Dr Mareyam Mukhtar

I am a molecular plant pathologist at Niab, with a research focus on plant–pathogen interactions. I completed my PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, where I investigated resistance to rice blast disease caused by Magnaporthe oryzae. My doctoral work involved functional characterisation of two novel defence-related genes, integrating transcriptomics-informed candidate discovery with rice transformation, pathogen inoculation assays, gene expression analysis, and subcellular localisation using confocal microscopy.

At Niab, I work across multiple projects, including SeptProtect, where I contribute to elucidating and mapping virulence sources of Zymoseptoria tritici that overcome resistance in wheat varieties. My work involves culturing and phenotyping fungal pathogens, controlled inoculations, molecular diagnostics, and downstream analysis. I bring strong hands-on expertise in qPCR, sequencing workflows, plant tissue culture and transformation, yeast two-hybrid assays, and blotting.

Projects

Identification of genetic factors underlying recruitment of beneficial microbes for future sustainable wheat production systems; Duration: 2024-2027; Partners: Collaborative Crop Resilience Program, Crop Science Centre; Funding: Novo Nordish Foundation

SeptProtect: Rapid Effector Discovery to Protect Wheat from Septoria Tritici Blotch Disease; Duration: 2023-2026; Partners: University of Birmingham; Funding: BBSRC