Sershen Naidoo has a B.Sc. in Botany and Zoology and a B.Sc. Honours in Plant Physiology from the University of Natal and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Seed Biology and Plant Germplasm Conservation from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN). His passion for the Plant Sciences, Urban Agriculture, Rural Development and Biodiversity Conservation has lead him to devote much of his recent time to teaching and mentoring under- and post-graduate students in the Plant Sciences and Conservation at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa (UKZN). He is also actively involved in numerous community-based urban agriculture projects and has been committed to helping the NGO-sector, across Africa, over the last ten years. He is presently a UKZN and NRF post-doctorate fellow at the School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, UKZN, Durban working on projects dealing with Germplasm Conservation, Cryopreservation, Desiccation Sensitivity in Seeds, Oxidative Stress in Seeds, Re-introduction of threatened species, South African Floral Biogeography, Climate Change, and the Green Economy.
Current Research:
Sershen's specific research interests include the cryopreservation of recalcitrant seed germplasm, desiccation tolerance mechanisms and the dual role of ROS in plant tissues.
Publications in peer-reviewed journals:
SERSHEN, PAMMENTER, N.W., BERJAK, P. and WESLEY-SMITH, J. (2007) Cryopreservation of embryonic axes of selected amaryllid species. CryoLetters 28, 387-399.
SERSHEN, BERJAK, P. and PAMMENTER, N.W. (2008) Desiccation sensitivity of excised embryonic axes of selected amaryllid species. Seed Science Research 18, 1-11.
SERSHEN, PAMMENTER, N.W. and BERJAK, P. (2008) Post-harvest behaviour and short- to medium-term storage of recalcitrant seeds and encapsulated embryonic axes of selected amaryllid species. Seed Science and Technology 36, 133-147.
SERSHEN, BERJAK, P. and PAMMENTER N.W. (2010) Effects of cryopreservation of recalcitrant Amaryllis belladonna zygotic embryos on vigour of recovered seedlings: a case of stress ‘hangover’? Physiologia Plantarum 139, 205-219.
SERSHEN, BERJAK, P. and PAMMENTER N.W. (2010) Effects of partial dehydration of recalcitrant Haemanthus montanus zygotic embryos on vigour of recovered seedlings. South African Journal of Botany 77, 193-202.
BERJAK, P., BARTELS, P., BENSON, E., HARDING, K., MYCOCK D.J., PAMMENTER, N.W., SERSHEN and WESLEY-SMITH, J. (2010) Cryo-conservation of South African plant genetic diversity. In Vitro Cell. Dev. Biol. – Plant 47: 65-81.
NGOBESE, N., SERSHEN, BERJAK, P. and PAMMENTER, N.W. (2010) Cryopreservation of excised embryonic axes of Phoenix reclinata Jacquin, a representative of the intermediate seed category. Seed Science and Technology 38, 705-717.
PAMMENTER, N.W., BERJAK, P., PAMMENTER, N.W., BERJAK, P., GOVEIA, M., SERSHEN, KIOKO, J.I., WHITAKER, C. and BECKETT, R.P. (2011) Topography determines the impact of reactive oxygen species on shoot apical meristems of recalcitrant embryos of tropical species during processing for cryopreservation. Acta Horticulturae (Accepted and in press).
VARGHESE, B., SERSHEN, BERJAK, P., PAMMENTER, N.W. (2011) Differential drying rates of recalcitrant Trichilia dregeana embryonic axes: A study of survival and oxidative stress metabolism. Physiologia Plantarum 142, 326–338.
SERSHEN, PAMMENTER, N.W., BERJAK, P. and WESLEY-SMITH, J. (2011) The effects of various parameters during processing for cryopreservation on the ultrastructure and viability of recalcitrant zygotic embryos of Amaryllis belladonna. Protoplasma (Accepted and in press: DOI 10.1007/s00709-011-0274-5).
SERSHEN, PAMMENTER, N.W., BERJAK, P. and WESLEY-SMITH, J. (2011) Rate of dehydration, state of subcellular organisation and nature of cryoprotection are critical factors contributing to the variable success of cryopreservation: Studies on recalcitrant zygotic embryos of Haemanthus montanus. Protoplasma (Accepted and in press: DOI 10.1007/s00709-011-0275-4).
BERJAK, P., SERSHEN, VARGHESE, B., PAMMENTER, N.W. (2011) Cathodic amelioration of the adverse effects of oxidative stress accompanying procedures necessary for cryopreservation of embryonic axes of recalcitrant-seeded species. Seed Science Research (Accepted and in press: DOI 10.1017/S0960258511000110).