Postdoctoral Fellows

Greg was originally raised in Burlington, Ontario. He obtained his BSc and MSc from the University of Waterloo, examining the role of adenosine kinase in maintaining DNA methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana.  He obtained his PhD at the University of Guelph, where he developed two genomic libraries from common bacterial blight (CBB) and resistant bean varieties (OAC-Rex and HR67). Greg used these libraries to identify regions of the genome associated with CBB resistance. His role in the applied bean genomics and bioproducts project is to develop the draft genome sequence for OAC-Rex, as well as coordinate with other researchers on marker development and breeding efforts. Greg will work with Dr. Pauls, and his research will be conducted predominantly at the University of Guelph.
Outside of his research, Greg is an avid SCUBA diver, an accomplished martial artist, a casual musician, a self-taught computer technician and a voracious reader.
Some selected publications of Dr. Perry’s:

• Perry GE, Reinprecht Y, Chan J, and Pauls KP (2008). CBB Resistance In Phaseolus vulgaris: Towards The Identification Of A Resistance Gene. Summary Reports from the 7th Canadian Pulse Research Workshop. 21-22.
• Perry GE, Reinprecht Y, and Pauls KP (2007). Towards the Identification of Common Bacterial Blight Genes in Phaseolus vulgaris. The Annual Report of the Bean Improvement Cooperative 51:34-35.
• Perry GE (2004). Reduced Adenosine Kinase Activity is Associated with Reduced Nucleic Acid Methylation in Arabidopsis thaliana. M.Sc. Thesis, University of Waterloo.

Weilong was born in the Jiangxi province of China. She obtained her BSc from Jiangxi Agricultural University and her MSc from Sichuan Agricultural University, both in China. She received her PhD with honors from the University of Haifa in Israel during which time she sussesfully identified two novel disease resistance genes in wild wheat.  Weilong was eventually attracted by the outstanding research being done at the University of Guelph and decided to join the department of Plant Agriculture as a post-doctoral fellow. Weilong is now a Research Associate working with Dr. Ali Navabi in the joint AAFC/University of Guelph Bean Breeding Program. Within the applied bean genomics and bioproducts project, Weilong’s work is focussed on improving the disease resistance and nutritive value of beans.
In her spare time, Weilong enjoys walking outdoors, spending time with her family and cooking Chinese food.
Some selected publications of Dr. Xie’s:

• Xie W, Yu K, Pauls KP, Navabi A (2012) Application of image analysis in genetic studies of quantitative disease resistance: exemplified using common bacterial blight-common bean pathosystem. Phytopathology 102 (4):434-442.
• Xie W, Shim YS, Garabagi F, Navabi A, Pauls KP (2010) Molecular characterization of key genes for folate synthesis in common bean. Annual Report of the Bean Improvement Cooperative 53:138-139.
• Xie W, Hao L, Goodwin PH (2008) Role of a xyloglucan-specific endo-beta-1,4-glucanase inhibitor in the interactions of Nicotiana benthamiana with Colletotrichum destructivum, C. orbiculare or Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci. Molecular Plant Pathology 9:191-202.

Predrag Rajsic specializes in production economics and economics of markets with substantial market exchange restrictions. His research interests also include methodology of economics, environmental economics, information economics, and environmental law. Within the Applied Beans Genomics and Bioproducts Project, Predrag is conducting an economic analysis of alternative plant breeding technologies with a particular emphasis on the economics of marker assisted selection breeding, and farm-level and market impacts of new plant varieties. Predrag obtained his bachelor’s, MSc and PhD degrees in agricultural, environmental and resource economics from the University of Guelph.
e-mail: prajsic@uoguelph.ca or rajsic5584@rogers.com
Tel: 519-824-4120 Ext: 56684
Select Publications

