KAM-School of Life Sciences
Extension Number: 548
Office Number: S-339

BRIEF PROFILE
Dr Aftab Bashir holds a PhD degree in Plant Molecular Biology from the Department of Agronomy, The University of Illinois, USA. He has completed several POST DOCs in USA and Europe. He has nearly 35 years of post-doctoral experience in Research and Teaching. He has more than 50 research publications in refereed journals, 1 edited book, some book chapters, and has supervised dozens of MPhil and PhD students. His research interest is to develop climate smart wheat through Genetic Engineering and CRISPR/Cas technologies.

EDUCATION

• PhD in Plant Molecular Biology, Plant and Animal Biotechnology Laboratory (PABL), University of Illinois, USA
• MSc in Microbiology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

The research in our group at FCC focuses on developing climate-smart wheat to ensure food security. Our research students are working on this specific target. The most important outcome of our research is the development of transgenic wheat lines. We are utilizing transcription factors for triggering multiple genes involved in specific metabolic pathways. We have developed four types of transgenic wheat lines which are being propagated in the fields of FCC for homogeneity and are being tested for transgene expression and agronomic traits.

1. Bashir, A., Auger, J.A. and Rayburn, A.L. 1993. Flow cytometric DNA analysis of wheat-rye addition lines. Cytometry. 14(8):843–847. doi:  (Category X)
2. Bashir, A., Ashfaq, S.R., Rajoka, M.I. and Malik, K.A. 1994. Cloning of cellulase genes for the utilization of agricultural wastes. Pakistan Journal of Agricutural Research. 15(1): 277-285. (Category Y)
3. Bashir, A., Biradar, D.P. and Rayburn, A.L. 1995. Determining relative abundance of specific DNA sequences in flow cytometrically sorted maize nuclei. Journal of Experimental Botany. 46(4):451–457. doi: . (Category W)
4. Rajoka, Ibrahim, M., Bashir, A. and Malik, K.A. 1997. Mutagenesis of Cellulomonas biazotea for enhanced production of xylanases. Bioresource Technology. 62(3):99–108. doi:  . (Category W)
5. Mansoor, S., Khan, S.H., Saeed, M., Bashir, A., Zafar, Y., Malik, K.A. and Markham, P.G. 1997. Evidence for the association of a bipartite Geminivirus with Tomato leaf curl disease in Pakistan. Plant Disease. 81(8):958. doi:  . (Category W)
6. Rayburn, A.L., Bashir, A. and Biradar, D.P. 1997. Chromatin composition in Maize F1 hybrids. Maydica. 42(4): 393-399.
7. Rajoka, M.I., Bashir, A., Hussain, S.R., Ghauri, M.T., Parvez, S. and Malik, K.A. 1998. Cloning and expression of beta-glucosidase genes in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using shuttle vector pYES 2.0. Folia Microbiologica. 43(2):129–135. doi:  . (Category X)
8. Rajoka M.I. and Bashir, A. 1998. Cloning of multiple Egl genes conferring production of endoglucanase on Escherichia coli. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 1: 179-182. doi: 10.3923/pjbs.1998.179.182. (Category Y)
9. Rajoka, M.I., Bashir, A., Hussain, S.R.S. and Malik, K.A. 1998. γ-ray induced mutagenesis of Cellulomonas biazotea for improved production of cellulases. Folia Microbiologica. 43(1):15–22. doi: . (Category X)
10. Mansoor, S., Hussain. M., Khan, S.H., Bashir, A., Leghari, A.B., Panwar, G.A., Siddiqui, W.A., Zafar, Y. and Malik, K. A. 1998. Polymerase chain reaction-based detection of cotton leaf curl and other whitefly-transmitted Geminiviruses from Sindh. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 1(1): 39-43. doi: 10.3923/pjbs.1998.39.43. (Category Y)
11. Mansoor, S., Khan, H.R., Bashir, A., Saeed, M., Zafar, Y., Malik, K.A., Briddon, R.W., Stanley, J. and Markham, P. 1999. Identification of a novel circular single-stranded DNA associated with Cotton leaf curl disease in Pakistan. Virology. 259(1):190–199. doi:  . (Category W)
12. Mansoor, S., Bashir, A., Khan, S.H., Hussain M., Saeed M., Zafar, Y., Markham, P.G. and Malik, K. A. 1999. Rapid multiplex PCR for the specific detection of two whitefly-transmitted geminivirus species associated with cotton leaf curl disease in Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 31(1):115-123. (Category X)
