Welcome to the Chemical Glycobiology Lab
In brief: Our research group is working on glycobiology of plant-pathogen interactions. Especially we focus on the glycans (carbohydrate) and novel proteins that play important role in plant defense. Identification of these key players will eventually lead to the generation of disease-resistant crops using plant biotechnology tools such as CRISPR/cas9. Our research focus is also on the application part of glycans (carbohydrates) for crop protection and human health.
RP1: Biology: Glycans are carbohydrate-based molecules that play an important role in several biological processes across various domains of life. From a biological perspective, we would like to unravel the roles of novel glycans (in microbes and plants) that are generated by CAZymes (glycosidases and glycosyltransferases) during plant-microbe interactions. Specifically, we would focus on the novel glycan-derived elicitors that are important for immune signaling and disease resistance in crop plants.
In our recently funded SERB-SRG project, we will elucidate the role of extracellular polysaccharide matrix in a fungal pathogen, Macrophomina phaseolina. This pathogen causes charcoal rot disease in soybean and causes serious yield losses. We will identify novel components that mediate disease resistance/susceptibility during Macrophomina-soybean interactions using glycomics approaches
RP2: Plant Biotech: The mechanistic insights gained in the RP1 will be used for translational purposes for crop improvement such as generating disease-resistance crops using biotechnology tools such as CRISPR/Cas9.
RP3: Glyco-biotech: Glycan has a tremendous impact on crop protection by acting as elicitors or biostimulants that trigger the plant immune system. We are using cutting-edge glyco analytical technologies to unravel molecules for crop protection. Furthermore, glycans also have a tremendous impact on human health and therapeutics. We aim to synthesize novel glycans in heterologous systems using synthetic biology approaches.
Technology: We will employ state-of-the-art of complex carbohydrate analytics and advanced proteomic approaches to address our research questions.
Currently we are looking for enthusiastic and motivated Ph.D/postdoctoral research associate to join our laboratory.
For Postdoc
- Interested candidates will be supported to apply for the independent fellowship programs such as N-PDF fellowship https://serbonline.in/SERB/npdf or other DST/DBT programs for young scientists
For Ph.D. students
- Students having their own fellowship such as CSIR/UGC/DBT etc. are encouraged to contact Dr. Balakumaran Chandrasekar. Ph.D. students are also recruited in our group through Institute Fellowship Program, Offered by BITS-Pilani. Admission for year 2022 are open,
You are welcome to contact Dr. Balakumaran if you are excited about glycans, CAZymes, synthetic biology and plant-microbe interactions!. Send a CV along with a covering letter if you are interested to join our laboratory.
An Institute of Eminence
