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Introduction
Pankaj Bhowmik currently works at the Aquatic and Crop Resource Development (ACRD) Research Center, National Research Council of Canada. Pankaj's current project is 'Genetic improvement of protein and seed quality traits in pulses.
As a Research Officer and Scientific Support Lead, Sustainable Protein Production (SPP) Program, Pankaj is building multi organizational research initiatives and agreements for the sustainable Food and Protein ecosystem.
Additional affiliations
August 2011 - present
Position
- Associate Research Officer (AcRO)
Description
- As a highly motivated and result oriented Research Officer under NRC's Aquatic and Crop Resource Development (ACRD) portfolio, I have a proven track record of providing quality client service and effectively liaising with external organizations.
August 2011 - September 2017
Education
April 2001 - March 2004
Publications
Publications (82)
Introduction
Although pulses are nutritious foods containing high amounts of protein, fiber and phytochemicals, their consumption and use in the food industry have been limited due to the formation of unappealing flavors/aromas described as beany, green, and grassy. Lipoxygenase (LOX) enzymes are prevalent among pulse seeds, and their activity can...
There is a positive correlation between wheat plant height and lodging, yield, and biomass. So, in precision agriculture, a high-throughput estimation of the wheat plant's height in terms of its spikes is essential. This study aims to develop a straightforward, cost-effective method for measuring the height of wheat plants using stereo cameras. To...
Jackfruit ( Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) is the national fruit of Bangladesh and produces fruit in the summer season only. However, jackfruit is not commercially grown in Bangladesh because of an extremely high variation in fruit quality, short seasonal fruiting (June-August) and susceptibility to abiotic stresses. Conversely, a year-round high y...
Wheat yield is positively correlated with the number of wheat spikes in the field, which is an essential index for plant breeders. To efficiently calculate this index, there is a high demand for precise and automatic plant phenotyping methods that quantify images. As a tool for estimating crop yields, machine vision is rapidly advancing. In the maj...
Sub-optimal storage of grains could deteriorate seed germination and plant viability. Recent research studies have established that laser biostimulation of seeds could be used as a safe and sustainable alternative to chemical treatment for improving crop germination and growth. Herein, the efficacy of this novel technique is evaluated to see if poo...
Field pea is an important pulse crop for its dense nutritional profile and contribution to sustainable agricultural practices. Recently, it has received extensive attention as a potential leading source of plant-based proteins. However, the adoption of peas as a mainstream source of proteins is affected by a relatively moderate protein content, ant...
Protein legumes are among the most important crops for sustainable agriculture and global food security for decades to come. Unfortunately, they are subject to several abiotic stresses that severely limit their productivity, and this phenomenon is increasing with climate change. New Plant Breeding Technologies (NPBTs) offer novel alternatives to im...
Background
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) is a tropical and sub-tropical fruit tree distributed in Asia, Africa, and South America. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh and produces fruit in the summer season only. However, a year-round jackfruit variety, BARI Kanthal-3 developed by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) pro...
The economically valuable Brassica species include the six related members of U’s Triangle. Despite the agronomic and economic importance of these Brassicas, the impacts of evolution and relatively recent domestication events on the genetic landscape of seed development have not been comprehensively examined in these species. Here we present a 3D t...
Emerging threats of climate change require the rapid development of improved varieties with a higher tolerance to abiotic and biotic factors. Despite the success of traditional agricultural practices, novel techniques for precise manipulation of the crop’s genome are needed. Doubled haploid (DH) methods have been used for decades in major crops to...
Legumes are an excellent source of proteins and health‐promoting phytochemicals. Recognizing their importance in human nutrition and sustainable agricultural production, significant efforts are currently being made to accelerate genetic gain related to yield, stress resilience, and nutritional quality. Recent increases in genomic resources for mult...
