::Principal Investigator

Prof. Zeba Islam Seraj (Ph.D.)
Contact Address
Background
Research Focus
Masters and Ph.D Students.

Specific areas of Work

Prof.  Zeba Islam Seraj

Principal Investigator :
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka,
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
Phone: 880-2-8614708, 9661921-59 extn 7647,  Fax: 880-2-8615583/9143332
E-mail: zebai@du.ac.bd

Co-Investigator :

Dr. Md. Rakibul Islam

Professor,
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Dhaka,
Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
Phone: +8801552448128
E-mail: rakibul_du@du.ac.bd

We have recently started work on Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria/Rhizofungi or PGPR as well as bacteria and fungi inhabiting plants which are called Endophytes. Dr. Rakibul Islam with his extensive experience in microbial physiology, genetics and as well as  molecular biology, has been supervising this aspect of our work PGPR consist of a group of microbes which colonize and inhabit the plant roots for improving plant growth. They are mainly soil bacteria that colonize the roots of plants. Inoculation onto seed of these microbes enhances plant growth. On the other hand , Endophytes are group of microorganisms having the ability to enter inside the plant hosts, colonizing the intercellular spaces without causing disease or having detrimental effects on the plant. Endophytic bacteria have been found in virtually every plant studied. They confer an ecological advantage by establishing long-term colonies in plants and  being transmitted through generations of offspring with little influence from environmental conditions. Endophytic bacteria enter the plant tissue chiefly through the root zone. They can also enter through above ground portions of plants like cotyledons, stems and flowers. Bacteria get entrance in the tissues via germinating radicles, secondary roots, stomata or from an injured site. Endophytic bacteria have already been isolated from roots, stems, leaves, seeds, fruits, ovules and tubers and populations are found to be in decreasing order from roots, stems to leaves. Endophytes can form a range of different relationships with their hosts including symbiotic, commensalistic and trophobiotic.

Once we isolate and characterize useful microbes we are using these to see their effect on plant growth promotion under various control and stressed conditions.

Professor Zeba I. Seraj has been teaching in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology since 1988. Her courses include Plant Molecular Biology with emphasis on stress biology as well as Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology.She received her training in Molecular Genetics  and Molecular Biology at the Universities of Glasgow (HnRNP particles of Rat Liver Proteins), where she received her Ph.D. in 1986 and University of Liverpool (Characterization of a bovine cDNA library) where she did a short Postdoc. After joining the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh in 1988, she has been mainly working on the Molecular Biology of Rice salinity tolerance. She also did some work on Jute regeneration and transformation. Recently she has started work on characterization of constitutive and salt-inducible promoters.

Zeba has been collaborating with the International Rice research Institute where she has spent some time occasionally as a visiting scientist. She has spent a few months as a visiting scientist at UT, Austin and at the Rice Research Station at Beaumont, Texas. Her current professional duties apart from teaching and research include membership of the editorial panel of the Journal Bangladesh Association of Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology (www.baptcb.org) and Membership of the Core Committee on Biosafety of the Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Government of Bangladesh, since 2009 to date.

• Her team's focus is on producing rice tolerant to saline stress, suitable for growth in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Any improved rice variety for the coastal region will make major impacts in the livelihoods of the resource-poor farmers of the region, in addition to increasing total rice production, which is important to maintain self-sufficiency in our staple food.  

• Her laboratory has been successful in establishing DNA marker-based breeding for development of salt tolerant strains of rice in collaboration with IRRI. While Bangladesh Rice Research Institute has done the breeding, her team has identified suitable progenies  having the salt tolerance loci over several generations, and thus helped speed up the breeding process using molecular technologies. In collaboration with IRRI, they are also engaged in characterizing QTLs/genes from salt tolerant rice landraces 

• In collaboration with ICGEB, New Dehli, Zeba's team has successfully produced transgenic rice with the Pea Helicase gene which shows enhanced salt tolerance over control. The gene is now being tested for conferment of salt tolerance in farmer popular rice genotypes. Transformation work with transcription factor genes is also in various stages of development. 

• Her team is also collaborating with ICDDR,B and Stockholm University, in use of Rice to produce recombinant vaccines.

·        Dr. Noorain M. Rasul, 2005: Isolation and Characterization of Vacuolar OsNHX1 and its Expression in Transgenic Rice. This student is now working in a Biotech Company in Dhaka, Bangladesh called Apex.

·        Dr. Laisa A. Lisa, 2006: Molecular Investigation on Salt Tolerance of Coastal Rice Landraces at Reproductive and Seedling Stages. This student is now an associate professor in the Dept of Biotechnology and Microbiology at the Jagannath University in Dhaka, Bangladesh

         Dr. Md. Sazzadur Rahman, 2017: Genotypic and Phenotypic characterization of 'Saltol' introgression lines for release as high yielding salt tolerant rice. He is Senior Scientific officer at Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)

           Dr. Richard Malo, 2017: Development of rice tolerant to heat during flowering. Richard is currently working as a Biochemist, Sishu Sastho Foundation Hospital, Child Health Research Foundation (CHRF) Dhaka Bangladesh

          Dr. Sabrina M Elias, 2018: Identification, characterization and validation of the genes involved in salt tolerance of the rice (Oryza sativa L. indica) landrace Horkuch and its segregating population using RAD-genotyping and RNA-sequencing under salinity stress. Sabrina is currently working as a Post Doctoral associate in Plant Biotechnology Lab, BMB, University of Dhaka.

          Dr. Sumaiya Farah Khan, 2018 : Characterization of a Bangladeshi rice landrace Horkuch as a suitable donor for salinity tolerance traits for development of new salt tolerant rice cultivars. Sumaiya is currently working as an assistant Professor in Jagannath University

      4 more Ph.D. students are in various stages of progress. 

·         Zeba has supervised M.Sc Research work and Dissertation thesis of more than 50 students/research associates in plant biotechnology and plant molecular biology

• Marker-assisted backcrossing to produce salt tolerant versions of the mega rice varieties BR11 and BRRIdhan28. BR11-Saltol already provided to BRRI for multiplication

• Saltol-linked marker validation in breeding populations

• Search for salinity tolerance QTLs from Bangladesh landraces, e.g. Boilam, Horkuch

• Sequence analysis of the waxy and red pericarp gene in Bangladesh landraces

• Analyzing the difference between cultivated rice and farmer-derived variant.

• Isolation and characterization of salt-inducible promoters from salt tolerant rice landraces

• Cloning and subcloning of genes reported to confer salt tolerance for Agrobacterium-mediated rice transformation

• Rice transformation with genes reported to confer salt tolerance; assessment of tolerance and crossing transgene into farmer-popular rice background. Characterization of agronomic properties of modern rice after incorporation of transgene. 

• Use of the rice seed for delivery of recombinant protein