Emeritus Senior Scientist
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Aruna Asaf Ali Marg
110067 New Delhi, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Education
BSc (Hons), MSc: Jammu and Kashmir University, India
PhD\; University of Delhi, India
Career History
Since 2018, SERB (Gov. of India) Distinguished Fellow, ICGEB New Delhi, India
2016-2018, Arturo Falaschi Emeritus Scientist, ICGEB New Delhi, India
2011-2016, Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
2014-2015, Director (Interim), ICGEB New Delhi, India
1997-2010, Group Leader, Plant Molecular Biology, ICGEB New Delhi, India
1991-1992, Visiting Humboldt Professor, Botanisches Institute der Universitat Munich, Germany
1987-1988, Plant Molecular Biology Lab, USDA, Maryland, USA
1985-1996, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University JNU, New Delhi, India
1979-1984, Associate Professor, JNU, New Delhi
1981-1982, Visiting Fulbright Fellow, Dept. of Botany, University of Texas, USA
1976-1978, Max-Planck Institute fur Zuchtungsforschung, Koln, Germany
1973-1978, Assistant Professor, JNU, New Delhi
Awards and Honors
2017, Life Time Achievement Award, Biotechnology Society of India
2014, Conferred DSc (Honoris Causa), Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi,
2014, Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi
2012, Prof. R.N. Tandon Memorial Award, National Academy of Sciences, India
2012, Conferred DSc (Honoris Causa), Rani Durgawati Vishvidyalaya, Jabalpur
2010, Corresponding Membership Award for Non-USA Scientists, American Society of Plant Biology
2007, Padamshree, Govt. of India,
2005, Birbal Sahni Centenary Gold Medal Award for Life Time Achievements in Plant Sciences, Indian Science Congress Association
2001, Birbal Sahni Medal, Indian Botanical Society
2001, Salgram Sinha Award, National Academy of Sciences of India
1987, Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award, (CSIR)
1986, H.L. Chakravorty Award, Indian Science Congress
1985, Career Award, University Grant Commission
President/Vice-President:
2015-2016, VP, National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad,
2013-2016, Indian Society of Plant Physiology
2009-2011, VP, Society for Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, New Delhi
2004-2006, VP, Indian National Science Academy
2001-2003, Indian Society for Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
Fellowships
2005, Fellow, The World Academy of Sciences, Trieste, Italy
2002, Fellow, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences
1994, Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad
1992, Fellow, Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore
1992, Fellow, Indian National Science Academy, New Delhi
Scientific Activity
Dr. Sopory has been working towards understanding the mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance in plants. His Group has underscored the role of different genes and, more specifically, the glyoxalase pathway, in stress tolerance. Cross talk between different stresses and light responses in regulating the expression of genes, including regulation via microRNAs, is under investigation. Currently, the Group is working to understand the molecular basis of stress priming mediated responses and stress memory.
Selected publications
Out of a total of over 250:
Singla-Pareek, S.L., Reddy,M.K., Sopory, S.K. 2003.Genetic engineering of the glyoxalase pathway in tobacco leads to enhanced salinity tolerance. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA.100:14672–14677
Hettiarachchi, G.H.C.M, Yadav, Y., Reddy, M.K., Chattopadhyay ,S., Sopory, S.K., 2003.Light-mediated regulation defines a minimal promoter region of TOP2.Nucleic Acids Res. 31: 5256–5265
Tuteja, N. ,Reddy, M.K., Mudgil, Y., Yadav, B.S., Chandok, M.R., Sopory, S.K. 2003.Pea DNA topoisomerase I is phosphorylated and stimulated by Casein Kinase 2 and Protein Kinase C. Plant Physiol.132:2108-2115
Sanan-Mishra, N. Pham, X-H., Sopory, S.K., Tuteja, N. 2005. Pea DNA helicase 45 overexpression in tobacco confers high salinity tolerance without affecting yield. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA102: 509–514.
Singla-Pareek,S.L., Yadav, S.K., Pareek, A., Reddy, M.K., Sopory, S.K. 2006.Transgenic tobacco overexpressing glyoxalase pathway enzymes grow and set viable seeds in zinc-spiked soils.Plant Physiol.140:613–623
Misra S.,Wu Y., Venkataraman, G., Sopory, S.K., Tuteja, N. 2007.Heterotrimeric G-protein complex and G-protein-coupled receptor from a legume (Pisum sativum): role in salinity and heat stress and cross-talk with phospholipase C. Plant Journal 51:656-669.