The chitosan (CHT) biopolymer is a de-acetylated chitin derivative that exists in the outer shell of shrimp, shellfish, lobster or crabs, as well as fungal cell walls. Because of its biodegradability, environmental non-toxicity, and biocompatibility, it is an ideal resource for sustainable agriculture. The CHT emerged as a promising agent used as a...
The chitosan (CHT) biopolymer is a de-acetylated chitin derivative that exists in the outer shell of shrimp, shellfish, lobster or crabs, as well as fungal cell walls. Because of its biodegradability, environmental non-toxicity, and biocompatibility, it is an ideal resource for sustainable agriculture. The CHT emerged as a promising agent used as a...
Correction to: Chapter 11 in: M. Tofazzal Islam, Pankaj K. Bhowmik and Kutubuddin A. Molla (eds.), CRISPR-Cas Methods, Springer Protocols Handbooks.
Zusammenfassung: Das Biopolymer Chitosan (CHT) ist ein de-acetyliertes Chitinderivat, das in der äußeren Schale von Garnelen, Schalentieren, Hummern oder Krebsen sowie in den Zellwänden von Pilzen vorkommt. Aufgrund seiner biologischen Abbaubarkeit, seiner Ungiftigkeit für die Umwelt und seiner Biokompatibilität ist es eine ideale Ressource für die...
Plant genetic engineering offers promising solutions to the increasing demand for efficient, sustainable, and high-yielding crop production as well as changing environmental conditions. The main challenge for gene delivery in plants is the presence of a cell wall that limits the transportation of genes within the cells. Microspores are plant cells...
The CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing has sparked a new revolution in biological and agricultural research. This innovative technology is not only valuable for understanding the function of genes but also offers an efficient approach for genetic manipulation and crop improvement. However, the efficiency of gene editing in wheat (Triticum aestivum L...
CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing technology has the potential to revolutionize agriculture, but many plant species and/or genotypes are recalcitrant to conventional transformation methods. Additionally, the long generation time of crop plants poses a significant obstacle to effective application of gene editing technology, as it takes a long time t...
This volume details the fundamentals of the CRISPR-Cas system, and its protocols illustrate advances in CRISPR-Cas techniques for efficient genome editing. Introductory chapters provide a wide horizon of CRISPR/Cas-based methods and applications. Additional chapters guide readers through HDR-mediated editing, sgRNA design, the step-by-step procedur...
Background:
CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing has become a revolutionary technique for crop improvement as it can facilitate fast and efficient genetic changes without the retention of transgene components in the final plant line. Lack of robust bioinformatics tools to facilitate the design of highly specific functional guide RNAs (gRNAs) and prediction of...
Following publication of the original article [1], a reader spotted an incorrect citation of the reference 14 [2] in the ‘Background’. The male meiocyte isolation work described in this article [2] was carried out in rice and not in Brassica as originally stated in the ‘Background’ [1]. Thus, the following amendment to the Background section should...
Onion is perishable and thereby subject to drying during unrefrigerated storage. Its moisture content is important to ensure optimum quality in storage. To track and analyze the dynamics of natural dehydration in onion and also to assess its moisture content, noninvasive and nondestructive methods are preferred. One of them is known as electrical i...
In this chapter, we describe how the game-changing technology, the CRISPR-Cas system, can be used to understand plant abiotic stress or develop new crop plant varieties that can perform better under abiotic stress environments. We provide the progress of using the CRISPR-Cas system in developing abiotic stress tolerant crop plants or understanding...
Background
Molecular analysis of meiosis has been hindered by difficulties in isolating high purity subpopulations of sporogenous cells representing the succeeding stages of meiosis. Isolation of purified male meiocytes from defined meiotic stages is crucial in discovering meiosis specific genes and associated regulatory networks.
Results
We descr...
Cas9 is a site-specific RNA-guided endonuclease (RGEN) that can be used for precise genome editing in various cell types from multiple species. Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes, which contains the Cas9 protein in complex with a guide RNA, are sufficient for the precise editing of genomes in various cells. This DNA-free method is more specific in e...
