BIOINFORMATICS CENTRE

Punjab Agricultural University

Dr. Parveen Chhuneja
Senior Molecular Geneticis & Director
P.A.U Ludhiana
E-mail: pchhuneja@pau.edu
Contact: +91-9888885557

Research Experience

Director, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, PAU, Ludhiana (September 19, 2016 – till date)
Senior Molecular Geneticist, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, PAU, Ludhiana (Oct. 2011 - till date)
Geneticist/Molecular Geneticist, School of Agricultural Biotechnology, (Oct. 2005 - Sept. 2011)
Assistant Cytogeneticist/Geneticist, Dept. of Genetics and Biotechnology, PAU, Ludhiana (May 1999 - Sept. 2005)
Assistant Scientist (Young Scientist award), Department of Soils, PAU, Ludhiana (Oct. 1996 - April 1999)
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Plant Breeding/Biotechnology Centre, PAU, Ludhiana (May 1992 - Sept. 1996)

Research Projects

International Projects

1. Maximizing the potential for sustainable and durable resistance to the wheat yellow rust pathogen (BBSRC, BMGF, DFID, DBT)-PI
2. Rapid identification of disease resistance genes from plant genomes by resistance gene enrichment sequencing (RenSeq) of EMS-derived susceptible mutants (BBSRC-DBT)-PI
3. Cambridge-India Network for Translational Research in Nitrogen (CINTRIN) (BBSRC-DBT)-PI

National Projects:

1. Creation of novel genetic resources through alien and exotic introgression for higher productivity and resistance in wheat and rice (Niche area) (ICAR)-PI
2. Understanding molecular basis for diversity in disease resistance genes in homoeologous group 5 of wheat (DBT programme support) (DBT)-PI
3. Sub Distributed Centre in Bioinformatics (DBT)-PI
4. Biofortification of wheat for micronutrients through conventional and molecular approaches-Phase-II -PI

Publications




2020-22 2018-20 2016-18 2014-16 2012-2014 2010-2012 2008-2010 2006-2008 Before 2006
  1. Singh H, Kaur J, Bala R, Srivastava P, Sharma A, Grover G, Dhillon GS, Singh RP, Chhuneja P, Bains NS: Residual effect of defeated stripe rust resistance genes/QTLs in bread wheat against prevalent pathotypes of Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici. PloS one 2022

  2. Kaur A, Grewal SK, Kaur S, Sharma A, Srivastava P, Garg M, Wani SH, Chhuneja P, Singh K, Kaur S: Juvenile Heat Stress Tolerance in Triticum Durum-Aegilops Tauschii Derived Synthetics: a Way Forward for Wheat Improvement. Research Square Preprint 2022

  3. Grover G, Sharma A, Mackay I, Srivastava P, Kaur S, Kaur J, Burridge A, Allen SP, Bentley AR, Chhuneja P, Bains NS:Identification of a novel stripe rust resistance gene from the European winter wheat cultivar ‘Acienda’: A step towards rust proofing wheat cultivation. Plos one 2022

  4. Mangat HK, Rani M, Pathak RK, Yadav IS, Utreja D, Chhuneja PK, Chhuneja P: Virtual screening, molecular dynamics and binding energy-MM-PBSA studies of natural compounds to identify potential EcR inhibitors against Bemisia tabaci Gennadius. Plos one 2022

  5. Deol JK, Sharma SP, Rani R, Kalia A, Chhuneja P, Sarao NK: Inheritance analysis and identification of SSR markers associated with fusarium wilt resistance in melon. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology 2022

  6. Kaur A, Kaur S, Sharma A, Chhuneja P: Channelizing Novel Diversity Through Synthetics for Wheat Improvement. New Horizons in Wheat and Barley Research 2022

