Dr. Zhanyuan J. Zhang was born in China. He got his bachelor and master degrees in the area of Plant Protection in China. He came to USA and started his Ph.D. program in the area of plant genetic engineering in January 1993 at University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. His dissertation work focused on genetic transformation of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and development of a novel approach for plant bacterial resistance. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in 1996. From 1996 to 1998 he worked as a post-doctoral research associate in the same University with emphasis on soybean transformation and down-regulation of soybean vegetative storage protein genes.

Progress in Three Areas of Transgenic Technologies

I completed his degree with MSc Zagreb, PhD Louisiana State . I am co Editor-in-Chief of Crop & Pasture Science (Australia) and Associate Editor of Crop Science (USA).and I have edited 7 books and 6 special issues of the journal Plant and Soil and published more than 300 papers in the referred international journals. My h-index is 46 (ISI Thomson) and 55 (Google Scholar). My work has been recognised by 30 research and 3 teaching awards from Australia, USA, UK, Germany, France, Austria, Japan, etc. I was Visiting Professor in Japan (Okayama University), Denmark (KVL) and USA (USDA/Cornell University). I received Humboldt Lifetime Research Award and Fulbright Senior Scholar Award. I was elected a foreign fellow of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

My research interests are in nutrient uptake and ion toxicity in the soil-plant-water-microbe continuum. I have been working on natural and managed ecosystems in the field as well as studying specific mechanisms and relationships in the glasshouse and the lab. Among nutrients, I have been working on nitrate, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium as well as micronutrients (zinc, copper and manganese). Among toxic ions, aluminium, arsenic, zinc and sodium feature prominently. The approaches and techniques used range from ion imaging using confocal laser microscopy, to ion-specific microelectrodes, to enzyme assays and radioisotope tracking, to fiddling with bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere, to chemical analysis of root exudates, to optimising fertilisation of crop and pasture plants, to computer modelling of root growth and nutrient uptake, and digging pits and holes in the field to access soil, roots and groundwater.

I completed his degree with MSc Zagreb, PhD Louisiana State . I am co Editor-in-Chief of Crop & Pasture Science (Australia) and Associate Editor of Crop Science (USA).and I have edited 7 books and 6 special issues of the journal Plant and Soil and published more than 300 papers in the referred international journals. My h-index is 46 (ISI Thomson) and 55 (Google Scholar). My work has been recognised by 30 research and 3 teaching awards from Australia, USA, UK, Germany, France, Austria, Japan, etc. I was Visiting Professor in Japan (Okayama University), Denmark (KVL) and USA (USDA/Cornell University). I received Humboldt Lifetime Research Award and Fulbright Senior Scholar Award. I was elected a foreign fellow of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

My research interests are in nutrient uptake and ion toxicity in the soil-plant-water-microbe continuum. I have been working on natural and managed ecosystems in the field as well as studying specific mechanisms and relationships in the glasshouse and the lab. Among nutrients, I have been working on nitrate, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium as well as micronutrients (zinc, copper and manganese). Among toxic ions, aluminium, arsenic, zinc and sodium feature prominently. The approaches and techniques used range from ion imaging using confocal laser microscopy, to ion-specific microelectrodes, to enzyme assays and radioisotope tracking, to fiddling with bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere, to chemical analysis of root exudates, to optimising fertilisation of crop and pasture plants, to computer modelling of root growth and nutrient uptake, and digging pits and holes in the field to access soil, roots and groundwater.

Dr. Shivendra Sahi is working as professor in Western Kentucky University. He Completed Ph. D in North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, He Completed his M.S. in Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada, and B.S in Gorakhpur University, India

• Medicinal application of plant metabolites • Synthesis of nanoparticles in plants • Genetic transformation of plants to improve quality • Environmental management and gene expression in plants in response to pollutants

Roohaida Othman received her PhD in Biochemistry from University of Southampton, and joined Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) as a lecturer immediately afterwards in 1995. She is currently the Head of Biochemistry Programme at the School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, UKM. Her research interest is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of commercially important metabolites in plants and algae. Her research group has employed tools of molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology as well as genomics and transgenics technology platforms to study the enzymes involved in these pathways. They have also developed protocols for higher plant and algae RNA extraction methods and overexpression of recombinant proteins in bacterial systems. She has been Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Tropical Plant Physiology since 2010 and has been reviewer for several journals including International Journal of Food Properties.

