Dr. Wasim Akhtar

Dr. Wasim Akhtar
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Personal Details
With a strong academic foundation in Botany and specialized training in Plant Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, I have cultivated extensive experience in both research and teaching. My Ph.D. research, titled "Expression Profiling of Reporter Genes Induced by Rice Polyphenol Oxidase Promoter in Transgenic Model Plant," focused on analyzing the regulatory dynamics of the rice PPO promoter under various stress conditions using transgenic Arabidopsis lines, molecular marker systems, and real-time expression analysis. Prior to this, my M.Phil work centered on the genetic characterization of different Pakistani date palm varieties, highlighting my early engagement with plant genetic diversity. As a Research Associate at the Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, I contributed to the regeneration of Pakistani wheat from mature embryos and optimized protocols for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. My project experience also includes studying the accumulation of exosome substrates in key Arabidopsis mutant lines (CPL1-6, HEN2-4, RRP4, RRP41, and RRP44), further deepening my understanding of gene regulation mechanisms. Additionally, a collaborative research opportunity with Prof. Hisashi Koiwa at the Horticulture Department, Texas A&M University, enriched my methodological skills and reinforced my dedication to plant molecular research.
Assistant Professor
PhD
Botany

Research Publication

  1. Wasim Akhtar, Muhammad Imran Hamza, Asif Kamal, Sidra Qayyum, Rizwan Sarwar, Ghadah albasher and Maxium Lucknar. 2025. Phyto-synthesis, characterization of silver nanoparticles from mint leaf extract and its evaluation in antimicrobial and pharmacological applications. BMC Plant Biology. Accepted.
  2. Alveena Sabir, Naila Safdar, Wasim Akhtar, and Iram Fatima. "article Therapeutic Potential of Fabaceae Species: A Phytochemical and Bioactivity Investigation." Ars Pharmaceutica (Internet)66, no. 3 (2025): 301-313.                                                     (I.F. 0.4)
  3. Iram Fatima , Naila Safdar, Razia Kulsoom, Wasim Akhtar, Syed Hussain Imam Abidi, and Samia Akmal. The Albizia julibrissin and Caesalpinia decapetala extracts induces potential enzymes and cell growth inhibition via anti-acetylcholinesterase, anti-lipase, anti-glycation and cytotoxicity activity." Ars Pharmaceutica (Internet)66, no. 3 (2025): 349-360.         (I.F. 0.4)
  4. Wasim Akhtar, Sidra Qayyum, Naila Ashraf, Komal Qammar, Waqas Khan Kiyani, Moona Nazish, Asif Kamal, Gadah Albasher, and Wajid Zaman. "Molecular characterization of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) genotypes using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and sodium dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) markers." Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution(2025): 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-025-02379-y  (I.F. 1.6)
  5. Saima Shafique, Ghassan Zahid, Sania Begum, Abdul Hameed, Wasim Akhtar. 2025. Appraising the Native Biological Potential towards the Control of Recurrent Dengue Incidence in Pakistan. Planta Animalia. 4(1): 11-21. DOI: 10.71454/PA.004.01.0059 F.
  6. Maimoona Birjees, Maryam A. Butt, Mushtaq Ahmad, Aamir S. Khan, Wasim Akhtar, Tasneem Afeefa and Grzegorz J. Wolski. 2025. A contribution to the knowledge of wild medicinal Lamiaceae: Taxonomic, microscopic, and ecological insights from palynology. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution (2025): 1-27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-025-02431-x (I.F. 1.6)
  7. Arooj Muneer, Wasim Akhtar, Memoona Samad, Sadia Zafar, Iram Fatima, Syed Hussain Imam Abidi, Razia Kalsoom, Amir Shahbaz. 2024. Biological potential of Argyrolobium roseum (Camb.) Jaub & Spach mediated silver nanoparticles and their effect on the growth of wheat seeds. Microscopy Research and Technique. 2024:1-9. doi: 10.1002/jemt.24695
  8. Iram Fatima, Naila Safdar, Wasim Akhtar, Asma Ayaz, Sajid Ali, Hosam O. Elansary, Ihab Mohamed Moussa, and Wajid Zaman. 2024. Green solvent-based extraction of three Fabaceae species: A potential antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and anti-leishmanial agents." Heliyon(2024). 10(13): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e33668
  9. Memoona Samad, Wasim Akhtar, Arooj Muneer, Iram Fatima, Muhammad Manzoor, Syed Waseem Gillani, Fazal Ur Rehman, Khawar Majeed, Baber Ali, and Rizwan Sarwar. 2024. Characterization, anti‐microbial, anti‐oxidant and growth promoting effects of biogenically synthesized silver nanoparticles derived from Dicliptera bupleuroidesMicroscopy Research and Technique.2024: 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.24630
