Ahmad Kabir

Assistant Professor

School of Sciences

CNSB 325

318-342-3078

Ahmad Kabir, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biology

Education

Ph D

2012, Molecular Plant Physiology
Flinders University

MS

2009, Molecular Biology
University of Skövde

MS

2006, Botany
University of Rajshahi

BS

2005, Botany
University of Rajshahi

Biographical Sketch

Dr. Kabir earned a BSc and MSc in Botany from the University of Rajshahi (Bangladesh), an MSc in Molecular Biology from the University of Skovde (Sweden), and a Ph.D. in Molecular Plant Physiology from Flinders University (Australia). His doctoral research focused on the physiological and molecular aspects of iron deficiency tolerance in field peas. After graduating in 2012, Dr. Kabir joined the University of Rajshahi (Bangladesh) as a tenure-track faculty member and remained there as an Associate Professor until 2021. During this time, he also worked as a postdoctoral researcher on sabbatical at Stockholm University (Sweden) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Germany). In late 2021, Dr. Kabir transitioned to a postdoctoral research associate position in the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia (USA) before accepting the faculty position at the University of Louisiana Monroe in Fall 2023.

Research Interests

Plant abiotic stress refers to the detrimental impacts of non-living environmental factors like mineral deficiency, drought, and salinity on plant growth and productivity. These stressors disrupt cellular processes, impair water and nutrient uptake, and can ultimately lead to reduced crop yields and ecological imbalances. Developing resilient plant varieties and sustainable agricultural practices may mitigate the adverse effects of abiotic stress on global food security. However, this is often challenging due to the complex nature of environmental conditions and climate change. My lab emphasizes the responses of plants to alkalinity-induced iron deficiency when exposed to drought, as water unavailability is closely related to the exacerbation of stress and is an unavoidable consequence of severe climate change.

Our research focuses on characterizing adaptive responses from cellular to molecular levels that underlie plants' tolerance to abiotic stress. These insights can be crucial for breeders and genetic engineers aiming to target specific traits or genes of interest in order to enhance crop yield and stress tolerance. We are also intrigued by the mechanistic insights into mycorrhizal symbiosis, which promotes the induction of host stress regulatory mechanisms to withstand abiotic stresses. The interactions between beneficial fungi and other helper microbes associated with stress tolerance could potentially facilitate microbiome-assisted breeding and the development of biofertilizers. Our lab aims to explore the potential role of Trichoderma harzianum (a common soil fungus) and its association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and growth-promoting bacteria, which may collectively induce abiotic stress tolerance in crops. These advancements may also contribute to reducing the dependence on chemical fertilizers.

To know more about the ongoing research program, please visit the lab website:
https://thekabirlab.org/

Recent Publications

Arifuzzaman, M., Bagchi, R., Hasan, M. R., Rahman, M. A., Rahman, M. M., Rahman, M., Kabir, A. H. (2024). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi induce Zn uptake and antioxidant efficiency in broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) exposed to Zn deficiency (pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stress.2024.100415). Plant Stress.

Kabir, A. H., Baki, M., Ahmed, B., Mostofa, M. G. (2024). Current, faltering, and future strategies for advancing microbiome-assisted sustainable agriculture and environmental resilience (pp. 100013). New Crops.

Kabir, A. H., Bennetzen, J. (2024). Molecular insights into the mutualism that induces iron deficiency tolerance in sorghum inoculated with Trichoderma harzianum (pp. 127630). Microbiological Research.

Rahman, M., Song, Y., Hasan, M., Jahan, M., Siddiqui, M., Park, H., Lee, S., Singh, D., Corpas, F., Kabir, A., Lee, K. (2023). Mechanistic Basis of Silicon Mediated Cold Stress Tolerance in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) (pp. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-023-02697-9). Silicon.

Kabir, A. H., Rahman, M. M., Das, U., Sarkar, U., Roy, N. C., Reza, M. A., Talukder, M. R., Uddin, M. A. (2019). Reduction of cadmium toxicity in wheat through plasma technology (pp. e0214509.). PLoS ONE.

