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Scientists

Dr. Sundeep Kumar

Designation:
Principal Scientist
     
Division/RS/Unit:
Division of Genomic Resources
     
Discipline:
Plant Biotechnology - Molecular Breeding and Plant Biotechnology
Contact:
9013575627
     
E-Mail:
Sundeep.Kumar(AT)icar.gov.in, sundeep(AT)daad-alumni.de
     
Personal Webpage:
     
Salient Achievements:
  1. Significant research achievements:
  • Conducted biggest evaluation trial in the history of Indian agriculture for evaluating entire Indian wheat germplasm collection for identifying new sources of resistance against rust and spot blotch (reported in Limka Book of Records)

 

  • Genetic stock identified and registered:

 

Product/Technology/IPR

Main/Co-developer

1.

IC128335 (INGR22116): has low drought sensitivity index (-1.7 and -2.81) and less reduction (%) in thousand-grain weight (-49.9 and 14.4). 2. The germplasm line was found to be highly tolerant to drought stress (DSI = 0.45). IC128335 is characterized with higher antioxidant activity (1.8fold), total phenolic content (1.6 fold), proline content (2.4 fold) and higher SOD activity, and higher upregulation of transcription factors (qTaWRKY2 – 3.49 fold and qTaNAC2a – 2.31 fold). Therefore, this genotype can be used as a donor for enhancing drought tolerance in wheat.

Main developer

2.

IC73591 (INGR22073) :  A potential genetic resource for stripe rust resistance. Showed the presence of leaf rust resistance genes, Lr34+ (Lr34/Yr18/Sr57/Pm38), Lr46+ (Lr46/Yr29/Sr58/Pm39) and Lr67+ (Lr67/Yr46/Sr55/Pm46/Ltn3) also showed yield stability in above said four different locations may be considered promising multiple disease resistant germplasm and could be included in breeding program as parents for developing new durable multiple rust resistant cultivars.

Main developer

3.

IC290156 (INGR21187): a potential genetic resource for stripe rust resistance

 

  • Showed resistance against stripe rust pathotypes 46S119 and 47S103
  • Showed the presence of 11 QTLs distributed on 2DL, 3AL, 3B, 3DS, 4DL, 5BS and 6DL
  • It is also associated with a candidate gene TraesCS6D02G384800, that functions as leucine-rich repeat receptor-like protein kinases (LRR) which play key role in pathogen recognition and disease resistance.

Main developer

4.

IC321906 (INGR21188): Potential genetic resource for terminal heat stress tolerance

 

  • Showed tolerance to terminal heat stress in three different locations (Delhi, Hisar and Karnal) for 3 consecutive years
  • Co-Localized QTLs with favorable alleles for grain yield (1), grain filling duration (7) and bio-mass (2)

Main developer

5.

IC128565 (INGR21030): Showed resistance against prevailing races of leaf rust at 10 different locations in India for two years.

  • Carries the adult plant leaf rust resistance genes Lr34+ (Lr34/Yr18/Sr57/Pm38), Lr46+ (Lr46/Yr29/Sr58/Pm39) and Lr68hence, could be used as source for multiple disease resistance for developing new durable multiple rust resistant cultivars.

 

Main developer

6.

IC128638 (INGR21031): Showed resistance against all the prevailing races of leaf rust at 10 different locations in India for two consecutive years.

  • Showed the presence of leaf rust resistance genes Lr46+ (Lr46/Yr29/Sr58/Pm39), Lr67+ (Lr67/Yr46/Sr55/Pm46) and Lr68based on linked marker analysis hence, can be a potential candidate for developing durable multiple rust resistant cultivars.

Main developer

7.

EC531185 (INGR18011): Drought tolerant wheat germplasm.

 

  • This germplasm lines could be vital source for imparting drought tolerance in wheat.

 

Main developer

8.

EC339604 (INGR18012) resistant to all prevailing races of leaf rust.

 

  • This germplasm is having Lr22, Lr46+, an Lr67+ gene which is a rare combination for ensuring durable rust resistance in wheat cultivars.

 

Main developer

9.

IC252459 (INGR18013) resistant to stripe rust resistant pathotypes K (47S102), P(46S103), L (70S69), 13 (67S8), I (38S102), 46S119 & 78S84.

 

  • This germplasm could be used as source of resistance for developing leaf rust resistant cultivars against multiple stripe rust races

 

Main developer

10.

IC290150 (INGR19046): Resistant to stem rust, leaf rust and stripe rust pathotypes prevalent in Indian condition.