  7. Gupta PK, Balyan HS, Chhuneja P, Jaiswal JP, Tamhankar S, Mishra VK, Bains NS, Chand R, Joshi AK, Kaur S, Kaur H, Mavi GS, Oak M, Sharma A, Srivastava P, Sohu VS, Prasad P, Agarwal P, Akhtar M, Badoni S, Chaudhary R, Gahlaut V, Gangwar RP, Gautam T, Jaiswal V, Kumar RS, Kumar S, Shamshad M, Singh A, Taygi S, Vasistha NK, Vishwakarma MK: Pyramiding of Genes for Grain Protein Content, Grain Quality and Rust Resistance in Eleven Indian Bread Wheat Cultivars: A Multi-Institutional Effort. Molecular Breeding 2022

  8. Mohanpuria P, Govindaswamy M, Sidhu GS, Singh S, Kaur S, Chhuneja P: Ingestion of bacteria expressing dsRNA to maggots produces severe mortality and deformities in fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)(Diptera: Tephritidae). Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control 2021

  9. Seni S, Kaur S, Malik P, Yadav IS, Sirohi P, Chauhan H, Kaur A, Chhuneja P: Transcriptome based identification and validation of heat stress transcription factors in wheat progenitor species Aegilops speltoides. Scientific reports 2021

  10. Delorean E, Gao L, Lopez JFC, Open Wild Wheat Consortium, Wulff BBH, Ibba MI, Poland J: High molecular weight glutenin gene diversity in Aegilops tauschii demonstrates unique origin of superior wheat quality. Communications Biology 2021

  11. Gaurav K, Arora S, Silva P, Sánchez-Martín J, Horsnell R, Gao L, Brar GS, Widrig V, Raupp WJ, Singh N, Wu S, Kale SM, Chinoy C, Nicholson P, Quiroz-Chávez J, Simmonds J, Hayta S, Smedley MA, Harwood W, Pearce S, Gilbert D, Kangara N, Gardener C, Forner-Martínez M, Liu J, Yu G, Boden SA, Pascucci A, Ghosh S, Hafeez AN, O’Hara T, Waites J, Cheema J, Steuernagel B, Patpour M, Justesen AF, Liu S, Rudd JC, Avni R, Sharon A, Steiner B, Kirana RP, Buerstmayr H, Mehrabi AA, Nasyrova FY, Chayut N, Matny O, Steffenson BJ, Sandhu N, Chhuneja P, Lagudah E, Elkot AF, Tyrrell S, Bian X, Davey RP, Simonsen M, Schauser L, Tiwari VK, Kutcher HR, Hucl P, Li A, Liu D, Mao L, Xu S, Brown-Guedira G, Faris J, Dvorak J, Luo M, Krasileva K, Lux T, Artmeier S, Mayer KF, Uauy C, Mascher M, Bentley AR, Keller B, Poland J, Wulff BBH: Population genomic analysis of Aegilops tauschii identifies targets for bread wheat improvement. Nature Biotechnology 2021

  12. Barsby TN and Chhuneja P, Sandhu N, Kaur A, Sethi M, Kaur S, Singh V , Sharma A, Bentley AR: Genetic Dissection Uncovers Genome-Wide Marker-Trait Associations for Plant Growth, Yield, and Yield-Related Traits Under Varying Nitrogen Level. Fronters in Plant science 2021

  13. Kumar A, Sandhu N, Kumar P, Pruthi G, Singh J, Kaur S, Chhuneja P: Genome-wide Analysis of NPF, NRT2, CLC and SLAC1/SLAH Nitrate Transporters in Hexaploid Wheat (Triticum aestivum). Research Square Preprint 2021

  14. Singh J, Singh R, Dhaliwal HS, Sidhu GS, Thakur A, Chhuneja P: Morpho-genetic diversity in zygotic populations derived from Rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush.) and their tolerance against Phytophthora. Fruits 2021

  15. Riar AK, Chhuneja P, Keller B, Singh K: Mechanism of leaf rust resistance in wheat wild relatives, Triticum monococcum L. and T. boeoticum L. Plant Genetic Resources 2021

  16. Steadham J, Schulden T, Kalia B, Koo DH, Gill BS, Bowden R, Yadav IS, Chhuneja P, Erwin J, Tiwari V, Rawat N: An approach for high-resolution genetic mapping of distant wild relatives of bread wheat:example of fine mapping of Lr57 and Yr40 genes. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 2021

