Alagappa University (A State University Accredited by NAAC with 'A' Grade) Department of Biotechnology |
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Prof. S. Karutha Pandian |
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MY RESEARCH INTEREST |
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Our Group’s research interest revolves around (i) Marine Microbial Genomics/ Biotechnology and (ii) Medical Microbiology.
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The marine environment is a potential gold mine as it consists of a number of natural products ranging from drugs to enzymes which can be employed for industrial purpose. Scientific data points out that most of these natural products are secreted by marine microorganism present in and around the marine environment. These secondary metabolites secreted by micro organisms can be tapped and used as novel drugs and enzymes. We are currently working on molecular identification of microbiota associated with marine ecosystem using 16S rRNA genes in conjunction with Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis (ARDRA) and T-RFLP. Culture dependent as well as culture independent approaches are being adopted for tapping the marine microbial resources for biotechnological prospects. These bacteria are screened for antibiofilm and antiquorum sensing compounds and the extracts of many of the isolates were turned out to be positive against human and aquaculture pathogens. We have also identified bacterial isolates from marine sediments which produce a wide range of industrially important enzymes like amylase, protease, lipase and gelatinase. Large scale production, purification and characterization of these enzymes for industrial applications are underway. Metagenomic libraries are also being constructed using plasmid and Fosmid vectors for marine sediment, sea water and mangrove ecosystem with an objective of isolating novel genes through sequence / function driven analysis. Our group is also working on the molecular epidemiology of Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptococcus) and species specific marker development for rapid and accurate detection of this human specific pathogen. We have developed a SCAR marker for detection of S. pyogenes from clinical specimens and identified novel compounds from marine bacteria for inhibition of biofilm formation in S. pyogenes.
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ONGOING SPONSORED RESEARCH PROJECTS: |
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1. CSIR’s NMITLI Project on Biotechnology for Leather- Phase II (as PI). |
| Title of the Project: | Further Evaluation and Formulation of Natural and Synthetic Products for Preservation of Goat Skin and Evaluation and Validation of Marine Bacterial Enzymes for Application in Leather Industry. |
| Name of the Funding Agency: | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi (under New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) Scheme). |
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2. UGC Major Research Project (as PI) |
| Title of the Project: | Screening and molecular characterization of Group A Streptococcus by 16S rDNA sequencing and emm protein serotyping . |
| Name of the Funding Agency: | University Grants Commission, New Delhi . |
MAJOR SPONSORED RESEARCH PROJECTS COMPLETED: |
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1. CSIR NMITLI Project on Biotechnology for Leather (as PI) (incollaboration with 11 other National Laboratories and Universities) |
| Title of the Project: | Identification and cataloguing of microflora in skin by 16S rRNA gene typing, RAPD and multilocus DNA fingerprinting (under Biotechnology for Leather: Towards Cleaner Processing). |
| Name of the Funding Agency: | Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi (under (NMITLI) Scheme). |
2. DCI funded Sehthusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) (as Project Coordinator) (in collaboration with Departments of Oceanography and Coastal Area Studies and Industrial Chemistry of Alagappa University) |
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| Title of the Project: | Environmental Impact Monitoring (EIM) of Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) (Microbiological Parameters) |
| Name of the Funding Agency: | Dredging Corporation of India Limited, Visakhapatnam |
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3. DBT Marine Biotechnology project (as PI) (incollaboration with Fisheries College and Research Institute (Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University), Thoothukkudi 628 008, Tamil Nadu) |
| Title of the Project: | Evaluation of bacterial diversity associated with the coral Acropora digitifera by 16S rRNA gene sequences and screening for antiviral activity against the aquaculture pathogen blotched snakehead virus (BSNV) . |
| Name of the Funding Agency: | Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi. |
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