  • Based on linked marker analysis, this germplasm has combination of different leaf rust, stem rust, stripe rust and spot blotch resistance genes Lr46+, Lr67+, Yr5, Yr15, Yr36, Yr48, Sr13, Sr24/Lr24, QSb.bhu-2B,  hence, could be vital source for imparting durable rust resistance in wheat.

 

Main developer

11.

HW-5074 (INGR-22068) : Stable and high yielding line  selected at BC4F7 generation, showed resistance to the stem rust, leaf rust and powdery mildew pathotypes prevailing in India. Stem rust, leaf rust and powdery mildew resistance genes, Sr2/Lr27/Yr30, Sr24/Lr24 and Sr36/Pm6 were pyramided in the background of HD2833 cultivar through marker assisted backcross approach. Presence of the resistance genes were carried out using molecular markers, gwm533 (Sr2+) (Spielmeyer et al., 2003), Sr24#12 (Sr24/Lr24) (Mago et al., 2005) and stm773-2 (Sr36/Pm6). Hence, can be considered promising multiple disease resistant germplasm. 

 

Co-developer

12.

IC536365 (INGR19007) displayed resistance reaction to all the three rusts pathotypes namely stem rust pathotypes: 40A (62G29) & 40-1(62G29-1); leaf rust pathotypes: 17(61R24), 77A (109R31), 77-5(121R63-1), 77-7(121R127) & 77-8(253R31); stripe rust pathotypes: 46S119, 78S84 & I. Hence, germplasm could be vital source for imparting durable rust resistance in wheat.

Co-developer

13.

EC574482 (INGR19008): resistant to stem rust pathotypes: 40A (62G29) & 40-1(62G29-1); leaf rust pathotypes: 17(61R24), 77A (109R31), 77-5(121R63-1), 77-7(121R127) & 77-8(253R31); stripe rust pathotypes: 46S119, 78S84 & I.

  • It carries combination of three minor/adult plant rust resistance genes (APR) for leaf rust Lr46/Sr58/Yr29/Pm39/Ltn2, Lr67/Sr55/Yr46/Pm46 Ltn3 and Lr68) and one for stripe rust (Yr48) and two major genes for stripe rust (Yr5 &Yr15) and one for leaf rust (Lr50) hence, could be vital source for imparting durable rust resistance in wheat.

Co-developer

14.

IC252458 (INGR21097): The identified germplasm is resistant to leaf rust and shown yield stability across four different locations in India viz., Pantnagar, Varanasi, Powarkheda and Pune. Based on linked marker analysis, this germplasm has combination of different leaf rust resistance genes Lr34+ (Lr34/Sr57/Yr18/Pm38/Ltn1), Lr46+ (Lr46/Sr58/Yr29/Pm39/Ltn2) and Lr67+ (Lr67/Yr46/Sr55/Pm46/Ltn3) hence, can be considered promising multiple disease resistant germplasm. 

Co-developer

15.

IC 290150 (INGR21098): The identified germplasm showed the presence of three adult plant leaf rust resistance genes, Lr34+ (Lr34/Sr57/Yr18/Pm38/Ltn1), Lr67+ (Lr67/Yr46/Sr55/Pm46/Ltn3) and Lr68. Accession, IC290150 displayed resistance reaction (5R) in all the locations with average coefficient of Infection (ACI) of 0.7. The germplasm showed the presence of APR genes with high yield thus, could be vital source for imparting durable rust resistance in wheat.

Co-developer

16.

IC279875 (INGR21099): The identified germplasm has shown resistance to leaf rust in ten different locations. Based on linked marker analysis, this germplasm has combination of different leaf rust resistance genes Lr34+ (Lr34/Sr57/Yr18/Pm38/Ltn1) and Lr68 genes in the background of high yielding cultivars, hence, could be vital source for imparting durable rust resistance in wheat.

Co-developer

17.

IC529962 (INGR19044): Highly resistant to spot blotch and stability in yield performance. Hence, could be vital source for imparting spot blotch resistance and high yield in wheat.

Co-developer

18.

IC0529684 (INGR19045): Highly resistant to spot blotch.  Hence, can be used as source for spot blotch resistance in wheat improvement programme

Co-developer

19.

IC0624570 (INGR18008): Resistant to spot blotch.  Hence, can be used as source for spot blotch resistance in wheat improvement programme

Co-developer

20.

IC564121 (INGR18014): Spot blotch resistant wheat germplasm

Co-developer

21.

