Dr. Mohamed Amar is a plant geneticist with a special interest in the conservation of plant genetic resources and in vitro propagation. He has worked for many years in Egyptian genebanks and has published on several dry-climate fruit trees such as olive (Olea europaea) and desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca). He is a member of the Egyptian Society of Genetics and has been the Egyptian Regional Coordinator of the Agricultural Biotechnology Network in Africa since 2007.

During his fellowship, Mohamed Amar worked with the Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, China to assess the efficiency of different molecular markers for understanding the genetic diversity in Citrus. Citrus has many unusual characteristics, such as a prolonged juvenile phase and unusual reproductive behaviour, making it difficult to improve using conventional methods. In recent decades, however, the development of new molecular markers has revolutionized plant breeding. Mohamed’s research focused on how these molecular markers could best be used to assist in the characterization and genetic mapping of 24 Citrus fruits and their wild relatives. Mohamed’s research then developed in a slightly different direction when he received a 6-month extension to his fellowship. Using similar molecular marker techniques that he had applied to Citrus, he began work on characterizing medicinal plants from the South Sinai region of Egypt. This research aimed to create a genetic database indicating locations, morphological characters, medical importance and active ingredients in collected samples, in order to make an atlas that would enhance opportunities for the conservation and use of local medicinal plants.

He is currently completing two papers on the results of this research. Most recently, Mohamed was selected as President of the Egyptian Deserts Gene Bank (EDGB). The genebank was looted and much valuable equipment destroyed during the uprisings in Egypt in February 2011. One of Mohamed’s key tasks is to rebuild the genebank and he is keen to increase its international network and collaborative research.