  10. Zakir Ullah, Javed Iqbal, Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi, Wasim Akhtar,
    Sobia Kanwal, Iftikhar Ali, Wadie Chalgham, Mohamed A. El-Sheikh and Tariq
    2023. Assessment of Gus Expression Induced by Anti-Sense OsPPO Gene Promoter
    and antioxidant enzymatic assays in Response to Drought and Heavy Metals
    Stress in Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. Sustainability 2023, 15, 12783. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712783                       (I.F. 3.9)
  11. Hajira Arif, Sidra Qayyum, Wasim Akhtar, Iram Fatima, Waqas Khan Kayani, Khursheed Ur Rahman, Wedad A. Al-Onazi, Amal M. Al-Mohaimeed, Naila Khan Bangash, Nasra Ashraf, Sarah Abdul Razak, Asif Kamal and Sajid Ali. 2023. Synthesis and Characterization of Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles at Different pH Values from Clinopodium vulgare and Their Assessment as an Antimicrobial Agent and Biomedical Application. Micromachines, 2023, 14, 1285. https://doi.org/10.3390/ mi14071285       (I.F. 3.4)
  12. Iram Fatima,Naila Safdar, Wasim Akhtar, Ammara Munir, Saddam Saqib, Asma Ayaz, Saraj Bahadur, Abdulwahed Fahad Alrefaei, Fazal Ullah and Wajid Zaman. 2023. Evaluation of potential inhibitory effects on acetylcholinesterase, pancreatic lipase, and cancer cell lines using raw leaves extracts of three fabaceae species. Heliyon, 9 (2023) e15909. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15909                                            (F. 4.0)
  13. Shaheen Karim, Sadaf Kayani, Wasim Akhtar, Iram Fatima, Munazza Nazir and Wajid Zaman. 2023. Biogenic synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Funaria hygrometrica and their effects on the growth of Zea mays seedlings. Microscopy Research and Technique, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt. 24309               (I.F. 3.893)           
  14. Eefa Manzoor, Zahid Majeed, Shamyla Nawazish, Wasim Akhtar, Sofia Baig, Ayesha Baig, Syeda Manahil Fatima Bukhari, Qaisar Mahmood, Zainub Mir and Shahida Shaheen. 2022. Wood Ash Additive for Performance Improvement of Gelatin-Based Slow-Release Urea Fertilizer. Agriculture (Switzerland). 12, 1743. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ agriculture12101743 (F. 3.408)
  15. Wasim Akhtar, Nadia Ashraf, Ghazanfar Ali, Iram Fatima, Waqas Khan Kayani, Hamayun Shaheen, Mohammed M. Ghoneim, Ahmed Khames and Mohamed A. Abdelgawad. 2022. Efficiency of Multiple Extraction Solvents on Antioxidant, Cytotoxic and Phytotoxic potential of Taraxacum officinale H. Wigg. from Poonch Valley, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Article ID: 5118553. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/5118553 (I.F. 2.650).
  16. Malik, S. Arif, W. Akhtar and T. Mahmood. 2022. Molecular phylogeny of different species of family verbenaceae using chloroplast rps14 gene. Pak. J. Botany. 54(1): 215-221 DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2022-1(10).                                            I.F. 1.101        
  17. Syeda Maria Fiaz Bukhari , Ghazanfar Ali, Zeeshan Anjum, Tasleem Akhtar, Wasim Akhtar and Syed Rizwan Abbas. 2022. Morphology and Phylogeny of Important Medicinal Plant Berberis lycium Royle Based On Matk, Rbcl, Its and Trnh-Psba from Azad Jammu And Kashmir. Pak. J. Bot., 54(2): 507-517. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2022-2(39). (F. 1.101).
  18. Zuhra Zuhra, Dureshehwar Saleem, Wasim Akhtar, Tariq Mahmood. 2021. Tissue Culture Optimization for Podophyllum hexandrum, an Endangered Medicinal Plant. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences. 31(2): 488-499. https://thejaps.org.pk/docs/2021/02/19.pdf                   I.F. 0.570 
  19. Ghazanfar Ali, ........................., Wasim Akhtar et al. 2021. Identification of a Novel Homozygous Missense (c.443A>T:p.N148I) Mutation in BBS2 in a Kashmiri Family with Bardet-Biedl Syndrome," BioMed Research International, vol. 2021, Article ID 6626015, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6626015.             F. 3.246
  20. Tariq Mahmood, Huma Arshad, Muhammad Ilyas, Wasim Akhtar, Zabta Khan Shinwari. 2021. Tissue culture optimization for Lallementia royleana an important medicinal plant. Iheringia - Serie Botanica. Vol. 76 (2021). DOI: 10.21826/2446-82312021v76e2021009.            I.F. 0.314
  21. Malik, T. Shahzad, S. Arif, W. Akhtar and T. Mahmood. 2021. Phylogenetic Relationship among selected Species of Lamiaceae inferred from Chloroplast rps14 gene. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences. 31(4): 1060-1069. I.F. 0.570                                                                          
