Dr. Nitika Sandhu
Molecular Geneticist
PUNJAB AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
LUDHIANA, PUNJAB, INDIA - 141 004
E-mail: nitikasandhu@pau.edu
Contact: +91-7988117600
Research experience
1. Research Associate at Super Seeds Pvt. Ltd., Hisar (Haryana) (June 2009 - Dec. 2009)
2. Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at International Rice Research Institute, Philippines. (Apr. 2014 - Mar. 2018)
3. Molecular Geneticist at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. (Mar. 2018 - till date)
Membership in Professional Associations
1. Life member Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding: L1196
2. Life member Institute of Scholars-InSc20200208
Awards
1. Awarded SERB-Women Excellence Award-2022 by DST, New Delhi, India
2. Awarded NASI-Young Scientist Platinum Jubliee Award-2020 by National Academy of Sciences, India.
3. Awarded InSc Young Achiever Award-2020
4. Awarded Young Scientist Award during “International Conference on Food Security - Challenges and Opportunities” at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology Patiala, Punjab, India
5. Awarded UNLEASH LAB INNOVATION-2017 Award.
6. Awarded Seed grant Post Doctoral Fellowship, IRRI, 2017.
7. Awarded Monsanto Beachell Borlaug International Scholarship for conducting Ph.D. Research.
Research Projects:
1. Elucidating the Genetic Architecture of tillering in wheat through CRISPR/CAS based editing of Ideal Plant Architecture gene (IPA1) and TEOSINTE BRANCHED 1 (TB1) (2022-25) Funded by Dept. of Biotechnology, GOI, New Delhi -PI
2. Development of SNP marker-based panel affordable to breeders for the traits improving germination of rice from deep sowing depth under direct seeded cultivation conditions (2022-25) Funded by Department of Science and Technology-SERB, New Delhi, India
3. Revealing the genetic secrets of Aegilops tauschii genome to shape future cereal crops (2019-22) Funded by Dept. of Biotechnology, GOI, New Delhi -PI
4. From QTLs/genes to direct seeded rice varietal development to meet future challenges (2019-22) Funded by Dept. of Biotechnology, GOI, New Delhi -PI
5. New varieties of direct seeded rice for farmers in Lower Middle-Income Countries (2019-21) Funded by UKRI and GCRF. -PI
6. Breeding, physiological and agronomic studies on seedling emergence and nutrient uptake to improve yield under Direct seeded cultivation conditions (2017-18) Funded by International Rice Research Institute,Philippines. -PI
7. Molecular and physiological studies to identify traits enhancing rice cultivars adaptation to aerobic conditions for sustainable rice production in water short situations (2011-14) Funded by Monsanto Beachell Borlaug International Scholarship Program -PI
Publications
- Sandhu N*, Singh J, Singh G, Sethi M, Singh MP, Pruthi G, Raigar OP, Kaur R, Sarao PS, Lore, JS, Singh UM, Dixit S, Sagare DB, Singh SP, Satturu V, Singh VK, Kumar A (2022) Development and validation of a novel core set of KASP markers for the traits improving grain yield and adaptability of rice under direct seeded cultivation conditions. Genomics, p.110269
- Yadav S, Sandhu N, Dixit S, Singh VK, Catolos M, Mazumder RR, Rahman MA, Kumar A* (2021) Genomics‐assisted breeding for successful development of multiple‐stress‐tolerant, climate‐smart rice for southern and southeastern Asia. The Plant Genome.:e20074.
- Sandhu, N., Yadav, S., Catolos, M., Cruz, M.T.S. and Kumar, A* (2021) Developing Climate-Resilient, Direct-Seeded, Adapted Multiple-Stress-Tolerant Rice Applying Genomics-Assisted Breeding. Frontiers in Plant Science. 12:637488.
- Xie X, Quintana MR, Sandhu N, Subedi SR, Zou Y, Rutkoski JE and Henry A*(2021) Establishment method affects rice root plasticity in response to drought and its relationship with grain yield stability. Journal of Experimental Botany, 72(14), pp.5208-5220.
- Sandhu N, Sethi M, Kumar A, Dang D, Singh J, Chhuneja P (2021)Biochemical and Genetic Approaches Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Cereal Crops: A Review. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12, p.757.
- Sandhu N*, Kaur A, Sethi M, Kaur S, Singh V, Sharma A, Bentley AR, Barsby T. Chhuneja P (2021) Genetic Dissection Uncovers Genome Wide Marker-Trait Associations for Plant Growth, Yield and Yield Related Traits Under Varying Nitrogen Levels in Nested Synthetic Wheat Introgression Libraries. Frontiers in Plant Science. 12:738710.