• Rajsic, P., G. Fox and E. Ramlal. 2012 Forthcoming. "Canadian Agricultural Environmental Policy". In Brouwer F., G. Fox and R. Jongeneel (Eds.), The economics of regulation: compliance with public and private standards in agriculture. CABI Publishing.
• De Roest, K., J. Winsten, P. Rajsic and K. Dillen. 2012 Forthcoming. "The impact of standards on the competitiveness of the EU with respect to pigs and poultry". In Brouwer, F., G. Fox and R. Jongeneel (Eds.), The Economics of Regulation: Compliance with Public and Private Standards in Agriculture. Wallingford, UK: CABI Publishing.
• Rajsic, P., A. Weersink and M. Gandorfer. 2009. Risk and Nitrogen Application Levels. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, 57(2):223-239
• Rajsic, P. and A. Weersink. 2008. Do farmers waste fertilizer? A comparison of ex post optimal nitrogen rates and ex ante recommendations by model, site and year. Agricultural Systems, 97(1):56-76.
• Gandorfer, M. and P. Rajsic. 2008. Modeling Economic Optimum Nitrogen Rates for Winter Wheat When Inputs Affect Yield and Output-Price. Agricultural Economics Review, 9(2):54-64. 

Raja was originally raised in Himalayan country, Nepal. He obtained his MSc from University of Bonn, Germany, examining the effect of varying thermal environments on rice genotypes under a high altitude cropping system in Nepal. He obtained his PhD from University of Guelph, examining the trait variation and QTL mapping in early-season maize populations. In the Applied Bean Genomics Project, Raja is now using his expertise in statistical genomics to understand the genetics of complex traits. He is also doing computer modeling in plant breeding to understand the effectiveness of various breeding methodologies.
Phone: 519-824-4120 ext. 56214
E-mail: rkhanal@uoguelph.ca

Xiaolu was born and grew up in China. In his early childhood, he lived in the countryside, fascinated by the beauty of nature and just generally interested in living things. He obtained BSc and MSc degrees in Microbiology and then his  and theaaaaaaa PhD in Molecular Biology from the  University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA in 2007.  Xiaolu's major interests in biology are concerned with molecular mechanisms by which plants respond to different environmental and developmental cues, especially the signal transduction pathways via which a response is transmitted to other components in the plant.  Currently, he works with Dr. Yuhai Cui conducting researches on genomics of resistance to common bacterial blight in common bean. Xiaolu is also developing molecular markers (SNPs) and then using these markers to assist with the development of new and improved bean varieties.
Xiaolu's hobbies enclude playing “Go” (围棋in Chinese), a game originating in China more than 2500 years ago. It is estimated that the number of possible games of Go (10⁷⁶⁸) far exceeds the number of atoms in the known universe (10⁸⁰). He also enjoys playing badminton, swimming, and jogging.
E-mail: xiaolu.zou@agr.gc.ca
Phone : 1-519-738-1329
Selected publications:

• 1) Zhang, Z.L., Shin, M., Zou, X.L., Huang, J.Z., Ho, T.H.D. and Shen, Q. J.: A negative regulator encoded by a rice WRKY gene represses both abscisic acid and gibberellin signaling in aleurone cells. Plant Mol. Biol., 2009, 70: 139-151.
• 2) Zou, X., Neuman, D., and Shen, Q.J.: Interactions of two transcriptional repressors and two transcriptional activators in modulating gibberellin signaling in aleurone cells. Plant Physiol., 2008, 148: 176-186.
• 3) Xie, Z., Zhang, Z.L., Zou, X., Yang, G., Komatsu, S., and Shen, Q.J.: Interactions of two abscisic-acid induced WRKY genes in repressing gibberellin signaling in aleurone cells. Plant J., 2006, 46: 231-242.
• 4) Zou, X., Seemann, J.R., Neuman, D., and Shen, Q.J.: A WRKY gene from creosote bush encodes an activator of the ABA signaling pathway. J. Biol. Chem. 2004, 279: 55770-55779. 

Loo-Sar specializes in protein chemistry, molecular biology, mammalian expression cell lines, plant embryo manipulation, cytotoxicity testing and immunological assays.  She has used her expertise to develop edible plant-protein films for dry food packaging and for the coating of fresh food products such as fruits and vegetables in order to preserve freshness.
Education:
Ph.D., University of Waterloo
M.Sc., University of Waterloo
B.Sc.., University of Singapore
Diploma, Sheridan College of Applied Arts and Technology, Classical Animation School
Awards
NSERC Industrial Research Fellowship
Multiple Sclerosis Society Research Fellowship
The Hospital for Sick Children Research Fellowship
Employment Experience
2006-present
Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph.

