Mohammad Ayoub
PhD Student at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research
Mohammad Ayoub
Mohammad Ayoub
About
Ayoub is a PhD student at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research. He holds a Master's degree in biomedical sciences from Utrecht University.
Current research
Ayoub is interested in plant breeding and cell biology. Together with his team, he is trying to improve and fasten crop breeding by altering the landscape of meiotic crossovers. He obtained and characterized different mutants in few meiotic genes that are important for regulating meiotic crossover rates/patterns in barley. He is currently measuring the rates of meiotic crossovers in these mutants and their impact on the fidelity of meiosis and fertility.
Future research vision
Altering the meiotic crossover landscape might result in a new combination of genetic material that give rise to better, tastier and stronger crops. He would like to combine genetics, high-resolution microscopy and biochemistry to achieve this goal and feeding the world more sustainably.
Key publications

Andall, RS*, Jourdain, C*, Nowicka, A*, Lahenova, K*, Kubová, M*, Ayoub, MA* et al. Image Analysis Workflows to Reveal the Spatial Organization of Cell Nuclei and Chromosomes. Nucleus, 2022.

Steckenborn, S et al. The Meiotic Topoisomerase VI B Subunit (MTOPVIB) is Essential for Meiotic DNA Double-Strand Break Formation in Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.). Plant Reproduction, 2022.

Desjardins, SD et al. MutS Homologue 4 and MutS Homologue 5 Maintain the Obligate Crossover in Wheat Despite Stepwise Gene Loss Following Polyploidization. Plant Physiolology, 2020.

Ahn, YJ et al. In Planta Delivery of Chemical Compounds into Barley Meiocytes: EdU as Compound Example. Methods Molecular Biology, 2020.

Key awards

Travel Grant, EMBO PGSC Workshop.

Second Public Prize, U/SELECT presentation competition.

Stipend, Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry.

Excellence Scholarship, Utrecht University.

Scholarship, Cairo University.

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