Singla-Pareek, S.L., Yadav, S.K., Pareek, A., Reddy, M.K., Sopory, S.K. 2008. Enhancing salt tolerance in a crop plant by overexpression of glyoxalase II. Transgenic Res. 17:171-180.
Kushwaha, H.R. Singh,A.K., Sopory, S.K., Singla-Pareek, S.L., Pareek, A. 2009.Genome wide expression analysis of CBS domain containing proteins in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh and Oryza sativa L. reveals their developmental and stress regulation In Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh and Oryza sativa BMC Genomics 2009 10:200
Mukhopadhyay, P., Singla-Pareek, S.L., Reddy, M.K., Sopory, S.K. 2013. Stress-mediated alterations in chromatin architecture correlate with down-regulation of a gene encoding 60S rpL32 in rice.Plant Cell Physiol. 54:528–540
Ghosh A, Pareek A, Sopory SK, Singla-Pareek SL 2014.A glutathione responsive rice glyoxalase II, OsGLYII-2, functions in salinity adaptation by maintaining better photosynthesis efficiency and anti-oxidant pool. Plant Journal 80:93-105
Mustafiz, A., Ghosh, A., Tripathi, A.K., Kaur, C., Ganguly, A., Bhavesh, N., Tripathi, J.K.,P areek, A., Sopory, S.K., Singla-Pareek, S.L. 2014. A unique Ni2+ -dependent and methylglyoxal-inducible rice glyoxalase I possesses a single active site and functions in abiotic stress response. Plant Journal78: 951–963
Kaur,C., Kushwaha, H.K, Mustafiz, A., Pareek, A., Sopory, S.K., Singla-Pareek, S.L. 2015.Analysis of global gene expression profile of rice in response to methylglyoxal indicates its possible role as a stress signal molecule. Front Plant Sci.6: 682
Sharma, S., Kaur, C., Singla-Pareek, S.L., Sopory, S.K. 2016.OsSRO1a Interacts with RNA Binding Domain-Containing Protein (OsRBD1) and functions in abiotic stress tolerance in yeast.Front Plant Sci7: 62.
Kaur C., Tripathi A.K., Nutan K.K., Sharma S., Ghosh A., Tripathi,J.K.,Pareek, A., Singla-Pareek, S.L., Sopory, S.K. 2017 A nuclear-localized rice glyoxalase I enzyme, OsGLYI-8, functions in the detoxification of methylglyoxal in the nucleus. Plant Journal 89:565-576
Singh,B.N., Murli-Achary, B.M., Panditi, V., Sopory, S.K., Reddy, M.K. 2017.Dynamics of tobacco DNA topoisomerases II in cell cycle regulation: to manage topological constrains during replication, transcription and mitotic chromosome condensation and segregation. Plant Molecular Biology 94,:595–607
Gupta B.K, Sahoo, K.K., Ghosh,A., Tripathi A.K., Anwar,K., Das,P., Singh, A.K., Pareek, A., Sopory, S.K., Singla-Pareek, S.L. 2018.Manipulation of glyoxalase pathway confers tolerance to multiple stresses in rice. Plant Cell Environ. 41:1186-1200
Goswami, K.,Mittal, D., Gautam, B., Sopory, S.K.,Sanan-Mishra, N. 2020.Mapping the salt stress-induced changes in the root miRNome in pokkali rice.Biomolecules.10: 498.
Joshi, R., Sahoo, K.K., Singh, A.K., Anwar, K., Pundir, P., Gautam, R.K., Krishnamurthy, S.L., Sopory, S.K. Pareek, A., Singla-Pareek, S.L. 2020.Enhancing trehalose biosynthesis improves yield potential in marker-free transgenic rice under drought, saline, and sodic conditions. J.Exp Bot.71:653–668
Bhowal, B. ,Singla-Pareek, S.L. Sopory, S.K., Kaur, C. 2020.From methylglyoxal to pyruvate: a genome-wide study for the identification of glyoxalases and D-lactate dehydrogenases in Sorghum bicolor. BMC Genomics.21:145.
Singla-Pareek, S.L., Kaur, C., Kumar,B., Pareek,A., Sopory, S.K. 2020.Reassessing plant glyoxalases: large family and expanding functions. New Phytol.doi: 10.1111/nph.16576