The world population is expected to increase from 7.3 to 9.7 billion by 2050. Pest outbreak and increased abiotic stresses due to climate change pose a high risk to tropical crop production. Although conventional breeding techniques have significantly increased crop production and yield, new approaches are required to further improve crop productio...
The world population is expected to increase from 7.3 to 9.7 billion by 2050. Pest outbreak and increased abiotic stresses due to climate change pose a high risk to tropical crop production. Although conventional breeding techniques have significantly increased crop production and yield, new approaches are required to further improve crop productio...
CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing is a transformative technology that will facilitate the development of crops to meet future demands. However, application of gene editing is hindered by the long life cycle of many crop species and because desired genotypes generally require multiple generations to achieve. Single-celled microspores are haploid cells that...
PPT slides for the conference
To meet the high demand for supporting and accelerating progress in breeding of novel traits, plant scientists and breeders have to make more efforts to deal with the need to accurately measure a large number of plants and their characteristics. A variety of imaging methodologies is being deployed to acquire data for quantitative studies of complex...
This paper presents the analysis of various regression based machine learning algorithms for image-based plant phenotyping application and proposes a technique for plant phenotyping. Capability to predict age/development stage of a plant is one of the important factors for plant phenotyping and for analysis of in-situ crops. With the developed tech...
div class="title">Characterization of Nanocarrier Complexes with Plasmid DNA using SEM, TEM and AFM
- Volume 21 Issue S3 - Jae-Young Cho, Usha D. Hemraz, Pankaj Bhowmik, Goska Nowak, Patricia L. Polowick
Sugar metabolism is one of the important factors involved in winter hardiness and since the discovery of sucrose biosynthesis, considerable advances have been made in understanding its regulation and crucial role. This investigation examined the changes in activities of sucrose metabolizing enzymes and sugar content during cold hardening of perenni...
A cDNA clone coding phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from asparagus spears (Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Welcome) using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The partial cDNA clone encoded an mRNA of 527 bp and the derived amino acid sequence was found highly homologous to PAL from...
Microspore culture for the purpose of developing doubled haploid plants is routine for numerous plant species; however, the
embryo yield is still very low compared with the total available microspore population. The ability to select and isolate
highly embryogenic microspores would be desirable for high embryo yield in microspore culture. To maximi...
Introduction: legume seed crops Nutrient pathway from seed coat to embryo in legumes Role of invertases in sucrose metabolism during legume seed development Pea seed coat morphology and site of sucrose unloading Embryo acquisition of sugars Modification of nutrient pathway during pea seed development References
Post-green revolution advances made in biotechnology paved the way of cultivating the high-yielding, stress and disease resistant genetically modified (GM) varieties of wheat, rice, maize cotton and several other crops. The recent rapid commercialization of the genetically modified crops in Asia, Americas and Australia indicates the potentiality of...
Rice blast fungus (Magnaporthe grisea (Hebert) Barr) as a species has a very broad host range, infecting more than 40 Graminaceous hosts and some other non-grass hosts. The seedling stage, the rapid tillering stage after transplanting and the fl ower emergence stage have been identifi ed as the most susceptible to rice blast. In developing countrie...
Stroke remains the third leading cause of death in the United States. Even among survivors, disability due to hemiparesis, gait disorders, aphasia and other deficits is common and about 20% of stroke survivors require institutional care at 6 months post-stroke. This long-term disability contributes to the average lifetime cost for stroke care of ∼$...
The quality and storability of iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is dependent on growing and storage conditions, which are not completely known. Lettuce was planted at approximately monthly intervals from Sept. 2006 to Feb. 2007. Crops were harvested at approximately monthly intervals from Nov. 2006 to May 2007 and held in storage at 3 and 13°C....
