Vishesh Kumar
@jamiahamdard.edu
Senior Research Fellow
Jamia Hamdard
Completed master’s in 2012 on “Isolation and Characterisation of different alleles responsible for
shape and size of Brinjal fruits in different The project emphasized sequencing the
genomic content of fruits of numerous eggplant varieties on different development levels, to
compare their mutations and characterise different alleles for them using the Automated Next-
Generation Sequencing method.
Joined PhD in 2014 at the Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi with Professor
M.Z. Abdin, and perform the research work at the ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology,
New Delhi with Dr Amolkumar U. Solanke under the title, “Functional Validation of Magnaporthe
Oryzae responsive genes for blast resistance in rice” with Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship. Later
joined “CRISPR-Cas9 based genome editing of multiple negative regulators for blast resistance in
rice” a DST-SERB project from 18/11/2019 to 07/06/2021. And ICAR-CABin funded,
“RiceMetaSys: Understandin
EDUCATION
2022 – PhD in Biotechnology at the Dept. of Biotech., Jamia Hamdard and ICAR- National Institute
for Plant Biotechnology, New Delhi.
2012 - Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Biotechnology from C.C.S. University, Meerut Campus
Major in Biotechnology, Aggregate Percentage -67.5%
2009 - Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Biotechnology with 58 % from C.C.S. University, Meerut.
2006 - Intermediate with 55% C.B.S.E. Board, Delhi.
2004 - High school with 77% from C.B.S.E. Board, Delhi.
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Biotechnology, Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology, Molecular Biology
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scholar i10-index
Scopus Publications
Suhas Gorakh Karkute, Vishesh Kumar, Mohd Tasleem, Dwijesh Chandra Mishra, Krishna Kumar Chaturvedi, Anil Rai, Amitha Mithra Sevanthi, Kishor Gaikwad, Tilak Raj Sharma, and Amolkumar U. Solanke
Elsevier BV
Wadzani Palnam Dauda, Veerubommu Shanmugam, Aditya Tyagi, Amolkumar U. Solanke, Vishesh Kumar, Subbaiyan Gopala Krishnan, Bishnu Maya Bashyal, and Rashmi Aggarwal
MDPI AG
Cytokinin glucosyltransferases (CGTs) are key enzymes of plants for regulating the level and function of cytokinins. In a genomic identification of rice CGTs, 41 genes with the plant secondary product glycosyltransferases (PSPG) motif of 44-amino-acid consensus sequence characteristic of plant uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) were identified. In-silico physicochemical characterisation revealed that, though the CGTs belong to the same subfamily, they display varying molecular weights, ranging from 19.6 kDa to 59.7 kDa. The proteins were primarily acidic (87.8%) and hydrophilic (58.6%) and were observed to be distributed in the plastids (16), plasma membrane (13), mitochondria (5), and cytosol (4). Phylogenetic analysis of the CGTs revealed that their evolutionary relatedness ranged from 70–100%, and they aligned themselves into two major clusters. In a comprehensive analysis of the available transcriptomics data of rice samples representing different growth stages only the CGT, Os04g25440.1 was significantly expressed at the vegetative stage, whereas 16 other genes were highly expressed only at the reproductive growth stage. On the contrary, six genes, LOC_Os07g30610.1, LOC_Os04g25440.1, LOC_Os07g30620.1, LOC_Os04g25490.1, LOC_Os04g37820.1, and LOC_Os04g25800.1, were significantly upregulated in rice plants inoculated with Rhizoctonia solani (RS), Xoo (Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae) and Mor (Magnaporthe oryzae). In a qRT-PCR analysis of rice sheath tissue susceptible to Rhizoctonia solani, Mor, and Xoo pathogens, compared to the sterile distilled water control, at 24 h post-infection only two genes displayed significant upregulation in response to all the three pathogens: LOC_Os07g30620.1 and LOC_Os04g25820.1. On the other hand, the expression of genes LOC_Os07g30610.1, LOC_Os04g25440, LOC_Os04g25490, and LOC_Os04g25800 were observed to be pathogen-specific. These genes were identified as the candidate-responsive CGT genes and could serve as potential susceptibility genes for facilitating pathogen infection.
Vishesh Kumar, Pankaj K. Singh, Suhas Gorakh Karkute, Mohd. Tasleem, Someshwar Bhagat, M. Z. Abdin, Amitha Mithra Sevanthi, Anil Rai, Tilak Raj Sharma, Nagendra K. Singh,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Thiyagarajan Thulasinathan, Priyanka Jain, Arvind Kumar Yadav, Vishesh Kumar, Amitha Mithra Sevanthi, and Amolkumar U. Solanke
Springer Nature Singapore
Vishesh Kumar
Texila International Marketing Management
Background: Vaccination against childhood communicable diseases through Expanded Program on Immunization is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions. Additional 1.5 million child deaths can be prevented if global vaccination coverage is improved. Mewat district has one of India’s lowest immunization rates despite a long-standing Universal Immunization Program and continues to sustain a high prevalence of vaccine-preventable diseases. This study investigates determinants of immunization status among children aged 0-23 months. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2019 to June 2020, among 800 children aged 0-23months, randomly selected in one rural and one urban ward each from all 4 blocks of Mewat. Socio-demographic conditions and vaccine-related data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Immunization was assessed by vaccination card and by mother’s recall where the card was unavailable. Results:Mewat has increased full immunization coverage from 13.1% in 2015-16 to 59.4%. Immunization card was available with 68.5% (292/426) beneficiaries. Dropout rates for Pentavalent1 to Pentavalent3 was 27.5% and 54% for Bacillus Calmette-Guerin to measles. After adjusting for the state of residence, religion, gender, paternal education, health professional presence during birth, place of vaccination and knowledge of mother on due dose were significantly associated with full immunization. Awareness gap and fear of side effects for vaccines were main reasons of vaccine hesitancy. Conclusion: Full immunization coverage in the district is sub optimal and behind the desired coverage goal, mainly due to vaccine hesitancy. Enhancing community knowledge about the benefits of vaccination is recommended.