- Sandhu N, Yadav S, Singh VK, Kumar A (2021) Effective Crop Management and Modern Breeding Strategies to Ensure Higher Crop Productivity under Direct Seeded Rice Cultivation System: A Review. Agronomy, 11(7), p.1264
- Gaurav K, Arora S, Silva P, Sánchez-Martín J, Horsnell R, Gao L, Brar GS, Widrig V, John Raupp W, Singh N, Wu S………….Sandhu N, Chhuneja P,…..Wulff B* (2021) Population genomic analysis of Aegilops tauschii identifies targets for bread wheat improvement. Nature Biotechnology, pp.1-10.
- Menard G†, Sandhu N†, Anderson D, Catolos M, Hassall KL, Eastmond PJ, Kumar A, Kurup S* (2021) Laboratory phenomics predicts field performance and identifies superior indica haplotypes for early seedling vigour in dry direct-seeded rice. Genomics, 113(6):4227-4236. † Equal contribution
- Sanchez J, Kaur PP, Pabuayon IC, Karampudi NBR, Kitazumi A, Sandhu N, Catolos M, Kumar A, de Los Reyes BG* (2021) DECUSSATE network with flowering genes explains the variable effects of qDTY12.1 to rice yield under drought across genetic backgrounds. The Plant Genome, p.e20168.
- Sandhu N*, Pruthi G, Raigar P, Singh MP, Phagna K, Kumar A, Sethi M, Singh J, Ade PA, Saini DK (2021) Meta-QTL Analysis in Rice and Cross-Genome Talk of the Genomic Regions Controlling Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Cereal Crops Revealing Phylogenetic Relationship. Frontiers in Genetics, 12:807210-807210.
Book Chapter:
- Majumder RR, Sakhale S, Yadav S, Nitika Sandhu, Hassan L, Hossain MA, Kumar A.(2021) Molecular breeding for improving drought tolerance in rice: Recent progress and future perspectives. Molecular Breeding for Rice Abiotic Stress Tolerance and Nutritional Quality,p.53-74.
- Kumar A, Sandhu N, Venkateshwarlu C, Priyadarshi R, Yadav S, Majumder RR, Singh VK (2020)Development of introgression lines in high yielding, semi-dwarf genetic backgrounds to enable improvement of modern rice varieties for tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses free from undesirable linkage drag. Scientific Reports 10:13073. 2020
- Bhardwaj R, Singh BP, Sandhu N, Singh N, Kaur R, Rokana N, Singh KS, Chaudhary V, Panwar H* (2020) Probiotic mediated NF-κB regulation for prospective management of type 2 diabetes. Molecular Biology Reports, pp.1-13.
- Bhandari A, Sandhu N, Bartholome J, Cao-Hamadoun TV, Ahmadi N, Kumari N, Kumar A* (2020)Genome-wide association study for yield and yield related traits under reproductive stage drought in a diverse indica-aus rice panel. Rice, 13:53.
- Sagare D, Abbai R, Jain A, Kj P, Dixit S, Singh AK, Challa V, Alam S, Singh UM, Yadav S, Sandhu N, Singh VK, Kumar A* (2020)More and more of less and less: Is genomics based‐breeding of dry direct seeded rice (DDSR) varieties the need of hour? Plant Biotechnology Journal pp. 1–14.
- Sandhu N, Dixit S, Swamy BP, Raman A, Kumar S, Singh SP, Yadaw RB, Singh ON, Reddy JN, Anandan A, Yadav S, Kumar A* (2019)Marker Assisted Breeding to Develop Multiple Stress Tolerant Varieties for Flood and Drought Prone Areas. Rice, 12(1):8.
- Sandhu N, Yadaw RB, Chaudhary B, Prasai H, Iftekharuddaula K, Venkateshwarlu C, Annamalai A, Xangsayasane P, Battan KR, Ram M, Cruz MT, Kumar A*(2019)Evaluating the performance of rice genotypes for improving yield and adaptability under direct seeded aerobic cultivation conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 10:1-15.
- Yadav S, Sandhu N, Majumder RR, Dixit S, Kumar S, Singh SP, Mandal NP, Das SP, Yadaw RB, Singh VK, Sinha P, Kumar A* (2019)Epistatic interactions of major effect drought QTLs with genetic background loci determine grain yield of rice under drought stress. Scientific Reports, 9(1):2616.
- Subedi SR, Sandhu N, Singh VK, Sinha P, Kumar S, Singh SP, Ghimire SK, Pandey M, Yadaw RB, Varshney RK, Kumar A* (2019)Genome-wide association study reveals significant genomic regions for improving yield, adaptability of rice under dry direct seeded cultivation condition. BMC genomics, 20(1):471.