The proximate composition and functional properties of three edible mushroom (Ganoderma spp., Omphalotus olearius (DC.) Sing. and Hebeloma mesophaeum (Pers.) Quél.) flours used in Nasarawa state, Nigaria were investigated using standard analytical techniques. The samples contained crude protein in the range of 18.5% in Omphalotus olearius to 21.5%...
Genetic engineering is a scientific tool used in every field of science like plant, animal and human sciences. Plant genetic engineering technology has changed the face of plant sciences and the first generation of transgenic crops has become the most rapidly adopted technology in modern agriculture. But genetic engineering has some limitations and...
Fresh asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) deteriorates rapidly after harvest. Early enzymatic changes that fol-low harvesting of asparagus are important factors contributing to postharvest deterioration. We held asparagus spears at 25°C for up to 5 days after harvest and examined changes in the activities of Acid invertase (AI), Sucrose Synthase (...
About 95 % of Jute and Allied Fibers (JAFs) are produced by small scale farmers in Indo-China, south and southeast Asia. Majority of the high yielding varieties of JAF crops such as jute, kenaf and mesta have been developed so far using traditional breeding methods. However, serious limitations of the traditional approaches in
developing new cultiv...
Bamboo shoots are immature, expanding culms that emerge from nodes of the rhizome of bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) plants. The edible part consists of meristematic tissues with regions of rapid cell division and differentiation, which is enveloped in protective, non-edible leaf sheaths. However, unlike other perishable vegetables harvested bamboo s...
The molecular and enzymatic changes that follow harvesting of asparagus are important aspects for postharvest deterioration. To define the factors contributing to postharvest deterioration, the early changes in ethylene production and the activities and expression of 1-aminocyclopropane-1- carboxylate (ACC) synthase, ACC oxidase, and phenylalanine...
Previously isolated cDNA clones encoding glutamine synthetase (GS, EC 6.3.1.2) genes from asparagus and broccoli were observed that the level of transcripts decreased in both plant species during storage. In order to identify factors regulating the postharvest deterioration of another important Asian vegetable bamboo ( Phyllostachys edulis ) shoot,...
In plants, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL; EC 4.3.1.5) catalyzes the conversion of L-phenylalanine to trans cinnamic acid in the first step of phenylpropanoid pathway. We previously isolated cDNA clones encoding PAL from asparagus spears and observed that the level of transcripts correlated well with increase enzyme activity and lignification. In...
Two inhibitors of the first enzyme phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) in the phenylpropanoid pathway were used to investigate the role of phenolic metabolism in lignification and toughness of Asparagus spears. Spears were soaked for 1 h at 20° C in aqueous solution of a-aminooxi-βphenylpropionic acid (AOPP) at 0, 100, 300 and 600 µM. Liquid...
In order to examine and regulate the phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) gene expression in stored asparagus spears alpha-aminooxi-beta-phenylpropionic acid (AOPP), a specific inhibitor of PAL was used. Freshly harvested asparagus spears were soaked in aqueous solution of AOPP for 1 h at 20 degrees C and then stored for 48 h. AOPP at 300 mu M effecti...
A 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) synthase cDNA from Asparagus spears was isolated and sequenced as a continuation after cloning, sequencing and expression analysis of ACC oxidase. The partial cDNA clone encoded an mRNA of 968 bp and the derived amino acid sequence was highly homologous to ACC synthase from bamboo banana, rice and wheat. No...
Broccoli ( Brassica oleracea L. cv. Hartland) cDNA clone coding the enzyme glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2.) was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from broccoli head using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The partial cDNA clone encodes an mRNA of 695 bp and the derived amino acid sequence is highly homologus to GS...
Actin is one of the most ubiquitous and conserved eukaryotic protein. All eukaryotic cells, from yeast to plants to animals, have an internal framework called the cytoskeleton. The plant actin cytoskeleton is central to many different sub-cellular processes and actin genes have been the focus of numerous scientific studies because of their involvem...
