Skip to content
ENG हिंदी اردو
  Last updated: March 8th, 2022
facebook
twitter

Screen Reader Access

CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine

CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine

(Council of Scientific & Industrial Research)

  • Home
    • About Us
    • IIIM Current Focus Areas
    • Organogram
  • Research
    • Research Achievements
      • Publications
      • All Patents
      • Projects
      • Technologies Developed
      • Honours & Awards
    • Research Groups
    • Research Facilitation
    • Research Collaborations
    • Research Council
    • Facilities
    • Budget for 2015-2021
  • Services
    • Business Overview
    • Trainings
  • Tenders
  • Notifications
  • Jobs
    • Permanent Position
    • Temporary Position
  • People
  • Contact

Dr. Nasheeman Ashraf

Dr. Nasheeman Ashraf

Principal Scientist

Plant Biotechnology Division

CSIR – Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Sanat Nagar Srinagar-190005
Email: nashraf@iiim.res.in

  • Profile
  • Position Held
  • Area of Expertise
  • Project Involved / Ongoing Projects
  • Publications and Patents
  • Awards / Honours
  • Group

Profile

Bio Sketch

Plants are master chemists and produce a large repertoire of secondary metabolites.These small molecules perform plethora of functions, for example, they act as hormones, defense compounds, pharmaceuticals, insecticides, dyes, flavors, and fragrances. Inspite of their tremendous importance for humans and for the plant itself, plant secondary metabolism remains poorly characterized. Our focus is elucidation of biosynthetic and regulatory pathways of plant secondary metabolism. We use combinatorial OMICS approach for comprehensive investigations and large-scale gene discovery programs in plant secondary metabolism. This data is also used for discovery of novel regulators of these pathways. Together, this knowledge can be used for engineering of these pathways towards increased yields.

Currently our lab is working on Crocus sativus which is a triploid, sterile geophyte and has been cultivated and used as spice and medicinal plant since thousands of years. The desiccated stigma of C. sativus forms saffron and is source of various carotenoids and unique compounds called apocarotenoids which are produced by oxidative tailoring of carotenoids. In fact Crocus is the only plant which produces apocarotenoids like crocin, picrocrocin and safranal in significant amounts.These compounds provide color, flavour and aroma to this crop making it world’s costliest spice. In addition, these compounds have a broad spectrum of pharmacological properties as well. In order to understand apocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway and its regulation, we have developed transcriptome map for Crocus. This transcriptome data was used for identification of genes involved in apocarotenoid biosynthesis and also transcription factors which regulate this process. We characterized many genes involved in Crocus apocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway. We also identified some novel regulators of this pathway.

Our main focus is:

  • Characterization of pathway genes and their engineering to enhance quality of saffron
  • Generation of crom rot resistant Crocus
  • Identification of genes which regulate apocarotenoid pathway and elucidation of their mechanism of action

Education

Degree Subjects University Qualifying Year
Ph.D Life Sciences NIPGR (JNU) 2010
M.Sc Biochemistry G.B.Pant University of Agriculture and Technology 2003
B.Sc Agriculture SKUAST-K 2001

Position Held

Position Held

Position Held Period Organization
Principal Scientist 2020-Present CSIR-IIIM
Senior Scientist 2015-2020 CSIR-IIIM
Scientist 2012-2015 CSIR-IIIM
Scientist Fellow 2010-2012 CSIR-IIIM

 

 

 

Area of Expertise

Area of Expertise

  • Plant metabolomics
  • Plant genomics and transcriptomics
  • Plant Molecular biology
  • Plant stress biology

 

 

 

Project Involved / Ongoing Projects

Projects

  • Characterization of apocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway and its regulation
  • Investigating role of Myb genes in regulating apocarotenoid pathway
  • Investigating role of bHLH gene family in regulating apocarotenoid metabolism
  • Micropropagation of Crocus

 

 

 

Publications and Patents

Publications

Baba SA and Ashraf N. Functional characterization of flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase, CsF3′H, from Crocus sativus L: Insights into substrate specificity and role in abiotic stress. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (2019), 667: 70–78

 

Ashraf N, Basu S, Narula K, Ghosh S, Tayal R, Gangisetty N, Biswas S, Aggarwal RP, Chakraborty N& Chakraborty S. Integrative network analyses of wilt transcriptome in chickpea reveal genotype dependent regulatory hubs in immunity and susceptibility. Scientific Reports (2018), 8 (1): 6528

 

Mohiuddin T, Baba SA, Ashraf N. Identification, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling of ABC transporter family of Crocus sativus L: A step towards understanding apocarotenoid transport. Plant Gene (2018) 14:1-6