IC443669 (INGR18015): Spot blotch resistant wheat germplasm

Co-developer

22.

IC536140 (INGR15022):  carries minor/adult plant leaf rust resistance genes viz., Lr34/Sr57/Yr18/Pm38 and Lr67/Sr55/Yr46/Pm46which is a rare combination. This germplasm lines could be vital source of minor genes for imparting durable resistance in wheat.

Co-developer

23.

EC573562 (INGR15023): carry minor/adult plant leaf rust resistance genes viz., Lr67/Sr55/Yr46/Pm46 which is a rare combination. This germplasm lines could be vital source of minor genes for imparting durable resistance in wheat.

Co-developer

 

Databases developed:

SSR marker database of medicinal plant,  Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata)

This is first marker database of A. paniculata and contains information on SSR markers developed in our study. These SSR could be used to assess the pattern of genetic diversity among the Andrographis collection conserved in national gene bank.

The A. paniculata database can be accessed online http://www.nbpgr.ernet.in:8080 /Andrographis paniculata/.

 

 

 

Development of gene and SSR marker database of giloe (Tinospora cordifolia)

Tinospra cordifolia is a very valuable medicinal plants and known to possess compounds of therapeutic importance that can be used to treat many diseases and disorders. To facilitate molecular level assessment of the genetic diversity of the giloe germplasm, SSR markers were developed using transcriptome sequencingIn addition, genes involved in the biosynthesis of various compounds have been also identified.

The T. cordifolia database can be accessed online http://www.nbpgr.ernet.in:8080/Tinospora/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Markers for economically important traits:

1.

Markers/QTLs for drought stress tolerance: were identified. Marker information related to QTLs associated with chlorophyll content, canopy temperature, thylakoid membrane stability and yield/plant under drought stress tolerance is quite useful and can be used in MAS for drought tolerant plant.

Kumar S et al. (2012). Euphytica 186: 265-276.

 

 

2.

Markers/QTLs for spot blotch  resistance:

QTLs for spot blotch resistance were identified in RILs of ‘Ning8201 x Sonalika’ and ‘Chirya 3 x Sonalika’ mapping populations. The QTLs identified on 5A chromosomes in ‘Chirya 3 x Sonalika’ is tightly linked with the markers and thus, can be of much importance in marker assisted breeding for spot blotch resistance in wheat.

Theor. Appl. Genet (2009) 118:783-792.     

Molecular Breeding (2016) 36: 95

Mol Breeding (2015) 35:218

 

3.

Markers for root lesion nematode resistance:

 

This was the first attempt to identify QTLs associated with resistance to root lesion nematode in Indian wheat germplasm lines. 

Kumar et al (2021). Scientific Reports, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-80996-0

 

 

4.

GWAS for the identification of QTLs for spot blotch resistance in (WAMI) panel of spring wheat (Triticum aestivumL.):

 

The QTLs for spot blotch were identified following GWAS approach. The identified QTLs have the significant contribution towards spot blotch resistance and thus, can be used in MAS.

Ahirwar et al. (2018). PLoS ONE 13(12): e0208196. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208196

 

 

5.

Markers/QTLs for stay green trait: A number of physiological and morphological traits related to increasing yield are yet to be fully exploited in modern wheat cultivars. One of them is the ability to maintain green leaf area duration (‘‘stay green’’) throughout grain filling. QTLs identified for stay green trait is of much importance to be used in marker assisted wheat breeding programme.for developing heat tolerant wheat cultivars.

Kumar et al. (2010). Euphytica 174: 437-445.

 

 

 

6.

Development of genomic simple sequence repeats (g-SSR) markers in Tinospora cordifolia:

Tinospora cordifolia, a medicinal plant of economic importance, has very rich diversity and distributed across India growing in wild. However, for its judicious exploitation through targeted breeding program there is complete lack of genomic resources which is necessary for its desired utilization. In the present study, we have developed novel genomic-SSRs (g-SSR) markers, which due to their wider distribution across the genome find greater usefulness in assessing genetic diversity. The g-SSR markers generated in the present study are a valuable genomic resource for effective utilization in crop improvement of Tinospora germplasm.

Paliwal et al. (2016). Plant Gene 5: 118-125.

 

 

 

 

Development of markers:

1.

