Dr. Basharat Ali

Assistant Professor

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics Faculty of Life Sciences,

University of the Punjab Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore-54590,Pakistan

EDUCATION

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Microbiology/ Microbial Ecology/ Agricultural Microbiology

TEACHING/ RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

1.Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, March 10, 2011- to date. Currently, I am teaching different courses related to my field of specialization i.e. Fundamentals of Microbiology, Microbial Ecology, Microbial diversity, Agricultural Microbiology and Microbial Physiology.

2.Lecturer, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, January, 2006 to March, 2011.

3.Lecturer, Department of Botany, University of the Punjab, Lahore, January, 2003 to January, 2006.

4.Doctoral candidate at Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, 2004-2009.

5.Visiting PhD scholar at Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, Katholieke University, Leuven, Belgium, for one month, April, 2008.

6. Visiting PhD scholar at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden, under Higher Education Commission scholarship program from October, 2007 to September, 2008 (Total 8 month duration).

M.PHIL THESIS: Screening of salt tolerant bacteria for auxin production and its impact on plant growth.

Distinctions: First position in M.Phil class.

PhD THESIS: Plant associated auxin producing bacteria: their genetical studies and impact on plant growth.

RESEARCH SUPERVISION

PhD

1). Asif Raheem, “Plant growth promoting potential of rhizobacteria under abiotic stress” (work under progress).

2). Waheed Akram, “Studies on efficacy and mechanisms of Bacillus strains to induce systemic resistance to tomato against Fusarium wilt” (work under progress).

3). Sumaira Anwar, “Isolation and identification of actinomycetes from rhizospheric soils their agricultural applications” (work under progress).

4). Zarwa Kamran, “Efficacy of Bacillus based biofertilizers to enhance the growth and yield of

Vigna radiata (L.) under different water regimes” (Work under progress).

M.Phil/ MS

1). Iram Ghaffar (2004-2005). “In vitro impact of different combinations of hormones on regeneration of callus of Gompherena globosa L.”.

2). Asma Sadiq (2010-2011). “Growth promotion of Triticum aestivum L. by rhizobacteria containing phytase and ACC-deaminase activity”.

3). Maryam Zareen (2010-2011). “Isolation and detection of Escherichia coli O157 from potable water system of Lahore”.

4). Safa Akhtar (2011-2012). “Correlation analysis of in vitro auxin production by Bacillus megaterium and growth promotion of Triticum aestivum L.”.

5). Shahzadi Noreen (2011-2012). “Substrate dependent indole-3-acetic acid production by rhizobia and their effect on nodulation and growth of mung beans”.

6). Anam Imtiaz (2012-2013). “Evaluation of biocontrol potential of Bacillus spp. against Fusarium wilt of tomato”.

7). Nisma Farooq (2013-2014). “Phylogenetic and functional diversity of bacteria associated

with the surfaces of fresh vegetables”.

M.Sc/ BS

1). Zeenat Zhofreen (2006-2007). “Effectiveness of different hormonal combinations on in vitropropagation of Brassica oleracea L.”.

2). Huma Shafique (2007-2008).” In vitro auxin production potential by isolated bacterial strains and their effect on plant growth (Triticum aestivum)”.

3). Salik Nawaz (2008-2009). “Screening rhizobacteria for multiple plant growth promoting traits”.

4). Shakir Hafeez (2009-2010). “Evaluation of Bacillus spp. as non-rhizobial inoculants for leguminous plant”.

5) - Shahzadi Noreen (2009-2010). “Auxin production by Pseudomonas: ACC-deaminaseactivity and biofertilization of Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper”.

6). Safa Akhtar (2009-2010). “Screening rhizobacteria for ACC-deaminase activity and their phytostimulatory effect on mungbeans”.

7). Abdul Kadir Mohmud (2010-2011). “Phytostimulation of Vigna radiata (L.) by auxin producing rhizobacteria”.

8). Anam Imtiaz (2010-2011). “Auxin production and plant growth promotion by phyllobacteria”.

9). Amna Basharat (2010-2011). “L-Tryptophan dependent auxin production by rhizobacteria and their phytostimulatory effect on Triticum aestivum L.”.

10). Amina Yaqoob (2010-2011). “Isolation and characterization Azospirillumstrains from the rhizosphere of some grasses”.

11). Nisma Farooq (2011-2012). “Screening of water borne E. coli 0157 for plant growth promoting traits”.

12). Anam Jamil (2011-2012). “L-Tryptophan amendments enhance auxin production and growth of Triticum aestivum L. by rhizobacteria”.

13). Faiza Aslam (2011-2013). “Efficacy of charcoal based biofertilizers to enhance the growth and yield of Triticum aestivum L.”.

14). Maimoona Malik (2012-2013). “Screening, phylogenetic analysis and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from freshwater canal of Lahore, Pakistan”.

15). Rabiya Ikram (2013-2014). “Co-inoculation of rhizobia and Bacillus stimulated the growth

of Vigna mungo (L.) grown in cadmium amended soil”.

16). Hifza Idrees (2013-2014). “Screening waterborne Pseudomonas and Escherichia coli as

plant growth promoting rhizobacteria”.

17). Amina Muhammad (2013-2014). “Comparative study of charcoal and talc based

biofertilizers to enhance the growth and yield of Vigna radiata (L.)”.

CONFERENCES/WORKSHOPS

1). Participated in 4th National Training Course on “Modern Techniques on Biotechnology” from March 26-31, 2006 held in NIBGE, Faislabad, Pakistan.

2). Presented paper titled “In vitro plant growth induction potential of indolacetic acid of

Halomonas desiderata RE1 and H. variabilis HT1” in 12th Microbiology conference held in Cairo, Egypt, 18-20 March, 2007.

3). Participated in workshop titiled “Unitilzation of DNA technology in plant improvement” held from 22-26th May, 2007 in department of Genetics, University of Hazara, NWFP, Pakistan.

4). Presented work in 1st Symposium on Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics: Recent Trends In Biotechnology, from 22-23 October, 2007, organized by Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan.

5). Participated in conference titled “Development and commercialization of biotechnology products” organized by NCB in collaboration with NIBGE from 19-20th June, 2009 at NIBGE, Faisalabad, Pakistan.

6). Participated in symposium on “Modern biotechnology: A resource for sustainable development, organized by department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, on 4th July, 2009.

7). Presented paper in international conference on “Advances in agriculture, Prospects and Potentials of Natural Resources in Food Security” held at University of Azad Jammu and

Kashmir, Rawalakot, Pakistan, from 11-13 August, 2009.

8). Presented research work titled “Indole-3-acetic acid production by plant associated bacteria: potential to alter endogenous IAA content and growth of Triticum aestivum L.” in “III International conference on environmental, industrial and applied microbiology (BioMicroWorld2009)” held from 2-4 December, 2009, in Lisbon, Portugal.

9). Organized and participated in “Pre-Conference Workshop on Molecular Hematology” held at

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, on 9thFebruary, 2010.

10). Participated in “2nd Academic Retreat for HEC Approved Ph.D Supervisors” held at

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad, June 3-5, 2010.

11). Presented research work titled “Bacterial auxin: Biofertilization and phytostimulation of agronomically important crops” in symposium on “Current Agro Biotechnology and Transgenic Plants” organized by department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the

Punjab, on 21st June, 2010.

12). Participated in “HRDC New Faculty Orientation Program” organized by Institute of Administrative Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, July 5-8, 2010.

13). Presented research work titled “Potential of bacterial auxin in agrobiotechnology” in 6thInternational Plant Tissue Culture and Biotechnology Conference” held in University of Dhaka,

Dhaka, Bangladesh, from 2-6 December, 2010.

14). Attended international workshop on “Modern techniques in structural biology” held at

ICCBS, University of Karachi, from 1-4 October, 2011.

15). Presented research work (Oral) titled “Rhizobacterial potential to alter auxin content and growth of Vigna radiata (L.)” IFS-AFASSA International Symposium on Natural Products and their Applications in Health and Agriculture Kandy, Sri Lanka, October 3-8, 2011.

16). Presented research work (Oral) titled “Auxin production and ACC-deaminase activity ofPseudomonas and their phytostimulatory effect on Vigna mungo (L.)” in 32nd Pakistan Congress of Zoology (International) held at GC University, Lahore, March 6-8, 2012.

17). Attended international workshop on “Bioinformatics: Database Mining and High Throughput Genomic Analyses” held at COMSTECH, Islamabad, from March 19-21, 2012.

18). Organized and participated in “Bio-physicochemical basis for Technopreneurship” held at Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, from 2ndto 3rd April, 2013.

19). Presented research work titled “Role of bacterial auxin signaling in plant growth promotion in “VI International conference on environmental, industrial and applied microbiology (BioMicroWorld2013)” held from 2-4 October, 2013, in Madrid, Spain.

20). Participated in 11th Biennial conference in “Molecular Biosciences-Challenges and Opportunities” held at University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan, from 25-28 November, 2013.

21). Participated in “International Conference on Innovative Biological and Public Health Research” held at Government College University, Lahore, from 06-08 May, 2014.

PUBLICATIONS

1). Ali, B. and Hasnain, S. (2007). Efficacy of bacterial auxin on in vitro growth of Brassica oleracea L. World J Microbiol Biotechnol, 23(6): 779-784.

2). Ali, B. and Hasnain, S. (2007). Potential of bacterial indoleacetic acid to induce adventitious shoots in plant tissue culture. Lett Appl Microbiol, 45(2): 128-133.

3). Ghaffar, I., Ali, B. and Hasnain, S. (2007). Effect of different hormonal combinations on regeneration of callus of Gomphrena globosa L. Pak J Biol Sci, 10(20): 3708-3712.

4). Ali, B., Sabri, A.N., Ljung, K. and Hasnain, S. (2009). Quantification of indole-3-acetic acid from plant associated Bacillus spp. and their phytostimulatory effect on Vigna radiata (L.). World J Microbiol Biotechnol, 25 (3): 519-526.