13. Mansoor, S., Briddon, R.W., Bull, S.E., Bedford, I.D., Bashir, A., M. Mahmood Hussain, Saeed, M.A., Zafar, Y., Malik, A., Fauquet, C.M. and Markham, P.G. 2003. Cotton leaf curl disease is associated with multiple monopartite begomoviruses supported by single DNA. Archives of Virology. 148(10):1969–1986. doi:  . (Category X)
14. Asad, S., Haris, W.A.A., Bashir, A., Zafar, Y., Malik, K.A., Malik, N.N. and Lichtenstein, C.P. 2003. Transgenic tobacco expressing geminiviral RNAs are resistant to the serious viral pathogen causing cotton leaf curl disease. Archives of Virology. 148(12):2341–2352. doi:  . (Category X)
15. Rad, M.E., Azarnoosh. M., Bashir, A. and Bakayev, A.A. 2004. A novel vector for expression/secretion of properly folded eukaryotic proteins: a comparative study on cytoplasmic and periplasmic expression of human epidermal growth factor in E.coli. Iranian Biomedical Journal. 8(2):51-61. (Category Y)
16. Iqbal, S., Bashir, A., Naseer, H.M., Ahmed, M. and Malik, K.A. 2008. Identification of differentially expressed genes in developing cotton fibers (Gossypium hirsutum L) through differential display. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology. 11(1):50–59. doi:  . (Category X)
17. Naseer, H.M., Iqbal, N., Khatoon A., Bashir A., Zafar, Y. and Malik, K. A. 2010. Molecular characterization and transcriptome profiling of expansin genes isolated from Calotropis procera fibers. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology. 13(6). doi: . (Category X)
18. Andleeb, S., Amin, I., Bashir, A., Briddon, R.W. and Mansoor, S. 2010. Transient expression of βC1 protein differentially regulates host genes related to stress response, chloroplast and mitochondrial functions. Virology Journal. 7:373. doi:  . (Category W)
19. Azhar, M.T., Amin, I., Bashir, A. and Mansoor, S. 2010. Characterization of resistance gene analogs from Gossypium arboreum and their evolutionary relationships with homologs from tetraploid cottons. Euphytica. 178(3):351–362. doi:  . (Category W)
20. Naseer, H.M., Khatoon, A., Bashir, A. and Malik, K.A. 2010. Effect of different antimicrobial agents on the fiber development of in vitro cultured cotton ovules. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 42(2):4235-4242. . (Category X)
21. Indrais, E., Cheema, H.M.N., Samad A. and Bashir, A. 2011. Temporal expression analysis and cloning of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fiber genes. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology. 13:89-94. https://www.fspublishers.org/published_papers/60866_..pdf. (Category Y)
22. Ahmed, M., Iqbal, S., Farhatullah, S. and Bashir, A. 2011. Isolation and identification of differentially expressed genes between Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium hirsutum species. African Journal of Biotechnology. 10(3):337–343. 
23. Siddique, A., Bashir, A. and Latif, F. 2012. Exploration of unique relation among industrial fungi by statistical analysis. Songklanakarin Journal of Science & Technology. 34(6). (Category X)
24. Aslam, U., Khatoon, A., Cheema, N. and Bashir, A. 2013. Identification and characterization of plasma membrane aquaporins isolated from fiber cells of Calotropis procera. Journal of Zheijang University SCIENCE-B. 14(7):586–595. doi:  . (Category W)
25. Bajwa, K.S., Shahid, A.A., Rao, A.Q., Kiani, M.S., Ashraf, M.A., Dahab, A. A., Bakhsh, A., Latif, A., Azmat, M., Khan, U., Puspito, A.N., Aftab A., Bashir, A. and Hussnain, T. 2013. Expression of Calotropis procera expansin gene CpEXPA3 enhances cotton fiber strength. Australian Journal of Crop Science. 7(2):206-212. (Category Y)
26. Bajwa, K.S., Shahid, A.A., Rao, A. Q., Bashir, A., Aftab, A. and Husnain, T. 2015. Stable transformation and expression of GhEXPA8 fiber expansin gene to improve fiber length and micronaire value in cotton. Frontiers in Plant Science. 6(838):1-13 doi:  . (Category W)
27. Bacha, S., Khatoon, A., Asif, M., Yuan, J. and Bashir, A. 2015. Identification and analysis of an efficient dicot constitutive promoter from tomato. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 47(3):1115-1120. . (Category X)
28. Bacha, S., Khatoon, A., Asif, M., Yuan, J. and Bashir, A. 2015. Deletion analysis of Susy-Sl promoter for the identification of optimal promoter sequence. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 47(4):1287-1292. (Category X)
