(Group Leader)

Dr. Mehboob-ur-Rahman

Principal Scientist

We gained insight into the extent of genetic diversity among several crop plants including cotton and wheat genotypes, which is helpful in taking pro-active decisions in different plant improvement programs. We have identified several DNA markers (SSRs, AFLP, SNP etc) associated with, resistance to cotton leaf curl disease, QTLs conferring drought tolerance and fiber quality traits, etc. whicvh led to the development of novel cotton germplasm (NIBGE-2, NIBGE-115, NN-3 etc.) conferring extreme tolerance to Burewala virus disease. His group transferred this material to other organizations for using in cotton breeding programs.  I am also the part of the breeding team of CIM-496—cultivated on substantial cotton growing area of Pakistan.

Our group has also developed Bt-cotton cultivars IR-3701 (very popular among farming community) and IR-1524 (known for its low inputs requirement). We have also generated a huge quantity of valuable biosafety data for cry 1Ac gene which not only paved the way for developing NIBGE-based cotton lines but have also been instrumental for approving Bt cotton varieties developed by other public and private entrepreneurs. At the moment, our two new IR-cotton lines IR-901 and IR-NIBGE-3 etc which are being tested in various agro-climatic zones of Pakistan. My lab is also a part of many international mega projects on whole genome sequencing of various crops such as cotton, wheat and sorghum.

All these efforts towards development of new cotton varieties were appreciated by Ministry of Food and Agriculture by awarding me “Outstanding Award in Biotechnology—first position on 26 May 2009.

Salient Facilities:

• DNA fingerprinting facility for all range of organisms
• HVI-fiber testing equipment
• Seed Center
• Insect rearing
• Large scale field testing of Gm crops

Support:

• International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna
• Ministry of Science & Technology
• Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Livestock
• Pakistan Agricultural Research Council—ALP
• Pakistan Science Foundation
• Higher Education Commission
• Govt of the Punjab