SRINAGAR: SKUAST-K scientist Amjad M Husaini, who is presently on a fellowship at the University of Oxford, UK, has developed for the first time a process and technology for conducting research on protein profiling of saffron and corm infection caused by a fungal pathogen present in Kashmir saffron.
Husaini’s work has been published in the breakthrough technology section of one of the most reputed plant science journals, ‘Plant Physiology’ published by the American Society of Plant Biologists.
Husaini conducted his work during his one-year DBT-CREST Fellowship at the Oxford University using Activity-Based Protein Profiling (ABPP), the technology available at the Oxford University only.
The title of his paper published is ‘Multiplex fluorescent activity-based protein profiling identifies active a-glycosidases and other hydrolases in plants”.
“The paper is based on my work at the Oxford, where I for the first time using the technology which is available only there to research on saffron. I have reported novel alpha-glycosidases that are differentially active during saffron-stigma development, and has developed a technique for multiplexing of fluorescent probes in ABPP,” said Husaini.
Husaini said he has found massive changes in hydrolase activities in corms upon infection with Fusariumoxysporum first time using ABPP. Fusariumoxysporum is a major fungal pathogen that causes saffron corm rot, a disease of immense challenge for Kashmir saffron industry, he added. Plant Chemetics Lab led by Prof Renier A L van der Hoorn at the University of Oxford is the only pioneer laboratory at the global level that uses ABPP in plant studies.
DBT in collaboration with Prakash lab, Stanford University, USA has granted a project to Amjad for “Identification of pure saffron using Foldscope based visual markers to avoid fraud and cheating and to create a poster of these markers for customers/ vendors”, which is a major concern for saffron traders of J&K.
Amjad is in charge of Genome Engineering Lab, Division of Plant Biotechnology, SKUAST-K and focuses on societal biotechnology. He is the recipient of several awards, including ‘Scientist of the Year-2017’ Award (NESA), Young Scientist Award-2009 in Agriculture (J&K Council for S&T), Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Outstanding Agricultural Research-2008 (ICAR).
Recently Husaini has also got a grant of Rs 97.5 lakh under NMHS, Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change. The project “A Value Chain of Saffron in New Areas of NW Himalayas by Engaging Youth and Women for Strengthening a Bio-Based Green Economy” aims at skill development of youth through the conduct of training programs to provide an alternate source of income.
Husaini said that youth who are interested in agriculture and related skill development is can contact him at the university campus Shalimar, and “be the harbingers of positivity for agriculture sector of the state”.