Muhammad Faisal
Doctor of Philosophy, (Plant Biology)
Study Completed: 2017
College of Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
Functional Characterisation of Constitutive Expresser of Pathogenesis-Related Genes 5
Read article at Massey Research Online: 
Mr Faisal carried out extensive in silico analyses of Constitutive expresser of Pathogenesis-Related genes 5 (CPR5) to find out structural motifs which could potentially allow CPR5 to take part in multiple processes. Initially, atomic structure of CPR5 membrane protein using X-ray crystallography was attempted. Furthermore, based on in silico results, he mutated 25 important predicted structural regions of CPR5 in order to determine their roles in CPR5 functioning. Results showed that purification and determination of atomic structure of CPR5 membrane protein was not trivial, and that predicted nuclear localisation signal may not be required for CPR5 translocation however it may have limited functions. In summary, physiological and genetic analyses of mutants helped to find out the function of several structural motifs. Mr Faisal's research also uncovered a number of novel roles of CPR5, such as, its role in the regulation of balance between plant growth and resistance.
Supervisors
Associate Professor Paul Dijkwel
Professor Jasna Rakonjac