National Institute of Plant Genome Research
Digital India   Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav     
 
    Dr. Amarjeet Singh
    Staff Scientist IV
    Ph.D., University of Delhi South Campus
    Post-doctoral Fellow - Washington State University, USA
    Phone: 91-11-26735224, Extn - 224
    Email: amarjeet.singh@nipgr.ac.in, singh.amarjeet07@gmail.com
 Professional and Academic Background
Staff Scientist IV (2022- present): National Institute of Plant Genome Research
Staff Scientist III (2020- 2022): National Institute of Plant Genome Research
Staff Scientist II (2017- 2020): National Institute of Plant Genome Research
SERB-DST Young Scientist (2016 - 2017): University of Delhi South Campus
Post-doctoral Fellow (2014-2015): Washington State University, Pullman, USA.
Ph.D. (2008-2014): Department of Plant Molecular Biology, University of Delhi South Campus.
M.Sc. (2005-2007): Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.
B.Sc.  (2002-2005): Hansraj College, University of Delhi
 Awards & Honors
Member of the "National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI)"
Pran Vohra Award - 2018-19 from Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).
Young Scientist Platinum Jubilee Award (2017) from the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI).

Life Member of the "Society for Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology"
Life Member of the "Biotech Research Society, India"
Life Member of the "Indian Society for Plant Physiology"
Life Member of the "Indian Botanical Society"
SERB-DST Young Scientist Award, 2015, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India
Young Investigator Award from RCB, 2015, Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India (not availed)
Dr. D.S. Kothari Post-doctoral Fellowship, 2015, (higher fellowship, not availed)
Ph.D. Young Scientist Travel Award, 2012, from American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), USA
Ph.D. student Foreign Travel Award, 2012, from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Membership of American Society of Plant Biologists (2014-2015).
Junior and Senior Research Fellowship, 2008-2013 from CSIR, India.
 Research Interests

Abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity hampers crop production and impose the problem of food security. Therefore, to combat the problem, there is need to develop the stress tolerant and high yielding crop varieties. Tolerance or susceptibility to abiotic stresses in plants is conferred by coordinated function of various genes, including those encoding enzymes such as kinases, phosphatases, phospholipases, transcription factors and transporters/channel proteins. Our group is interested in understanding molecular character and functional behavior of these key signaling components through, bioinformatics, molecular, cellular, biochemical and genetic approaches to dissect the signaling networks underlying abiotic stress adaptive mechanism in vital crop plant, rice (Oryza sativa).

Potassium (K+) deficiency adversely affects plant growth and development because K+ is required as a macronutrient in vital cellular processes such as metabolism, growth, enzyme activation, osmoregulation, and maintenance of membrane potential. Various abnormalities in plant growth and development under low-K+ conditions occur due to inhibition of essential biochemical and physiological events such as protein synthesis and photosynthesis. In order to counteract and adapt to K+ deficient environment it's inevitable to maintain cellular K+ homeostasis through efficient uptake and transport across different membranes. The K+ deficiency signaling and responses have been studied in model plant Arabidopsis but the knowledge is miniscule in important food crops. Therefore, our other major focus is to undertake a comprehensive functional study to understand K+ deficiency signaling and adaptive responses in crucial legume crop chick pea (Cicer arietinum) .

