Scientist V & Ramalingaswami Fellow
Ph.D: International Graduate School in Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Cologne, Germany.
Postdoctoral Fellow: Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, USA
- 91-11-26741612,14,17 Ext. - 117
- aranjan@nipgr.ac.in
Profile
Research Interests
We are interested in investigating the plant development in response to environmental signals and optimizing plant developmental features for efficient photosynthesis in crop plants using genomics, molecular breeding and molecular biology tools.
1. Understanding the interaction between light and temperature signaling to regulate plant development and architecture:
Light and temperature are two most important environmental factors for plant growth and development. The genetic and molecular basis of signaling of environmental factors and their influence on plant growth has been mostly studied in model plant Arabidopsis .Therefore, a systematic study to characterize the influence of changing light and temperature conditions to the development of crop plants, and the underlying genetic basis is warranted for optimizing the plant growth in desirable way in the context of climate change. We are studying the interaction of light and temperature signaling and their influence on plant growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and Rice(Oryza sativa), which belong to diverse clades of angiosperms and are two very important plants of economic importance with rich genetic resources, with following objectives:
i) Defining the interaction of light and temperature to determine leaf development and plant architecture.
ii) Establishing the genetic basis of crosstalk of light and temperature signaling, and their integration to plant development.
iii) Identification and validation of key genetic regulators mediating developmental changes in response to light and temperature signals.
2. Optimizing plant developmental features for efficient photosynthesis in crop plants:
The importance of improving leaf photosynthetic efficiency to increase the crop yield has been well recognized, and will become increasingly essential if the necessary yield increases are to be achieved. Photosynthesis is a multifaceted plant process that has contributions from ambient environmental conditions, developmental features and biochemical reactions. Leaf characteristics, branching and canopy features are the most important plant developmental features for the photosynthesis and carbon assimilation. However the potential to manipulate the leaf morphology and anatomy, and underlying genetic basis to improve photosynthetic efficiency is largely unexplored. With this background, we want to address following questions in model crop plant Rice(Oryza sativa):
i) Exploring the natural genetic variation for the photosynthesis and its possible link with plant, in particular leaf, developmental features.
ii) Deciphering the genetic link, and underlying key regulatory genes, between photosynthetic efficiency and plant developmental features.
iii) Manipulating the leaf and branching traits for efficient photosynthesis through breeding and/or genetic engineering.i) Defining the interaction of light and temperature to determine leaf development and plant architecture.
ii) Establishing the genetic basis of crosstalk of light and temperature signaling, and their integration to plant development.
iii) Identification and validation of key genetic regulators mediating developmental changes in response to light and temperature signals.
Professional & Academic Background
Staff Scientist V (January 2022 – present) : National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi.
Staff Scientist IV (August 2018 – December 2021) : National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi.
Staff Scientist III (April 2015 – August 2018) : National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi.
Invited Guest Scientist (2015) : Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, University of Cologne and Dusseldorf, Germany.
Post-Doctoral Fellow (2011 – 2015): Department of Plant Biology, University of California, Davis, USA.
Ph.D. (2006 – 2010): International Graduate School in Genetics and Functional Genomics, University of Cologne, Germany.
M.Sc. (2004 – 2006): National Research Center on Plant Biotechnology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
B.Sc. (2000 – 2004): Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi.
Awards & Honors
SERB-Early Career Research Award from Department of Science and Technology, India (2016)
Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award (IYBA) 2015 from Department of Biotechnology, India (2016).
Young Scientist Award of Indian Society for Plant Physiology during 3rd International Plant Physiology Congress at New Delhi, India (2015)
CEPLAS Fellowship as a guest scientist at University of Cologne and Dusseldorf, Germany, (2015)
Ramalingaswamy Re-entry Fellowship from Department of Biotechnology, India, (2014)
INSPIRE faculty award for Plant and Agriculture from Department of Science and Technology, India (2014, Fellowship not availed).
