Akhtar, Tariq A. - University of Guelph - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology

个人简介

My primary research interest concerns the splendid array of compounds that are made by plants and the underlying molecular and biochemical basis of their biosynthesis. I first developed this passion during my M.Sc. degree where I investigated the molecular mechanism by which various environmental cues cause plants to accumulate flavonoids, a well known class of secondary metabolites that posses both physiological and nutritional importance. Based on this work I was awarded the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) post graduate scholarship to pursue my PhD. I completed my doctorate under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Hanson at the University of Florida where I contributed to a viable and cost-effective way to overcome global folate malnutrition through plant 'biofortification'. My research specifically addressed the issue of folate breakdown and storage and demonstrated a central role for polyglutamylation in the homeostasis of this plant-derived vitamin. I followed my interest in plant biochemistry to the laboratory of Dr. Eran Pichersky at the University of Michigan where I was engrossed in two main projects. In the first project I utilized a stable isotope-assisted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics platform to discover a novel breakdown and recycling pathway for the plant hormone, salicylic acid. The second project builds on my recently published work describing the plant enzymes that synthesize polyisoprenoids and dolichols. Here I used a genomics approach to identify a novel class of cis-prenyltransferases that appear to be widespread among different plant lineages. I recently joined the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department at Guelph and my research continues to investigate the biochemical pathways that operate at the interface of plant primary and secondary metabolism. Education B.Sc. - University of Waterloo M.Sc. - University of Waterloo Ph.D. - University of Florida Postdoctoral Fellow - University of Michigan

研究领域

My primary research interest concerns the splendid array of compounds that are made by plants and the underlying molecular and biochemical basis of their biosynthesis. I first developed this passion during my M.Sc. degree where I investigated the molecular mechanism by which various environmental cues cause plants to accumulate flavonoids, a well known class of secondary metabolites that posses both physiological and nutritional importance. Based on this work I was awarded the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) post graduate scholarship to pursue my PhD. I completed my doctorate under the mentorship of Dr. Andrew Hanson at the University of Florida where I contributed to a viable and cost-effective way to overcome global folate malnutrition through plant 'biofortification'. My research specifically addressed the issue of folate breakdown and storage and demonstrated a central role for polyglutamylation in the homeostasis of this plant-derived vitamin. I followed my interest in plant biochemistry to the laboratory of Dr. Eran Pichersky at the University of Michigan where I was engrossed in two main projects. In the first project I utilized a stable isotope-assisted mass spectrometry-based metabolomics platform to discover a novel breakdown and recycling pathway for the plant hormone, salicylic acid. The second project builds on my recently published work describing the plant enzymes that synthesize polyisoprenoids and dolichols. Here I used a genomics approach to identify a novel class of cis-prenyltransferases that appear to be widespread among different plant lineages. I recently joined the Molecular and Cellular Biology Department at Guelph and my research continues to investigate the biochemical pathways that operate at the interface of plant primary and secondary metabolism.

近期论文

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Megan I. Brasher, Liliana Surmacz, Bryan Leong, Jocelyn Pitcher, Ewa Swiezewska, Eran Pichersky and Tariq A. Akhtar. 2015. A two-component enzyme complex is required for dolichol biosynthesis in tomato. The Plant Journal (in press). Tariq A. Akhtar and Eran Pichersky. 2013. Veratrole biosynthesis in white campion. Plant Physiology 162: 52-62 Tariq A. Akhtar, Yuki Matsuba, Ines Shauvinhold, Geng Yu, Hazel A. Lees, Samuel E. Klein, and Eran Pichersky. 2013. The tomato cis-prenyltransferase gene family. The Plant Journal 73: 640-52 Alok K. Gupta, Tariq A. Akhtar, Alex Widmer, Eran Pichersky and Florian P. Schiestl. 2012. Identification of white campion (Silene latifolia) guaiacol O-methyltransferase involved in the biosynthesis of veratrole, a key volatile for pollinator attraction. BMC Plant Biology 12:158 Vasiliki Falara, Tariq A. Akhtar, Thuong T.H. Nguyen, Eleni A. Spyropoulou, Petra M. Bleeker, Ines Shauvinhold, Yuki Matsuba, Megan E. Bonini, Anthony L. Schilmiller, Robert L. Last, Robert C. Schuurink, and Eran Pichersky. 2011. The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) terpene synthase gene family. Plant Physiology 157:770-89 Tariq A. Akhtar, Giuseppe Orsomando, Payam Mehrshahi, Aurora Lara-Núñez, Malcolm J. Bennett, Jesse F. Gregory III, and Andrew D. Hanson. 2010. A Central role for gamma-glutamyl hydrolases in plant folate homeostasis. The Plant Journal 64: 256-66 Payam Mehrshahi, Sabrina Gonzalez-Jorge, Tariq A. Akhtar, Jane Ward, Anahi Santoyo-Castelazo, Susan E. Marcus, Aurora Lara-Núñez, Nathaniel D. Hawkins, Michael Beale, David A. Barrett, J. Paul Knox, Jesse F. Gregory III, Andrew D. Hanson, Malcolm J. Bennett, and Dean DellaPenna. 2010. Functional analysis of folate polyglutamylation and its essential role in plant metabolism and development. The Plant Journal 64: 267-269 Tariq A. Akhtar, Hazel A. Lees, Mark A. Lampi, Daryl Enstone, Richard A. Brain, and Bruce M. Greenberg. 2010. Photosynthetic redox imbalance influences flavonoid biosynthesis in Lemna gibba. Plant Cell and Environment. 33: 1205-1219 Jeffrey C. Waller*, Tariq A. Akhtar*, Aurora Lara-Núñez, Ryan P. McQuinn, James J. Giovannoni, Jesse F. Gregory III, and Andrew D. Hanson. 2010. Developmental and feedforward control of the expression of folate biosynthesis genes in tomato fruit. Molecular Plant. 3: 66-77 *co-first authors Tariq A. Akhtar, Ryan P. McQuinn, Valeria Naponelli, Jesse F. Gregory III, James J. Giovannoni, and Andrew D. Hanson. 2008. Tomato gamma-glutamyl hydrolases: expression, characterization, and evidence for heterodimer formation. Plant Physiology. 148: 775-85 Tariq A. Akhtar, Mark A. Lampi, and Bruce M. Greenberg. 2005. Identification of six differentially expressed genes in response to copper exposure in the aquatic plant, Lemna gibba (duckweed). Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 24: 1705-15 Sudhakar Babu, Tariq A. Akhtar, Mark A. Lampi, Sridevi Tripuranthakam, George D. Dixon, and Bruce M. Greenberg. 2003 Similar stress responses are elicited by copper and ultraviolet radiation in the aquatic plant, Lemna gibba: Implication of reactive oxygen species as common signals. Plant and Cell Physiology. 44: 1320-29