Mr Berhanu Amsalu Fenta

PhD Student

Research Interests

I am a Plant Science PhD student at Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), the University of Pretoria and a member of molecular plant physiology research group. I am an Ethiopian and working in Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) and joined this University for my study at the beginning of August, 2008. I completed my MSc degree at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Quality Science. The general topic of my PhD research is: Role of protease protease inhibitors system in nodules senescence under water deficit in legumes.The objectives of my research include the following.

• To establish physiological, morphological and biochemical characteristics and nodule performance under drought condition
• Identification and characterization of the expression patterns of cysteine proteases and cysteine proteases inhibitors expressed during development under stressed and optimal conditions
• Proteomic analysis of nodule grown under stressed and optimal conditions.
• Transformation of cysteine proteases inhibitors.