Wani ZA, Kumar A, Sultan P,  Bindu K, Riyaz-Ul-Hassan S & Ashraf N. Mortierella alpina CS10E4, an oleaginous fungal endophyte of Crocus sativus L. enhances apocarotenoid biosynthesis and stress tolerance in the host plant. Scientific Reports (2017), 7: 8598

Baba SA, Vishwakarma RA, Ashraf N. Functional characterization of CsBGlu12, a β-glucosidase from Crocus sativus provides insights into its role in abiotic stress through accumulation of antioxidant flavonols. Journal of biological chemistry (2017), 292 (11): 4700 -4713

Malik AH, Ashraf N. Transcriptome wide identification, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling of zinc-finger transcription factors from Crocus sativus L. Mol Genet Genomics (2017), 292 (3): 619-633 

Baba SA, Jain D, Abbas N, Ashraf N. Overexpression of Crocus carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase, CsCCD4b, in Arabidopsis imparts tolerance to dehydration, salt and oxidative stresses by modulating ROS machinery. Journal of plant physiology (2015), 189: 114-125

Baba SA, Mohiuddin T, Basu S, Swarnkar MK, Malik AH, Wani ZA, Abbas N, Singh AK, Ashraf N. Comprehensive transcriptome analysis of Crocus sativus for discovery and expression of genes involved in apocarotenoid biosynthesis. BMC Genomics (2015), 16:698.

Ashraf N, Jain D, Vishwakarma RA, Identification, cloning and characterization of an ultrapetal transcription factor CsULT1 from Crocus: a novel regulator of apocarotenoid biosynthesis. BMC Plant Biology (2015), 15: 25.

Wani ZA, Ashraf N, Mohiuddin T, Riyaz-Ul-Hassan S. Plant-endophyte symbiosis, an ecological perspective. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2015), 99 (7): 2955-65

Peer reviewed publications:

Bhat ZY, Mohiuddin T, Kumar A, López-Jiménez AJ, Ashraf N Crocus transcription factors CstMYB1 and CstMYB1R2 modulate apocarotenoid metabolism by regulating carotenogenic genes. Plant Mol Biol (2021), 107: 49-62

Baba SA and Ashraf N. Functional characterization of flavonoid 3′-hydroxylase, CsF3′H, from Crocus sativus L: Insights into substrate specificity and role in abiotic stress. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics (2019), 667: 70–78

Ashraf N, Basu S, Narula K, Ghosh S, Tayal R, Gangisetty N, Biswas S, Aggarwal RP, Chakraborty N& Chakraborty S. Integrative network analyses of wilt transcriptome in chickpea reveal genotype dependent regulatory hubs in immunity and susceptibility. Scientific Reports (2018), 8 (1): 6528

Mohiuddin T, Baba SA, Ashraf N. Identification, phylogenetic analysis and expression profiling of ABC transporter family of Crocus sativus L: A step towards understanding apocarotenoid transport. Plant Gene (2018) 14:1-6

Wani ZA, Kumar A, Sultan P, Bindu K, Riyaz-Ul-Hassan S & Ashraf N. Mortierella alpina CS10E4, an oleaginous fungal endophyte of Crocus sativus L. enhances apocarotenoid biosynthesis and stress tolerance in the host plant. Scientific Reports (2017), 7: 8598

Baba SA, Vishwakarma RA, Ashraf N. Functional characterization of CsBGlu12, a βglucosidase from Crocus sativus provides insights into its role in abiotic stress through accumulation of antioxidant flavonols. Journal of biological chemistry (2017), 292 (11): 4700 -4713

Malik AH, Ashraf N Transcriptome wide identification, phylogenetic analysis, and expression profiling of zinc-finger transcription factors from Crocus sativus L. Mol Genet Genomics (2017), 292 (3): 619-633

Baba SA, Jain D, Abbas N, Ashraf N. Overexpression of Crocus carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase, CsCCD4b, in Arabidopsis imparts tolerance to dehydration, salt and oxidative stresses by modulating ROS machinery. Journal of plant physiology (2015), 189: 114-125

Baba SA, Mohiuddin T, Basu S, Swarnkar MK, Malik AH, Wani ZA, Abbas N, Singh AK, Ashraf N. Comprehensive transcriptome analysis of Crocus sativus for discovery and expression of genes involved in apocarotenoid biosynthesis. BMC Genomics (2015), 16:698.

Ashraf N, Jain D, Vishwakarma RA, Identification, cloning and characterization of an ultrapetal transcription factor CsULT1 from Crocus: a novel regulator of apocarotenoid biosynthesis. BMC Plant Biology (2015), 15: 25.

