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 | Dr. Jyothilakshmi Vadassery
Staff Scientist V
Lab 108
Phone - 91-11-26735107
Fax: 91-11-26741658
E mail: jyothi.v@nipgr.ac.in, jyothi.nipgr@gmail.com |
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| Jyothilakshmi LAB |
 Academic Background |
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Staff Scientist V (2022-present) : National Institute for Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) |
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Staff Scientist IV (2018-2021) : National Institute for Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) |
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Staff Scientist III (2014-2018) : National Institute for Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) |
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Post Doctoral Fellow (2010-2014) : Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany |
| Post Doctoral Associate (2009-2010) : Cornell University, USA |
| Ph. D. (2006-2009) : Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany |
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M. Sc. (2003-2005) : Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Delhi |
| B. Sc. (1998-2002) : Kerala Agricultural University, Padannakkad |
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| Awards and Fellowships |
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Janaki Ammal - National Women Bioscientists Award, 2022 (Department of Biotechnology) |
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NASI- SCOPUS Young Scientist Award in Plant Science/Agriculture, 2022 |
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Head, Max Planck-India Partner Group in Chemical Ecology (2015-2021) |
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EMBO Global Investigator (2020-2024) |
| Wilhelm-Pfeffer-Stiftung prize, German Botanical Society, awarded for best paper in 2010 |
| Max Planck Society Postdoctoral Fellowship |
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DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Postdoctoral Fellowship |
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Ph. D. with "summa cum laude", Friedrich Schiller University, Germany |
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Fellowship of International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Ph. D. |
| Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) |
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Research Interest
To understand the molecular mechanisms by which plants defend themselves against wide array of insect herbivores, and to use this knowledge in developing insect control strategies. We use forward and reverse genetics approach, biochemical techniques, metabolomics and imaging to expedite novel discoveries in plant defense against insect herbivory.
Key interests: Plant-Insect interactions, Chemical Ecology, Calcium Channels and Chemical Defense, Jasmonic Acid signaling, Metabolomics, Spodoptera, Piriformospora indica
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| Research Area |
1) Mechanisms underlying rapid plant perception of insect attack: More than 1 million herbivorous insect species are known, and many lead to crop loss worldwide. Plants have evolved sophisticated defense mechanism to counteract insect attack very rapidly using calcium signals. The early events in plant perception of insect attack is largely unexplored and we have uncovered a major role for the calcium channel, Cyclic Nucleotide Gated Channels (CNGC19) in plant defense against herbivory (Meena et al., 2019, Plant Cell). We identified a key functional role for CNGC19 in plant defense against S. litura, via Ca2+-mediated defense signaling that modulates phytohormones (jasmonates) and secondary metabolites (glucosinolates). We are further characterizing the role of additional CNGCs in herbivory induced plant immunity. Majority of plant defense upon lepidopteran insect feeding is co-ordinated by jasmonic acid (JA/JA-Ile) dependent signaling cascade. We also study the role of JA-Ile as a possible damage signal and novel players involved in its biosynthesis and perception in plants, using R-Geco based imaging and Aequorin based forward genetic screen. We further use metabolomics to identify the plant response to herbivory and how alterations in early signaling genes impact secondary metabolite production. We have identified novel metabolites involved in the interaction of Spodoptera with its host plants Tomato (Kundu et al., 2018, Planta) and Maize.
Key to plant survival against voraciously feeding insects is quick local and systemic communication between cells. Plants possess a rapid systemic stress signaling system in the absence of a central nervous system, as in animals. We identified for the first time that upon insect herbivory, plants send systemic calcium signals to unwounded leaf (Kiep et al., 2015, New Phytologist). Changes in electrical signal, membrane potential, and Ca2+ result in systemic signaling upon herbivory. Molecular components involved in production local and systemic signals, the factor that moves from leaf to leaf and decoding mechanisms are our further areas of interest.
 
Mechanisms of plant-microbial symbiont recognition:
Mutualistic relationships between the plant roots and the microbes that inhabit the rhizosphere are crucial factor in plant survival as they aid in improving plant growth and overcome stress. The endophytic fungi, Piriformospora indica colonizes the roots of many plant species including Arabidopsis and promotes their growth, development and seed production. The fungus stimulates nutrient uptake and confers resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Using plant growth promoting fungus, Piriformopsora indica and its host, Arabidopsis thaliana we intend to understand the molecular mechanisms by which symbiotic fungi in roots provide growth advantage to whole plants (Jogawat et al., 2020, JExB, Kundu et al., Plant Physiology, 2022) and utilize the knowledge to develop novel strategies to improve crop yields.
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| Group Members |
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| Lab Alumni |
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| | Former Trainees |
- Ms. Aruna Boro, St. Anthony College, Shillong
- Mr. Sidhant S Shetty, IISER Bhopal
- Mr. Sathyaseelan. P TNAU, Coimbatore
- Ms. Bhawana. M, IISER, Pune
- Mr. Appus. M.V, MACFAST Tiruvalla
- Ms. Sayali Gosavi, Pune University
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Collaborations
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Dr. Wilhelm Boland, Dr.Axel Mithöfer (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany)
- Dr. Ralf Oelmüller (Institute of General Botany and Plant
- Physiology, FSU Jena, Germany)
- Dr. Edgar Pieter (University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany)
- Dr. Arockiasamy Arulandu (ICGEB, Delhi)
- Dr. J.C Sekhar (Indian Institute of Maize Research, Delhi)
- Dr. Smrutisanchita Behra (IICT, Kolkata)
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| Publications |
| From NIPGR |
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Mittal, D., Gautam, J. K., Varma, M., Laie, A., Mishra, S., Behera, S., & Vadassery, J. (2024). External jasmonic acid isoleucine mediates amplification of plant elicitor peptide receptor (PEPR) and jasmonate-based immune signalling. Plant, Cell & Environment, 10.1111/pce.14812 |
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Majumdar, S., Kaur, H., Rinella, M.J., Kundu, A., Vadassery, J., Erbilgin, N., Callaway, R., Cadotte, M., Inderjit (2023) Synergistic effects of canopy chemistry and autogenic soil biota on a global invader. Journal of Ecology, 00:1-17, 10.1111/1365-2745.14113 |
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Fatima, U., Balasubramaniam, D., Khan, W. A., Kandpal, M., Vadassery, J., Arockiasamy, A., & Senthil-Kumar, M. (2023). AtSWEET11 and AtSWEET12 transporters function in tandem to modulate sugar flux in plants. Plant Direct, 7(3), e481.https://doi.org/10.1002/pld3.481 |
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Soujanya PL, Sekhar JC, Yathish KR, Karjagi CG, Rao KS, Suby SB, Jat SL, Kumar B, Kumar K, Vadassery J, Subaharan K, Patil J, Kalia VK, Dhandapani A and Rakshit S (2022) Leaf Damage Based Phenotyping Technique and Its Validation Against Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), in Maize. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13:906207. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.906207 |
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Kundu A, Mishra S, Kundu P, Jogawat A, Vadassery J (2021) Piriformospora indica employs hosts putrescine for growth promotion in plants. Plant Physiology,doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiab536 |
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Kundu P and Vadassery J (2021) Role of WRKY transcription factors in plant defense against lepidopteran insect herbivores: An Overview. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology,doi.org/10.1007/s13562-021-00730-9 |
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Jogawat A, Meena MK, Kundu A, Varma M, Vadassery J (2020) Calcium channel CNGC19 mediates basal defense signaling to balance colonization of Piriformospora indica on Arabidopsis roots. Journal of Experimental Botany, pii: eraa028. |
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Prajapati, V.K., Verma, M., Vadassery, J (2020) In silico identification of effector proteins from generalist herbivore, Spodoptera litura. BMC Genomics 21, 819. |
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Mittal D, Mishra S, Prajapati R, Vadassery J (2020) Forward Genetic Screen Using Transgenic Calcium Reporter Aequorin to Identify Novel Targets in Calcium Signaling. Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVe), e61259, doi:10.3791/61259 |
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Prajapati, R., Mittal, D., Meena, M., Vadassery, J (2020) Jasmonic acid (JA) induced-calcium elevation in Arabidopsis is highly variable due to time of day and conversion to JA-Ile. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology. 29, 816–823 |
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Suby P, Soujanya L, Yadava P, Patil J, Subaharan K, Prasad S, Babu S, Jat SL, Yathish K, Vadassery J, Kalia V, Bakthavatsalam N, Shekhar JC and Rakshit S (2020) Invasion of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in India: nature, distribution, management and potential impact. Current Science 119 (1): 44-51 |
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Meena MK, Prajapati R, Krishna D, Divakaran K, Pandey Y, Reichelt M, Mathew MK, Boland W, Mithöfer A and Vadassery J (2019) The Ca2+ channel CNGC19 regulates Arabidopsis defense against spodoptera herbivory. Plant Cell, 31: 1539-1562. |
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Kundu, A., Mishra, S. & Vadassery, J (2018).Spodoptera litura-mediated chemical defense is differentially modulated in older and younger systemic leaves of Solanum lycopersicum.
