Education: B.Sc., RAU, Bikaner (1997); M.Sc., UAS, Bangalore (1999); Ph.D., PAU, Ludhiana (2003)
Positions held: Assistant Virologist, PAU Ludhiana (2004-2013), Senior Virologist (2013-2016), Principal Virologist (2019- Till date)
Field of Specialization: Plant Virology
Research Interests:
- Diagnosis and Characterization of Plant Viruses
- Identification of Resistant Sources in Vegetables against Plant Viruses
Ongoing Projects:
- RNAi mediated gene silencing for identification of novel and potential targets in whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (DBT)
- Identification and molecular tagging of gene(s) controlling resistance to chilli leaf curl virus infection in chilli-(Capsicum annuum L.)(NASF-ICAR)
- Genome sequence based ssr markers development and their utilization in mapping of Bittergourd yellow mosaic virus resistance in bittergourd (Momordica charantia L.) (DBT)
- Molecular mapping and transfer of YVMV resistance in okra [Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench]-(DBT)
- Funds for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (DST)
Selected Research Publications:
- Dhkal, M., Sharma, A. and Sharma, S.P. (2022) Biostimulants an important nonchemical alternative to pesticides for management of virus disease in Muskmelon. Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control, 32, 61. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-022-00560-4
- Sran TS, Jindal SK, Sharma A and Chawla N (2023) Genetics of novel leaf curl virus disease resistant pepper genotypes and antioxidative profile analysis of their progenies. Sci Hort 308: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2022.111563.
- Dhaliwal, SK, Gill, RK, Sharma, A Kaur A, Bhatia D, Kaur S (2022) A large-effect QTL introgressed from ricebean imparts resistance to Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus in blackgram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper). Theor Appl Genet 135: 4495–4506. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-022-04234-5
4. Sran TS, Jindal SK, Sharma A and Bhatia D (2023) LCVD resistance breeding in heat tolerant bell pepper: Combined phenotypic and marker-assisted backcrossing for introgression of LCVD resistance from hot pepper. Euphytica 219, 50 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-023-03182-5
5. Majumdar A, Sharma A and Belludi R (2023) Natural and engineered resistance mechanisms in plants against phytoviruses. Pathogens , 12, 619. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12040619
Awards/Honours/Distinctions:
- Awarded Junior Research Fellowship for Masters Programme by ICAR.
- Awarded Sandoz Biotech Fellowship for PhD Programme.
- Dr RK Arora Best Paper Award by Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources, ICAR,New Delhi
- Appreciation certificate by PAU
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