Dr. Moumita Srivastava

Scientist C, BRIC-RGCB

Profile

Our lab studies molecular mechanisms of plant immune responses – how the response of individual cells regulates the intracellular signalling events triggered after the detection of a molecule (effector) of pathogen /host origin – using the post-translational modifier protein SUMO as a starting point. Despite the significant advances made in understanding the post-translational modifications including SUMOylation in plant-pathogen interaction, this field is largely unexplored. Therefore, we are particularly interested in understanding the mechanism and regulation of SUMO proteases, the enzymes which cleave-off the SUMO from their substrate. Using a diverse array of genetic, biochemical, live-cell imaging, and molecular techniques, our team meticulously unravel the mechanisms underlying SUMO-dependent protein modifications crucial for plant growth and defense. We employ a combination of plants such as black pepper, rice and Arabidopsis to answer the questions during the study.

Current Focus Areas

  • Identification and functional characterisation of the SUMOylation machinery in black pepper

  • Light-mediated plant immune responses in crops

Selected Publications

  • Naranjo-Arcos, M.*, Srivastava, M.*, Deligne, F., Bhagat, P., Bhardwaj, M., Sadanandom, A., Vert, G. (2023). SUMO/deSUMOylation of the BRI1 brassinosteroid receptor modulates plant growth responses to temperature. PNAS 120(4): e2217255120. (equal contribution)

  • Srivastava, M.*, Srivastava, A.K.*, Bhardwaj, M., Roy, D., Gough, C., Bhagat, P., Zhang, C., Sadanandom, A. (2022). The conjugation of SUMO to the transcription factor MYC2 functions in blue light-mediated seedling development in Arabidopsis. the Plant Cell 34(8): 2892-2906 (equal contribution)

  • Verma, V., Srivastava, A.K., Campanaro, A., Srivastava, M., Morrell, R., Zhang, C., Sadanandom A.(2021). SUMO enables substrate selectivity by mitogen-activated protein kinases to regulate immunity in plants. PNAS 118(10): e2021351118.

  • Srivastava, M., Srivastava, A.K., Orosa-Puente, B., Campanaro, A., Zhang, C. and Sadanandom, A. (2020). SUMO conjugation to BZR1 mediates the environmental regulation of Brassinosteroid signaling to modulate plant growth during salt stress. Current Biology 30: 1410-1423

  • Chakraborty, M.*, Gangappa, S.N. *, Maurya, J.P., Sethi, V., Srivastava A., Singh, A., Dutta S., Gupta N., Sengupta, M., Ram, H. and Chattopadhyay, S (2019). Functional interrelation of MYC2 and HY5 plays an important role in Arabidopsis seedling development. the Plant J 99: 1080-1097 (*equal contribution)

Skills & Proficiency

Post-translational modification SUMOylation Light Signaling Genome editing Fungal pathogenesis Plant immunity Plant Physiology Black pepper Rice Arabidopsis.
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