• 2018 - Fellow of Indian National Science Academy
• 2013 - Fellow of The Indian Academy of Sciences
• 2009 - Fellow of The National Academy of Sciences, India
• 2013 - Fellow of West Bengal Academy of Science and Technology

• 2017 - NASI-Reliance Industries Platinum Jubliee Award
• 2015 - TATA Innovation Fellowship by the Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India.
• 2010 - National Bioscience Award for Career Development, DBT, Govt. of India
• 2006 - Prof. Umakant Sinha Memorial Award, Indian Science Congress Association

Our program focuses on two major areas of research, namely, improvement of tolerance to abiotic stresses (i.e. drought and salt) in higher plants by improving root traits, and genome sequencing and analyses.

Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Water and nutrient availability limits plant growth and ultimately the yield in all agricultural ecosystems. While the breeders in the past decades have made huge improvements by manipulating ‘shoot-based traits’, especially the reproductive qualities, the root, an important ecological topic has received less attention. There is still an immense potential to increase yields because the wide genetic variation trapped in roots has not been exploited properly so far. About one-third of earth’s aerable land is arid, and there are very few areas that are not subject to periodic drought. Our group focuses on mechanism of root growth under abiotic stress and thereby improving stress tolerance in plant. We have identified genes encoding transcription factors and kinases and demonstrated their role in root development during abiotic stresses. Our long-term goal is to use genetic engineering to improve root biomass and tolerance to abiotic stresses of important crops particularly, chickpea.

Genome Sequencing

Our laboratory is one of the three Indian centers that sequenced chromosome 5 of tomato genome. Chickpea is the third most important food legume crop. We have published an advanced draft genome assembly and analysis of a desi-type chickpea. We have also reported a draft genome assembly of the wild progenitor of chickpea, Cicer reticulatum. These genome assemblies are being utilized in our laboratory to map the quantitative trait loci responsible in chickpea for root development under water deficit using mapping populations in order to improve chickpea yield with less water.