Developed SSR makers for Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L. Nash) through cross species transferability (Co-PI)

The spongy aromatic roots of vetiver yield fragrant and volatile oil that has high demand in cosmetic industries. Making it more useful for industrial purpose and to initiate breeding work in Vetiver, SSR markers developed using cross species transferability from rice and amplified successfully can be utilized for locus specific characterization and genetic improvement using molecular breeding methods.

Rakesh Singh, Diganta Narzary, Jyoti Bhardwaj, Amit Kumar Singh, Sundeep Kumar and Ashok Kumar (2014). Industrial Crops and Products 53: 187-198.

 

 

 

2.

Established gene based marker (Start Codon Targeted [SCoT]) system for genetic diversity study in Giloe (Tinosporacordifolia) germplasms (Co-PI).

Gene targeted markers have become the choice for analyzing diversity and gene mapping in crop plants. Keeping this in view, SCoT markers were generated for establishing diversity among twenty-five accessions of Giloe. Out of 25, twenty primers amplified and were used for diversity analysis. Jaccard’s similarity coefficient was used to generate similarity matrix and similarity ranged from 0.68-0.93. Dendrogram was constructed for amplicons generated using the SCoT markers using the UPGMA method. This shows that the genetic diversity explained by SCoT marker can be very effective for characterization of genetic diversity in medicinal plants like giloe. 

Ritu Paliwal, Rakesh Singh, Amit Kumar Singh, Sundeep Kumar, Ashok Kumar and Rita Singh Majumdar (2013). International Journal of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants 3 (4):413-422.

 

 

 

3.

Isolation of a novel cold acclimation specific gene from white clover (Co-PI)

For the first time a cold acclimation specific (CAS) gene tricas15, was isolated from cold tolerant ecotype of white clover. Expression of tricas15 was specific to cold. Therefore, it could be involved in key step in imparting cold stress.

Singh et al. (2012).Vegetos 25 (1) 354-361

 

(Please see Annexure-IV; S.No. 31)

 

4.

Development of a new marker system in plants

 

A new marker technique was developed and tested in three crops viz., jute, cotton and linseed.

 

Singh et al (2013). J. Plant Biochem. Biotech. DOI 10.1007/s13562-013-0199-5.

 

5.

Submitted bio project of Tinospora cardifolia Accession: PRJNA188660 ID: 188660

Submission: Registration date: 6-Feb-2013, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources to NCBI

6.

Submitted Bio project of Andrographis paniculata

Submission: Registration date: 6-Feb-2013, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources to NCBI

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sequence submitted to NCBI:

 

  1. JN398458 Isolation of cold acclimation specific gene cas15 from Trifoliumrepens.
  2. JX234573 Isolation of COR 15 like sequence from Trifoliumrepens.
  3. Submitted two Bio projects to NCBI. (1) Tinospora cardifolia Accession: PRJNA188660 ID: 188660, Submission: Registration date: 6-Feb-2013, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, (2) Andrographis paniculate Accession: PRJNA188661 ID: 188661, Submission: Registration date: 6-Feb-2013, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.

 

 

  1.  Deputation abroad in last 10 years :
  • On deputation from 1st - 6thDecember 2014 for participating in “Heat and DroughtWheatImprovement Consortium Conference (2-4thDecember 2014) and 1st face-to-face meeting of the Expert Working Group on WheatPhenotyping (5thDecember, 2014) at Frankfurt, Germany.

 

  • On deputation from 9th – 13th November 2015 for participating in “EPPN Plant Phenotyping Symposium (11-12th November 2015) and 2nd face-to-face meeting of the Expert Working Group on Wheat Phenotyping (10th November, 2015) at Barcelona, Spain.
  • On deputation from Sep 28-Oct 04, 2018 to visit the rust screening facility at Njoro, Kenya for strengthening collaboration with CIMMYT by sharing expertise and ideas regarding latest development on the Ug99 wheat stem rust.

 

