Plants are exposed to many biotic and abiotic stresses every day, which pose a challenge to their growth and development. This ultimately leads to low yield, sup-par seed and fodder quality, and an unstable agro-economy. The rapidly changing climate has compounded this problem and it seems that a food shortage for the expanding world population is imminent. In our lab, we have chosen to study plants’ response to drought and salinity stress, as these account for up to 70% yield loss in major food crops worldwide. We use genomics, transcriptomics, and techniques of molecular biology to understand the effect of these stresses in popular pulses like mung bean (Vigna radiata), moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia), and in native species of minor millets such as little millet (Panicum sumatrense).

Millets are marginally grown and consumed in India and have recently been highlighted for their superior nutrient profile compared with rice and wheat. Millets are also naturally climate-resilient and are a good crop for studying plants’ response to drought and salinity since they grow well in nutrient and moisture-poor soils. This also makes them a valuable candidate for future food security.

Pulses are an important group of food crops in the world, ranking only after cereals. Many popular pulses like mung bean are susceptible to drought and salinity which affects their yield, leading to heavy losses. However, there are members of the genus Vigna which grow in drought-prone areas and can tolerate higher levels of abiotic stresses like drought and salinity. One such crop is Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia), which is grown in Rajasthan and Gujarat and is a good resource for studying crop yield under abiotic stress.

At our lab, we have used transcriptomics to identify genes that might make little millet and moth bean tolerant to drought and high salinity. Presently, we are integrating the data from whole genome assembly and analysis to identify candidates for functional characterization by knockout and overexpression of selected transcription regulators from these plants in model systems.

• Panda, M., Pradhan, S*., & Mukherjee, P. K. (2024). Transcriptomics reveal useful resources for examining fruit development and variation in fruit size in Coccinia grandis. Frontiers in Plant Science, 15, 1386041.
• Yadav, A. K., Singh, C. K., Wankhede, D. P., Kalia, R. K., Pradhan, S., Ujjainwal, S., … & Singh, A. K. (2024). Combined Genome-Wide Association Study and Expression Analysis Unravels Candidate Genes Associated with Seed Weight in Moth Bean [Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal]. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 1-14.
• Pradhan, S., Bandhiwal, N., Shah, N., Kant, C., Gaur, R., & Bhatia, S. (2014). Global transcriptome analysis of developing chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) seeds. Frontiers in plant  science, 5, 698.
• Gaur, R., Jeena, G., Shah, N., Gupta, S., Pradhan, S., Tyagi, A. K., … & Bhatia, S. (2015). High density linkage mapping of genomic and transcriptomic SNPs for synteny analysis and anchoring the genome sequence of chickpea. Scientific reports, 5(1), 13387.
• Kant, C., Pradhan, S., & Bhatia, S. (2016). Dissecting the root nodule transcriptome of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). PLoS One, 11(6), e0157908.
• Pradhan, S., Kant, C., Verma, S., & Bhatia, S. (2017). Genome-wide analysis of the CCCH zinc finger family identifies tissue specific and stress responsive candidates in
  chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). PloS one, 12(7), e0180469.
• Gaur, R., Verma, S., Pradhan, S., Ambreen, H., & Bhatia, S. (2020). A high-density SNP-based linkage map using genotyping-by-sequencing and its utilization for improved genome assembly of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Functional & Integrative Genomics, 20(6), 763-773.
• Nayak, S. S., Pradhan, S., Sahoo, D., & Parida, A. (2020). De novo transcriptome assembly and analysis of Phragmites karka, an invasive halophyte, to study the mechanism of salinity stress tolerance. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-12
• Das, R. R., Pradhan, S., & Parida, A. (2020). De-novo transcriptome analysis unveils differentially expressed genes regulating drought and salt stress response in Panicum sumatrense. Scientific reports, 10(1), 1-14.
• Pradhan, S., Verma, S., Chakraborty, A., & Bhatia, S. (2021). Identification and molecular characterization of miRNAs and their target genes associated with seed development through small RNA sequencing in chickpea. Functional & Integrative Genomics, 21(2), 283-298.
• Pradhan, S., Shyamli, P. S., Suranjika, S., & Parida, A. (2021). Genome Wide Identification and Analysis of the R2R3-MYB Transcription Factor Gene Family in the Mangrove Avicennia marina. Agronomy, 11(1), 123.
• Shyamli, P. S., Pradhan, S., Panda, M., & Parida, A. (2021). De novo Whole-Genome Assembly of Moringa oleifera Helps Identify Genes Regulating Drought Stress Tolerance. Frontiers in plant science, 12 (Equal contribution)
• Suranjika, S., Pradhan, S., Nayak, S.S., & Parida, A. (2022). De novo transcriptome assembly and analysis of gene expression in different tissues of moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) (Jacq.) Marechal. BMC Plant Biology, 22:198
• Suranjika, S., Pradhan, S*., Kalia, R. K., & Dey, N*. (2023). De novo assembly of the whole genome of Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia), an underutilized Vigna species of India. bioRxiv, 2023-05. (Corresponding author)

Book chapters

• Seema Pradhan, Chandra Kant and Vimal Pandey (2020). “CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, with focus on transcription factors, for plant improvement”:
  Transcription Factors for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants. Elsevier Pub. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2018-0-04538-7
• P. Sushree Shyamli, Sandhya Suranjika, Seema Pradhan and Ajay Parida (2022). “Advances and applications of CRISPR base editors for improvement of various traits
  in crops”: Current technology advances and applications for crop improvement. Springer Nature Pub. (In press)

From left to right: Ms. Udiptanita Rath (JRF), Ms. Samiksha Behera (JRF), Dr. Seema Pradhan, Mr. Biswajit Parida (Lab Technician)