• To evaluate the utility of proteins extracted from natural plant sources or transgenic sources for manufacturing industrial films.
•  Develop gene markers for stay-green Canola seeds  

Previous
A-Go-Chi Studio, Guelph, Ontario                                  

• Animator and Video producer

Shanghai Pudong New Area Ocean Aquarium Co. Ltd.                                                        

• Manager, Fish and Life supporting Devp. Department.                                                           

Allelix Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Mississauga, Ontario                                               

• Project Leader

Mount Sinai Hospital, Research Institute. 

• Research Fellow

University of Toronto, Department of Medical Genetics

• Multiple Sclerosis Fellow

The Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Biochemistry.  

• Post-doctoral Fellow

 Loo-Sar has 16 publications (and two in progress) and has presented 14 papers and abstracts.
Email address: lschia@uoguelph.ca

Yarmilla Reinprecht is a research associate at the University of Guelph, Department of Plant Agriculture. She holds Ph.D. in Genetics & Plant breeding (University of Novi Sad, Serbia) and plant biotechnology (University of Guelph, Canada). Research areas include plant genome analysis, transcriptome analysis and mutation detection. Within the applied bean genomics and bioproducts project, Yarmilla’s work is focussed on association mapping of seed phenolics in common bean.
Selected publications:

• Reinprecht, Y., Luk-Labey, S. and K.P. Pauls (2011) A versatile soybean recombinant inbred line population segregating for low linolenic acid and lipoxygenase nulls – Molecular characterization and utility for soymilk and bioproduct production. In: Soybean: Molecular aspects of breeding. (Ed. Aleksandra Sudaric) InTech open access publisher, Rijeka, Croatia. Pg. 119-146. www.intechopen.com; ISBN 978-953-307-240-1
• Kant P, Reinprecht Y, Martin CJ, Islam R, and Pauls KP (2011) Integration of Biotechnologies | Disease Resistance/Pathology/Fusarium. In: Murray Moo-Young (ed.), Comprehensive Biotechnology, Second Edition, volume 4, pp. 729–743. Elsevier.
• Reinprecht, Y., Luk-Labey, S.-Y., Yu, K., Poysa, V., Rajcan, I., Ablett, G.R., and Pauls, K.P. (2011). Molecular basis of seed lipoxygenase null traits in soybean line OX948. Theor Appl Gen, 122(7), pp. 1247-1264. doi: 10.1007/s00122-011-1528-5
• Reinprecht, Y., Luk-Labey, S.-Y., Larsen, R.J., Poysa, V., Yu, K., Rajcan, I., Ablett, G.R., and Pauls, K.P. (2009). Molecular basis of the low linolenic acid trait in soybean EMS mutant line RG10. Plant Breed, 128(3), pp. 253-258. doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0523.2008.01571.x
• Reinprecht, Y.,Wu, X., Labey-Luk, S., Dasilva, E., Martin, C.J. and K.P. Pauls. 2008. A microarray-based approach for identifying genes for resistance to Fusarium graminearum in maize (Zea mays L.) Cereal Res. Commun. 36: 253-259.

Andrew is working in the bean breeding program with Dr Alireza Navabi studying resistance to anthracnose (caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum).  In this work he is creating a program to monitor the virulence of anthracnose races present in Ontario, performing genetic studies on sources of resistance to anthracnose race 73 present in the breeding program, and working on pyramiding multi-disease resistance in Ontario dry beans.
Andrew completed his PhD in maize breeding at the University of Guelph. His research emphasized the integration of molecular and traditional breeding to understand and capture valuable variation in high carotenoid accumulation. He completed a post-doctoral contract to continue his PhD work by breeding the high carotenoid trait into several elite inbred backgrounds and proving the concept that high carotenoid grain could have a useful application as animal feed in the North American market.   Previously, Andrew worked on post-harvest resistance to storage pests in tropical maize, and on various projects on the phytochemistry of various medicinal and food plants.
Selected Publications:

