Nationality Date of Birth Address for Communication Tel Fax Email

Indian 22 April 1966 Assistant Professor Department of Biotechnology Alagappa University Karaikudi 630 003 Tamil Nadu INDIA + 91 4565 225215 + 91 4565 225202 ramesh_bioteck@yahoo.com

Field of Specialization : Plant Biotechnology

 
Academic awards & Research Fellowships Availed :

1.1988 :Ananthalakshmi Ramulu Iyer Prize for Proficiency in Botany (B.Sc.,)

2.1988 :NarasimhaIyengar Prize for Proficiency in Chemistry&Zoology (B.Sc.,)

3. 1 992 : CSIR-NET Junior Research Fellowship, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi.

Membership in Professional Bodies : Society of Biological Chemists, India(Life Member)

The Indian Science Congress Association(Life Member)

No. of Conferences/Workshops/

Seminars/Symposia attended : 36

No. Of Ph.D., students guiding : 2

Research Interest

Our Group’s research interest includes (i) genetic transformation of food crops and commercially important medicinal plants and (ii) ex situ conservation of medicinal plants through various biotechnological approaches.

In the recent years, interest in the in vitro propagation of medicinal plants and their conservation has increased considerably due to their pharmaceutical and commercial values. Micropropagation becomes the most beneficial way to propagate endangered and red listed medicinal plants that are difficult to propagate by conventional methods. It involves selection of suitable explants(shoot tip, node, internodes and axillary bud) from field grown or in vitro grown herbs, surface sterilization and culture initiation by placing them on suitable nutrient media with hormones to induce shoots directly at high frequency. In vitro propagation has been standardized in our lab on economically and commercially important plants like Bacopa monnieri , Daemia extensa, Wattakaka volubilis, Asparagus, Capsicum annuum and Catharanthus roseus. We are currently working on ex situ conservation of ayurvedic important medicinal plant Bacopa monnieri using conventional approaches like synthetic seeds , plant re-growth after storage for long time and genetic analysis of these plants using RAPD analysis before reintroduction into wild.

Our group is also working on the genetic improvement of indica rice varieties using in vitro tissue culture techniques and Agrobacterium vectors as tools. We have developed reproducible protocols for high frequency plant regeneration and Agrobacterium mediated delivery of T-DNA containing selection marker genes, reporter genes and useful genes like P5CS into embryogenic callus cultures of IR 64 and local indica rice ADT 43.

List of Publications

1. Manikandan Ramesh , Karuppa pillai Vijayakumar, Alagarsamy Karthikeyan, Shanmugiah Karutha Pandian. RAPD based genetic stability analysis among micropropagated, synthetic seed derived and hardened plants of Bacopa monnieri (L.): a threatened indian medicinal herb. Acta physiologiae plantarum. DOI 10.1007/S 11738-010-0534-6. (IF:1.232)
2. Alagarsamy Kathikeyan,Shunmugiah Thevar Karutha Pandian and Manikandan Ramesh(2009) High frequency plant regeneration from embryogenic callus of a popular indica rice (Oryza sativa L.) Physiology Molecular Biology of Plants 15(4) 371 – 375.
3. M.Ramesh , V.Murugiah and A.K.Gupta (2009). Efficient plant regeneration from leaf base segments of indica rice. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 47, 68 – 74 (Impact Factor: 0. 55).
4. Ramseh M , Marx R, Mathan G and Karutha Pandian S (2008). Effect of bavistin on in vitro plant conversion from encapsulated uninodal microcuttings of micropropagated Bacopa monnieri (L.) –An ayurvedic herb. Journal of Environmental Biology 30:441-444 [Triveni Enterprises, Lucknow (India); ISSN: 0254-8704] (Impact Factor: 1.359) .
5. Ramesh .M , A.Selvam and S.Karutha Pandian (2007) Cytokinin induced multiple shoot induction from node explants of Daemia extensa (Jacq.) R.B – A potentially important medicinal plant. Asian Journal of Bioscience. 2(1) 18 – 21.
6. M. Ramesh and A.K. Gupta (2006) Genetic transformation of embryogenic callus cultures of indica rice using particle bombardment and selection of stably transformed hygromycin resistant plants. Asian Journal of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Environmental Science. 8 (3). 617 – 622.
7. M.Ramesh , R.M.Saravanakumar and S.Karutha Pandian (2006) Benzyl amino purine and Adenine sulphate induced rapid multiple shoot and root induction from nodal explants of brahmi {Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst}. Natural Product Radiance Vol 5(1), 44 – 51
8. Ramesh, M and Gupta, A.K (2005) Assessment of transient expression of ß-glucuronidase gene in callus cultures after different stages of cobombardment. African Journal of Biotechnology. 4 (7), 596 – 600.(Impact Factor:0.565)

 Ongoing Research Projects:

• UGC Major Research Project (as PI) (2009 – 2011)

Title of the Project : In vitro selection & Agrobacterium mediated transformation studies for developing drought and salinity tolerant indica rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Name of the funding

Agency: : University Grants Commission, New Delhi

Research Projects Completed:

1. DBT, Special Programme Division Project (2001 – 2003)

Title of the Project : Cultivation of Oyster Mushroom & Processing

Name of the Funding : Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi. Agency

 2. UGC Minor Research Project (2007 – 2009)

Title of the Project : In vitro micropropagation from different explants of Jatropha curcas. L - A potential energy source for the mass production of renewable energy (Bio-diesel).

Name of the Funding : University Grants Commission, New Delhi Agency