• Meena MK, Vishwakarma NK, Tripathi V, Chattopadhyay D (2019) CBL-interacting protein kinase 25 contributes to root meristem development. Jour. Exp. Bot. 70(1):133-147
• Dwivedi V, Parida SK, Chattopadhyay D (2017) A repeat length variation in myo-inositol monophosphatase gene contributes to seed size trait in chickpea. Scientific Reports.  7:4764
• Khandal H, Parween S, Roy R, Meena MK, Chattopadhyay D. (2017) MicroRNA profiling provides insights into post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in chickpea root apex under salinity and water deficiency. Scientific Reports. 7:4632
• Sahu KK, Chattopadhyay D (2017) Genome-wide sequence variations between wild and cultivated tomato species revisited by whole genome sequence mapping. BMC Genomics 18:430
• Sardar A, Nandi AK, Chattopadhyay D (2017) CBL-interacting protein kinase 6 negatively regulates immune response to Pseudomonas syringae in Arabidopsis. J. Exp. Bot. doi:10.1093/jxb/erx170
• Gupta S, Nawaz K, Parween S, Roy R, Sahu KK, Pole AK, Khandal H, Srivastava R, Parida SK, Chattopadhyay D (2017) Draft genome sequence of Cicer reticulatum L., the wild progenitor of chickpea provides a resource for agronomic trait improvement. DNA Res. 24(1), 1-10
• Verma S, Gazara R, Nizam S, Parween S, Chattopadhyay D, Verma PK (2016) Draft genome sequencing and secretome analysis of fungal pathogen Ascochyta rabei provides insight into the necrotrophic effector repertoire. Scientific Reports. 6:24638
• Jain D, Khandal H, Khurana JP, Chattopadhyay D (2016) Pathogenesis related-10 protein CaARP functions as aldo/keto reductase to scavenge cytotoxic aldehydes. Plant Mol. Biol. 90: 171-187
• Meena MK, Ghawana S, Dwivedi V, Roy A, Chattopadhyay D (2015) Expression of chickpea CIPK25 enhances root growth and tolerance to dehydration and salt stress in transgenic tobacco. Front. Plant Sci. 6:683
• Gaur R, Jeena G, Shah N, Gupta S, Pradhan S, Tyagi AK, Jain M, Chattopadhyay D, Bhatia S (2015) High density linkage mapping of genomic and transcriptomic SNPs for synteny analysis and anchoring the genome sequence of chickpea. Scientific Reports 5:13387
• Parween S, Nawaz K, Roy R, Pole AK, Venkata Suresh B, Misra G, Jain M, Yadav G, Parida SK, Tyagi AK, Bhatia S, Chattopadhyay D (2015) An advanced draft genome assembly of a desi type chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Scientific Reports Doi: 10.1038/srep12806.
• Meena MK, Ghawana S, Sardar A, Dwivedi V, Khandal H, Roy R, Chattopadhyay D (2015) Investigation of genes encoding Calcineurin B-like protein family in legumes and their expression analyses in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) PLoS ONE (In Press)
• Misra G, Priya P, Bandhiwal N, Bareja N, Jain M, Bhatia S, Chattopadhyay D, Tyagi AK and Yadav G (2014) The Chickpea Genomic Web Resource: Visualization and Analysis of the Desi-type Cicer arietinum Nuclear Genome for Comparative Exploration of Legumes. BMC Plant Biology 14: 315
• Yadav RK and Chattopadhyay D (2014) Differential soybean gene expression during early phase of infection with Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus. Mol Biol Rep. 41(8): 5123 - 5134.
• Suresh BV, Roy R, Sahu K, Misra G, Chattopadhyay D (2014) Tomato Genomic Resources Database: An Integrated Repository of Useful Tomato Genomic Information for Basic and Applied Research. PLoS ONE 9(1): e86387  Database: Click Here
• Jain M, Misra G, Patel RK, Priya P, Jhanwar S, Khan AW, Shah N, Singh VK, Garg R, Jeena G, Yadav M, Kant C, Sharma P, Yadav G, Bhatia S, Tyagi AK, Chattopadhyay D (2013) A draft genome sequence of the pulse crop chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Plant Journal. DOI: 10.1111/tpj.12173
• Jain D and Chattopadhyay D (2013) Promoter of CaZF a chickpea gene that positively regulates growth and stress tolerance is activated by an AP2-family transcription factor CAP2. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56737
• Pandey G, Misra G, Kumari K, Gupta S, Parida SK, Chattopadhyay D and Prasad M (2013) Genome-wide development and use of microsatellite markers for large-scale genotyping applications in foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L)]. DNA Res. Doi:10.1093/dnares/dst002
• Gaur R, Azam S, Jeena G, Khan AW, Choudhury S, Jain M, Yadav G, Tyagi AK, Chattopadhyay D, Bhatia S (2012) High-throughput SNP discovery and genotyping for constructing a saturated linkage map of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). DNA Res. 19(5): 357-373
• The Tomato Genome Consortium (2012) The tomato genome sequence provides insights into fleshy fruit evolution. Nature 485: 635-641
• Yadav RK and Chattopadhyay D (2011) Enhanced viral intergenic region specific siRNA accumulation and DNA methylation correlates with resistance against a geminivirus. Mol. Plant Microbe Interactions 24: 1189-1197.
• Jain D and Chattopadhyay D (2010) Analysis of gene expression in response to water deficit of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) varieties differing in drought tolerance. BMC Plant Biology 10: 24