F1000 Associate faculty member for Plant Genomes and Evolution for post-publication peer reviewing (2012 - 2017)
NSF Post-doctoral fellowship at University of California, Davis, USA (2011 – 2015)
The best PhD student publication 2010/11 in the category Plants or microbes, University of Cologne, Germany (2011)
North Rhine Westphalia international graduate fellowship for Ph.D.studies at University of Cologne, Germany (2006 – 2010)
IARI Gold Medal for outstanding academic performance in M.Sc (2007)
Junior Research Fellowship from Indian Council of Agricultural Research for M.Sc. studies (2004 – 2006)
BHU Gold Medal for standing 1st in B.Sc. (2005)
BHU merit scholarship for B.Sc.(Agriculture) at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (2000 – 2004)
Current Members
Dr. Jayendra Pandey
DBT-M.K. Bhan Fellow
Harnessing wild rice genetics for improved photosynthesis and stress tolerance in crops
- jayendra.pandey@nipgr.ac.in
Dr. Ritesh Kumar Raipuria
Research Associate
Genetic integration of ROS signaling in thermomorphogenesis
- raipuriaritesh@nipgr.ac.in
Dr. Zainab Mirza
Project Associate-II
Investigating the role of ROS homeostasis in thermomorphogenesis
- zainabmirza831@gmail.com
Mr. Sourav Chatterjee
PhD Student (CSIR fellow)
Understanding the molecular signatures underlying branching and plant architecture in rice
- souravchatterjee.bgb@gmail.com
Ms. Prakshi Aneja
Ph.D. Student (CSIR Fellow)
Investigating the variations in leaf thickness and understanding the underlying genetic basis
- prakshianeja@nipgr.ac.in
Ms. Vasundara Devi S
Ph.D. Student (DBT Fellow)
Decoding the epigenetic aspect of plant response to environment
- vasundara@nipgr.ac.in
Mr. Mahesh Kumar Panda
Ph.D. Student (CSIR Fellow)
Investigating genetic regulators involved in mesophyll cell development
- maheshkumarpanda@nipgr.ac.in
Mr. Rajarshi Sanyal
PhD Student (DBT fellow)
Dissecting the genetic determinants mediating transcriptional control of leaf photosynthesis
- rsanyal@nipgr.ac.in
Ms. Muskaan Johnson
Ph.D. Student (UGC Fellow)
Exploring sugar partitioning in shaping plant responses to environment
- muskaanjohnson@nipgr.ac.in
Ms. Rushali Dua
PhD Student (i3C BRIC-RCB)
Exploiting natural variation to identify the genetic determinants for increasing photosynthetic efficiency
- bansal.muskan1997@gmail.com
Former Group Members
Dr. Aditi Dwivedi
Ph.D. Student (2017-2024)
Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Davis, USA
- adwivedi@ucdavis.edu
Dr. Benedict Analin A
Project Associate – II (2022-2023)
Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, Texas A&M AgriLife Research at Uvalde, USA
- ashish@nipgr.ac.in
Mr. Ashish Chauhan
Project Associate I (2019-2022)
Current: PhD Student, Durham University, UK
- ashish@nipgr.ac.in
Dr. Vikram Jathar
Ph.D. Student (2016-2022)
Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
- vjathar@umass.edu
Mr. Roshankumar Jadhav
Project Associate I (2020 – 2022)
Current: PhD Student, University of Tasmania, Australia
- roshanjadhav81292@gmail.com
Dr. Kumud Saini
DBT- RA & SERB-National Post Doctoral Fellow (2017-2021)
Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, Sainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK
- kumudsaini17@gmail.com
Mr. Jyotirmaya Mathan
Ph.D. Student (2015-2021)
Current: Assistant Professor in Botany at Odisha Public Service Commission
- jyotirmayabot99@gmail.com
Ms. Juhi Bhattacharya
Ph.D. Student (2015-2021)
Current: Assistant Professor, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
- juhi.bhattacharya152@gmail.com
Dr. Anuradha Singh Yadav
SERB-National Post Doctoral Fellow (2016-2018)
Current: Postdoctoral Fellow, MSU, East Lansing, USA
- annusingh1206@gmail.com
Dr. Shaifali Pal
SERB-National Post Doctoral Fellow (2017-2018)
- pal_shaifali@yahoo.co.in
Dr. Upendra Kumar Singh
NIPGR Post Doctoral Fellow (2015-2017)
Current: Current: Assistant Professor at BBMKU, Dhanbad
- Upendraskumar@gmail.com
Publications
Mathan J, Dwivedi A, Ranjan A (2025) Revisiting development and physiology of wild rice relatives for crop improvement and climate resilience. Plant Cell Reports, 44: 55 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-025-03448-3.