• Burt AJ, Caston L, Leeson S, Shelp BJ, Lee EA.  2011. Development and Utilization of High Carotenoid (HiC) Maize Germplasm:  Proof of Concept.  Crop Science (accepted for publication 7 June 2012).
• Burt AJ, Grainger CM, Shelp BJ, Lee EA.  2011. Heterosis for Carotenoid Concentration and Profile in Maize Hybrids. Genome 54: 1-12.
• Burt AJ, Grainger CM, Smid MP, Shelp BJ, Lee EA.  2011. Allele Mining in Exotic Maize Germplasm to Enhance Macular Carotenoids. Crop Science 51: 991-1004.
• Burt AJ, Grainger CM, Young C, Shelp BJ, Lee EA.  2010. Impact of Postharvest Handling on Carotenoid Concentration and Composition in High-Carotenoid Maize (Zea mays L.) Kernels.  Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 58: 8286-8292.
• García-Lara S, Burt AJ, Arnason JT, Bergvinson DJ.  2010. QTL Mapping of Tropical Maize Grain Components Associated with Maize Weevil Resistance.  Crop Science 50: 815-825.
• Mao JQ, Burt AJ, Ramputh AI, Simmonds JA, Cass L, Hubbard K, Millar S, Altosaar I, Arnason JT. 2007. Diverted Secondary Metabolism and Improved Resistance to European Corn Borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) in Maize (Zea mays L.) Transformed with Wheat Oxalate Oxidase. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55: 2582-2589.
• Harris CH and Burt AJ, Saleem A, Le PM, Martineau L, Haddad PS, Bennett SA, Arnason JT. 2007. A Single HPLC-DAD/APCI-MS Method for Quantitative Comparison of Compounds Found in Leaf, Stem, Root and Fruit Extracts of Lowbush Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Ait. Phytochemical Analysis 18: 161-167.
• García-Lara S, Bergvinson DJ, Burt AJ, Ramputh AI, Díaz-Pontones DM, Arnason JT. 2004. The Role of Pericarp Cell Wall Components in Maize Weevil Resistance. Crop Science 44: 1546-1552.
• Bily AC, Burt AJ, Ramputh AI, Livesey J, Arnason JT, Regnault-Roger C, Philogène BJR. 2004. HPLC-DAD-APCI Assay for Phenylpropanoids in Cereals. Phytochemical Analysis 15: 9-15.

Mahbuba Siddiqua was born and raised in Bangladesh. She obtained her BSc in Agriculture and MSc in Horticulture from Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh. Eventually she joined the university as a faculty in horticulture and taught both undergraduate and graduate courses, primarily on the production technology of horticultural crops. She developed a fascination with molecular biology after a plant transformation training program in Hannover, Germany. She received a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship to pursue her 2^nd MSc in plant molecular virology from the University of Hannover, Germany. Mahbuba then completed her PhD with Dr Annette Nassuth of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph where she characterized the CBF (C Binding Factor) genes to understand the molecular mechanism of freezing tolerance in grape. After her PhD, she worked in the same lab as research associate for more than a year.  Currently, Mahbuba is doing research with Dr Peter Pauls on the Bean Genomics Project; her research is about characterizing the DFR (Dihydroflavonol 4 – reductase) enzyme, the first committed enzyme in the bean's phenylpropanoid pathway and mRNA sequencing of some important bean market classes in Ontario. The ultimate goal of her research is to develop genomic tools to select varieties with high levels of beneficial antioxidant compounds.
Besides her research activities, she enjoys cooking, listening music and raising vegetables in the kitchen garden.
Selected publications:

• Siddiqua, M. and Nassuth, A. 2011. Vitis CBF1 and Vitis CBF4 differ in their effect on Arabidopsis abiotic stress tolerance, development and gene expression. Plant, Cell & Environment. 34: 1345–1359. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3040.2011.02334.x.
• Siddiqua, M., Huogen Xiao, and Nassuth, A. 2009. Promoter analysis of grape CBF genes.  Acta Horticulture (ISHS). 827:323-326.
• Stephan, D., Siddiqua, M., Hoang, A. T., Engelmann, J., Winter, S., and Maiss, E. 2008. Complete nucleotide sequence and experimental host range of Okra mosaic virus. Virus Genes. 36 (1): 231-240.
• Xiao, H., Tattersal, E.A.R., Siddiqua, M. K., Cramer, G.R. and Nassuth, A. 2008. CBF4 is a unique member of the CBF transcription factor family of Vitis vinifera and Vitis riparia. Plant Cell and Environment. 31 (1): 1-10.
• Roy, S.K., Haque M.S.,  and Siddiqua, M. K. 2007. Plant regeneration through multiple shoot formation in blackgram. Progressive Agriculture. 18(2): 11-16.
• Xiao, H., Siddiqua, M., Braybrook, S., and Nassuth, A. 2006. Three grape CBF/DREB1 genes respond to low temperature, drought and ABA. Plant Cell and Environment. 29: 1410-l421.