• Sahu PP, Rai NK, Chakraborty S, Singh M, Prasanna HC, Ramesh B, Chattopadhyay D, Prasad M (2010) Tomato cultivar tolerant to Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus infection induces virus-specific siRNA accumulation and defence associated host gene expression. Molecular Plant Pathology 11(4): 531-544
• Tripathi V, Parasuraman B, Laxmi A and Chattopadhyay D (2009) CIPK6, a CBL-interacting protein kinase is required for development and salt tolerance in plant. Plant Journal 58:778-790
• Shukla RK, Raha S, Tripathi V and Chattopadhyay D (2006) Expression of CAP2, an AP2-family transcription factor from Chickpea enhances growth and tolerance to dehydration and salt tress in transgenic tobacco. Plant Physiology 142: 113-123.
• Boominathan P, Shukla RK, Kumar A, Manna D, Negi D, Verma PK and Chattopadhyay D (2004) Long term transcript accumulation during the development of dehydration adaptation in Cicer arietinum L. Plant Physiology 135(3):1608-1620.
• Jain D, Roy N and Chattopadhyay D (2009) CaZF, a plant transcription factor functions independent of Hog1p and Calcineurin in Saccharomyces cerevisiae to provide osmotolerance. PLoS ONE 4(4):e5154
• Shukla RK, Vripathi V, Jain D, Yadav RK and Chattopadhyay D (2009) CAP2 enhances germination of transgenic tobacco seeds at high temperature and promotes heat stress tolerance in yeast. FEBS Journal (doi:10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07219.x)
• Yadav RK, Shukla RK and Chattopadhyay D (2009) Soybean cultivar resistant to Mungbean Yellow Mosaic India Virus infection induces viral RNA degradation earlier than the susceptible cultivar. Virus Research 144: 89-95 (doi:10.1016/j.virusres.2009.04.011).
• Tripathi V, Syed N, Laxmi A and Chattopadhyay D (2009) Role of CIPK6 in root growth and auxin transport. Plant Signaling and Behavior 4(7):663-665.
• Shridhar S, Chattopadhyay D and Yadav G (2009) PLecDom: A Program for identification and Analysis of Plant Lectin Domains. Nucleic Acid Research Jul 1; 37: W452-8. Epub 2009 May 27
• Kaur H, Shukla RK, Yadav G, Chattopadhyay D and Majee M (2008) Two divergent genes encoding L-myo-inositol 1-phosphate synthase1 (CaMIPS1) and 2 (CaMIPS2) are differentially expressed in chickpea. Plant Cell Environ 31:1701-1716
• Yadav V, Kundu S, Chattopadhyay D, Negi P, Wei N, Deng XW and Chattopadhyay S (2002) Light regulated modulation of Z- box containing promoters by photoreceptors and downstream regulatory components, COP1 and HY5 in Arabidopsis. Plant Journal 31(6): 731-753.
• The Tomato Genome Sequencing Consortium (2009) A snapshot of the emerging tomato genome sequence. The Plant genome 2(1): 78-92
• Mueller LA, Tanksley SD, Chattopadhyay D and Zamir D. (SOL genome consortium). (2005) The Tomato Sequencing Project, the first cornerstone of the International Solanaceae Project (SOL). Comparative and Functional Genomics 6(3): 153-158.
• Nayak S, Balaji J, Upadhyay HD, Hash CT, KaviKishore PB, Chattopadhyay D, Rodrigues LM, Blair MW, Baum M, McNally K, This D, Hosington D and Varshney R (2009) Isolation and sequence analysis of DREB2A homologues in three cereal and two legume species. Plant Science 177: 460-467.
• Chattopadhyay D, Ghosh MK, Mal A, and Harter ML (2001) Inactivation of p21 by E1A Leads to the Induction of Apoptosis in DNA-Damaged Cells. J. Virol. 5: 9844-9856.
• Basak S, Raha T, Chattopadhyay D, Majumder A, Shaila MS and Chattopadhyay DJ (2003) Leader RNA Binding Ability of Chandipura Virus P protein is Regulated by its Phosphorylation Status: A Possible Role in Genome Transcription-Replication Switch. Virology 307: 372-385.
• Mal A, Chattopadhyay D, Ghosh M, Poon RYC, Hunter T and Harter ML (2000) p21 and Retinoblastoma protein control the absence of DNA replication in terminally differentiated muscle cells. Jour. of Cell Biology 149(2): 281-292.
• Raha T, Chattopadhyay D and Chattopadhyay D (2000) N-terminal region of P protein of Chandipura virus is responsible for phosphorylation-mediated homodimerization. Protein Engineering 13(6): 437-444.
• Raha T, Chattopadhyay D, Chattopadhyay D and Roy S (1999). A phosphorylation induced major structural change in the N-terminal domain of the P protein of Chandipura virus. Biochemistry 38(7): 2110-2116.
• Chattopadhyay D, Raha T, Chattopadhyay D (1997) PCR mutagenesis:Treatment of megaprimer with mung bean nuclease improves yield. BioTechniques 22: 1054-1056.
• Chattopadhyay D, Raha T, Chattopadhyay D (1997) Single Serine phosphorylation within acidic domain of Chandipura virus P protein regulates the transcription in vitro. Virology 239: 11-19.
• Chattopadhyay D and Chattopadhyay D (1994). Cloning of Chandipura virus phosphoprotein encoding gene and its expression in E.coli. Cell. Mol. Biol. Res. 40: 693-698
• Biswas S, Gupta MK, Chattopadhyay D and Mukhopadhyay CK (2007). Insulin induced activation of Hypoxia inducible factor-1 requires generation of reactive oxygen species by NADPH oxidase. Am. J. Physiol: Heart Circ. Physiol. 292: 758-766

• Jain D and Chattopadhyay D (2013) Role of DREB-like proteins in improving stress tolerance to transgenic crops. N.Tuteja and SS Gill (Eds.) Plant acclimation to environmental stress. Springer science+Business media NY, pp- 147-162

• "Chimeric Construct of Mungbean Yellow Mosaic India Virus (MYMIV) and its uses thereof" (2013)- US patent 8435732