The plant actin cytoskeleton is central to many different sub-cellular processes. Higher plants contain families of actin-encoding genes which are divergent and differentially expressed. Progress in understanding the functions and evolution of plant actins has been hindered by the large size of actin gene families. A cDNA sequence encoding asparagu...
Changes in soluble sugar content and the activity of acid invertase (AI), sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) in the roots of two cultivars of asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L. cvs. Welcome and E414) grown using the mother stalk culture were studied. The primary objective of this study was to understand the effect of long-...
The effect of temperature during growth, storage, and handling on the fiber content of harvested green asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L. cvs. TE215 and KA979) was studied. Spears were harvested every month starting from March to October from greenhouse cultivation and the fiber content was measured rheologically by measuring the breaking force to...
An asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Welcome) cDNA clone coding the enzyme phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from asparagus spears using reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The partial cDNA clone encodes an mRNA of 527 bp and the derived amino acid sequence is highly homologous...
Glutamine synthetase (GS; EC 6.3.1.2.) has a central role in plant nitrogen metabolism and is a key enzyme in the assimilation of ammonia. Asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L.) spear quality deteriorates rapidly after harvest and is associated with an increase in the ammonia content of the spear tip. In order to define the factors contributing to p...
Asparagus spears (Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Welcome) were harvested from a greenhouse using the mother stalk cultivation method, from March to October and held at 1.5 °C to evaluate the effect of an extended harvest season on storage quality and shelf life. Both storage quality and shelf life declined over the harvest season. The deterioration o...
Changes in the level of soluble sugars and in the activity of acid invertase, sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) were studied in storage roots of asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Welcome) on sprouting. We held the rootstocks at 250C for 10 days and examined the changes in soluble sugars and enzymes during sprouting. T...
The tip region of asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L.) spear, comprising immature, rapidly developing tissues, is particularly susceptible to harvest stress and is usually the first part of the spear to show several detrimental changes during storage. In order to define the factors contributing to postharvest deterioration, a 1-aminocyclopropane-1...
The genetic relationship of 13 oriental melon ( Cucumis melo L.) was determined using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis with 12 dodecamer oligonucleotide primers. Representative cultivars could be divided into two major groups at 0.756 similarity value. One group included 7 makuwa melons namely, " Nara-1-gou ", " Tiger-melon ", " Kin...
Changes in the activities of acid invertase and sucrose synthase during germination of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L. cv. Kanchan) seeds were investigated. The activities of both acid invertase and sucrose synthase were changed during growth of seedlings. Until third day of germination their activities increased and thereafter decreased. The activity...
Seasonal changes in the activities of acid invertase, sucrose synthase (SS) and sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) along with the sugar content were studied in asparagus spears (Asparagus officinalis L. cvs. E414 and Welcome) grown in the greenhouse. The primary objective of this study was to understand the effect of long-term harvesting on the quali...
Asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Welcome) spears deteriorates rapidly after harvest and is associated with an increase in the ammonia content of the spear tip. In other plant systems it is thought that ammonia buildup is toxic and causes tissue deterioration. To further investigate these phenomena the authors held the spears at 20°C after h...
We held asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L.) spears at 25?C for up to 5 days after harvest and examined changes in soluble carbohydrates and the activities of enzymes concerned with carbohydrate breakdown in both top and bottom portions of the spears. The acid invertase in soluble fraction showed a higher activity than that in cell wall bound frac...
Acetobacter aceti IFO 3281, Grown on 1% glycerol, was found to have the best conversion potential for ribitol and D-arabitol than other acetic acid bacteria and has broad substrate specificity on various polyols, Strain can convert upto 20% ribitol and 50% D-arabitol to L-ribulose and D-xylulose, respectively without any tendency of by-product form...
We held asparagus ( Asparagus officinalis L.) spears at 1°C for up to 7 and 14 days and then transferred to 250C to examine the textural and compositional changes that occurred during low temperature storage and subsequent senescence. The preliminary objective of the study was to determine the influence of storage time on the shelf life and edib...