  22. Iram Fatima, Wasim Akhtar, Naila Khan Bangash, Sobia Kanwal, Naseem Rauf, Tahir S.S Malik & Tariq Mahmood (2021): Volatile profiling, elemental composition and biological activities of aerial parts of seven Poaceae species. Plant Biosystems. 156(4): 908-925. org/10.1080/11263504.2021.1952330                            I.F. 1.781
  23. Aamir Shehzad Khan, Mushtaq Ahmad, Syed Aneel Ahmad Gilani, Muhammad Zafar, Maryam Akram Butt, Lubna, Maimoona Birjees, WasimAkhtar, Abdul Waheed and Muhammad Kaleem. 2021. Taxonomic implications of macro and micromorphological characters in the genus Brachythecium (Brachytheciaceae, Bryopsida) from the Western Himalayas: A combined light and scanning electron microscopic analysis. Microscopy Research and Technique. 84(12):3000-3022 DOI: 10.1002/ jemt.23859.                                                                   F. 2.893
  24. Tasmeena Shahzad, Wasim Akhtar and Tariq Mahmood. 2021. Molecular Systematics of selected species of Family Boraginaceae based on the rps14 gene. PHYTON-ANNALES REI BOTANICAE. 61: 97-107. DOI: 10.12905/0380.phyton61-2021-0097 F. 0.360
  25. Dureshehwar Saleem, Zuhra Zuhra, Wasim Akhtar, Hisashi Koiwa and Tariq Mahmood. 2020. Salicylic acid and H2O2 Induce PPO Derived GUS Expression in Arabidopsis. Russian Journal of Plant Physiology. 67(5): 822-826. DOI:1134/s1021443720050131 I.F. 1.419
  26. Tasleem Akhtar, Ghazanfar Ali, Nuzhat Shafi, Wasim Akhtar, Abdul Hameed Khan, Zahid Latif, Abdul Wali, Syeda Ain-ul-Batool, Abdul Rehman Khan, Sadia Mumtaz, Syed Iftikhar Altaf, Sundus Khawaja. 2020. Sequencing and Characterization of Mitochondrial Protein-Coding Genes for Schizothorax niger (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) with Phylogenetic Consideration. BioMed Research International, vol. Article ID 5980135. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5980135. F. 3.246
  27. Ejaz Aziz, Riffat Batool, Wasim Akhtar, Shazia Rehman, Per L. Gregersen and Tariq Mahmood. (2019). Expression analysis of the polyphenol oxidase gene in response to signaling molecules, herbivory and wounding in antisense transgenic tobacco plants. 3 Biotech. 9(2):55 DOI:10.1007/s13205-019-1587-x F. 1.798
  28. Muhammad Ilyas, Wasim Akhtar, Shazia Rehman, S. M. Saqlan Naqvi, Tariq Mahmood. 2019. Functional characterization of the rice root Germin-like protein gene-1 (OsRGLP1) promoter in Nicotiana tabacum. 3 Biotech 9(4): 130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-019-1644-5 F. 1.798
  29. Sonia Ayoub, Rabbia Hayat, Zainab, Wasim Akhtar and Tariq Mahmood. 2019. OsRGLP2 Promoter Derived GUS Expression in Transgenic Tobacco in Response to Salicylic acid, H2O2, PEG, NaCl and Auxins. Plant Gene. 19, 100190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plgene.2019.100190.
  30. Shazia Rehman, Bodil Jørgensen, Søren Kjærsgaard Rasmussen, Ejaz Aziz, Wasim Akhtar, Tariq Mahmood. 2018. Expression analysis of Proteinase inhibitor-II under OsRGLP2 promoter in response to wounding and signaling molecules in transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana. 3 Biotech. 8(1):51. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-017-1070-5). F. 1.798                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
  31. Wasim Akhtar, Hisashi Koiwa, Ejaz Aziz and Tariq Mahmood. 2017. Characterization of Rice Polyphenol Oxidase Promoter in Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana. Turkish Journal of Botany. 41(3): 223-233. doi:3906/bot-1609-19 I.F. 1.429                                                                                                                                                                                                         
  32. Wasim Akhtar and Tariq Mahmood. 2017. Response of Rice Polyphenol Oxidase Promoter in Drought and Salt Stresses. Pak. J. Bot. 49(1): 21-23. https://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/PDFs/49(1)/3.pdf F. 1.101
  33. Ejaz Aziz, Wasim Akhtar, Shazia Rahman, Muhammad Ilyas, Hisashai Koiwa, Tariq Mahmood*1. 2017. Response of Tobacco Polyphenol Oxidase Gene to Wounding and Methyl Jasmonate. Pakistan Journal of Botany. 49(2): 499-502. F. 1.101                                                                                                                                               
  34. Abdul Qadir, Muhammad Ilyas, Wasim Akhtar, Abdul Mujeeb-Kazi, Tariq Mahmood. 2016. Study of Genetic Diversity in Synthetic Hexaploid Wheats using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Markers. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences. 25(6): 1660-1666. http://www.thejaps.org.pk/docs/v-25-06/22.pdf F. 0.570
  35. Wasim Akhtar, Awasis Rasheed, Zabta Khan Shinwari, Syed Muhammad Saqlan Naqvi and Tariq Mahmood. 2014. Genetic characterization of different Pakistani date palm varieties. J. Bot., 46(6): 2095-2100. http://www.pakbs.org/pjbot/PDFs/46(6)/23.pdf                                I.F. 1.101

