AgriGenomics India Agenda

Registration

Inauguration

Coffee Break and Networking Session

Crops for Dry and Saline Lands: Forward and Reverse Genetics Approaches
Ashwani Pareek , Professor, JNU, Adjunct Professor at University of Western Australia, India

This talk will discuss the effect of salinity on crop productivity and various OMICS platforms employed to dissect out the complex traits of salinity tolerance in rice. It will discuss regarding raising of transgenic indica rice plants which are altered in expression for osmosensor or stress receptor gene that helps in understanding the role of this gene in salinity response. Further, it will also highlight how mutations induced using gamma radiations helps in creating salinity- tolerant mutants along with their further characterization through markers and molecular tools.

Lunch Break and Networking Session

Genomics Assisted Breeding: Potential, Progress and Limitations
Kuldeep Singh, Senior Molecular Geneticist (Professor), Punjab Agricultural University, India

In this talk, Potential, Progress and Limitations of Genomics Assisted Breeding will be covered. It will discuss regarding genome research and the ways in which genomics tools can be used for further improving and sustaining crop productivity in more precise way. Further, it will highlight how hybridization based DNA markers RFLPs, PCR based markers RAPD, AFLP™ , SSR, sequence based markers SNPs and GBS has revolutionized the approach for looking at both qualitative and quantitative traits and how using these markers comprehensive linkage maps have been developed. Finally, some examples will also be discussed along with the applications of Genome Research in Crop Improvement. 

Genomics Research in Plant Breeding
C T Ganesh, Research Scientist Agriscience, ITC Limited, India

The presentation would discuss some of the developments in genomics and their relevance in impacting the speed and efficiency towards sustainable plant breeding applications.

Coffee Break and Networking Session

Functional Genomics Studies in Chlorophytum borivilianum, A Plant with High Medicinal Value
Kashmir Singh, Assistant Professor, Panjab University, India

This talk will discuss regarding the high throughput transcriptome sequencing of Chlorophytum borivilianum. Further, it will cover the applications ofavailable (e.g., De-Bruijn/Eulerian graph) and in-house developed bioinformatics tools for assembly and annotation of transcriptome. In addition, it will highlight the discovery of few genes of alkaloid biosynthesis, Anticancer and Plant Defence Genes, several cytochrome P450 (CYP450) and glycosyltransferase unique sequences, simple sequence repeat motifs and expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Finally it will discuss the benefit of this study for the scientific community, interested in the molecular genetics and functional genomics of C. borivilianum.

The pursuits in Computational Genomics: A journey since 2010, at SCBB CSIR-IHBT
Ravi Shankar, Scientist, CSIR Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, India

This presentation will cover the methods and analysis protocols developed at SCBB from resolving transcriptome to understanding the regulatory dynamics of existence. This includes de novo transcriptome discovery and analysis using NGS data, understanding the miRNAs and developing some advanced algorithms to find miRNAs, their targets and networks, and important advances in understanding plant regulomics.

End of First Day of Conference

Functional Genomic Approaches for Plant Adaptation under Stress Conditions
Anil Singh, Senior Scientist, ICAR-Indian Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, India

This talk will present how functional genomics approaches are exploited to identify and characterize genes involved in plant stress tolerance. It will also discuss regarding identification of NAC transcription factor (TF) family in potato and NBS-LRR disease resistance gene family which may be important candidate genes for engineering stress/disease tolerance in plants. Further, it will also cover the development of transgenic Arabidopsis which is overexpressing PaSOD and RaAPX genes and leads to enhanced and ectopic deposition of lignin in vascular tissues.

Understanding Molecular Basis of Heterosis or Hybrid Vigour
Sanjay Kapoor, Associate Professor, University of Delhi, India

This presentation will highlight the model proposed for manifestation of Heterosis. Further, it will also discuss how the mixing of two adequately distant genomes results in differential expression of a number of genes and affect a few major regulatory pathways in a positive or negative manner. Eventually, it will explore how the net positivity or negativity in the system defines the state and extents of heterosis.

Functional Genomics Approach to Identify Genes/Alleles for Important Agronomic Traits in Rice
Rajeshwari Ramanan, Senior Principal Scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, India

This talk will highlight the effects of over expression of transcription factor, OsEREBP1 in rice. Further, it will discuss how Comparative analysis of non-transgenic and OsEREBP1 overexpressing genotypes confers drought and submergence tolerance in transgenic rice.  

Coffee Break and Networking Session

Poster Evaluation

Lunch Break and Networking Session

Genetic Characterization and Engineering of Algae for Biofuel
Shashi Kumar Rhode, Principal Investigator & Team Leader, ICGEB, India

This talk will highlight DNA barcode Technology for the genetic Identification of Algal Species. Further, it will also discuss how genetic Engineering of an algal Strain using BnDGAT2 facilitates economically viable Biofuels production.

Functional Genomic Studies in the Versatile Moss, Physcomitrella patens
Meenu Kapoor, Associate Professor, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, India

In this talk, epigenetic studies and role of DNA methylation machinery in Abiotic Stress Tolerance of Physcomitrella patens will be highlighted. In addition, Functional genomic studies related to the chromomethylases, PpCMT, DNA methylase 2, PpDNMT2 and the chromatin remodeling protein, PpDDM1 will be discussed.

Targeting Phytic Acid Biosynthesis Pathway Genes in Hexaploid wheat to Enhance Iron-Bioavailability
Ajay Kumar Pandey, Scientist E, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, India

This presentation will discuss approaches directed to metabolically alter the level of phytic acid (antinutrient) to enhance iron bioavailability. The present talk will discuss the identification of the Phytic Acid pathway genes from wheat and its functional validation in yeast mutants. Additionally, RNAi wheat plants are now generated for achievening low wheat phytate. Biochemical and molecular analysis is currently underway. Other approaches to achieve LPA will also be reflected.

Poster Award Presentation & Vote of Thanks

Coffee Break and End of Conference