  17. Shinde S, Dhillon GS, Kaur A, Chhuneja P, Sharma A, Kaur S: Characterization of Potential Candidate Genes for Grain Size in Wild Emmer Wheat Triticum Dicoccoides. Research Square Preprint 2021

  18. Sandhu N, Sethi M, Kumar A, Dang D, Singh J, Chhuneja P: Biochemical and genetic approaches improving nitrogen use efficiency in cereal crops:A review. Frontiers in Plant Science 2021

  19. Bansal M, Adamski NM, Toor PI, Kaur S, Sharma A, Srivastava P, Bansal U, Uauy C, Chhuneja P: A robust KASP marker for selection of four pairs of linked leaf rust and stripe rust resistance genes introgressed on chromosome arm 5DS from different wheat genomes. Molecular Biology Reports 2021

  20. Gautam T, Kumar K, Agarwal P, Tyagi S, Jaiswal V, Gahlaut V, Kumar S, Prasad P, Chhuneja P, Balyan HS, Gupta PK: Development of white-grained PHS-tolerant wheats with high grain protein and leaf rust resistance. Molecular Breeding 2021

  21. Jakhu P, Sharma P, Yadav IS, Kaur P, Kaur S, Chhuneja P, Singh K: Cloning, expression analysis and In silico characterization of HSP101: A potential player conferring heat stress in Aegilops speltoides (Tausch) Gren. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants 2021

  22. Elkot AF, Singh R, Kaur S, Kaur J, Chhuneja P: Mapping novel sources of leaf rust and stripe rust resistance introgressed from Triticum dicoccoides in cultivated tetraploid wheat background. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology 2021

  23. Hari-Gowthem G, Sharma P, Yadav I, Kaur S, Chhuneja P: Highly conserved TaPstol5AS-1, a wheat ortholog of OsPstol1 has undergone a high selection pressure. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology 2021

  24. Dhillon GS, Das N, Kaur S, Srivastava P, Bains NS, Chhuneja P: Marker assisted mobilization of heat tolerance QTLs from Triticum durum-Aegilops speltoides introgression lines to hexaploid wheat. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding 2021

  25. Gautam T, Kumar K, Agarwal P, Tyagi S, Jaiswal V, Gahlaut V, Kumar S, Prasad P, Chhuneja P, Balyan HS, Gupta PK: Development of white-grain pre-harvest sprouting tolerant and pyramided protein-rich leaf rust resistant wheats using molecular breeding. Molecular Breeding 2021

  26. Arora S, Kaur S, Dhillon GS, Singh R, Kaur J, Sharma A, Chhuneja P: Introgression and genetic mapping of leaf rust and stripe rust resistance in Aegilops triuncialis. Journal of Genetics 2021

  27. Kaur A, Chhuneja P, Srivastava P, Singh K, Kaur S: Evaluation of Triticum durum–Aegilops tauschii derived primary synthetics as potential sources of heat stress tolerance for wheat improvement. Plant Genetic Resources 2021

  28. Kaur G, Pathak M, Singla D, Chhabra G, Chhuneja P: Quantitative Trait Loci Mapping for Earliness, Fruit, and Seed Related Traits Using High Density Genotyping-by-Sequencing-Based Genetic Map in Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia). Frontiers in Plant Science 2021

  29. Gill KS, Kaur G, Kaur G, Kaur J, Sra SK, Kaur K, Gurpreet K, Sharma M, Bansal M, Chhuneja P, Banga SS: Development and validation of Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR Assays for erucic acid content in Indian Mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern and Coss.]. Frontiers in plant science 2021

  30. Yadav IS, Bhardwaj SC, Kaur J, Singla D, Kaur S, Kaur H, Rawat N, Tiwari VK, Saunders D, Uauy C, Chhuneja P: Whole genome resequencing and comparative genome analysis of three Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici pathotypes prevalent in India. bioRxiv 2021