 Group Members
Sushma Sagar Ph.D. Student
DeepikaPh.D. Student
Kamali Saravanappriyan Ph.D. Student
Kamankshi Sonkar Ph.D. Student
Ankit Junior Research fellow  (JRF)
Ankita Sharma Project Associate
 Selected Publications
Ankit A, Singh A, Kumar S and Singh A* (2023) Morphophysiological and transcriptome analysis reveal that reprogramming of metabolism, phytohormones and root development pathways governs the potassium (K+) deficiency response in two contrasting chickpea cultivars. Frontiers in Plant Science. 13:1054821. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1054821
Poddar N, Deepika D, Chitkara P, Singh A*, Kumar S*. (2022) Molecular and expression analysis indicate the role of CBL interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) in abiotic stress signaling and development in chickpea. Scientific Reports, 12(1):16862. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-20750-2.
Kamali S, Singh A.* (2022) Jasmonates as emerging regulators of plants response to variable nutrient environment. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, DOI:10.1080/07352689. 2022.2109866
Ankit A, Kamali S, Singh A.* (2022) Genomic & structural diversity and functional role of potassium (K+) transport proteins in plants. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 208: 844-857.
Chitkara P, Poddar N, Singh A, Kumar S (2022) BURP domain containing genes in legumes: Genome-wide identification, structure, and expression analysis under stresses and development. Plant Biotechnology Reports, doi.org/10.1007/s11816-022-00752-2.
Deepika D, Poddar N, Kumar S*, Singh A* (2022) Molecular characterization reveals the involvement of calcium dependent protein kinases in abiotic stress signalling and development in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Frontiers in Plant Science, 13:831265.
Deepika D, Ankit, Jonwal S, Mali KV, Sinha AK, Singh A* (2021) Molecular analysis indicates the involvement of Jasmonic acid biosynthesis pathway in low-potassium (K+) stress response and development in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Environmental and Experimental Botany. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envexpbot. 2021.104753.
Deepika D, Singh A* (2021) Expression dynamics indicate the role of Jasmonic acid biosynthesis pathway in regulating macronutrient (N, P and K+) deficiency tolerance in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Plant Cell Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-021-02721-5.
Deepika D, Singh A* (2021) Plant phospholipase D: novel structure, regulatory mechanism, and multifaceted functions with biotechnological application. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2021.1924113.
Sagar S, Singh A*(2021) Emerging role of phospholipase C mediated lipid signaling in abiotic stress tolerance and development in plants. Plant Cell Reports. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-021-02713-5.
Sagar S, Deepika, Biswas DK, Chandrasekar R, Singh A* (2021) Genome-wide identification, structure analysis and expression profiling of phospholipases D under hormone and abiotic stress treatment in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 169; 264-273.
Deepika, Ankit, Sagar S. and Singh A.* (2020) Dark-Induced Hormonal Regulation of Plant Growth and Development. Frontiers in Plant Science. 11:581666.
Sagar S., Biswas DK., Singh A.* (2020) Genomic and expression analysis indicate the involvement of phospholipase C family in abiotic stress signaling in chickpea (Cicer arietinum). Gene, 753:144797.
Singh A, Yadav AK, Kaur K, Sanyal SK, Jha SK, Fernandes JL, Sharma P, Tokas I, Pandey A, Luan S, Pandey GK (2018) Protein Phosphatase 2C, AP2C1 Interacts with and Negatively Regulates the Function of CIPK9 under Potassium Deficient Conditions in Arabidopsis. Journal of Experimental Botany. 69(16): 4003-4015.
Singh A,*  Sagar S, Biswas DK (2017) Calcium Dependent Protein Kinase, a Versatile Player in Plant Stress Management and Development. Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences, 36(5-6): 336-352.
Singh A, Pandey A, Srivastava AK, Tran LSP, Pandey GK (2016) Plant protein phosphatase 2C: from genomic diversity to functional multiplicity and importance in stress management. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology.36(6): 1023–1035.
Singh A, Pandey GK (2016) How Phospholipase C regulates stress tolerance and development in plants? Journal of Cell Signaling.1:132.
Singh A, Pandey GK (2016) Phospholipase C break membrane lipids during plant adaptation under stress. Atlas of Science, 12 May.
Singh A, Jha SK, Bagri J, Pandey GK (2015) ABA inducible rice protein phosphatase 2C confers ABA insensitivity and abiotic stress tolerance in Arabidopsis. PLoS ONE.10(4), e0125168.
Singh A, Bhatnagar N, Pandey A, Pandey GK (2015) Plant phospholipase C family: regulation and functional role in lipid signaling. Cell Calcium. 58(2):139-46.
Pandey GK, Kanwar P, Singh A, Steinhorst L, Pandey A, Yadav AK, Tokas I,Sanyal S, Lee SC, Cheong YH, Kudla J, Luan S. (2015) CBL-interacting protein kinase, CIPK21, regulates osmotic and salt stress responses in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology.169:780-792.
Singh A and Pandey GK. (2015) Primer Design using Primer Express® for SYBR Green based Quantitative PCR. Methods in Molecular Biology. 1275:153-164.
