Scientists

Research Highlights

Germplasm conservation of spices, industrial and plantation crops:

• Cryopreservation of target crops using different cryogenic approaches
• Medium term conservation of target crops using in vitro conservation strategies
• Genetic stability assessment of in vitro conserved and cryopreserved germplasm using various molecular approaches

Functional genomics

• Identification of microRNAs in pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) to identify insect specific miRNA targets for insect  control
• Identification and characterization of herbivory responsive microRNA in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) and its CWR C. scarabaeoides to understand insect host interactions
• QTL mapping of apple for growth traits, namely, tree branching habit and initiation of vegetative bud break

 Marker Development

• EST based SSR markers developed for cauliflower, Rubus, peach, apple, Indian mustard, Musa spp. Gentiana spp. and Bunium persicum

Genetic diversity analysis

• Different crops analysed using various molecular markers – Apple, Stevia, Rubus spp., Peach, Indian mustard, Bunium persicum

Projects being Handled 

Publications

• Malhotra EV, R Jain, S Tyagi, K Venkat Raman, S Bansal, R Aminedi, D Pattanayak (2022). Comparative analysis of herbivory responsive miRNAs to delineate pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera) resistance mechanisms in Cajanus cajan and its wild relative Cajanus scarabaeoides, Plant Cell Reports, 41: 1147–1161

• Malhotra EV, R Jain, S Tyagi, K Venkat Raman, S Bansal, D Pattanayak (2022). Identification of dynamic microRNA associated with systemic defence against Helicoverpa armigera infestation in Cajanus scarabaeoides, Pest Management Science, 78: 3144-3154
• Sharma N*, EV Malhotra*, R Chandra, R Gowthami, SM Sultan, Bansal S, M Shankar, Agrawal A (2022). Cryopreservation and genetic stability assessment of regenerants of the critically endangered medicinal plant Dioscorea deltoidea Wall. ex Griseb. for cryobanking of germplasm, In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant, 58: 521–529 (equal contribution)
• Deepak DA, EV Malhotra, M Shankar, A Agrawal (2022). Improved Micropropagation Protocol and Molecular Marker Based Genetic Stability Assessment of Black Pepper (Piper nigrum L.), Indian Journal of Plant Genetic Resources, 35: 264-274

• Bansal S, A Kumar, AA Lone, MH Khan, EV Malhotra, R Singh (2022). Development of novel genome-wide simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers in Bunium persicum, Industrial Crops and Products, 178: 

• Malhotra EV, M Kamalapriya, S Bansal, DPS Meena, A Agrawal (2021). Improved protocol for micropropagation of genetically uniform plants of commercially important cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant, 57: 409–417
• Malhotra EV, R Jain, S Bansal, SC Mali, N Sharma, A Agrawal (2021). Development of a new set of genic SSR markers in the genus Gentiana: in silico mining, characterization and validation, 3 Biotech, 11: 430
• Bansal S, K Sharma, V Gautam, AA Lone, EV Malhotra, S Kumar, R Singh (2021). A Comprehensive Review of Bunium persicum: A Valuable Medicinal Spice, Food Reviews International, https://doi.org/10.1080/87559129.2021.1929305
• Sharma N, Gowthami R, S Vimala Devi, Malhotra EV, R Pandey and A Agrawal (2021). ?Cryopreservation of shoot tips of Gentiana kurroo Royle – a critically endangered medicinal plant of India. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 144:67-72 
• Saini RP, Raman V, Dhandapani G, Malhotra EV, Sreevathsa R, Kumar PA, Sharma TR and Pattanayak D. (2018). Silencing of HaAce1 gene by host-delivered artificial microRNA disrupts growth and development of Helicoverpa armigera, Plos One, 13(3):  doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0194150

