Sabrina M. Elias

Publications

• Bongshogotibidyar mulkotha o gene prokoushol

  Ahmad Shamsul Islam Suneditors: Mustak Ibne Ayub, Sabrina M. Elias, Sumaya Farah

  01/2011; Scholars Publication.
• 2.27

  Impact points

  Overexpression of a DEAD box helicase, PDH45, confers salinity tolerance to rice

  Mahzabin Amin, Sabrina M. Elias, Alamgeer Hossain, Aliya Ferdousi, Md. Sazzadur Rahman, Narendra Tuteja, Zeba I. Seraj

  Molecular Breeding. 01/2011; online.

  To improve the salinity tolerance of rice, a DEAD-box helicase gene isolated from pea with a CaMV35S promoter was transformed into the Bangladeshi rice variety Binnatoa through Agrobacterium- mediated transformation. The transgenic seedlings showed significantly higher chlorophyll content, but decre... [more] To improve the salinity tolerance of rice, a DEAD-box helicase gene isolated from pea with a CaMV35S promoter was transformed into the Bangladeshi rice variety Binnatoa through Agrobacterium- mediated transformation. The transgenic seedlings showed significantly higher chlorophyll content, but decreased root length compared to wild type (WT) under normal physiological conditions. Their status was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), semi-quantitative reverse-transcription PCR and Southern blot hybridization for positive integration of the transgene. The T2 progenies from three independent transformation events were characterized for salinity tolerance both at seedling and reproductive stages. Compared to the WT plants, the average decrease in chlorophyll content and dry weight of seedling leaves was lower by 20 and 12% respectively at 12 deciSiemens per meter (dS/m) NaCl stress in hydroponics. A higher leaf K?/Na? ratio of 0.346 was maintained by the transgenic lines compared to the WT ratio of 0.157, which indicated induced ion homeostasis. At the reproductive stage, transgenic rice plants expressing PDH45 showed better fertility and produced higher grain yield by 16% compared to WT plants under continuous stress of 6 dS/m from 30 days till maturity. One of the transformed lines, PDH45-P3, outperformed the others, and replicated data in reproductive stage soil stress of 12 dS/m NaCl showed its enhanced fertility and yield by 46 and 29% over WT, respectively.

• Physiology and gene expression of the rice landrace Horkuch under salt stress

  Laisa A. Lisa, Sabrina M. Elias, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Saima Shahid, Tetsushi Iwasaki, A. K. M.Mahbub Hasan, Keiko Kosuge, Yasuo Fukami, Zeba I. Seraj

  Functional plant Biology. 01/2011; 38:282-292.

  Good donors in breeding for salt tolerance are a prerequisite for food security under changing climatic conditions. Horkuch, a farmer-popular salt tolerant rice (Oryza sativa L.) variety from the south-west coast of Bangladesh was characterised up to maturity under NaCl stress, together with a moder... [more] Good donors in breeding for salt tolerance are a prerequisite for food security under changing climatic conditions. Horkuch, a farmer-popular salt tolerant rice (Oryza sativa L.) variety from the south-west coast of Bangladesh was characterised up to maturity under NaCl stress, together with a modern variety (BRRI dhan41), a sensitive control (BRRI dhan29) and Pokkali, the salt-tolerant benchmark for rice. Horkuch had low reduction in shoot biomass, a low Na :K ratio in !ag leaves, a low percent reduction in yield and good partitioning of Na in the older leaves, and maintained high levels of Ca and Mg in the !ag leaves. In order to understand the physiology at the molecular level, the expression of salt-responsive genes was investigated using microarray analysis. Salt-stressed cDNA of Horkuch seedlings were hybridised with cDNA probes synthesised mainly from database sequences of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. The upregulated genes included transcription factors, signal transducers, metabolic enzymes, reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavengers, osmoprotectants and some speci"c salt-induced transcripts. An increase in expression of photosynthesis-related genes as well ROS scavengers suggested that this could be the reason for the better yield performance of Horkuch. The data therefore indicate Horkuch as a potential donor alternative to Pokkali in breeding programs for salt tolerance.

• Microsatellite marker diversity and sequence polymorphism in the red gene locus of indigenous rice populations of Bangladesh

  Sabrina M. Elias, A.K.M. Mahbub Hasan, Zeba I. Seraj

  Plant Systematics and Evolution. 01/2011; 296:157-165.

  Bangladesh is home to diverse rice germplasm, including red rice, many of which are preferred for cultivation by farmers over high-yielding rice varieties due to their special characteristics, color, taste, and nutritional value. Red color of seed pericarp is unusual among modern cultivated varietie... [more] Bangladesh is home to diverse rice germplasm, including red rice, many of which are preferred for cultivation by farmers over high-yielding rice varieties due to their special characteristics, color, taste, and nutritional value. Red color of seed pericarp is unusual among modern cultivated varieties, though it is a common characteristic in wild relatives of rice, making the trait an important parameter when studying the domestication and evolution of crop plants. Diversity analysis using microsatellite markers and sequence variation of the red rice loci of the indigenous rice population in Bangladesh was therefore performed. Microsatellite fingerprinting could successfully cluster cultivars according to their specific phenotypic characteristics such as stickiness or aroma, irrespective of their pericarp color, and locate a set of unique identifiers. Sequence analysis of a portion of the bHLH transcription factor gene Rc, which controls the red pigment, confirmed the occurrence of the 14-bp deletion in white rice accessions which has been reported previously. The analysis included a group of rice cultivars which are known by the same name but produce two different colored seeds and are indistinguishable morphologically unless dehusked. Statistical and internal transcribed spacer region sequence diversity analyses established that such cultivars, although genetically different, had very low diversity, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship between them. Red and white seeds from cultivars with the same name were planted individually over two generations and dehusked to check for loss/gain of pigmentation. Red-seeded plants produced some dirty-white seeds in addition to red ones in the first generation, the proportion of which increased when planted in the successive generation. This loss in pigment was probably due to faulty transcription, since no deletion in the respective region of the genome of the dirty-white seeds was noted.