Zeng H, Xu L, Singh A, Wang H, Du L, Poovaiah BW (2015) Involvement of Calmodulin and Calmodulin-like Proteins in Plant Response to Environmental Stress. Frontiers in Plant Science.6:600.
Singh A, Kanwar P, Yadav AK, Mishra M, Baranwal V, Pandey A, Kapoor S, Tyagi AK, Pandey GK (2014) Genome-wide expressional and functional analysis of calcium transport elements during abiotic stress and development in rice. FEBS Journal. 281:894-915.
Sharma M, Singh A, Shankar A, Pandey A, Baranwal V, Kapoor S,Tyagi AK, Pandey GK (2014) Comprehensive Expression Analysis of Rice Armadillo Gene Family During Abiotic Stress and Development. DNA Research.21(3): 267-283.
Singh A, Kanwar P, Pandey A, Tyagi AK, Sopory SK, Kapoor S, Pandey GK (2013) Comprehensive Genomic Analysis and Expression Profiling of Phospholipase C gene family during Abiotic Stress and Development in Rice. PLoS ONE. 8(4): e62494.
Shankar A, Singh A, Kanwar P, Srivastava AK, Pandey A, Suprasanna P, Kapoor S, Pandey GK (2013) Gene expression analysis of rice seedling under potassium deprivation reveals major changes in metabolism and signaling components. PLoS ONE. 8(7): e70321.
Mishra M, Kanwar P, Singh A, Pandey A, Kapoor S, Pandey GK (2013) Genome-wide Analysis of ABA Repressor1 (ABR1) Related Genes in Rice During Abiotic Stress and Development. Plant OMICS.17(8): 439-450.
Singh A, Baranwal V, Shankar A, Kanwar P, Ranjan R, Yadav S, Pandey A, Kapoor S, Pandey GK (2012) Rice phospholipase A superfamily: organization, phylogenetic and expression analysis during abiotic stresses and development. PLoS ONE.7(2): e30947.
Singh A, Pandey A, Baranwal V, Kapoor S, Pandey GK (2012) Comprehensive Expression Analysis of Rice Phospholipase D Gene Family during Abiotic Stresses and Development. Plant Signaling & Behavior. 7(7): 847-855.
Singh A, Pandey GK (2012) Protein phosphatases: A genomic outlook to understand the function in plants. Journal of Plant Biochemistry Biotechnology. 21(1 supplement):100-107.
Singh A, Giri J, Kapoor S, Tyagi AK, Pandey GK (2010) Protein phosphatase complement in rice: genome-wide identification and transcriptional analysis under abiotic stress conditions and reproductive development. BMC Genomics.  11:435. highly accessed article.
 Book Chapters
Ankit, Kamali S, Singh A* (2023) Jasmonic acid biosynthesis pathway and its functional role in plants. In Khan I, Singh A, Poor P (eds). Plant hormones in crop improvement. Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91886-2.00008-2
Deepika, Sonkar K, Singh A* (2023) Regulation of plants nutrient deficiency responses by phytohormones. In Khan I, Singh A, Poor P (eds). Plant hormones in crop improvement. Elsevier Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91886-2.00001-X
Sonkar K, Singh A* (2023) Phospholipase mediated regulation of plants response to nutrient deficiency. In Chakraborti S (eds.). Phospholipases in Physiology and Pathology. Elsevier Inc. In Press
Ankit and Singh A* (2021) Potassium (K+) transporters in plants: regulation and functional role in K+ uptake and homeostasis. In: Upadhyay SK (ed). Cation transporters in plants, Elsevier Inc. P 29-47
Kamali S and Singh A.* (2022) Genomics and transcriptomics approaches to understand abiotic stress response in rice. In Roychoudhury A (ed.). Omics Approach to Manage Abiotic Stress in Cereals. Springer. DOI: 10.1007/978-981-19-0140-9
Sagar S and Singh A* (2020) The Role of Extracellular ATP in Plant Abiotic Stress Signaling. In: Khan I, Singh A, Poór P (eds) Improving abiotic stress tolerance in plants, CRC Press, Baca Raton, USA. P 247-256.
Deepika, Mali KV, Kumar A, Singh A* (2020) Regulation of stress responses in plants by calcium dependent protein kinases. In: Pandey G.K. (eds) Protein kinases and stress signaling in plants: Functional genomic perspective, Wiley, (In press).
Sagar S and Singh A* (2020) Phospholipase C in Abiotic Stress-Triggered Lipid Signaling in Plants. In: Khan I, Singh A, Poór P (eds) Improving abiotic stress tolerance in plants, CRC Press, Baca Raton, USA. P 257-270.
Sagar S and Singh A* (2018) Abscisic acid, a principal regulator of plant abiotic stress responses.  In:  Khan I, Reddy SP, Ferrante A, Khan NS (eds).  Plant Signaling Molecules: Elsevier Publishers. P 341-373.
Singh A, Pandey A, Pandey GK (2012) Phospholipase D in stress activated lipid signaling in plants. In: Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva (ed.) Global Science Books, Plant Stress 6 (Special Issue 1):10-17.
 Book Edited
Improving Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants (2020) Ed: Khan I, Singh A, Poór P
CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group, USA. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201 /9780429027505 ISBN 9780367136246
Plant Hormones in Crop Improvement (2023). Eds: Khan MIR, Singh A, and Poor P, Elsevier Inc. ISBN: 978-0-323-91886-2.
 Guest Editor- Special Issues
Editors: Singh A, Zinta G, Roychoudhury A.
Special issue: Physiological and Molecular Aspects of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Plants. Journal: MDPI-Genes (IF: 4.141, ISSN 2073-4425), Open till August 15, 2023
Editors: Singh A,Yuan P
Special issue: Application of Genomics Methods for Crop Improvement. Journal: MDPI-Agronomy (IF: 3.949, ISSN 2073-4395), Open till October 31, 2023