Khalid Abulaila

Since getting my M.Sc. in 1995, I have been carrying out research in Plant Genetic Resources. My area of work is mainly involved with habitat surveys and conservation of Jordanian native flora; part of my work has been on soil seed bank dynamics in desert areas of the country. I have really enjoyed this work because I have always been fond of nature and dealing with biological systems.
Since 2001, I have been involved with the MSBP programme in my country which reinforces our Floral conservation goal. I wrote a proposal about the conservation and ecology of Jordan’s wild terrestrial orchids, which are some of the most vulnerable species locally and on a global level. The MSBP agreed to support the project, which will lead to a PhD degree.

Orchids are really interesting plants; with a special symbiotic relationship with soil fungi that dictates the spatial distribution of orchid populations as well as soil seed bank dynamics. I am still at the beginning; the goals of my research are to study the histological aspects of the acquisition of desiccation tolerance during seed development; study the Mycorrhizal fungi infection in symbiotically cultured orchid seeds and determine the histological changes in infected tissue during  the early germination stages; investigate the dynamics of viability changes in the soil seed bank in local natural habitats (in situ) and measure the effect of storage temperature and moisture percentage on seed viability.

I am registered at the University of Jordan, with Dr. D. Eisawi (Prof. Botany) as an advisor and Dr. N Hadad (Prof. of Plant Breeding) as a co-advisor. Dr Tim Marks (seed biotechnologist) is my MSBP advisor. The in situ part of the project will be done in Jordan, and most of the laboratory work will be carried out at the MSB’s really unique laboratories, run by such wonderful staff that I have always enjoyed dealing with. I have already started doing some preliminary experiments with Dr. Marks at the MSB.

I am doing my PhD on a  part time basis, so I am still very much involved in survey and collection work for the MSBP in Jordan. I am very much looking forward to all parts of the research and to exploring different aspects of this obscure and vulnerable plant family.