Aneja P, Sanyal R, Ranjan A (2025) Leaf growth in third dimension: a perspective of leaf thickness from genetic regulation to ecophysiology. New Phytologist, 245: 989-999. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20246.
Angira A, Yadav S, Mathur P, Baranwal VK, Ranjan A, Choudhary N (2025) In-silico prediction of coat protein structure of Indian citrus ringspot virus and their interactions with the Argonaut2/DCL4 proteins. VirusDisease. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13337-024-00904-8.
Angira A, Baranwal VK, Ranjan A, Choudhary N (2024) Identification of an RNA silencing suppressor encoded by an Indian citrus ringspot virus. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-024-01524-8
Srivastava D, Ghosh AK, Ranjan A, Sinharoy S (2024) Genome sequencing of Mesorhizobium Spp. NI-7, an efficient nitrogen-fixing microsymbiont of chickpea with potential to unravel the molecular mechanisms of symbiotic nitrogen fixation in legumes. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-024-00917-w
Kumar R, Kumar C, Roy Choudhury D, Ranjan A, Raipuria RK, Dubey KKD, Mishra A, Kumar C, Manzoor MM, Kumar A, Kumari A, Singh K, Singh GP, Singh R (2024) Isolation, Characterization, and Expression Analysis of NAC Transcription Factor from Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Nees and Their Role in Andrographolide Production. Genes (Basel) 15(4):422.
Angira A, Baranwal VK, Ranjan A, Choudhary N (2024) Optimization of DAC-ELISA and IC-RT-PCR using the developed polyclonal antibody and one-step RT-PCR assays for detection of Indian citrus ringspot virus in kinnow orange of Punjab, India. Journal of Virological Methods 329:114972.
Yadav RK, Analin B, Panda MK, Ranjan A, Singh AP (2023). Brassinosteroids-regulated nitrogen metabolism fine-tunes growth physiology and low nitrogen response in tomato. Environmental and Experimental Botany 216: 105528.
Sharma D, Singh S, Singh K, Dwivedi A, Ranjan A, Sinha AK (2023). Phosphorylation of PIF3 by MPK6 is required for coordinated regulation of miRNA biogenesis and hypocotyl elongation in Arabidopsis. Environmental and Experimental Botany 210: 105345.
Saini K, Dwivedi A, Ranjan A (2022). High temperature restricts cell division and leaf size by coordination of PIF4 and TCP4 transcription factors. Plant Physiology, 190(4): 2380-2397.
Singh J, Das S, Kapuganti JG, Ranjan A, Foyer CH, Thakur JK (2022). Physiological implications of SWEETs in plants and their potential applications in improving source-sink relationships for enhanced yield. Plant Biotechnology Journal, 21(8):1528-1541.
Singh R, Dwivedi A, Singh Y, Kumar K, Ranjan A, Verma PK (2022). Global transcriptome and co-expression analysis reveal robust host defence pathway reprogramming and identify key regulators of early phases of Cicer-Ascochyta interactions. Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions, 35(11):1034-1047.
Jathar V, Saini K, Chauhan A, Rani R, Ichihashi Y, Ranjan A (2022). Spatial control of cell division by GA-OsGRF7/8 module in a leaf explaining the leaf length variation between cultivated and wild rice. New Phytologist 234(3): 867-883.
Irulappan V, Kandpal M, Saini K, Rai A, Ranjan A, Sinharoy S, Senthil-Kumar M (2022) Drought stress exacerbates fungal colonization and endodermal invasion and dampens defense responses to increase dry root rot in chickpea. molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 35(7): 583-591.