Vishesh Kumar, Priyanka Jain, Sureshkumar Venkadesan, Suhas Gorakh Karkute, Jyotika Bhati, Malik Zainul Abdin, Amitha Mithra Sevanthi, Dwijesh Chandra Mishra, Krishna Kumar Chaturvedi, Anil Rai,et al.
MDPI AG
Rice blast is a global threat to food security with up to 50% yield losses. Panicle blast is a more severe form of rice blast and the response of rice plant to leaf and panicle blast is distinct in different genotypes. To understand the specific response of rice in panicle blast, transcriptome analysis of blast resistant cultivar Tetep, and susceptible cultivar HP2216 was carried out using RNA-Seq approach after 48, 72 and 96 h of infection with Magnaporthe oryzae along with mock inoculation. Transcriptome data analysis of infected panicle tissues revealed that 3553 genes differentially expressed in HP2216 and 2491 genes in Tetep, which must be the responsible factor behind the differential disease response. The defense responsive genes are involved mainly in defense pathways namely, hormonal regulation, synthesis of reactive oxygen species, secondary metabolites and cell wall modification. The common differentially expressed genes in both the cultivars were defense responsive transcription factors, NBS-LRR genes, kinases, pathogenesis related genes and peroxidases. In Tetep, cell wall strengthening pathway represented by PMR5, dirigent, tubulin, cell wall proteins, chitinases, and proteases was found to be specifically enriched. Additionally, many novel genes having DOMON, VWF, and PCaP1 domains which are specific to cell membrane were highly expressed only in Tetep post infection, suggesting their role in panicle blast resistance. Thus, our study shows that panicle blast resistance is a complex phenomenon contributed by early defense response through ROS production and detoxification, MAPK and LRR signaling, accumulation of antimicrobial compounds and secondary metabolites, and cell wall strengthening to prevent the entry and spread of the fungi. The present investigation provided valuable candidate genes that can unravel the mechanisms of panicle blast resistance and help in the rice blast breeding program.
V Sureshkumar, Bipratip Dutta, Vishesh Kumar, G Prakash, Dwijesh C Mishra, K K Chaturvedi, Anil Rai, Amitha Mithra Sevanthi, and Amolkumar U Solanke
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Abstract Nearly two decades of revolution in the area of genomics serves as the basis of present-day molecular breeding in major food crops such as rice. Here we report an open source database on two major biotic stresses of rice, named RiceMetaSysB, which provides detailed information about rice blast and bacterial blight (BB) responsive genes (RGs). Meta-analysis of microarray data from different blast- and BB-related experiments across 241 and 186 samples identified 15135 unique genes for blast and 7475 for BB. A total of 9365 and 5375 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) in blast and BB RGs were identified for marker development. Retrieval of candidate genes using different search options like genotypes, tissue, developmental stage of the host, strain, hours/days post-inoculation, physical position and SSR marker information is facilitated in the database. Search options like ‘common genes among varieties’ and ‘strains’ have been enabled to identify robust candidate genes. A 2D representation of the data can be used to compare expression profiles across genes, genotypes and strains. To demonstrate the utility of this database, we queried for blast-responsive WRKY genes (fold change ≥5) using their gene IDs. The structural variations in the 12 WRKY genes so identified and their promoter regions were explored in two rice genotypes contrasting for their reaction to blast infection. Expression analysis of these genes in panicle tissue infected with a virulent and an avirulent strain of Magnaporthe oryzae could identify WRKY7, WRKY58, WRKY62, WRKY64 and WRKY76 as potential candidate genes for resistance to panicle blast, as they showed higher expression only in the resistant genotype against the virulent strain. Thus, we demonstrated that RiceMetaSysB can play an important role in providing robust candidate genes for rice blast and BB.
Hukam C. Rawal, S. V. Amitha Mithra, Kirti Arora, Vishesh Kumar, Neha Goel, Dwijesh Chandra Mishra, K. K. Chaturvedi, Anil Rai, S. Vimala Devi, T. R. Sharma,et al.
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
RECENT SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
Publications
Research Publications:
1. Genome-wide analysis in wild and cultivated Oryza species reveals abundance of NBS genes in progenitors of cultivated rice. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter (2018), 36(3), 373-386.
2. RiceMetaSysB: a database of blast and bacterial blight-responsive genes in rice and its utilization in identifying key blast-resistant WRKY genes. Database (2019).
3. Understanding rice-Magnaporthe oryzae interaction in resistant and susceptible cultivars of rice under panicle blast infection using time-course transcriptome analysis. Genes (2021), 12(2), 301.
4. Genome-Wide Analysis of von Willebrand Factor A (vWA) Gene Family in Rice for Its Role in Imparting Biotic Stress Resistance with Emphasis on Rice Blast Disease. Rice Science (2022), 29(4): 375-384.
5. Identification of novel resources for panicle blast resistance from wild rice accessions and mutants of cv. Nagina 22 by syringe inoculation under field conditions. 3 Biotech (2022),12(2), 1-11
6. Genome-Wide Identification and Characterisation of Cytokinin-O-Glucosyltransferase (CGT) Genes of Rice Specific to Potential Pathogens. Plants-Basel (2022) 11(7):917.
7. Current Status of Bioinformatics Resources of Small Millets. In Omics of Climate Resilient Small Millets (pp. 221-234). (2022). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore.