Written by Ivan Dulgerov
Project: AbioStressTolerance
Scholarship holder: Dr. Muhammad Kamran Qureshi
Position: Associate Professor (on leave)/Postdoctoral researcher
Department: Molecular Stress Physiology, CPSBB

 

Dr. Qureshi obtained his PhD from the department of Molecular Biology of Plants, University of Groningen, the Netherlands. His work included genetic screening to identify mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana characterized with enhanced tolerance to oxidative stress and thus to programmed cell death (PCD) induced by Alternaria alternata toxins (AAL-toxins). These mutants confer resistance to AAL-toxins at a concentration much higher than that which causes PCD in susceptible mutants (Gechev et al., 2008, Biochem Biophys Res Commun 375: 539-544 and Qureshi et al., 2010, Acta Physiol Plant 33: 375-382). Through map-based cloning approach, Dr. Qureshi and his colleagues were able to identify a novel gene, ATR7, that is responsible for the tolerant phenotype by blocking the production of ROS, which normally lead to PCD in wild type plants (Sujeeth et al., 2020, Cell Mol Life Sci. 77: 705–718).

          During his tenure as Assistant-Associate professor, Dr. Qureshi successfully conducted 8 research projects. The findings of those projects have been published in various peer reviewed journals like Nature Sustainability (Shahzad et al., 2019; 2: 1106-1114) and Scientific Reports (Shahzad et al., 2019; 9: 73-78). He also worked on the topic of oilseed Brassica crops tolerance against Alternaria brassicicola induced PCD (Munir et al., 2020; PLoS ONE. 15: e0242545) where his group has identified an ATR7 homolog gene. They are currently using the CRISPR-Cas9 system targeted genome editing approach in order to modify the ATR7 homologue. The goal is to achieve its inactivation in oilseed Brassica for conferring resistance to pathogenic fungi.

The research focus in the project AbioStressTolerance, funded by The National Scientific Program ‘Petar Beron i NIE’ of the Bulgarian National Science Fund (BNSF), is a continuation of the previous work on ATR7. It is directed towards understanding the interactions between a/biotic agents and reactive oxygen species during programmed cell death (PCD) in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana and in crops like tomato, cucumber, and lettuce species. The specific project objectives are:

1) to decipher the mode of action of ATR7 in A. thaliana, focusing on the identification of protein interacting partners of ATR7 and their functional validation using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing;

2) to obtain vegetable crops with reduced ATR7 expression. Vegetable crops like tomato, lettuce and cucumber with compromised expression of ATR7 homologue(s) will be produced by the use of CRISPR/Cas9 with possible high stress tolerance.

At the scientific level, the project will help understand the mechanism of ATR7-mediated tolerance in model plants and crops. It may also contribute to obtaining tolerant genotypes with improved yield potential for the farmer community. Finally, the dissemination and communication activities will ensure spreading the outcomes of the study among scientists and other interested parties.

 

CPSBB has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, project PlantaSYST (SGA-CSA No. 739582 under FPA No. 664620), and the BG05M2OP001-1.003-0001 project, financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the "Science and Education for Smart Growth" Operational Programme

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