RESEARCH

Characterizing epigenetic components involved in biotic stress in plants

We are investigating the role of epigenetic factors in regulating transcriptional dynamics during the activation of plant immunity. We utilize a wide range of NGS and bioinformatics tools including DNase-I/ATAC seq, ChIP/ChAP-seq, and (s)RNA-seq to gain significant insight into plant defense signaling. We have produced a plant genome accessibility map for the first time (Bordiya et al., 2016) and characterized over 40 epigenetic mutants in plant resistance (Pujara et al., 2021). We have identified a new transcriptional enhancing function of small RNAs by interacting with genomic DNA in a sequence-specific fashion.

Building a high-throughput resistance assay system

We have systemically developed tools that are required for running a massive scale resistance analysis. We published the first paper describing an automated DIY table that synchronizes with a camera (Makhija et al., 2020). We developed a novel plant pathogen strain engineered to carry the brightest luminescent reporter (Pujara et al., 2021). We also developed an imaging software that will further expedite the imaging analysis (Rahman et al, 2022). We will soon systemically analyze all the available knock-out Arabidopsis lines with this pipeline.

Understanding the role of transposable elements in evolving resistance traits in plants

We are investigating the transgenerational adaptability/variability of plants under biotic stress. Our high-throughput disease resistance monitoring system enables us to analyze and track a large population of plants under various genetic and stress conditions.