. The successful completion of this project will have global impact in wheat genetics and breeding where the geneticists and breeders will be able to transfer a wealth of genes from the alien sources expanding the wheat gene pool for yield and quality traits. The project will have greater ramification for the wheat improvement in Pakistan and an opportunity to the academicians and graduate students to learn and implement a battery of biotechnology techniques in life sciences. Projects Secured by students of Environmental Sciences under supervision of Dr. M. Maroof ShahIdentification of PCR-based primers for the detection of Ph1 gene region in wheat PROJECT SUMMARY Hexapoloid wheat (Triticum aestivum) is composed of three related genomes (A, B, and D), each consisting of seven pairs of chromosomes. Although each chromosome of hexaploid wheat has the potential to pair with either its homologue or the two pairs of homeologus from the other two genomes, chromosome pairing is largely restricted to homeologues. Ph1 a principal gene regulating chromosome pairing is present on 5BL, physically localized between two deletion breakpoints to a submicroscopic region, which is amenable to map-based cloning. Wheat wild relatives are a wealth of useful genes conferring resistance to several biotic and abiotic stresses and may enhance yield related traits. Activating and fine-tuning the homeologous chromosome pairing by Ph1 gene manipulation can transfer these genes. Since gene is not yet cloned, the normal procedure for knocking it out or shutting its activities (e.g. anti sense or mutation technique) will not work. The alternative approach is to temporarily replace the normal copy of the gene with its null allele, present in mutant line for the Ph1 gene region. One of the main difficulties in these manipulations is the scoring of plants for the presence or absence of the Ph1 gene region. The ph1 gene is well marked on wheat on the wheat chromosome 5BL both in hexa and tetra poloid wheat. The aim of the project is to identify molecular primers to saturate the region and converting them to PCR based systems to be utilized in Pakistani historical wheat materials for presence and or absence of Ph1 gene will serve as template of the gene for map based cloning. The information obtained will be global in nature; however, will be of greater interest to the wheat production and economy of Pakistan by manipulation and transferring genes from indigenous wild relatives. The proposed project will also serve to develop human resource development and will impact environment positively by introducing various molecular biological techniques during the course of its execution. Study the effects of environment on prevalence and distribution of potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) disease in Hazara divisionBy Zishan Gul and M Maroof Shah Approved amount Rs 0.150 million Sponsored: CIIT Islamabad PROJECT SUMMARY Plant viruses generate economic loss for farmers, producers, and consumers by adversely affecting plant growth, reproduction; causing death of host tissues and plants, sterility, reduction of yield or quality, crop failure, increased susceptibility to other stresses, loss of aesthetic value and the increasing cost of control and detection programs. Potato leaf roll virus causes phloem necrosis and leaf curling as major symptoms and badly affects quality of seed tubers, producing fewer and smaller tubers resulting in significant yield losses that vary between 40-70 %. Breeding for resistance is a sustainable and environmentally friendly method of control, reducing the application of pesticides. Development of plant cultivars with viral resistance is the primary goal of plant virology and breeding projects. In order to determine the incidence of PLRV in Hazara division, survey of potato crop will be conducted in five districts. Samples will be analyzed by using enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Recommendations will be given based on the incidence of viruses and the resistance strains of potato. Back to topGenotypic and Phenotypic Response of Vegetables to Pesticides
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