- Sandhu N, Subedi SR, Singh VK, Sinha P, Kumar S, Singh SP, Ghimire SK, Pandey M, Yadaw RB, Varshney RK, Kumar A* (2019)Deciphering the genetic basis of root morphology, nutrient uptake, yield, and yield-related traits in rice under dry direct-seeded cultivation systems. Scientific Reports, 9(1):9334.
- Yadav S, Sandhu N, Singh VK, Catolos M, Kumar A* (2019)Genotyping-by-sequencing based QTL mapping for rice grain yield under reproductive stage drought stress tolerance. Scientific reports, 4;9(1):1-2.
Book Chapters:
- Nitika Sandhu, Shailesh Yadav, Arvind Kumar (2020)Recent efforts in developing high-yield, drought-tolerant rice varieties. Advancement in Crop Improvement Techniques. Eds: Narendra Tuteja, Renu Tuteja, Nishat Passricha, Shabnam Saifi. Elsevier, Chapter 8, pp. 111–128.
- Nitika Sandhu, Shailesh Yadav and Arvind Kumar (2020) Advances in Developing Multigene Abiotic and Biotic Stress-Tolerant Rice Varieties, IntechOpen, DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.93751.
Books:
- Sihag M.K., Goyal, A., Meghwal, K., Tanwar, B. and Sandhu, N. 2019. Biochemistry and Human Nutrition, Publisher New India Publishing Agency (ISBN No. 9789387973541). Pages 284.
- Sandhu N, Dixit S, Swamy BM, Vikram P, Venkateshwarlu C, Catolos M, Kumar A* (2018)Positive interactions of major-effect QTLs with genetic background that enhances rice yield under drought. Scientific reports, 8(1):1626.
- Kumar A*, Sandhu N, Dixit S, Yadav S, Swamy BP, Shamsudin NA (2018)Marker-assisted selection strategy to pyramid two or more QTLs for quantitative trait-grain yield under drought. Rice, 11(1):35.
- Ohno H, Banayo NP, Bueno CS, Kashiwagi JI, Nakashima T, Corales AM, Garcia R, Sandhu N, Kumar A, Kato Y* (2018)Longer mesocotyl contributes to quick seedling establishment, improved root anchorage, and early vigor of deep-sown rice. Field Crops Research, 228:84-92.
- Yadav S, Uma MS, Shilpa MN, Venkateshwarlu C, Perumalla JR, Anitha KR, Sandhu N, Kumar A* (2017)Molecular Mapping of QTLs Associated with Lodging Resistance in Dry Direct-Seeded Rice (Oryza sativa L.). Frontiers in Plant Science, 8:1431.
- Catolos M, Sandhu N, Dixit S, Shamsudin NA, Naredo ME, McNally KL, Henry A, Diaz MG, Kumar A* (2017)Genetic loci governing grain yield and root development under variable rice cultivation conditions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8.
- Sandhu N, Subedi SR, Yadaw RB, Chaudhary B, Prasai H, Iftekharuddaula K, Thanak T, Thun V, Battan KR, Ram M, Venkateshwarlu C, Kumar A* (2017)Root Traits Enhancing Rice Grain Yield under Alternate Wetting and Drying Condition. Frontiers in Plant Science, 8:1879.
- Dixit S, Singh A, Sandhu N, Bhandari A, Vikram P, Kumar A* (2017) Combining drought and submergence tolerance in rice: marker-assisted breeding and QTL combination effects. Molecular Breeding, 37(12):143.
- Sandhu N, Kumar A (2017)Bridging the rice yield gaps under drought: QTLs, genes and their use in breeding programs. Agronomy,7: 27.
Book Chapter:
- Nitika Sandhu, Virender Singh, Manvesh Kumar Sihag, Sunita Jain, Rajinder Kumar Jain. . Developing climate smart aerobic rice varieties for addressing the problems of water scarcity and global warming (2017). Plant Biotechnology: Recent Advancements and Developments. Eds: S.K. Gahlawat, R.K. Salar, P. Siwach, J.S. Duhan, S. Kumar, P. Kaur. Springer. pp 75-85.
- Arvind Kumar, Nitika Sandhu, Shailesh Yadav, S.K. Pradhan, A. Anandan, E. Pandit, A. Mahender, Tilathoo Ram. .Rice varietal development to meet future challenges. The Future Rice Strategy for India (2017). Editors: Samarendu Mohanty, P. Chengappa, Mruthunjaya Hedge, J.K. Ladha, Sampriti Baruah, Elumalai Kannan, A. V. Manjunatha, Elsevier Inc. pp.161-220.
