Group Leader, Nutritional Improvement of Crops
International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
Aruna Asaf Ali Marg
110 067 New Delhi, India
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +91-11-26742962, +91-11-26741007 Ext 373
Education
Delhi University, Department of Botany, New Delhi, India, PhD, 2002
IGNOU, School of Management Studies, New Delhi, India, DIM, 2000
Delhi University, Department of Botany, New Delhi, India, M. Phil, 1996
Delhi University, Central Institute of Education, New Delhi, India, BEd, 1995
Delhi University, Department of Botany, New Delhi, India, MSc, 1994
Career History
Since 2016 – Group Leader, Nutritional Improvement of Crop.
2012, Research Scientist in Plant Molecular Biology Group, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, India
2012, Biocare Award and Fellowship, Plant Molecular Biology Group, ICGEB
2011, Rapid Grant for Young Investigator Award, Plant Molecular Biology Group, ICGEB
2010-2011, Research Associateship, Plant Molecular Biology Group, ICGEB-IPK Gatersleben
2008-2010, Research Scientist, Centre for Excellence Project, Plant Molecular Biology Group, ICGEB
2006-2008, Post Doctoral-Indo-Israel DST Fellowship ICGEB-ARO-Volcani Centre, Bet Dagan, Israel
2004-2006, DBT-IISC-Post Doctoral FellowshipICGEB
2003-2004, Research Scientist, Indo-Belarus DST Project, Plant Molecular Biology Group, ICGEB
Scientific Activity
Designing phytase-rich tomatoes (expressing Bacillus and Aspergillus phytases) and phytate-free cereals (wheat, rice, maize) and legumes for alleviating global micronutrient malnutrition. Single best strategy is to remove PA in cereal and legume seeds consumed globally by gene deletor technology. Developing wheat grains expressing a NAC transcription factor to re-mobilize Fe3+, Zn2+and proteins.
Efficiently scavenge ROS during late maturation and postharvest stages of tomato fruits by overexpression of the ascorbate-glutathione pathway genes to enhance their shelf life as well as their antioxidant value and reduce the postharvest losses. This biotechnological approach may be extrapolated to other fruits and vegetables.
Efficient genome modification of the target site of EPSPS and ALS genes in maize, rice and wheat by CRISPR-Cas9/Nickase/Cpf1 to confer resistance to herbicides and develop cisgenic cereal plants tolerant to non-selective herbicides. Technology shall be extrapolated to other crops that face weed constraint. Crispr/Cas9 genome editing to decipher loss or gain of function of novel genes coding for proteins with hypothetical functions that are involved in crop improvement-nutritive, stress and yield.
Deciphering the underlying regulatory mechanism of DNA replication and homologous recombination, a crucial DNA repair process essential for genome stability and accurate chromosome condensation or segregation during meiosis.
Enhancing the photosynthetic capacity an yield of rice by installation of a minimal C4 pathway from Pennisetum glaucum.
Selected publications
Sony SK, Kaul T*, Mohammed KFA, Thangaraj, Bharti J, Kaul R, Verma R, Nehra M A CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated homology donor repair base editing system to confer herbicide resistance in rice (Oryza sativa). Front Plant Sci. 2023 (Accepted).
Gautam A, Nazish FK, Priya S, Kumar K, Sharda S, Kaul T, Singh I, Langyan S, Yadava P 2023 Cloning and comparative modelling identify a highly stress-tolerant Cu/Zn cytosolic Super Oxide Dismutase 2 from a drought-tolerant maize inbred line. Peer J DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-1675452/v1 (Accepted)
Reddy CS, Cho M, Kaul T, Joeng JT, Kim KM. Pseudomonas fluorescens imparts cadmium stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana via induction of AtPCR2 gene expression. J Genet Engg. Biotechnol. 2023 Jan 25;21(1):8 PMID: 36695935 DOI: 10.1186/s43141-022-00457-7
Mohammed KFA, Kaul T*, Agrawal PK, Thangaraj A, Kaul R, Sopory SK. Function identification and characterization of Oryza sativa ZRT and IRT-like proteins computationally for nutrition and biofortification in rice. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2022 Sep 16:1-21. PMID: 36111599 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2022.2118169
Kaul T*, Easwaran M, Thangaraj A, Meyyazhagan A, Nehra M, Raman NM, Verma R, Sony SK, Abdel KF, Bharti J, Gayacharan, Badapanda C, Balasubramanian B. De novo genome assembly of rice bean (Vigna umbellata) – A nominated nutritionally rich future crop reveals novel insights into flowering potential, habit, and palatability centric – traits for efficient domestication. Front Plant Sci. 2022 Oct 4; 13:739654. PMID: 36267942;PMCID: PMC9577371DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.739654
Ahmad, S., Kaul, T., Chitkara, P., and Raza, K. 2022. Comparative insight into rice chloroplasts genome: mutational phylogenomics reveals Echinochloa oryzicola as the ongoing progenitor of rice. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-022-01471-x
Yadava P, Dayaman V, Agarwal A, Kumar K, Singh I, Verma R, Kaul T*. Fine-tuning the transcriptional regulatory model of adaptation response to phosphate stress in maize (Zea mays L.). Physiol Mol Biol Plants. 2022 Apr;28(4):885-898. PMID: 35592478 PMCID: PMC9110616 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-022-01155-x
Raja V, Wani UM, Wani ZA, Jan N, Kottakota C, Kaul T*, John R. Pyramiding ascorbate-glutathione pathway in Lycopersicum esculentum confers tolerance to drought and salinity stress. Plant Cell Rep. 2022 Mar;41(3):619-637. PMID: 34383122; DOI: 10.1007/s00299-021-02764-8
Subramanyam Reddy C, Kaul T, Abdel Motelb KF, Sony SK, Bharti J, Verma R. Phylogenetic and modelling analysis of purple acid phosphatase 18 (SiPAP18) from Setaria italica. Bioinformation. 2021 Aug 31;17(8):727-730. doi:
10.6026/97320630017727. PMID: 35540694; PMCID: PMC9049101
Kuchi Bhotla H, Kaul T, Balasubramanian B, Easwaran M, Arumugam VA, Pappusamy
M, Muthupandian S, Meyyazhagan A. Platelets to surrogate lung inflammation in COVID-19 patients. Med Hypotheses. 2020 Oct; 143:110098. doi:
10.1016/j.mehy.2020.110098. Epub 2020 Jul 12. PMID: 32688185; PMCID: PMC7354257.
