Progress Report
The progress report should be brief and concise. It should concentrate on the management
aspects of the project rather on the technical issues. Kindly submit your progress report
utilizing the given format to expedite the necessary approvals.
You are greatly encouraged to directly use (fill in) the formatted Sections below
PLAN
PROGRAM
The First Five-Year
STI Plan
ADVANCED AND STRATEGIC
TECHNOLOGIES
CODE / NUMBER
SUB-PROGRAM / TECHNOLOGY AREA
Agriculture Technology
TRACK
Plant health
SUB-TRACK
Control techniques
Proposal Title
English
Proposal Title
Arabic
P. Investigator
English
P. Investigator
Arabic
Institution
College
Department
Prevention is better than cure: Assessment of
Bayoud-Resistance for Date Palm Germplasm in
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Using AFLPs and
Mitochondrial DNA Markers
‫ التقييم الوراثي الجزيئى إلشجار النخيل في‬:‫الوقاية خير من العالج‬
‫المملكة العربية السعودية باستخدام التقنيات الجزيئية ضد مرض‬
‫البيوض المدمر‬
Dr. Amgad Abdel Meguid Saleh
‫ أمجد عبد المجيد صالح‬.‫د‬
King Saud University
Food and Agriculture Sciences
Plant Protection
phone
014678428
Fax
014678423
Mobile
0560533513
Email
amgsaleh@ksu.edu.sa
The Long-Term Comprehensive National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation
Page 1
PROJECT GENERAL INFORMATION
Start Date:
February 1, 2012
End Date:
February 1, 2014
Progress Report No.:
Year No.:
FIRST
 First
SECOND
________
___
 Second
“Progress”
Reported
From: 1-2-2012
Period:
Progress Report Due
1-8-2012
Date:
The Long-Term Comprehensive National Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation
To: 31-7-2012
Page 2
PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENT
A - TASK ACCOMPLISHED : objectives - tasks
In this Section, kindly report on the objectives/tasks, as declared in your project proposal, which were accomplished during the reported
period
Objective 1 "Assess the genetic resistance of date palm germplasm to Bayoud disease by using
mitochondrial DNA markers"
Sample collection
Seven locations have been visited by the researchers and ca 600 samples of date palm leaflets were
collected. These samples represented more than 50 different date palm cultivars. DNA was extracted from
60 samples and we are still working on the DNA extraction. The mitochondrial primers were tested with
date palm DNA to find the optimum conditions for performing the PCR on the rest of DNA preps. We
have started preparing the laboratory.
Objective 3 "Assess genetic diversity of date palm germplasm by using AFLPs as a genome-wide
fingerprinting techniqu"
DNA was extracted from 60 plant samples and we are still working on the DNA extraction for the rest
samples
Objective 3 "Characterize Saudi strains of F. oxysporum at the molecular level and develop phylogenetic
trees to assess their genetic relatedness with genetically closely related strains of FOA retrieved from
NCBI database"
The Fusarium isolates were revived from old dry PDA slants by transferring inoculums on PDA plates.
The grown cultures were single-spored and pure cultures were preserved in 15% glycerol and kept in -80
for further studies. The fungal isolates were morphologically characterized. For the molecular
characterization, the fungal isolates were grown in liquid medium and DNA was extracted from the
mycelia. Three regions of nuclear genes were amplified from the fungal strains by using PCR technology.
B - TASK ACCOMPLISHED: Planned vs. Implemented (%)
Kindly provide a time chart of the project tasks/activities as given in the proposal and indicate with additional
bars/colors the tasks accomplished during the reported period compared to the work plan.
Example: Work Plan: Accomplished (%) vs. Proposed Tasks/Objectives
Project Period
Task / Objective
1st Six Months
2
1. Task # 1/ Objective #1
1.1, 1.2, and 1.3
2. Task # 2 / Objective #2
4
6
2nd Six Months
8
10
12
3rd Six Months
14
16
18
100%
70%
3. Task # 3 / Objective #3
20%
4. Task # 4
5. Task # 5 / Objective #5
6. Final report submission
Progress Reports’ Submission
Planned
Accomplished
Ongoing
Note: For projects with longer durations than 18 months develop the required time chart on a separate sheet in landscape format.
Please provide justifications for discrepancies (if exist) between the planned and implemented tasks/activities.
Purchasing chemicals and equipments is a pain in the neck where it consumes too much time and effort,
especially when we are buying high quality stuff with long-time contract of good maintenance strategies.