  31. Thakur S, Yadav IS, Jindal M, Sharma PK, Dhillon GS, Boora RS, Arora NK, Gill MIS, Chhuneja P, Mittal A: Development of Genome-Wide Functional Markers Using Draft Genome Assembly of Guava (Psidium guajava L.) cv. Allahabad Safeda to Expedite Molecular Breeding. Frontiers in Plant Science 2021

  32. Kaur R, Dhillon GS, Kaur A, Kaur S, Kaur P, Kaur D, Kumar A, Singh R, Mavi GS, Grewal SK, Chhuneja P, Kaur S: Targeted resurrection of chromosomal arm 1RS in two elite wheat lines with 1BL/1RS translocation for improved end-use quality. bioRxiv 2021

  33. Bala S, Asthir B, Taggar MS, Goyal M, Bains NS, Sharma A, Chhuneja P: Grain carbon metabolism and stem reserve mobilization compensate high temperature stress in wheat. Agrochimica 2021

  34. Kaur G, Pathak M, Singla D, Sharma A, Chhuneja P, Sarao NK: High-Density GBS-Based Genetic Linkage Map Construction and QTL Identification Associated With Yellow Mosaic Disease Resistance in Bitter Gourd (Momordica charantia L.). Frontiers in Plant Science 2021

  35. Kaur J, Kaur J, Dhillon GS, Kaur H, Singh J, Bala R, Srivastava P, Kaur S, Sharma A, Chhuneja P: Characterization and mapping of spot blotch in Triticum durum–Aegilops speltoides introgression lines using SNP markers. Frontiers in Plant Science 2021

  36. Gaurav K, Arora S, Silva P, Sánchez-Martín J, Horsnell R, Gao L, Brar GS, Widrig V, Raupp J, Singh N, Wu S, Kale SM, Chinoy C, Nicholson P, Quiroz-Chávez J, Simmonds J, Hayta S, Smedley MA, Harwood W, Pearce S, Gilbert D, Kangara N, Gardener C, Forner-Martínez M, Liu J, Yu G, Boden S, Pascucci A, Ghosh S, Hafeez AN, O’Hara T, Waites J, Cheema J, Steuernagel B, Patpour M, Justesen AF, Liu S, Rudd JC, Avni R, Sharon A, Steiner B, Kirana RP, Buerstmayr H, Mehrabi AA, Nasyrova FY, Chayut N, Matny O, Steffenson BJ, Sandhu N, Chhuneja P, Lagudah E, Elkot AF, Tyrrell S, Bian X, Davey RP, Simonsen M, Schauser L, Tiwari VK, Kutcher HR, Hucl P, Li A, Liu D, Mao L, Xu S, Brown-Guedira G, Faris J, Dvorak J, Luo M, Krasileva K, Lux T, Artmeier S, Mayer KF, Uauy C, Mascher M, Bentley AR, Keller B, Poland J, Wulff BB: Evolution of the bread wheat D-subgenome and enriching it with diversity from Aegilops tauschii. BioRxiv 2021

  37. Sharma A, Srivastava P, Mavi GS, Kaur S, Kaur J, Bala R, Singh TP, Sohu V, Chhuneja P, Bains NS, Singh G: Resurrection of wheat cultivar PBW343 using marker-assisted gene pyramiding for rust resistance. Frontiers in Plant Science 2021

  38. Kaur G, Gill KS, Kaur G, Kaur J, Kaur K, Gurpreet K, Sharma M, Bansal M, Chhuneja P, Banga SS: Development and validation of kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASPar) assays for erucic acid content in Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern and Coss]. Frontiers in Plant Science 2021

News/Announement

  • Admission for M.Sc Biotechnology are open through GAT-B at School of Agricultural Biotechnology, PAU. Detail
  • Developed a database for plant disease susceptibility genesDetail
  • A review article on Genome engineering of disease susceptibility genes for enhancing resistance in plantsFunctional and Integrative GenomicsDetail
  • Developed a GUI software for Genome Assembly and Annotation.Detail
  • We are looking for researchers having expertise in Next Generation Data Analysis, Machine Learning, Database development and willing to apply for upcoming DST-NPDF Fellowship etc.
  • Assembled Mitochondrial Genome of Onion