29. Mubeen, H., Bashir, A., Shoaib, M.W., Raza, S. and Hussains, N. 2015. Cloning and characterization of beta tubulin gene promoter from Brassica Rapa and its expression analysis. International Journal of Scientific and Engineering Research. 6(6):1447-1454.
30. Iqbal, N., Khatoon, A., Asif, M. and Bashir, A. 2016. Expression analysis of fiber related genes in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) through Real Time PCR. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 48(3):1099-1106. (Category X)
31. Masood, A., Iqbal, N., Mubeen, H., Naqvi, R.Z., Khatoon, A. and Bashir, A. 2016. Cloning and expression analysis of alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) hybrid promoter isolated from Zea mays. African Journal of Biotechnology. 15(42):2384–2393. doi:  .
32. Iqbal, N., Masood, A., Bashir, A. and Asif, M. 2016. Histochemical GUS expression of cotton SPS promoter in transgenic tobacco. Journal of Advances in Biology & Biotechnology. 8(1):1-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.9734/JABB/2016/27071.
33. Abid, N., Khatoon, A., Maqbool, A., Irfan, M., Bashir, A., Asif, I., Shahid, M., Saeed, A., Brinch-Pedersen, H. and Malik, K.A. 2017. Transgenic expression of phytase in wheat endosperm increases bioavailability of iron and zinc in grains. Transgenic Research. 26(1):109–122. doi:  . (Category W)
34. Naqvi R.Z., Asif, M., Saeed, M., Asad, S., Khatoon, A., Amin, I., Mukhtar, Z., Bashir, A. and Mansoor, S. 2017. Development of a triple gene Cry1Ac-Cry2Ab-EPSPS construct and its expression in Nicotiana benthamiana for insect resistance and herbicide tolerance in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science. 8:1-9. doi:  . (Category W)
35. Masood, A., Iqbal, N., Mubeen, H., Naqvi, R.Z., Khatoon, A. and Bashir, A. 2017. Cloning and expression analysis of D-Hordein hybrid promoter isolated from barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Pakistan Journal of Botany. 49(3):1085-1095. . (Category X)
36. Naqvi, R.Z., Mubeen, H., Masood, A., Khatoon, A. and Bashir, A. 2017. Identification, isolation and evaluation of a constitutive sucrose phosphate synthase gene promoter from tomato. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 49(3):1105-1112.  (Category X)
37. Hira, M., Bashir, A., Ayesha, A., Ammara, M. and Shahid, R. 2017. Histochemical GUS expression of beta tubulin promoter in transgenic tobacco. African Journal of Biotechnology. 16(17):945–952. doi:  .
38. Irfan, M., Asif, M., Bashir, A. and Malik, K.A. 2017. Effect of protein extraction buffer and blocking buffer on efficiency of prepared nitrocellulose membrane for assembly of lateral flow immunoassay strip. International Journal of Pure and Applied Biosciences. 5 (6):1-8.
39. Irfan, M., Asif, M., Bashir, A., Malik, K.A. and Mahmood, S. 2017. Golden dot, a simple approach for antibody-antigen interaction detection on nitrocellulose membrane, by using Bt Cry1Ac , polyclonal, monoclonal antibodies and nano-colloidal gold. International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field. 3(11):115-120. 
40. Khatoon, A., Iqbal, N., Asif, M., Hafiza Masooma Naseer Cheema, H.M.N., Saeed, M. and Bashir, A. 2018. Comparative analysis of fiber morphogenesis genes of Calotropis procera and Gossypium hirsutum. International Journal of Agriculture and Biology. 20:288‒296. doi: 10.17957/ijab/15.0492. (Category Y)
41. Adalat, R., Saleem, F., Bashir, A., Ahmad, M., Zulfiqar, S. and Shakoori, A.R. 2018. Multiple upstream start codons (AUG) in 5′ untranslated region enhance translation efficiency of cry2Ac11 without helper protein. Journal of Cellular Biochemistry. 120(2):2236–2250. doi:  . (Category W)
42. Mushtaq, R., Shahzad, K., Mansoor, S., Shah, Z.H., Alsamadany, H., Mujtaba, T., Al-Zahrani, Y., Alzahrani, H.A.S., Ahmed, Z. and Bashir, A. 2018. Exploration of Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCuV) resistance genes and their screening in Gossypium arboreum by targeting resistance gene analogues. AoB PLANTS. 10(6):1-15 doi:  . (Category W)
43. Siddiqui, H.A., Asif, M., Asad, S., Naqvi, R.Z., Ajaz, S., Umer, N., Anjum, N., Rauf, I., Sarwar, M., Arshad, M., Amin, I., Saeed, M., Mukhtar, Z., Bashir, A. and Mansoor, S. 2019. Development and evaluation of double gene transgenic cotton lines expressing Cry toxins for protection against chewing insect pests. Scientific Reports. 9(1):11774. doi:  . (Category W)