Her research interest is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the biosynthesis of commercially important metabolites in plants and algae. Her research group has employed tools of molecular biology, biochemistry and physiology as well as genomics and transgenics technology platforms to study the enzymes involved in these pathways. They have also developed protocols for higher plant and algae RNA extraction methods and overexpression of recombinant proteins in bacterial systems.

He completed his PhD at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden. And MS in Agronomy at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh and BSc Ag at Bangladesh Agricultural University, Bangladesh.

Agronomy, Agriculture

In the last 10 years, my research focus has been the desert truffle Terfezia boudieri that forms mycorrhizal association with its host plant Helianthemum sessiliflorum. I am studying the fungus at several levels including physiology, ecology and molecular biology. I participate in a comprehensive project to sequence the entire genomes of 23 fungi including our two desert truffle species, in the frame of The European Community Sequencing Program entitled "Exploring the Genome Diversity of Mycorrhizal Fungi to Understand the Evolution and Functioning of Symbiosis in Woody Shrubs and Trees" I also study secondary metabolite biosynthesis in plants, with emphasis on aroma volatiles biosynthesis. This is carried mainly in fruits at both the biochemical and molecular levels. We use tomato as a model system to identify genes and important traits. Metabolic engineering offers a solution for improving the taste and aroma of tomato

"Exploring the Genome Diversity of Mycorrhizal Fungi to Understand the Evolution and Functioning of Symbiosis in Woody Shrubs and Trees"

In the last 10 years, my research focus has been the desert truffle Terfezia boudieri that forms mycorrhizal association with its host plant Helianthemum sessiliflorum. I am studying the fungus at several levels including physiology, ecology and molecular biology. I participate in a comprehensive project to sequence the entire genomes of 23 fungi including our two desert truffle species, in the frame of The European Community Sequencing Program entitled "Exploring the Genome Diversity of Mycorrhizal Fungi to Understand the Evolution and Functioning of Symbiosis in Woody Shrubs and Trees" I also study secondary metabolite biosynthesis in plants, with emphasis on aroma volatiles biosynthesis. This is carried mainly in fruits at both the biochemical and molecular levels. We use tomato as a model system to identify genes and important traits. Metabolic engineering offers a solution for improving the taste and aroma of tomato.

Exploring the Genome Diversity of Mycorrhizal Fungi to Understand the Evolution and Functioning of Symbiosis in Woody Shrubs and Trees

Jeff Bennetzen received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Washington, did postdoctoral work for one year in a shared project between the Freeling and Walbot laboratories and joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Purdue University as an Assistant Professor in 1983, rising to the position of Umbarger Professor in 1999. Since 2003, he has been the Giles Professor of Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics in the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia. In 2012, he set up a second laboratory at the Kunming Institute of Botany in Yunnan, China, and he set up a second lab at the Anhui Agricultural University in 2016. Dr. Bennetzen was elected a member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2004 and as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2005. He was the founder or co-founder of the International Grass Genome Initiative, the Maize Genetics Executive Committee and the McClintock Prize. His laboratory has published more than 200 manuscripts and is best known for its work investigating transposable elements and the very dynamic processes that determine the structure, function and evolution of plant genomes.

Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics

He completed his Ph.D., in the year 1999,at H.N.B. Garhwal University and He completed his M.Sc.,in the year 1993 H.N.B. Garhwal University

Cross-cultural ethnobotany and conservation of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Nilgiris, Western Ghats: A case study

Milan S. Stanković is the assistant professor of Biology and Ecology department.Currently he is the editorial Board Member of “Research in Plant Sciences” and “Advanced Crop Science” Journal.

Biology Plant science