Mathan J, Singh A, Jathar V, Ranjan A (2021). High photosynthesis rate in two wild rice species is driven by leaf anatomy mediating high Rubisco activity and electron transport rate. Journal of Experimental Botany 72(20):7119-7135
Mathan J, Singh A, Ranjan A (2021). Sucrose transport and metabolism control carbon partitioning between stem and grain in rice. Journal of Experimental Botany 72(12): 4355-4372.
Mathan J, Singh A, Ranjan A (2021), Sucrose transport in response to drought and salt stress involves ABA‐mediated induction of OsSWEET13 and OsSWEET15 in rice. Physiologia Plantarum,171(4):620-637
Hegenauer V, Slaby P, Körner M, Bruckmüller J, Burggraf R, Albert I, Kaiser B, Löffelhardt B, Droste-Borel I, Sklenar J, Menke FLH, Maček B, Ranjan A, Sinha NR, Nürnberger T, Felix G, Krause K, Stahl M, Albert M (2020) The tomato receptor CuRe1 senses a cell wall protein to identify Cuscuta as a pathogen, Nature Communications, 11(1):5299.
Artz O, Dickopf S, Ranjan A, Kreiss M, Abraham ET, Boll V, Rensing SA, Hoecker U (2019). Characterization of spa mutants in the moss Physcomitrella provides evidence for functional divergence of SPA genes during the evolution of land plants. New Phytologist 224: 1613- 1626.
Kumar K, Neelam K, Singh G, Mathan J, Ranjan A, Brar DS, Singh K (2019). Production and cytological characterization of a synthetic amphiploid derived from a cross between Oryza sativa and Oryza punctata. Genome 62(11): 705-714.
Ostria-Gallardo E, Ranjan A, Ichihashi Y, Corcuera LJ, Sinha NR (2018). Decoding the gene coexpression network underlying the ability of Gevuina avellana to live in diverse light conditions. New Phytologist, 220(1): 278-287
Mathan J, Bhattacharya J, Ranjan A (2016). Enhancing crop yield via the optimization of plant developmental features. Development 143: 3283-3294
Fulop D*, Ranjan A*, Ofner I, Covington MF, Chitwood DH, West D, Ichihashi Y, Headland L, Zamir D, Maloof JN, Sinha NR (2016). A new advanced backcross tomato population enables high resolution leaf QTL mapping and gene identification. Genes|Genomes|Genetics (G3) 6: 3169–3184. (*equal contribution).
Ranjan A, Budke JM, Rowland SD, Chitwood DH, Kumar R, Carriedo L, Ichihashi Y, Zumstein K, Maloof JN, Sinha NR (2016). eQTL regulating transcript levels associated with diverse biological processes in tomato. Plant Physiology 172: 328-340.
Lata S, Ranjan A, Kushwah NS, Kumar P, Dargan S, Srinivasan R, Bhat SR (2016). Regulatory sequences of the Arabidopsis thaliana Rps19, a nuclear gene encoding mitochondrial ribosomal protein subunit, extend into the upstream gene. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology doi:10.1007/s13562-016-0392-4
Ostria-Gallardo E*, Ranjan A*, Zumstein K, Chitwood DH, Kumar R, Townsley BT, Ichihashi Y, Corcuera LJ, Sinha NR (2016). Transcriptomic analysis suggests a key role for SQUAMOSAPROMOTER BINDING PROTEIN LIKE, NAC and YUCCA genes in the heteroblastic development of the temperate rainforest tree Gevuina avellana (Proteaceae). New Phytologist. 210(2): 694-708 (* equal contribution).
Müller NA, Wijnen CL, Srinivasan A, Ryngajllo M, Ofner I, Lin T, Ranjan A, West D, Maloof JN, Sinha NR, Huang S, Zamir D, Jiménez-Gómez JM (2016). Domestication selected for deceleration of the circadian clock in cultivated tomato. Nature Genetics. 48: 89-93.
Chitwood DH, Kumar R, Ranjan A, Pelletier JM, Townsley BT, Ichihashi Y, Martinez CC, Zumstein K, Harada JJ, Maloof JN, Sinha NR (2015). Light-Induced Indeterminacy Alters Shade-Avoiding Tomato Leaf Morphology. Plant physiology. 169 (3): 2030-47.