Prity, S. A., Sajib, S. A., Das, U., Rahman, M. M., Haider, S. A., Kabir, A. H. (2020). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi mitigate Fe deficiency symptoms in sorghum through phytosiderophore-mediated Fe mobilization and restoration of redox status. (pp. 1373–1385). Protoplasma.

Das, U., Rahman, M. A., Ela, E. J., Lee, K., Kabir, A. h. (2020). Sulfur triggers glutathione and phytochelatin accumulation causing excess Cd bound to the cell wall of roots in alleviating Cd-toxicity in alfalfa. (pp. 128361). Chemosphere.

Kabir, A. H., Akther, M. S., Skalicky, M., Das, U., Gohari, G., Brestic, M., Hossain, M. M. (2021). Downregulation of Zn-transporters along with Fe and redox imbalance causes growth and photosynthetic disturbance in Zn-deficient tomato. (pp. 6040). Scientific Reports.

Kabir, A. H., Das, U., Rahman, M. A., Lee, K. (2021). ilicon induces metallochaperone‐driven Cd binding to the cell wall and restores redox status through elevated glutathione in Cd‐toxic sugar beet. (pp. 352-368). Physiologia Plantarum.

Rahman, M. A., Alam, I., Sharmin, S. A., Kabir, A. H., Kim, Y., Liu, G., Lee, B. (2021). Physiological and proteomic analyses reveal the protective roles of exogenous hydrogen peroxide in alleviating drought stress in soybean plants. (pp. 805–818). Plant Biotechnology Reports.

Haque, A. F., Rahman, M. A., Das, U., Rahman, M. M., Kabir, A. H. (2022). Changes in physiological responses and MTP (metal tolerance protein) transcripts in soybean (Glycine max) exposed to differential iron availability (pp. 1-9). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Ahmed, B., Kabir, A. H. (2022). Understanding of the various aspects of gene regulatory networks related to crop improvement. (pp. 146556). Gene.

Kabir, A. H., Rahman, M. A., Brailey-Jones, P., Lee, K., Bennetzen, J. L. (2022). Mechanistic assessment of tolerance to iron deficiency mediated by Trichoderma harzianum in soybean roots. (pp. 2760-2778). Journal of Applied Microbiology.

Rahman, M. A., Woo, J. H., Lee, S., Park, H. S., Kabir, A. H., Reza, A., Sabagh, A. E., Lee, K. (2022). Regulation of Na+/H+ exchangers, Na+/K+ transporters and lignin biosynthesis genes, along with lignin accumulation, sodium extrusion and antioxidant defense confer salt tolerance in alfalfa. (pp. 1041764). Frontiers in Plant Science.

Kabir, A. H., Ela, E. J., Bagchi, R., Rahman, M. A., Peiter, E., Lee, K. (2023). Nitric oxide acts as an inducer of Strategy-I responses to increase Fe availability and mobilization in Fe-starved broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. oleracea). (pp. 182-192). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Research Grants

Rahman, M. (Principal), Kabir, A. (Co-Principal), "Unlocking the interactions of Trichoderma harzianum with field peas and rhizosphere microbes in iron-deficient soil" (Pending Funding Decision), Sponsored By USDA-NIFA-AFRI, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $599,999.00. (June 2024 - May 2027).

Kabir, A. (Principal), "Harnessing Microbial Symbiosis to Biofortify Iron in Garden Pea for Combating Human Anemia" (Pending Funding Decision), Sponsored By Louisiana Biomedical Research Network, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $72,500.00. (May 2024 - April 2026).

Kabir, A. (Principal), Yan, Q. (Co-Principal), "Leveraging Microbial Symbiosis to Mitigate Iron deficiency Chlorosis in Pulse Crops" (Pending Funding Decision), Sponsored By USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, External to The University of Louisiana at Monroe, $37,000.00. (August 2024 - July 2025).

Awards & Honors

2021 Georg Forster Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers (offer declined).

2018 DAAD visiting fellowship .

2017 Young Scientist Prize in Biological Sciences.

2016 Gold Medal in Forestry and Agriculture.

2015 Gold Medal in Life Science.

2014 Postdoctoral Fellowship.

2009 Endeavor Postgraduate Scholarship (EIPRS) .

Ahmad Kabir, PhD Assistant Professor, Biology