Wani ZA, Ashraf N, Mohiuddin T, Riyaz-Ul-Hassan S. Plant-endophyte symbiosis, an ecological perspective. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol (2015), 99 (7): 2955-65

Bhat WW, Dhar N, Razdan S, Rana S, Mehra R, Nargotra A, Dhar RS, Ashraf N, Vishwakarma R, Lattoo SK. Molecular characterization of UGT94F2 and UGT86C4, two glycosyltransferases from Picrorhiza kurrooa: comparative structural insight and evaluation of substrate recognition. PLoS One (2013), 16; 8 (9): e73804.

Ashraf N, Ghai D, Barman P, Basu S, Gangisetty N, Mandal MK, Chakraborty N, Datta A, Chakraborty S. Comparative analyses of genotype dependent expressed sequence tags and stress-responsive transcriptome of chickpea wilt illustrate predicted and unexpected genes and novel regulators of plant immunity. BMC Genomics (2009), 10:415

Patents

US patents

Chakraborty S, Chakraborty N, Datta A, Ashraf N, Basu S, Nag P and Singh M (2010) Polynucleotides derived from chickpea and uses thereof (US No. 13/393,340). Published by USPTO on 21/06/2012 (Pub. No. US 20120159668 A1).

Indian Patents

Chakraborty S, Datta A, Chakraborty N, Ashraf N, and Basu S, (2009) Functional genomics and stress responsive polynucloetides from chickpea [IPA-1565/DEL/2009].

 

Awards / Honours

Awards and Honours

  • Awarded EMBO short term fellowship to work as a visiting scientist at Botanical Institute, University of Castilla La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
  • Awarded CSIR-Raman research fellowship to work as a visiting scientist in University of Kentucky, USA (2015-16)
  • Awarded senior research fellowship by council of scientific and industrial research (CSIR) (2005-2008)
  • Awarded junior research fellowship by council of scientific and industrial research (CSIR) (2003-2005)
  • Qualified graduate aptitude test for engineering (GATE) in 2003 with 97.19 percentile.

 

 

 

Group

Students

 

Photo

 

Name with

(AcSIR Enrolment No./departmental I.D.)

Thesis Title/Project Title Academic/Research

Accomplishment

 

Dr. Syed Mudassir Jeelani

I.D No. 1903

 

 

 

 

Genetic improvement and yield optimization of sexually sterile Crocus sativus L. (Saffron) through in vitro approaches and mutation breeding

 

 

 

UGC-DSK

SERB-YSS

IsDB Postdoctoral Fellowship

CSIR-SRA (Pool Scientist)

 

 

 

 

Dr. Tabasum Mohi Ud Din

I.D No. 2277

 

 

 

 

Role of bHLH transcription factors in regulating apocarotenoid biosynthesis in Crocus sativus.

 

CSIR-NET JRF

CSIR-RA

 

Zahid Yaqoob Bhat

Enrol. No.10BB16A37010

I.D No. 1883

Cloning and characterization of MYB transcription factors involved in regulation of secondary metabolism in Crocus sativus L. NET-JRF (UGC)
Khadim Hussain

Enrol. No.10BB17J37007

I.D. No. 1941

 

 

 

Investigating role of MYB genes in regulating secondary metabolism in Crocus sativus L. NET-JRF (UGC)
Javid Ahmad Mir

Enrol. No.10BB17A37006

I.D No. 2082

Cloning, characterization and regulation of Lycopene cyclases from Crocus sativus. L NET-JRF (UGC)
Nargis Khurshaid

Enrol. No.10BB18A37005

I.D No. 2198

Identification of MADS-Box gene family from Crocus sativus L. and its role in regulating floral development and apocarotenoid biosynthetic pathway

 

 DST-INSPIRE JRF
Najwa Shabir

Enrol. No.10BB19A37001

I.D No. 2278

 

 

 

 

Identification of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) from Crocus sativus and unravelling their biological function and regulation.

 

 

 

DST-INSPIRE JRF

·

 

IIIM Links

About IIIM

IIIM in Media

IIIM Srinagar Branch

IIIM Intranet

IIIM Webmail

IIIM Circulars

Past Directors

NASI (India) Chapter at J&K

Facilities

Guest House

e-Payment

Purchase

Experimental Farm

IIIM Directory

Important Links

Right To Information (RTI)

Annual Reports

E-Journals

Indian Plants Overseas

J&K Aroma Project

QCQA & CMC

CSIR CUReD

Phytopharmaceutical Mission

Janaki Ammal Herbarium

Major Equipments & Facilities

National Government Services Portal

Management Council

Research Council

IAEC (Animal Ethics)

My Timeline csiriiim
Website Policies | Disclaimer | Feedback | Sitemap

© 2021, CSIR - Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu | Developed by CSIR-IIIM

Scroll Up Skip to content
Open toolbar

Accessibility Tools

  • Increase Text
  • Decrease Text
  • Grayscale
  • High Contrast
  • Negative Contrast
  • Light Background
  • Links Underline
  • Readable Font
  • Reset
  • Sitemap
  • Feedback