Planta doi: 10.1007/s00425-018-2953-3. |
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Kundu A, Vadassery J (2018) Chlorogenic acid-mediated chemical defense of plants against insect herbivores. Plant Biology (Stuttg). doi: 10.1111/plb.12947. |
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Vadassery J, Ballhorn DJ, Fleming SR, Mazars C, Pandey SP, Schmidt A, Schuman MC, Yeh K-W, Yilamuiang A, Mithöfer A (2018). Neomycin: an effective inhibitor of jasmonate-induced reactions in plants. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation. 38: 713–722 |
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Jogawat A, Vadassery J, Verma N, Oelmüller R, Dua M, Nevo E, Johri AK (2016) PiHOG1, a stress regulator MAP kinase from the root endophyte fungus Piriformospora indica, confers salinity stress tolerance in rice plants. Sci. Rep. 6, 36765; doi: 10.1038/ srep36765. |
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Kiep , V., Vadassery, J., Lattke, J., Maaß, JP., Pieter. E., Boland, W., Mithöfer, A. (2015). Systemic cytosolic Ca2+ elevation is activated upon wounding and herbivory in Arabidopsis. New Phytologist207(4):996-1004. (corresponding author) |
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Meena, MK., Vadassery, J. (2015). Channels hold the key: cyclic nucleotide gated channels (CNGC) in plant biotic stress signaling. Endocytobiosis & Cell Research 26: 25-30. |
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| Previous work |
| Jimenez-Aleman GH, Almeida-Trapp M, Fernández-Barbero G, Gimenez-Ibanez S, Reichelt M, Vadassery J, Mithöfer A, Caballero J, Boland W, Solano R (2019) Omega hydroxylated JA-Ile is an endogenous bioactive jasmonate that signals through the canonical jasmonate signaling pathway. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids. 1864(12):158520 |
| Jisha, V., Vadassery, J*, Mithöfer, A., Lavanya, D., Saivishnupriya., Ramanan, R. (2015) Overexpression of an AP2/ERF type transcription factor OsEREBP1 confers biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in rice. PLoS One, 10(6):e0127831 |
| Scholz, S. S., Reichelt, M., Vadassery, J., Mithöfer, A. (2015). Calmodulin-like protein CML37 is a positive regulator of ABA during drought stress in Arabidopsis. Plant Signaling and Behaviour , 10(6):e1011951 |
| Ranjan, A., Vadassery, J., Patel, H.K., Pandey, A., Palaparthi, R., Mithöfer, A., Sonti, V.R (2014) Upregulation of jasmonate biosynthesis and jasmonate-responsive genes in rice leaves in response to a bacterial pathogen mimic. Functional and Integrative Genomics Journal, 15(3):363-73 |
| Vadassery, J *., Reichelt, M., Jimenez-Aleman, G. H., Boland, W., Mithöfer, A. (2014). Neomycin inhibition of (+)-7-iso-jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine accumulation and signaling. Journal of Chemical Ecology. 40(7):676-86. (Co−corresponding author) |
| Michal Johnson, J., Reichelt, M., Vadassery, J., Gershenzon, J., Oelmüller, R. (2014). An Arabidopsis mutant impaired in intracellular calcium elevation is sensitive to biotic and abiotic stress. BMC Plant Biology 14:162 |
| Scholz, S., Vadassery, J ., Heyer, M., Reichelt, M ., Bender, K., Snedden, W., Boland, W., Mithöfer,A . (2014) Mutation of the Arabidopsis Calmodulin-like protein CML37 deregulates the jasmonate pathway and enhances susceptibility to herbivory. Molecular Plant. 7(12):1712-26 |
| Vadassery, J .,Reichelt, M ., Hause, B., Gerzhenzon, J., Boland, W., Mithöfer,A . (2012) CML42 mediated calcium signaling regulates plant defense against Spodoptera herbivory and multiple stress in Arabidopsis. Plant Physiology, 159: 1159-1175 |