We may need three to six months extension, just in case of delaying the delivery of specified chemical
and/or equipments.
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TASK ACCOMPLISHED: Planned vs. Implemented (%)
Project Period
Task/Objective
1st Six Months
2
Phase I/Objectives 1,2
Tasks 1-3
Task 4
Phase II/Objectives 1,2
Task 1-5
Phase II/Objective 3
Tasks 6-7
Task 8
4
2nd Six Months
6
8
10
3rd Six Months
12
14
16
18
80%
20%
5%
70%
30%
Phase III/Objectives 1,2,3,4
Task 1
Tasks 2-5
Final report submission
Progress Reports’ Submission
Planned
Accomplished
4th Six Months
Ongoing
20
22
24
C - TASK ACCOMPLISHED: Contributions of Others (if Applicable)
Kindly provide a brief write-up addressing the contribution(s) of others involved in the project in accomplishing
the project tasks/activities as compared to the project proposal
Investigator(s)
1. Principal investigator
2. Co-Investigator (s)
3. Project Consultant
4.
Graduate Student(s)
5. Research Assistant(s)
6.
Technician(s)
7. Secretary
Role - Contribution(s)
Heading the group of researchers who collected the
plant samples, training and guiding the lab
personnel to execute the molecular work at the lab,
consulting and buying chemicals and equipments
Collecting plant samples, collaborating in the
guidance of project personnel
Giving advices for improving the execution of the
project and delivering two lectures, one at the
department of Plant Protection and the other at the
college of Food and Agriculture Sciences
Collecting plant samples, extracting DNA from
plant samples
Collecting plant samples, guiding technician and
students for executing molecular work
Collecting plant samples, growing and
characterizing fungal isolates at both
morphological and molecular levels, extracting
DNA from plant samples and fungal isolates
Handling paper work of the project, helping in the
preparation of financial report
D - TASK ACCOMPLISHED : problems and difficulties
In this Section, kindly highlight problems or difficulties (if any) that resulted in deviation(s) from the original
proposal objectives and/or work plan.
The main difficulties arise from looking for and ordering chemicals and equipments
Indicate the likelihood of completing the project and fully achieving its declared objectives ON TIME as planned
and approved (Do you anticipate any delay?)
We will do our best to finish the project on time but in the case of delaying the delivery of chemicals
and/or equipments, we may need three to six months extension.
E - TASK ACCOMPLISHED: Equipment, Materials and Supplies
In this Section, provide a brief write-up addressing the equipment, materials, chemicals, supplies, etc. (if any) that
were used in the reported period
Collecting plant samples: travel suit cases, trimmers, stationery, plastic bags, etc.
Lab work: different chemicals for buffers and solutions, molecular biology chemicals and enzymes,
micropipettes, molecular biology plastic wares such as 96-well plates, tips, microcentrifuge tubes, 50-ml
and 15-ml conical tubes, etc., different media for growing, propagating, and identifying fungi
Kindly explain difficulties (if any) in purchasing the project’s equipment /supplies and indicate causes
Finding the equipment with best quality and reasonable price takes much time. The paper work is timeconsuming. Also, the time that the vendor takes to deliver the equipment is time-consuming
F - Project Outcomes – Results Discussion and Suggestions
Kindly provide a table that summarizes the main project outcomes as given in the proposal of the project and
indicate those that are achieved during the reported period compared to the work plan.
Project Period
No
Project Outcome
1
Knowing which date palm cultivars
are resistant and susceptible to
Bayoud disease in Riyadh region
using mitochondrial molecular
markers
2
Genetically fingerprinting the most
famous date palm cultivars
3
Characterizing molecularly and
physiologically the F. oxysporum
isolates collected from date palm
tissues
1st Six Months
2nd Six Months
3rd Six Months
2
8
14
4
6
10
12
16
18
40%
4
5
Planned
Accomplished
Ongoing
Kindly provide the main results (if any) that are obtained during the reported period (no more than 3 pages)
We have collected more than 600 leaf samples of date palm representing 50 different cultivars from six
localities. We are developing a quick and effective DNA extraction procedure from date palm leaflets. Out
of four hundreds fungal strains isolated previously from date palm tissues, seventy three were identified as
Fusarium. Based on the morphological and molecular data, four main species were identified out of these
Fusarium strains namely proliferatum, solani, oxysporum and equisti.
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In this Section, provide a brief discussion addressing the results that were obtained during the reported period (no
more than 3 pages)
Kindly provide suggestions and recommendations regarding the obtained results (no more than 3 pages).
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