44. Mukhtar, S., Ahmad, S., Bashir, A., Mehnaz, S., Mirza, M.S. and Malik, K.A. 2019. Identification of plasmid encoded osmoregulatory genes from halophilic bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of halophytes. Microbiological Research. 228:126307. doi:  . (Category W)
45. Akhtar, A., Rizvi, Z., Irfan, M., Maqbool, A., Bashir, A. and Malik, K.A. 2020. Biochemical and morphological risk assessment of transgenic wheat with enhanced iron and zinc bioaccessibility. Journal of Cereal Science. 91:102881. doi:  . (Category W)
46. Hasnain, A., Irfan, M., Bashir, A., Maqbool, A. and Malik, K.A. 2020. Transcription factor TaDof1 improves nitrogen and carbon assimilation under low-nitrogen conditions in Wheat. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter. 38(3):441–451. doi:  . (Category X)
47. Mushtaq, R., Shahzad, K., Shah, Z. H., Alsamadany, H., Alzahrani, H. A., Alzahrani, Y., Mujtaba, T., Ahmed, Z., Mansoor, S., & Bashir, A. 2020. Isolation of biotic stress resistance genes from cotton (Gossypium arboreum) and their analysis in model plant tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) for resistance against cotton leaf curl disease complex. Journal of Virological Methods. 276:113760. doi: . (Category X)
48. Asif, M., Siddiqui, H.A., Naqvi, R.Z., Amin, I., Asad, S., Mukhtar, Z., Bashir, A. and Mansoor, S. 2021. Development of event‑specific detection method for identification of insect resistant NIBGE‑1601 cotton harboring double gene Cry1Ac‑Cry2Ab construct. Scientific Reports 11:3479. doi: . (Category W)
49. Bacha, S., Iqbal, N., Bashir, A., Deeba, F., Asif, M. and Joshua, Y. 2021. Evaluation of cis-regulatory elements of dicot b-TbSt promoter. The Journal of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. 2(3):23-38. doi: . (Category Y)
50. Masood, A., Mubeen, H., Iqbal, N. and Bashir, A. 2021. Cloning and transcriptional analysis of RuBisCO hybrid promoter. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 53(3):933-940. doi: . (Category X
51. Ijaz, S., Vivian, M., Maqbool, A., Irfan, A., Mehnaz, S., Malik, K.A. and Bashir, A. 2022. Stacking of Hordeum vulgare vacuolar sodium/proton antiporter and a bar gene in wheat for salt and herbicide tolerance. Journal of Crop Science and Biotechnology. 25:451-464. doi:  . (Category Y)
52. Amat-ur-Rasool, H., Latif, A., Yasmeen, A., Shahid, N., Azam, S., Bashir, A., Husnain, T., Rao, A.Q., Carter, W.G. and Shahid, A.A. 2022. Enhanced expression of plasma membrane intrinsic protein 2 improves cotton fiber length in Gossypium arboretum. Molecular Biology Reports. 49:5419–5426. doi: . (Category W)
53. Aqueel, R., Badar, A., Roy, N., Mushtaq, Q., Ali, A.F., Bashir, A., Ijaz, U.Z. and Malik, K.A. 2023. Cotton microbiome profiling and Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD) suppression through microbial consortia associated with Gossypium arboreum. npj Biofilms Microbiomes. 9:100. doi: . (Category W
54. John, E., Irfan. M., Ali, S.F., Maqbool, A., Bashir, A. and Malik, K.A. 2023. Development of low lignin Eucalyptus camaldulensis through down-regulation of endogenous cinnamoyl CoA reductase (CCR). Pakistan Journal of Botany. 55(3):973-981. doi: . (Category X)

Book:
Siddique, A., Latif, F. and Bashir, A. (2012) RAPD Markers and their Applications: Genetic Diversity Among Thermophilic Cellulolytic Fungi and Mutation Studies. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing. ISBN-13: 978-3-659-27156-4.

Book Chapters:

1. Javed. M.R., Farooq. R., Hussain. K., Rashid. K., Bashir. A. and Saif. H. Chapter 20 – Tricks and trends in CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing and use of bioinformatics tools for improving on-target efficiency, Editor(s): Kamel A. Abd-Elsalam, Ki-Taek Lim, In Nanobiotechnology for Plant Protection, CRISPR and RNAi Systems, Elsevier, 2021, Pages 441-462, ISBN 9780128219102, .
2. Farooq. R., Hussain. K., Bashir. A., Rashid. K. and Ashraf. M. Chapter 34 – Databases and bioinformatics tools for genome engineering in plants using RNA interference, Editor(s): Kamel A. Abd-Elsalam, Ki-Taek Lim, In Nanobiotechnology for Plant Protection, CRISPR and RNAi Systems, Elsevier, 2021, Pages 773-786, ISBN 9780128219102,