Poochi SP, Easwaran M, Balasubramanian B, Anbuselvam M, Meyyazhagan A, Park
S, Bhotla HK, Anbuselvam J, Arumugam VA, Keshavarao S, Kanniyappan GV, Pappusamy
M, Kaul T. Employing bioactive compounds derived from Ipomoea obscura (L.) to evaluate potential inhibitors for SARS-CoV-2 main protease and ACE2 protein. Food Front. 2020 Jun;1(2):168-179. doi: 10.1002/fft2.29. Epub 2020 Jul 6. PMID: 32838301; PMCID: PMC7361879.
Chib S, Thangaraj A, Kaul S, Dhar MK, Kaul T*. Development of a system for efficient callus production, somatic embryogenesis and gene editing using CRISPR/Cas9 in Saffron (Crocus sativus L.). Plant Methods. 2020 Apr 7;16:47. PMID: 32280363 PMCID: PMC7137501; DOI: 10.1186/s13007-020-00589-2
Kaul T*, Sony SK, Verma R, Motelb KFA, Prakash AT, Eswaran M, Bharti J, Nehra M, Kaul R. Revisiting CRISPR/Cas-mediated crop improvement: Special focus on nutrition. J Biosci. 2020; 45:137. PMID: 33361628
Kaul T*, Eswaran M, Ahmad S, Thangaraj A, Jain R, Kaul R, Raman NM, Bharti J. Probing the effect of a plus 1bp frameshift mutation in protein-DNA interface of domestication gene, NAMB1, in wheat. J Biomol Struct Dyn. 2020 Aug;38(12):3633-3647. PMID: 31621500;DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2019.1680435
Cittrarasu V, Balasubramanian B, Kaliannan D, Park S, Maluventhan V, Kaul T, Liu WC, Arumugam M. Biological mediated Ag nanoparticles from Barleria longiflora for antimicrobial activity and photocatalytic degradation using methylene blue. Artif Cells Nanomed Biotechnol. 2019 Dec; 47(1):2424-2430. doi:10.1080/21691401.2019.1626407. PMID: 31187650.
Kaul T*, Raman NM, Eswaran M, Thangaraj A, Verma R, Sony SK, Sathelly KM, Kaul R, Yadava P, Agrawal PK. Data Mining by Pluralistic Approach on CRISPR Gene Editing in Plants. Front Plant Sci. 2019 Jul 9; 10:801. PMID: 31354748: PMCID: PMC6632506 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00801
Agarwal A, Yadava P, Kumar K, Singh I, Kaul T, Pattanayak A, Agrawal PK. Insights into maize genome editing via CRISPR/Cas9. Physiol Mol Biol Plants. 2018, Mar;24(2):175-183. PMID: 29515313; PMCID: PMC5834987; DOI: 10.1007/s12298-017-0502-3
Pandey S, Fartyal D, Agarwal A, Shukla T, James D, Kaul T, Negi YK, Arora S, Reddy MK. Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants: Myriad Roles of Ascorbate Peroxidase. Front Plant Sci. 2017 Apr 20; 8:581. PMID: 28473838; PMCID: PMC5397514 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2017.00581
Yadava P, Abhishek A, Singh R, Singh I, Kaul T, Pattanayak A, Agrawal PK. Advances in Maize Transformation Technologies and Development of Transgenic Maize. Front Plant Sci. 2017 Jan 6; 7:1949. PMID: 28111576; PMCID: PMC5216042DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01949
John R, Ganeshan U, Singh BN, Kaul T, Reddy MK, Sopory SK, Rajam MV. Over-expression of Topoisomerase II Enhances Salt Stress Tolerance in Tobacco. Front Plant Sci. 2016 Aug 31;7:1280. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01280. PMID: 27630644; PMCID: PMC5006100.
Singh BN, Mudgil Y, John R, Achary VM, Tripathy MK, Sopory SK, Reddy MK, Kaul T. Cell cycle stage-specific differential expression of topoisomerase I in tobacco BY-2 cells and its ectopic overexpression and knockdown unravels its crucial role in plant morphogenesis and development. Plant Sci. 2015 Nov;240:182-92. doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2015.09.016. Epub 2015 Sep 25. PMID: 26475198.
Singh J, Pandey P, James D, Chandrasekhar K, Achary VM, Kaul T, Tripathy BC, Reddy MK.
Enhancing C3 photosynthesis: an outlook on feasible interventions for crop improvement.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2014 Dec;12(9):1217-30. doi: 10.1111/pbi.12246. Epub 2014 Sep 4. PMID: 25196090.