- Benildo G. de los Reyes, Yong Sig Kim, Bijayalaxmi Mohanty, Arvind Kumar, Ai Kitazumi, Isaiah Catalino M. Pabuayon, Nitika Sandhu, and Dong-Yup Lee.Cold and Water Deficit Regulatory Mechanisms in Rice: Optimizing Stress Tolerance Potential by Pathway Integration and Network Engineering (2018). Rice Genomics, Genetics and Breeding. Eds: T. Sasaki, M. Ashikari. Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. Chapter 17, pp. 317-359.
- Nitika Sandhu, Virender Singh, Manvesh Kumar Sihag. . Genomic footprints uncovering abiotic stress tolerance in rice (2018) Advances in Rice Research for Abiotic Stress Tolerance. Eds: Hasanuzzaman Masayuki Fujita Kamrun Nahar Jiban Biswas. Elsevier Inc, Chapter 36, pp. 737-753.
- Shamsudin NA, Swamy BM, Ratnam W, Cruz MT, Sandhu N, Raman AK, Kumar A* (2016)Pyramiding of drought yield QTLs into a high-quality Malaysian rice cultivar MRQ74 improves yield under reproductive stage drought. Rice, 9(1):21. 2016
- Sandhu N, K Anitha Raman, Torres RO, Audebert A, Dardou A, Kumar A, Henry A* (2016)Rice root architectural plasticity traits and genetic regions for adaptation to variable cultivation and stress conditions. Plant Physiology, 171:2562–2576.
Book Chapter:
- Nitika Sandhu, Virender Singh (2015)Root phonemics: An important route to rice crop improvement. Production and processing of food crops for value addition: Technology and genetic options. Eds: Prof. Dr. R. K. Behl, A. P. Singh, A.B. Lal, G. Haesaert. AGROBIOS (International). Chapter 6, Page 73-80. ISBN: 978-9381191-02-6.
- Virender Singh, Nitika Sandhu, Sonia Sheoran, Gyanendra Singh, Apurba Kumar Chowdhury (2015)Spot Blotch Disease of Wheat- a disease of global concern in warm and humid areas. Production and processing of food crops for value addition: Technology and genetic options. Eds: Prof. Dr. R. K. Behl, A. P. Singh, A.B. Lal, G. Haesaert. AGROBIOS (International). Chapter 3, Page 21-33. ISBN: 978-9381191-02-6.
- Nitika Sandhu, Arvind Kumar (2016)Developing and Disseminating Water-Saving Rice Technologies in Asia. Asian Development Bank. Chapter 16, Page 368-400. ISBN 978-92-9257-523-6.
- Sandhu N, Singh A, Dixit S, Cruz MT, Maturan PC, Jain RK, Kumar A* (2014)Identification and mapping of stable QTL with main and epistasis effect on rice grain yield under upland drought stress. BMC Genetics†, 15(1):63.
- Rani P, Sandhu N*, Jain S, Mehla BS, Jain RK (2014)Marker-assisted selection and QTL mapping for yield, root morphology and agronomic traits using MASARB25 (aerobic)× Pusa Basmati 1460 F3 mapping populations. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 74(4s):602-607.
- Sandhu N, Torres RO, Sta Cruz MT, Maturan PC, Jain R, Kumar A, Henry A* (2014)Traits and QTLs for development of dry direct-seeded rainfed rice varieties. Journal of Experimental Botany, 66(1):225-244.
- Sandhu N, Jain S, Kumar A*, Mehla BS, Jain R (2013)Genetic variation, linkage mapping of QTL and correlation studies for yield, root, and agronomic traits for aerobic adaptation. BMC Genetics†, 14(1):104 †BMC Genetics now known as BMC Genomic Data
Book Chapter:
- Anju Kharb, Nitika Sandhu and R. K. Jain . Aerobic Basmati Rice: A step towards sustainability (2014). Cutting Edge Science and technologies for food, environment and health. Eds: Prof. Dr. R. K. Behl, A.R. Asif, W. Merbach. AGROBIOS (INTERNATIONAL). Chapter 4, Page 31-38. ISBN: 978-93-81191-03-3.
- Sandhu N, Jain S, Battan KR, Jain RK* Aerobic rice genotypes displayed greater adaptation to water-limited cultivation and tolerance to polyethyleneglycol-6000 induced stress. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 18(1):33-43.
- Sandhu N, Jain S, Chowdhury VK, Jain RK* (2012)Microsatellite diversity among aerobic and lowland indica rice genotypes with differential water requirements. Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, 72(4):463-467. 2012
Book Chapter:
- Nitika Sandhu, Anju Kharb and R. K. Jain (2012)Molecular Breeding for Water-Efficient Aerobic Rice. Crop Science and Technology for Food Security, Bioenergy and Sustainability. Eds: Prof. Dr. R. K. Behl, Dr. L. Bona, Prof. Dr. J. Pauk, Prof. Dr. W. Merbach and Prof. Dr. A. Veha. Chapter 8, Page 62-72.