Plant Biotic Interactions Lab 

A.    Understanding the biology of plant-insect interactions is of potential economic significance and can help farmers in India. Identification of mechanisms that enable or dissuade herbivory of crops and native flora by lesser studied, tropical Lepidoptera can aid in development of novel strategies that augment (i) traditional plant breeding (ii) management practices and (iii) sustainable biotechnologies for controlling insect pests and promoting growth of indigenous silkworms. Plant protease inhibitors (PPI) are major products of defense cascades activated in most plant species upon herbivory by lepidopteran larvae. It is well established that insects can overcome deleterious effects of ingesting some PPI by mechanisms that include differential expression of genes encoding digestive proteases in-sensitive to ingested inhibitors. We are interested in understanding the production of PPI in various species of host plants and their effects on selected tropical lepidopteran pests and beneficial insects using biochemical and molecular approaches.

B.    Insect-transmitted, plant begomoviruses cause leaf curl disease in papaya in North India. Curling of leaves reduces photosynthetic efficiency and results in severe yield loss in the region. We are interested in studying the temporal and spatial diversity of viral genomes in symptomatic papaya and in identifying genomic regions that can be used for developing papayas resistant to these viruses. In order to improve management practices, we are also attempting to monitor and detect these viruses in weed crops that are grown in the vicinity of papaya fields and can act as potential reservoirs facilitating begomovirus persistence, transmission and evolution.

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C.    We have been studying microbial communities associated with establishment of native plant species at mined-out sites in central India. The long-term ecological restoration program, supported by the Steel Authority of India and Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, is led by the famous Indian restoration ecologist, CR Babu, Professor emeritus, University of Delhi, along with local stakeholders. Restoration efforts over 15 years have yielded dramatic establishment of green cover. These successful efforts have been possible due to participation of local communities, who in turn, have benefitted from the restoration program.