BOOK CHAPTER

  1. Waqas Khan Kayani, Faiza Rasheed, Humdah Qayyum, Maryam Akram Butt, Wasim Akhtar, Muhammad Zeeshan Bhatti&Khawaja Shafique Ahmad. Genetic Transformation for Developing Improved Plant Varieties. In: Al-Khayri, J.M., Ingle, K.P., Jain, S.M., Penna, S. (eds) Plant Molecular Breeding in Genomics Era. Advances in Plant Breeding Strategies, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-68598-9_8
  2. Wasim Akhtar, Iram Fatimaand Azra Yasmin. 2023. Association of plants and microbes: Past, present and future. Medicinal plants: Microbial interactions, molecular techniques and therapeutic trends. Bentham Science Publishers Singapore, Chapter 1, pp. 4-23. 2174/9789815136838123010004
  3. Riffat Batool, Wasim Akhtar and Ejaz Aziz. 2020. Essentials of Cancer Genomic, Computational Approaches and Precision Medicine. Part IV: 19: Pharmacogenetics in Cancer Treatment: Challenges and Recent Trends 1st edition. In Nosheen Masood and Saima Shakil Malik (ed.), Pharmacogenetics in Cancer Treatment: Challenges and Recent Trends. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-1067-0

REVIEW ARTICLES

  1. Ejaz Aziz, Riffat Batool, Wasim Akhtar, Tasmeena Shahzad, Ayesha Malik, Muhammad Ajmal Shah, Shabnoor Iqbal, Abdur Rauf, Gokhan Zengin, Abdelhakim Bouyahya, Maksim Rebezov, Nalok Dutta, Muhammad Usman Khan, Mars Khayrullin, Maria Babaeva, Andrey Goncharov, Mohammad Ali Shariati, Muthu Thiruvengadam. 2022. Rosemary species: a review of phytochemicals, bioactivities and industrial applications. South African Journal of Botany. V. 151, Part B. 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.09.026                                      F. 3.1
  2. Ejaz Aziz, Riffat Batool, Muhammad Usman Khan, Abdur Rauf, Wasim Akhtar, Mojtaba Heydari, Shazia Rehman, Tasmeena Shahzad, Ayesha Malik, Seyed Hamdollah Mosavat, Sergey Plygun and Mohammad Ali Shariati. 2020. An overview on red algae bioactive compounds and their pharmaceutical applications. Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine. 17 (4). DOI: 10.1515/jcim-2019-0203                                                         F. 1.2
  3. Ejaz Aziz, Riffat Batool, Wasim Akhtar et al. 2020. Xanthophyll: Health benefits and therapeutic insights. Life Sciences. 1:240:117104.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2019.117104              F. 6.780
  4. Shazia Rehman; Ejaz Aziz; Wasim Akhtar; Muhammad Ilyas; Tariq Mahmood. 2017. Structural and functional characteristics of plant proteinase inhibitor-II (PI-II) family: A review. Biotechnology Letters. 39(5):647-666. DOI 10.1007/s10529-017-2298-1 F. 2.716                                                                                                                                    

Plant Molecular Biology, Plant Biochemistry, Characterization of Gene, Gene Cloning and Transformation, Promoter Analysis, Plant Tissue Culture, Molecular Markers, Plant Genetic Diversity, Phyto-mediated Nanoparticles and their diverse applications.

2011 - 2016
HEC Indigenous Fellowship (PIN NO.2 BM1-509) Higher Education Commission Pakistan
2015
IRSIP – HEC International Research Support Initiative Program to carry out six months research work at Texas A&M University, USA
2009, 2010, 2011
Merit Based Scholarship – Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

Research Details
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