Ramgopal Prajapati
Education
Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology (2022) – National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Delhi, India
M.Sc. in Biotechnology (2013) – University of Lucknow, Lucknow, India
B.Sc. in Biotechnology (2011) – Devi Ahilya University, Indore, India
Experience
Postdoctoral Researcher (2025 – Present) – Virginia Tech, USA
Postdoctoral Researcher (2023 – 2024) – Kansas State University, USA
Research Associate III (2022 – 2023) –National Institute of Plant Genome Research, India
Research Assistant (2013 – 2015) – Indian Council of Medical Research, India
Awards
CSIR Lectureship Award – Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (2016)
Professor V.C. Shah Award – Best Poster Presentation, XLII All India Cell Biology Conference & 2nd International Conference on Trends in Cell and Molecular Biology, BITS Pilani, Goa (2018)
Best Poster Award – DST-SERB School on Chemical Ecology, NCBS Bangalore (2019)
Certificate of Appreciation – Outstanding contribution to the Wall Magazine, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (2018)
Dr. Prajapati’s research integrates systems and synthetic biology to explore fundamental biological processes and engineer novel functions with real-world applications. His work combines protein engineering, yeast and Arabidopsis genetics to understand cellular signaling mechanisms, particularly in phyto-hormones. He has extensive experience in calcium signaling, intracellular immune receptors and plant metabolic pathways with a focus on developing innovative solutions for sustainability.
Research Articles
Meena, M. K., Prajapati, R., Krishna, D., Divakaran, K., Pandey, Y., Reichelt, M., Mathew, M. K., Boland, W., & Vadassery, J. (2019). The Ca²⁺ channel CNGC19 regulates Arabidopsis defense against Spodoptera herbivory. The Plant Cell, 31(7), 1539-1562.
Prajapati, R., Mittal, D., Meena, M. K., & Vadassery, J. (2020). Jasmonic acid (JA)-induced calcium elevation in Arabidopsis is highly variable due to time of day and conversion to JA-Ile. Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 1-8.
Mittal, D., Mishra, S., Prajapati, R., & Vadassery, J. (2020). Forward genetic screen using transgenic calcium reporter Aequorin to identify novel targets in calcium signaling. JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments), 162, e61259.
Pandey, V. P., Bhagat, P. K., Prajapati, R., Jaiswal, N., Singh, S., Awasthi, M., & Dwivedi, U. N. (2016). A defense-associated peroxidase from lemon having dye decolorizing ability and offering resistance to heat, heavy metals, and organic solvents. Biochem Anal Biochem, 5(291), 2161-1009.
Prajapati, R., Kumari, M., Meena, M. K., & Vadassery, J. CNGCx: An Arabidopsis Ca²⁺ channel involved in DAMP-mediated plant defense against Spodoptera litura herbivory. (Ongoing).
Review Articles
Prajapati, R., & Vadassery, J. (2016). Role of calcium in perception of salt stress. Endocytobiosis Cell Res, 27, 21-24.
Prakash, V., Sharma, V., Devendran, R., Prajapati, R., Ahmad, B., & Kumar, R. (2024). A transition from enemies to allies: How viruses improve drought resilience in plants. Stress Biology, 4(1), 1-10.
Book Chapters
Dixit, S., Prajapati, R., & Upadhyay, S. K. (2024). Pectin methylesterase (PME) and PME inhibitors (PMEIs): Exploration of their role in stress response in plants. In Defense-Related Proteins in Plants (pp. 369-378). Academic Press.
Prajapati, R., & Tyagi, K. (2024). CRISPR/Cas‐mediated multiplex genome editing in plants and applications. In Applications of Genome Engineering in Plants (pp. 20-39).
Received DBT-JRF fellowship by Department of Biotechnology, 2013.
Received DBT-JRF fellowship by Department of Biotechnology, 2015.