Shamsul Haque Prodhan

Title : Overexpression of OsSUB1A1 and SNORKEL-LIKE PROTEIN-1 (SK-1) genes in indica rice to improve submerge tolerance for attaining food security

Abstract:

More than half of the world’s population relies on rice, a semi-aquatic grass that is primarily grown in tropical and subtropical regions. Abiotic and biotic factors such as flash floods, drought, salt, submersion, and other diseases are the major concern for rice production. Among these submergence is one of the most detrimental factor in rice production and thousands of hectares of land in Bangladesh remain uncultivated due to this stress. It is essential to develop rice varieties that can withstand high submergence in order to cultivate these areas. To improve submergence tolerance through genetic engineering in commercial rice varieties, we isolated and characterized the OsSUB1A1 and snorkel-like protein-1 (SK-1) genes and cloned it under CaMV 35S promoter using gateway cloning and created the overexpression vectors pEXP32-OsSUB1A1 and pEXP32-OsSK1. The expression clones were introduced into Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 via a freeze-thaw method. Finally, OsSUB1A1 and OsSK1 were transferred to Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) release three indica rice genotypes (BRRI Dhan87, BRRI Dhan97, and BRRI Dhan99) using in-planta approach. Embryonic axes of matured dehusked rice seeds were injured and co-cultivated with the Agrobacterium strain harboring OsSUB1A1 and OsSK1 genes and finally regenerated. PCR amplification of 35s promoter regions and OsSUB1A1 and OsSK1 genes were performed to confirm the transformation. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR using gene-specific primers confirms the expression of transgene in the transgenic lines. The transgenic lines under submergence stress showed better physiology compared to the control plants. Stable integration of these genes in next generations may improve submergence tolerance in rice which will help to increase rice production to attain food security.

What will audience learn from your presentation?

• Current scenario of submergence stress in rice productivity in Bangladesh.
• Molecular mechanism of withstand submerge tolerance in rice.
• Genetic engineering approaches to combat submerge tolerance.
• Molecular cloning of genes and agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation and confirmation of transgenes.

Biography:

Dr. Md. Shamsul Haque Prodhan is a professor in the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Sylhet, Bangladesh. He received B.Sc. Ag. (Honors) degree from, India under the support of Indian Govt. Scholarship (ICCR). He obtained MS and PhD degree from Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan and did Post-Doctoral Research from Japan. His research interest is stress tolerant crop development through biotechnological /genetic engineering approaches. He has given numerous invited talks, and tutorials, and attended different national and international conferences, seminar and symposia and published more than 100 peer reviewed articles.