Research Projects

Chickpea is the third largest cultivated legume crop in the world. It has very high nutrition value (59.6% carbs, 3.2% minerals, and 24% protein) which is very crucial to meet the nutrition demand in developing countries and alternative to animal origin foods in the human diet. Currently, India is the largest producer in the world with staggering 75% (FAO 2022). The highly polyphagous Helicoverpa armigera (pod borer) is a major insect pest of chickpea and contributes to 40%-50% crop losses in chickpea. Currently, no sustainable methods or insect resistant lines are available for crop protection from this notorious pest. In proposed project, the host lab will study the function of receptor like kinases in herbivory associated signal perception and activation of defense responses with following objectives: (1) Transcriptomic profiling of early signaling genes upon Helicoverpa armigera infestation; (2) Identification of receptor like protein kinases involved in herbivory response; (3) Generation of calcium reporter lines in chickpea; (4) Characterization of selected receptor like protein kinases in plant defense response upon herbivory. Objective 1 and 2 will focus on selection of receptor like kinases involved in signal perception. Objective 3 will generate valuable calcium reporter lines in chickpea which could be used for plant immune response and various studies. Objective 4 will focus on functional characterization of selected receptor like kinases in plant defense response upon insect herbivory. Overall, the outcomes of the project will not only increase our fundamental understanding of plant defense responses against insect pests but also help us to design sustainable strategies to develop insect-resistant crop plants.