Profile
I specialize in plant molecular biology and genetic engineering for crop enhancement, with a background in Biotechnology from Bangalore University and a post-graduate degree in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from GBPUAT, Uttarakhand. Through competitive exams like CSIR-NET-JRF, BET-DBT, and GATE, I gained admission to the prestigious National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, where I pursued my doctoral research. My PhD focused on deciphering the inositol metabolism and raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFO) pathway in chickpea, a key legume crop in the Indian subcontinent. Recognized with the DST-INSPIRE Faculty Award, I led a project as Principal Investigator to investigate seed associated transcription factors in rice. Currently, I serve as a scientist at the National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, contributing to cutting-edge research in agricultural biotechnology.
Current Focus Areas
Our lab focusses on molecular biology and genetic engineering for rice and chickpea. In rice, we study role and regulation of transcription factors in seed development and maturation, uncovering gene regulatory networks and enhancing nutritional quality. In chickpea, we use genome-editing to reduce anti-nutritional factors and enhance nutritive value.
Selected Publications
Salvi P, Kamble N and Majee M (2020) Ectopic over-expression of ABA-responsive Chickpea galactinol synthase (CaGolS) gene results in improved tolerance to dehydration stress by modulating ROS scavenging. Environmental and Experimental Botany. 171, 103957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot.2019.103957
Salvi P, Kamble N and Majee M (2017) Stress Inducible Galactinol Synthase of Chickpea (CaGolS) Implicates in Heat and Oxidative Stress Tolerance through Reducing Stress Induced Excessive Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation. Plant and Cell Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcp/pcx170
Salvi P, Saxena SC, Petla BP, Kamble N, Kaur H, Verma P, Rao V, Ghosh S and Majee M (2016) Differentially expressed galactinol synthase(s) in chickpea are implicated in seed vigor and longevity by limiting the age induced ROS accumulation. Scientific Reports. 6:35088 https://doi:10.1038/srep35088
Ghosh S, Kamble NU, Verma P, Salvi P, Petla BP, Roy S, Rao V, Hazra H, Varshney V, Kaur H and Majee M. (2020) PROTEIN L-ISOASPARTYL METHYLTRANSFERASES (PIMTs) play an important role in heat and oxidative stress tolerance by protecting isoAsp mediated damage of antioxidative enzymes in Arabidopsis thaliana. Journal of Biological Chemistry. https://doi:10.1074/jbc.RA119.010779
Petla BP, Kamble NU, Kumar M, Verma P, Ghosh S, Singh A, Rao V, Salvi P, Kaur H, Saxena SC and Majee M (2016) Rice PROTEIN L-ISOASPARTYL METHYLTRANSFERASE isoforms differentially accumulate during seed maturation to restrict deleterious isoAsp and ROS accumulation and are implicated in seed vigor and longevity. New Phytologist. 211, 627-645. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13923