• Singh BK, Choudhary SB, Yadav S, Malhotra EV, Rani R, Ambawat S, Priyamedha, Pandey A, Kumar R, Kumar S, Sharma HK, Singh DK, Rai PK. (2018). Genetic structure identification and assessment of interrelationships between Brassica and allied genera using newly developed genic-SSRs of Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea L.), Industrial Crops & Products, 113: 111–120
• Saini RP, EV Malhotra, R Sreevathsa, P Ananda Kumar, D Pattanayak, TR Sharma (2017) Two acetylcholinesterase isoforms genes, HaAce1 and HaAce2, express differentially in various developmental stages of Helicoverpa armigera.  Indian Research Journal of Genetics & Biotechnology 9 (2): 317 – 323
• Samriti, R Kaur, Shilpa, EV Malhotra, Poonam, D Thakur, K Kumar (2017) Assessment of genetic diversity in Rubus ellipticus (Smith) using molecular markers. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy 83 (3): 669-679
• Singh BK, Mishra DC, Yadav S, Ambawat S, Vaidya E, Tribhuvan KU, Kumar A, Kumar S, Kumar S, Chaturvedi KK, Rani R, Yadav P, Rai A, Singh VV, Rai PK and Singh D (2016). Identification, characterization, validation and cross-species amplification of genic-SSRs in Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea), Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 24(4): 410-420
• Rani R, Yadav P, Kulkarni KM, Baliyan N, Malhotra EV, Singh BK, Kumar A, Singh D (2016). CRISPR/Cas9: A promising way to introduce genetic variation in plants, Biotechnology Letters, 38(12): 1991–2006
• Sharma N, R Kaur, E Vaidya (2016) Potential of RAPD versus ISSR markers for assessing genetic diversity among Stevia rebaudiana accessions Indian Journal of Biotechnology 15: 95
• Yadav P, E Vaidya, R Rani, NK Yadav, BK Singh, PK Rai, D Singh (2016) Recent Perspective of Next Generation Sequencing: Applications in Molecular Plant Biology and Crop Improvement Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences 88: 435–449
• Vaidya E, Kaur R, Kumar K and Sharma N (2015). Exploitation of Malus ESTs for development of SSR markers after in silico analysis, Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality, 88: 164 – 169
• Kaur R, Shilpa, E Vaidya, K Kumar (2015) Development, Characterization and Transferability of Peach Genic SSRs to some Rosaceae species Advances in Research 3 (2): 165-180
• Kaur R, E Vaidya (2015) Analysis of frequency and functional annotation of SSRs in ESTs of cole crops Journal of Applied Life Sciences International 2 (4): 189-196
• Vaidya E, Kaur R and Bhardwaj SV (2012). Data mining of ESTs to develop dbEST-SSRs for use in a polymorphism study in cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis), Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 87(1): 57–63

Book Chapters: 10

Abstracts: >30

1. Best oral presentation award for the paper entitled ‘Characterization of microRNAs and their target genes in Cajanus scarabaeoides (L.) Thouars – a crop wild relative of pigeonpea’ during the 3rd Global Meet on Science and Technology for Ensuring Food and Nutritional Security, 2019, at ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices Ajmer, organized by Hi Tech Horticultural Society, Meerut.
2. Best oral presentation award for the paper entitled ‘Comparative transcriptome analysis of Helicoverpa armigera larvae during differential host feeding’ at the 3rd International Conference on Bioresource and Stress Management, Jaipur 2017, organized by ICAR, Visva Bharti University, RKM Foundation and Society for Bioresource and Stress Management.

3. SERB - Early Career Research Award (2017) with a project grant for three years

4. Foreign Visit Grant: Nominated to attend proteomics course at Functional Genomics Centre in Zurich (FGCZ) Switzerland under the Indo-Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology (ISCB), jointly organized by the Indo-Swiss Collaboration in Biotechnology (ISCB) and the Functional Genomics Centre in Zurich (FGCZ), Switzerland, March 2017.

5. University Gold Medal in Ph. D. (2014) by Dr. Y. S. Parmar UHF, Solan (H.P.) - University Topper

6. University Gold Medal in M. Sc. (2010) by Dr. Y. S. Parmar UHF, Solan (H.P.) - University Topper

7. Gold Medal, Citation and Certificate of Honour (2011, 2015) by Himotkarsh Sahitya Sanskriti Avem Jan Kalyan Parishad, H.P. for academic excelence in M. Sc and Ph. D.

8. Certificate of Honour and Merit by Dr. Y. S. Parmar UHF, Solan (H.P.) during M. Sc (2010) and Ph. D. (2014)

9. Best Thesis Award - 2011 for M. Sc Research by The Society for Advancement of Human and Nature

10. NET (National Eligibility Test) - 2013; and GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) - 2011 qualified