5). Ali, B., Sabri, A.N., Ljung, K. and Hasnain, S. (2009). Auxin production by plant associated bacteria: impact on endogenous IAA content and growth of Triticum aestivum L. Lett Appl Microbiol, 48(5): 542-547.

6). Ali, B., Sabri, A.N. and Hasnain, S. (2010). Rhizobacterial potential to alter auxin content and growth of Vigna radiata (L.). World J Microbiol Biotechnol, 26: 1379-1384.

7). Akhtar, S. and Ali, B. (2011). Evaluation of rhizobacteria as non-rhizobial inoculants for mung beans. Aust J Crop Sci, 5(13): 1723-1729.

8). Noreen, S., Ali, B. and Hasnain, S. (2012). Growth promotion of Vigna mungo (L.) byPseudomonas spp. exhibiting auxin production and ACC-deaminase activity. Ann Microbiol, 62: 411-417.

9). Abbas, Z., Ali, B. and Sabri, A.N. (2012). Antimicrobial activity of biocides against different microorganisms isolated from biodeteriorated paints. Pak J Zool, 44(2): 570-572.

10). Sadiq, A. and Ali, B. (2013). Growth and yield enhancement of Triticum aestivum L. by rhizobacteria isolated from agronomic plants. Aust J Crop Sci, 7(10): 1544-1550.

11). Akram, W., Anjum, T., Ali, B. and Ahmad, A. (2013). Screening of native Bacillus strains to induce systemic resistance in tomato plants against Fusarium wilt in split system and its field applications. Int J Agric Biol, 15: 1289-1294.

12). Yaqoob, A., Farooq, N., Sajid, I. and Ali, B. (2013). Auxin production by Azospirillum: Role in growth promotion of Triticum aestivum L. and Lens culinaris Medik. Glob J Sci Res, 1(1): 26-32.

13). Anwar, S., Ali, B., Qamar, F. and Sajid, I. (2014). Insecticidal activity of actinomycetes isolated from salt range Pakistan against mosquitoes and red flour beetle. Pak J Zool, 46(1): 83- 92.

14). Imtiaz, A. and Ali, B. (2014). Auxin production by phyllospheric bacteria and their growth promoting effects on Cicer arientinum L. Glob J Sci Res, 2(1): 1-6.

15). Ali, B. (2014). Bacterial auxin signaling: Comparative study of growth induction inArabidopsis thaliana and Triticum aestivum. Turk J Bot, DOI: 10.3906/bot-1401-31 (Accepted/ In press).

16). Farooq, N., Raheem, A. and Ali, B. (2014). Waterborne Escherichia coli: Biosafety and screening as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria. J Pure Appl Microbiol, (Accepted).

PAPERS PUBLISHED IN PROCEEDINGS

1). Ali, B. and Hasnain, S. (2007). In vitro plant growth induction potential of indoleacetic acid of Halomonas desiderata RE1 and H. Variabilis HT1. Proceedings of the 12th conference of the Egyptian Society of Applied Microbiology. p. 222-230.

2). Shafique, H., Ali, B. and Hasnain, S. (2008). Bacterial auxin production and its impact on plant growth. Proceedings of 1st symposium on Genomics, Proteomics and metabolomics: Recent trends in Biotechnology, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. p. 219-228.

RESEARCH PROJECTS (Funded by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan 2013)

1). Auxin production and biofertilization potential of plant associated Bacillus sp. under different water regimes. (Total cost Rs. 3, 694, 260; work under progress).

RESEARCH PROJECTS (Funded by University of the Punjab)

1). Bioremediation of toxic Cr (VI) by bacterial in association with hydrophytes. (Fiscal year2007-08; Total cost Rs. 100,000; completed).

2). Auxin production potential of plant associated bacteria and their phytostimulatory effect on Triticum aestivum L. (Fiscal year 2008-09; Total cost Rs. 100,000; completed).

3). Auxin production by rhizobacteria: ACC-deaminase activity and phytostimulation of mungbeans (Fiscal year 2010-11; Total cost Rs. 125,000; completed).

4). Evaluation of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria as non-rhizobial inoculants for leguminous plant (Fiscal year 2011-12; Total cost Rs. 150,000; completed).

5). Phytostimulation of wheat by rhizobacteria isolated from agronomic crops (Fiscal year 2012- 13; Total cost Rs. 150,000; completed).

6). Isolation and detection of Escherichia coli O157 from potable water system of Lahore,

Pakistan (Fiscal year 2013-14; Total cost Rs. 150,000; work under progress).

ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES

1). Coordinator/ Incharge of BS program at the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of the Punjab, since May, 2010.

2). Member of management committee of “Conventional and Non-conventionalVegetable Research Farm” at the University of the Punjab since February, 2010.

3). Incharge/ Member of management committee of “Floriculture Research Farm” at the University of the Punjab since February, 2010.