Mtunguja MK, Ranjan A, Laswai HS, Muzanila Y, Ndunguru J, Sinha NR (2015). Genetic diversity of farmer-preferred cassava landraces in Tanzania based on morphological descriptors and single nucleotide polymorphisms. Plant Genetic Resources. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1479262115000453, Published online: 03 November 2015).
Ranjan A, Townsley BT, Ichihashi Y, Sinha NR, Chitwood DH (2015). An intracellular transcriptomic atlas of the giant coenocyte Caulerpa taxifolia. PLoS Genetics. 11(1):e1004900 (Featured on cover page).
Ranjan A, Ichihashi Y, Farhi M, Zumstein K, Townsley BT, David-Schwrtz R, Sinha NR (2014). De novo assembly and characterization of the transcriptome of the parasitic weed Cuscuta pentagona identifies genes associated with plant parasitism. Plant Physiology. 166: 1186-1199.
Chitwood DH, Ranjan A Kumar R, Ichihashi Y, Zumstein K, Headland LR, Peng J, Maloof JN, Sinha NR (2014). Resolving distinct genetic regulators of leaf shape within a heteroblastic and ontogenetic context. Plant Cell. 26: 3616-3629.
Balcerowicz M, Ranjan A , Rupprecht L, Fiene G, Hoecker U (2014). Auxin represses stomatal development in dark-grown seedlings via Aux/IAA proteins. Development. 141(16): 3165-76.
Chitwood DH,Ranjan A,Martinez CC, Headland LR, Thiem T, Kumar R, Covington MF, Hatcher T, Naylor DT, Zimmerman S, Downs N, Raymundo N, Buckler ES, Maloof JN, Aradhya M, Prins B, Li L, Myles S, Sinha NR (2014). A modern ampelography: a genetic basis for leaf shape and venation patterning in Vitis vinifera. Plant Physiology. 164:259-272 (Featured on cover page)
Ranjan A, Dickopf S, Ullrich KK, Rensing SA, Hoecker U (2014). Functional analysis of COP1 and SPA orthologs from Physcomitrella and rice during photomorphogenesis of transgenic Arabidopsis reveals distinct evolutionary conservation. BMC Plant Biology 14: 178.
Chitwood DH, Kumar R, Headland LR, Ranjan A, Covington MF, Ichihashi Y, Fulop D, Jiménez-Gómez JM, Peng J, Maloof JN, Sinha NR (2013). A quantitative genetic basis for leaf morphology in a set of precisely defined tomato introgression lines. Plant Cell. 25: 2465-2481
Ranjan A, Ichihashi Y, Sinha NR (2012). The tomato genome: implications for plant breeding, genomics and evolution. Genome Biology. 13:167 (Featured on cover page and flagged as “Highly accessed”).
Chitwood DH, Headland LR, Ranjan A, Martinez CC, Braybrook SA, Koenig DP, Kuhlemeier C, Smith RS, Sinha NR (2012). Leaf asymmetry as a developmental constraint imposed by auxin-dependent phyllotactic patterning. Plant Cell. 24: 2318-27.
Ranjan A, Fiene G, Fackendahl P, Hoecker U (2011). The Arabidopsis repressor of light signaling SPA1 acts in the phloem to regulate seedling deetiolation, leaf expansion and flowering time. Development 138(9): 1851-62.
Book Chapter
Aneja P, Dwivedi A, Ranjan A (2022). Physiology of Crop Yield Under Heat Stress. In: Kumar, R.R., Praveen, S., Rai, G.K. (eds) Thermotolerance in Crop Plants. Springer, Singapore, pp 45 -79.
Bhattacharya J, Singh UK and Ranjan A (2017) Interaction of Light and Temperature Signaling at the Plant Interphase: From Cue to Stress. In: Senthil-Kumar M (ed), Plant Tolerance to Individual and Concurrent Stresses, Springer (India) Pvt. Ltd., pp 111-132.
Interested to join our lab?
Highly motivated researchers, interested in Plant Development and Genomics, who would like to join the lab are welcome to contact the PI.