ALUMNI STORIES:Md Sanaullah Biswas

Name of United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences:Tottori University
Assigned university:Yamaguchi University
Specialized field:Plant stress physiology
Research theme:
・Mechanism of plant tolerance to environmental stresses
・Studies of oxylipin carbonyl signals under oxidative stress in triggering programmed cell death and root formation in plants
Obtained (planned) degree/date:Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) in Bioresources Science major in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Date: September 16, 2016

Various stressful conditions such as drought, salinity and, high temperature affects crop yield worldwide. These stressors commonly lead to the enhanced formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells. ROS cause irreversible tissue damage by switching on programmed cell death (PCD), but the biochemical mechanism by which ROS trigger PCD is largely unknown for plants. In general, ROS oxidized membrane lipids and cause the generation of various kinds of reactive carbonyl species (RCS). RCS have been commonly known as toxic agents, and also are considered as signaling agents recently.

In order to investigate the signaling functions of RCS in plant physiology, I have reported the following findings. 1) RCS, downstream products of ROS, trigger PCD signals in plants. This is the first report to demonstrate RCS are involved in plant PCD. 2) RCS, e.g. acrolein and 4-hydroxy-(E)-2-nonenal (HNE), activate caspase-3-like proteases and initiate PCD in plant cells. 3) RCS modulates hormonal signal to promote lateral root formation and stomatal closure. The above findings would benefit the plant scientist to know the oxidative signal mechanism and to develop environmental stress-tolerant field crops.

Qualification: Determination of plant tolerance levels to environmental stresses. Estimation of lipid peroxidation levels. Plant growth analysis.