     
Awards/Honours:
  • BOYSCAST Fellow - 2008.
  • DAAD fellow - 2004.
  • Fellow of National Academy of Biological Sciences (NABS), Chennai, India for the year 2021. 
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences, India-2023
  • Italian Government Short Term Fellowship in 2004.
  • Distinguished Scientist Award 2020 for contribution to the field of Plant Genetic Resources. The award was conferred during International Web Conference on “Global Research Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture & Allied Sciences (GRISAAS-2020) during 28-30 December, 2020
  • Elected ISGPB Fellow 2018 for my achievements and outstanding contribution in the field of Genetics and Plant Breeding and the award was conferred during 1st National Genetics Congress on 14 Dec, 2018 at IARI, New Delhi. 
  • Distinguished Scientist Award 2017 in the field of Plant Biotechnology at Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur (Rajasthan), India
  • Young Scientist Associate Award 2012 during the International Conference on “Impact of Technological Tools on Food Security under Global Warming Scenario (ITTFS-2012)” for my contribution in the field of wheat molecular breeding
  • Young Scientist Award 2015 during National Conference on “Sustainable Agriculture Development through Biotechnological Techniques and its Impact on Food Security, Human Welfare and Climate”, February 28 to March 1, 2015.
  • R.S. Paroda Young Scientist Award 2012 for significant contributions in the field of Plant Genetic Resources.
  • Young Scientist Award 2012 during 14th Indian Agricultural scientists & Farmers’ Congress, 2012.
  • University merit scholarship during PhD program.
  • ASRB (ICAR)-National Eligibility Test (NET) in Plant Breeding in 1999 & 2001.
  • UGC-CSIR NET in Life Sciences in 2001.

Member of: 

     *Expert Working Group on Wheat Phenotyping working globally headed by INRA, France.

  • The Society for Green World and Sustainable Environment
  • Society for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences
  • The Indian Society of Genetics & Plant Breeding
  • Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources
  • Society for Plant Research
  • Society for Recent Development in Agriculture
     
Recent Publications Research Papers
1.  Kumar S, Phogat BS, Vikas VK, Sharma AK, Saharan MS, Singh AK, et al. (2019). 

Mining of Indian wheat germplasm collection for adult plant resistance to leaf rust

PLOS One14(3)e0213468
2.  Sundeep Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Pummy Kumari, Kirti, Amit KumaR Singh and Rakesh Singh (2016). DNA fingerprinting and genetic diversity studies in wheat genotypes using SSR markersJournal of Environmental Biology37319-326
3.  Sundeep Kumar, Sunil Archak, R. K. Tyagi, Jagdish Kumar, Vikas VK, Sherry R. Jacob et al. (2016). Evaluation of 19,460 Wheat Accessions Conserved in the Indian National Genebank to Identify New Sources of Resistance to Rust and Spot Blotch DiseasesPLOS ONE11(12)11(12) e0167702
4.  Suneel Kumar, Marion S. Röder, Shashi Bhushan Tripathi, Sundeep Kumar, Ramesh Chand, Arun Kumar Joshi, Uttam Kumar (2015). Mendelization and fine mapping of a bread wheat spot blotch disease resistance QTLMolecular Breeding35218
5.  Singh Rakesh, Diganta Narzary, Jyoti Bhardwaj, Amit Kumar Singh, Sundeep Kumar and Ashok Kumar (2014). Molecular diversity and SSR transferability studies in Vetiver grass Industrial Crops and Products53187-198
6.  V. K. Vikas, M. Sivasamy, J. Kumar, P. Jayaprakash, S Kumar, R. parimalan, A Kumar, K Srinivasan, J. Radhamani, S R Jacob, M Yadav, J Rani, I S Bist, D C Bhandari, S Archak, M Datta R K Tyagi and K C Bansal (2014). Stem and leaf rust resistance in wild relatives of wheat with D genomeGenetic Resources and Crop Evolution61861-874
7.  Choudhury DR, Singh N, Singh AK, Kumar S, Srinivasan K, Tyagi RK, Ahmad A, Singh NK and Singh R (2014). Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of rice germplasm from North-Eastern region of India and development of a core germplasm setPLOS ONE9(11)e113094
8.  Nivedita Singh, Debjani Roy Choudhury, Amit Kumar Singh, Sundeep Kumar, Kalyani Srinivasan, R K Tyagi, N K Singh, Rakesh Singh (2013). Comparison of SSR and SNP markers in estimation of genetic diversity and population structure of Indian rice varietiesPLOS ONE8(12)e84136
9.  Sundeep Kumar, Prerna Kumari, Uttam Kumar, Monendra Grover, Amit Kumar Singh, Rakesh Singh, R. S. Sengar (2013). Molecular approaches for designing heat tolerant wheatJournal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology22(4)359-371
10.  Kumar S, Sehgal S K, Kumar U, Prasad PVV, Joshi AK and Gill BS (2012). Genomic characterization of drought tolerance related traits in spring wheatEuphytica186265-276
     
 
Disclaimer:
The contents of this page are personal information/views of the staff. NBPGR is neither responsible for the contents or reliability nor endorses the views expressed within them.
     
Last Updated : 17/12/2023