Name : Dr. Vikrant Gupta Designation : Chief Scientist Address : CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Near Kukrail Picnic Spot, P.O.- CIMAP Lucknow 226015, U.P., India E. mail : v[dot]gupta[at]cimap[dot]res[dot]in Contact No : (+91) 9936470155 Epabx No. : 552 Download Resume Area of Specialization Dr. Vikrant’s lab has been working in the area of Plant Molecular Biology & Plant Genomics. Current focus of the laboratory is on structural & functional genomics of economically important Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (MAPs). Secondary metabolites that are produced by MAPs have pharmaceutical importance for health and wellbeing of human kind. These are synthesized in very limited amounts in planta, and their biosynthesis is tightly regulated at the molecular and developmental levels. In many medicinal/aromatic plants these metabolites are synthesized or stored in specialized tissue/organs such as glandular trichomes, root tissue, etc. Generation of genomics/transcriptomis resources for gene mining and utilization is the key for improving the quality of medicinal/aromatic plants in terms of bioactive secondary molecules. His laboratory has been focusing on the modulation of secondary metabolism in selected MAPs through genomics and molecular interventions. To understand the regulation of secondary metabolism, few transcription factor encoding genes from selected medicinal/aromatic plants have been identified and are being functionally characterized. Apart from transcription factors, miRNAs from medicinal plants are also identified to investigate their role(s) in secondary metabolism. Moreover, the laboratory has been focusing in understanding the molecular aspects of development of glandular trichomes and root biomass in selected MAPs. Few trichome development-related gene homologs from Artemisia annua as a model medicinal plant have been identified and studied in details at the molecular level. Root development gene homolog(s) are being studied in Withania somnifera for improvement in root architecture and biomass. The aspect of abiotic stresses and signal transduction through kinases that affect the secondary metabolism in medicinal plants are also being investigated. Such genes have immense potential as biotechnological tool for metabolic engineering in plants and have great industrial impact and societal benefits. Moreover, the trichome- and root-specific genes would provide tissue-specific promoters for targeted expression of genes plants. Education M.Sc. Molecular Biology & Biotechnology Ph.D. Plant Molecular Biology Academic/Research Experience CSIR-CIMAP, - Senior Scientist (October 2007- October 2011 ) CSIR-CIMAP, - Principal Scientist (October 2011- October 2016 ) CSIR-CIMAP, - Senior Principal Scientist (October 2016- till date ) Honours and Awards Publication Soni R, Shankar G, Mukhopadhyay P, Gupta V . A concise review on Artemisia annua L.: a major source of diverse medicinal compounds. Industrial Crops & Products 2022 Rajakani R, Prakash P, Ghosliya D, Soni R, Singh A, Gupta V . Azadirachta indica MicroRNAs: Genome-wide identification, target transcript prediction, and expression analyses. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology 2021 Biswas T, Mathur, A, Gupta V, Luqman S, Mathur AK . Elicitation and phenylalanine precursor feeding based modulation of in vitro anthocyanin production, enzyme activity and gene expression in an Indian ginseng congener- Panax sikkimensis Ban. Industrial Crops & Products 2020 Biswas T, Mathur A, Gupta V, Singh M, Mathur AK . Salicylic acid and ultrasonic stress modulated gene expression and ginsenoside production in differentially affected Panax quinquefolius (L.) and Panax sikkimensis (Ban.) cell suspensions. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 2019 Khan S, Upadhyay S, Khan F, Tandon S, Shukla RK, Ghosh S, Gupta V, Banerjee S, Rahman L . Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals candidate genes for the biosynthesis of natural insecticide in Tanacetum cinerariifolium. BMC Genomics 2018 Prakash P, Rajakani R, Gupta V. Transcriptome-wide identification of Rauvolfia serpentina microRNAs and prediction of their potential targets. Computational Biology and Chemistry 2016 Khan F, Qidwai T, Shukla RK, Gupta V . Alkaloids Derived from Tyrosine: Modified Benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline Alkaloids. K.G. Ramawat, J.M. Merillon (eds.), Handbook of Natural Products, Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, Article 0015. (doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-22144-6_15.) 2013 Pandey D, Gupta A, Gupta V . Genomics Technology. Kumar A, Pareek A, Gupta SM (eds.), Biotechnology in Medicine and Agriculture - Principles and Practices, I. K. International Publishing House Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India, pp. 142-163 2012 Tyagi AK, Khurana JP, Khurana P, Kapoor S, Singh VP, Singh AK, Thakur JK, Gupta V, Anand S, Vij S, Jain M, Ray S, Agarwal P, Arora R, Sharma P, Mukherjee S, Nijhawan A, Giri J, Khurana R . Expression and functional analysis of rice genes involved in reproductive development and stress response. Brar DS, Mackill DJ, Hardy B (eds.) Rice Genetics V, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, pp. 313-330. 2007 Tyagi AK, Khurana JP, Sharma AK, Mohanty A, Dhingra A, Raghuvanshi S, Mukhopadhyay A, Gupta V, Anand S, Kathuria H, Bhushan S, Thakur J, Kumar D . Organ-specific gene expression and genetic transformation for improving rice. Khush GS, Brar DS, Hardy B (eds). Advances in Rice Genetics. Pp. 552-555, IRRI, Manila 2003 Patents File No Title Inventors Patent No. Abstract