| Vadassery, J., Reichelt,M., Boland, W., Mithöfer,A. (2012) Direct proof of ingested food regurgitation by Spodoptera littoralis caterpillars during feeding on plants. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 38: 865-872 |
| Vadassery, J., Scholz, S. S., Mithöfer, A. (2012) Multiple calmodulin-like proteins in Arabidopsisare induced by insect-derived (Spodoptera littoralis) oral secretion. Plant Signaling and Behaviour. 7 (10):1277-80 |
| Yilamujiang, A., Vadassery, J., Boland, W., Mithöfer, A. (2012). Calmodulin-like proteins, CMLs: New players in plant defense regulation? Endocytobiosis & Cell Research, 22, 66-69 |
| Camehl, I., Drzewiecki, C., Vadassery, J., Shahollari, B., S., Sherameti, I., Munnik, T., Hirt, H., Oelmüller, R. (2011) The OXI1 Kinase Pathway Mediates Piriformospora indica-Induced Growth Promotion in Arabidopsis. PLoS Pathogens, 7(5): e1002051. doi:10.1371 |
| Vadassery, J., Ranf, S., Drzewiecki, C., Mithöfer, A., Mazars, C., Scheel, D., Lee, J., Oelmüller, R. (2009). A cell wall extract from the endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica promotes growth of Arabidopsis seedlings and induces intracellular calcium elevation in roots. The Plant Journal. 59(2):193-206 |
| Vadassery, J and Olemuller, R (2009).Calcium signaling in pathogenic and beneficial plant microbe interactions: What we can learn from Piriformospora indica and Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Signalling and Behaviour 4(11), 1-4. |
| Vadassery, J., Tripathi, S., Prasad, R., Verma, A., Oelmüller, R. (2009). Ascorbate, monodehydroascorbate reductase3 and 2 are crucial for the mutualistic interaction between Piriformospora indica and Arabidopsis. J Plant Physiol. 166(12):1263-74 |
| Vadassery, J., Ritter, C., Venus, Y., Camehl, I., Varma, A., Shahollari, B., Novák, O., Strnad, M., Ludwig-Müller, J., Oelmüller, R. (2008). The role of auxins and cytokinins in the mutualistic interaction between the Arabidopsis and Piriformospora indica. Mol. Plant Microb. Interact. 21(10), 1371-83. |
| Jyothilakshmi, V., Singh, A., Gaikwad, K., Vinod, K., Singh, N .K. and S.M.S.Tomar. (2008) RNA editing in CMS wheat: Influence of nuclear background leads to differential editing on orf256. Indian J. Genet., 68(4), 353-359. |
| Shahollari, B., Vadassery, J ., Varma, A., Oelmüller, R . (2007). A leucine-rich repeat protein is required for growth promotion and enhanced seed production mediated by the endophytic fungus Piriformospora indica in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Journal 50(1), 1-13. |
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| Our Research in Spotlight |
| 1) Our work on role of calcium channel CNGC19 in plant defense against insect herbivory (Plant Cell 2019 was covered by many national and international outlets |
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| 2) Piriformopsora indica work published in Journal of Experimental Botany 2020 was covered by various media sources |
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| 3) Jyothilakshmi Vadassery joins European Molecular Biology Organisation’s (EMBO) Global Investigator Network Programme in 2019. |
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| 4) The book “Fortress Plant” which describes our New Phytologist 2015 work |
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Dr. Balu obtained his PhD from MKU, Madurai. He has done his postdoctoral studies in UC-LA, USA and University of Regensburg, Germany. He is currently working on the structure determination of membrane proteins involved in calcium signalling.