• READS- a resource for plant non-coding regulatory sequence analysis

  Saima Shahid, Sabrina M. Elias, Sudip Biswas, Zeba I. Seraj

  Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology. 01/2010; 20:211-223.

  Identification and analysis of regulatory sequences that control gene expression can be greatly facilitated by database-assisted bioinformatic approaches. READS (Regulatory Element Analysis DatabaSe) has been created as a web-accessible freely available database of plant non-coding regulatory sequen... [more] Identification and analysis of regulatory sequences that control gene expression can be greatly facilitated by database-assisted bioinformatic approaches. READS (Regulatory Element Analysis DatabaSe) has been created as a web-accessible freely available database of plant non-coding regulatory sequences. It currently contains more than 300 known and putative promoters of constitutive as well as stress inducible genes belonging to diverse plants. The database has been manually curated with promoters collected mainly from scientific publications, thereafter cross-referenced with other resources (NCBI database, PubMed, PubMed Central). A user-friendly interface has been provided to allow easy access and analysis of data using different query options. A blast utility has also been provided, allowing users to search against all entries in the database. For each promoter, certain features such as expression data, GC content, core elements etc., were provided to assist in characterization of the regulatory sequences. To our knowledge, READS is the first plant promoter database that allows retrieval of sequences based on expression pattern. Thus the database can be utilized as a useful resource for identification of important putative regulatory cis-elements in promoters by analysis of upstream regions of hundreds of co-regulated or co-expressed genes. Such knowledge can also be of use for identifying minimal or stress inducible promoters for effective transgene expression. We aim to provide the most up-to-date collection of promoters of well-characterized stress inducible and constitutively expressed genes from many plant species. Hence, this resource will be updated regularly to incorporate new sequences. READs is available at http://www.pbtlabdu.net/READS/.

• Constitutive expression of OsNHX1 under the promoter Actin1D can improve the salt tolerance and yield characteristics of Bangladeshi rice Binnatoa

  S.M. Touhidul Islam, Rumana S. Tammi, Richard Malo, Mahzabin Amin, M. Sazzadur Rahman, Sabrina M. Elias, Zeba I. Seraj

  Australian Journal of Crop Science. 01/2009; 3:329-335.

  Transgenic rice cv Binnatoa expressing the Oryza sativa vacuolar Na{+}/H{+} antiporter OsNHX1 under the constitutive rice Actin1D promoter showed enhanced tolerance and improved yield in NaCl stress. Transgenic status of the plants was assured by PCR and Southern blot analysis from T{0} to T{3} stat... [more] Transgenic rice cv Binnatoa expressing the Oryza sativa vacuolar Na{+}/H{+} antiporter OsNHX1 under the constitutive rice Actin1D promoter showed enhanced tolerance and improved yield in NaCl stress. Transgenic status of the plants was assured by PCR and Southern blot analysis from T{0} to T{3} state. Over-expression of OsNHX1 under Actin1D promoter was confirmed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western Dot-Blot analyses. At 160 mM salt stress, transgenic seedlings grew well and showed minimal reduction in shoot and root length compared to controls. Leaf chlorophyll estimation assay at 160 mM NaCl showed significantly high chlorosis in wild-type in contrast to the transgenic line. After salt stress, lower K{+}/Na{+} ratio in transgenic leaf compared to the wild-type indicated the increased Na+ accumulation in vacuoles. At reproductive stage transgenic plants showed improved yield charateristics compared to the wild-type after exposure to 60 mM NaCl stress.

• Microsatellite Marker And Sequence Variability For determination Of Genetic Diversity And Polymorphism In The Red Rice Populations Of Bangladesh

  Sabrina M. Elias, Mahbub Hasan, Zeba I. Seraj

  6th International Rice Genetics Symposium and 7th International Symposium on Rice Functional Genomics., Phili[[ine; 01/2009

• Microsatellite Marker And Sequence Variability For determination Of Genetic Diversity And Polymorphism In The Red Rice Populations Of Bangladesh

  Sabrina M. Elias

  01/2008

  Degree: MS

  Supervisor: Dr. Mahbub Hasan, Dr. Zeba I . Seraj

• Rice landraces in Bangladesh: mutation in waxy and Rc genes.

  Rokeya Begum, Sabrina M. Elias, U.S Mahjabin Amin, Zeba I. Seraj

  scientific session of Golden Jubilee of Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Bangladesh; 01/2008