Many DEEP researchers wanted to participate in our field work photo social media competition, and the communication group at DEEP are really happy about this.

The winner that got the most likes in total on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is  DEEP guest researcher Muhammad Saeed and got a gift voucher to print out favourite photos! 😊 A warm congratulations to Muhammad!

DEEP guest researcher Muhammad Saeed.

The research Muhammed Saeed performs is focused to identify tolerant wheat varieties (Pakistan Wheat) that can withstand arsenic stress and are safer for human consumption (food sustainability and crop safety).

The winning photo.

- On the photo I submitted for the contest, you can see stage of my experiment where I was transferring plants from vermiculite to nutrient and Arsenic solution. Before transferring, plants are put in distilled water to clean roots from vermiculite so that It does not interfere with the uptake of nutrients and arsenic, says Mohammed Saeed.

Muhammad in a wheat field.

As a DEEP researcher, you are of course also always welcome to send field work photos you want to share to facebook.deep@su.se, instagram.deep@su.se and twitter.deep@su.se - it's always nice to receive your photos and get a glimpse about what you are up to!

More information

Muhammad is a Ph.D. student from Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan. He is working with Dr. Maria Greger as a Guest Researcher at our department since March 2022. His Ph.D. project is “Arsenomics of bread wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.): To decipher the qualitative and quantitative impact of As on grain yield.”

Description of Project
The presence of contaminants in groundwater and agricultural land has created great challenges for the sustainable production of crops in South-East Asian countries. Among them, arsenic (As) has been detected with high concentration, particularly in agro-economical regions of Pakistan. Wheat, one of the major crops grown in these regions, is facing severe threats due to the presence of high levels of As which created a grave concern for both food safety and human health perspective. Thus, there is an urgency to find sustainable and environmental-friendly mitigation measures since wheat has great nutritional and economical importance not only for Pakistan but for all agricultural nations. Among available options, the use of tolerant varieties is effective to measure since it can ensure high yield as well as safer crops for consumption. However, the available literature regarding the identification of tolerant varieties of wheat or possible mechanisms of tolerance against As is limited. Therefore, the present project is not only aimed to identify tolerant varieties of wheat (Pakistani wheat) but also to provide extensive knowledge regarding tolerance mechanisms against As contamination using omics approaches (metabolomics and proteomics) and biochemical parameters. The findings of the project will highlight potential genes, proteins, and metabolites that can stimulate tolerance in presence of As and possibly for other contaminants. Furthermore, the project has a practical implication in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since it can help Pakistan to take a step forward to achieve Zero Hunger (SDGs #2) by ensuring food safety and Good Health and Well-Being (SDG #3) by providing safer grains for consumption.

Publications related to the project
Saeed, M., Quraishi, U. M., & Malik, R. N. (2022). Identification of arsenic-tolerant varieties and candidate genes of tolerance in spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Chemosphere, 136380.
Saeed, M., Quraishi, U. M., & Malik, R. N. (2021). Arsenic uptake and toxicity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.): A review of multi-omics approaches to identify tolerance mechanisms. Food Chemistry, 355, 129607.