Abhimanyu did PhD from JNU, Delhi, and worked in our lab as SERB-NPDF fellow. Currently he is a M.K. Bhan Fellow and works on the intersection of sugar and calcium signaling in Piriformospora indica Arabidopsis symbiotic interaction in plant roots 
Sameer completed his Ph.D. from CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow, and Postdoctoral research from Western University, Canada. He joined the lab as M.K. Bhan fellow and works on RNAi-based screening, identification, and functional characterization of effector proteins in Spodoptera litura. 
Paramita did her doctoral thesis from IIT, Kharagpur. Her major interest is primarily in the field of plant secondary metabolites. She works on host plant resistance in Maize against Fall Armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and plant defense metabolomics involved in the interaction. 
Mr. Vinod Kumar Prajapati obtained his M.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from Tezpur University, Assam. He is a PhD student working on identification of effector proteins secreted by Spodoptera litura and their role in plant defense manipulation.
Shruti did her masters from University of Hyderabad. Shruti does a forward genetics screen in aequorin background using bioactive hormone, JA-Ile as stimuli and identifies novel pathways involved in calcium mediated perception of jasmonates. 
Athira did her M.Sc from University of Mysore, Karnataka. She is currently working on unraveling the molecular mechanisms of early signaling in Arabidopsis upon perception of the root endosymbiont Piriformospora indica. She is also hunting for P. indica effector (PiE) candidates that are critical of the establishment of this endosymbiosis.
Misha did her MSc in Delhi University. Currently she works on early signaling upon Spodoptera herbivory and higher order mutants of CNGCs for their role in herbivore defense.
Vishakh did his M.Sc from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. He works on characterizing the plant defense altering effector proteins from the insect pest Spodoptera litura
Amrutha did her M.Sc from Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala. Currently, she works on identification and characterization of genes involved in calcium mediated JA signaling.
Anish did his PhD from IIT, Kharagpur and a postdoctoral study at University of Saskatchewan, Canada. He is currently working on metabolomics and biochemical defense responses of plant during plant-insect interactions. 
Ram obtained his MSc from University of Lucknow and PhD from NIPGR. He works on a novel Cyclic Nucleotide Gated Channel (CNGC) and its role in early signaling events upon Spodoptera litura attack. 
Mukesh was a postdoctoral fellow in our lab (2015-2018), He further joined as Marie Sklodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellow at Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), Halle, Germany. Currently he is a Scientist II at NIPGR 
Pritha is currently a postdoctoral Fellow at Dept. of Entomology, University of NebraskaLincoln, USA 
Janesh was a postdoctoral fellow in the lab (SERB-NPDF). Currently he is a Scientist at ICMR
Deepika did her PhD in the lab. Currently she is a Review Editor at JoVe (The Journal of Visualized Experimentation) 
Deepti did her MSc from IISER, Mohali and was a Junior Research Fellow on Max Planck-India partner group project and has worked on CNGC19.
Mahendra is a bioinformatician and worked as JRF in our lab on the silico identification of effector proteins in Spodoptera using NGS. Presently, he is pursuing his PhD at Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany as IMPRS student.
Riya did her MSc from TERI University and worked on generating mutants in background of calcium reporters. Presently, she is pursuing his PhD at NABI, Mohali
