Name: Dr. S. Kathiresan Designation: Associate Professor Phone: 04366-277230 Email:kathiresan@cutn.ac.in
Biographic Sketch:
Working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Central University of Tamil Nadu, Thiruvarur, India. Basically, he is an agricultural graduate, pursued M.Sc (Agri) in Plant Pathology as a ICAR-JRF at University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. After clearing CSIR-JRF, he joined for his Ph.D in Biotechnology at Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI), Mysore. He has around 15 years of teaching and research experience from various state universities. His main area of research is plant genomics and metabolic regulation especially in oilseed plants through genetic engineering strategies. He isolated and functionally validated the high value polyunsaturated fatty acid (HVPUFA) genes like Eesaturase and Elongase from marine microalga and expressed in the heterologous system like E. coli. Also, engineered the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and oilseed plants such as Soybean, Sesamum and Groundnut and regulated lipid biosynthetic pathway. He first described the Agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation in freshwater microalga Haematococcus pluvialis and regulated the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway for enhanced production of Astaxanthin a pigment. He has undergone several major research projects funded by UGC, DST, SERB, DBT and CSIR, Govt of India and published his findings in several peer reviewed international journals and book chapters in his credit.
Research Highlights :
Identified and characterized PUFA specific genes from marine microalgae and cloned the 5Des, 6Des and 6Elo genes and functionally characterized by expressing them in E.coli. Genetically engineered the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and oilseed plants such as Soybean and Sesamum using these genes and regulated lipid biosynthetic pathway for HVPUFA production. First described the Agrobacterium mediated genetic transformation in freshwater green microalga – Haematococcus pluvialis and regulated the carotenoid biosynthesis for Astaxanthin production. Evaluated the PUFA enriched microalgal biomass to the animal model and proved the supplementation Isochrysis biomass to elevate eicosapentaenoicacid (EPA) and docosahexaenoicacid (DHA) in brain and other organs.
Recent Publications :
Ram Kumar M, Gayathri S, Thangavel K, Jeyakumar B, Ganesh D and Kathiresan S* (2023). Combined supplementation of 2, 4-D and Kinetin Elevates Callus Induction from Cotyledon Segments of Different Soybean Cultivars (Glycine max (L.) Merril]. Plant Archives, 24
Jeyakumar B, Bhalram K, Thiyagarajan S, Parthasarathy A, Ramkumar M, Vellaikumar S, Arumugam M, Sugasini D, Kathiresan S* (2022). Maternal supplementation of high-value PUFA-Rich Isochrysis sp. biomass prevents monosodium glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in first-generation Wistar rats Neurochemistry International 105292 (IF 4.2) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2022.105292
Ram Kumar M, Thiyagarajan S, Parthasarathy A, Govendan S, Dinesh Babu KS, Gopal P, Babu Rajendra Prasad V, Kathiresan S* (2022). Extending Omega 3/6 Fatty Acid Pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana using Microalgal Gene 6Des for Stearidonic acid and Dihomo-γ-linolenic acid Production. South African Journal of Botany (IF 3.1) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2021.12.035
Parthasarathy A, Arumugam M, Kathiresan S* (2022). Iron and methyl jasmonate increase high-value PUFA production by elevating the expression of desaturase genes in marine microalga Isochrysis sp. Journal of Applied Microbiology. 132:3, 2042-2053. https://doi.org/10.1111/jam.153 56 (IF-4.1)
Muthu Ram K, Abhishek Kumar, Baburajendra Prasad V, Kathiresan S* (2021). IAA combine with kinetin elevates the α-linolenic acid in callus tissues of soybean by stimulating the expression of FAD3 gene Plant Gene 28 :100336
Jeyakumar B, Prakash G, Suganya K, Murugan M and Kathiresan S* (2021). Anti-listerial Activity of Microalgal Fatty Acid Methyl Esters and Their Possible Applications as Chicken Marinade. Accepted in International Journal of Food Microbiology. (IF-5.4)
Thiyagarajan S, Priyal K., Arumugam M, Vellaikumar S and Kathiresan S* (2020). Heterologous production of polyunsaturated fatty acids in E. coli using Δ5-desaturase gene from microalga Isochrysis sp. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-020-03460-1 (3.0)
Jeyakumar B, & Kathiresan S* (2020). Lowering the Culture Medium Temperature Improves the Omega-3 Fatty Acid Production in Marine Microalga Isochrysis sp. CASA CC 101. Preparative Biochemistry & Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826068.2020.1833345 (IF- 2.9)
Jeyakumar B, Asha D, Varalakshmi P, Kathiresan S* (2020). Nitrogen repletion favors cellular metabolism and improves eicosapentaenoic acid production in the marine microalga Isochrysis sp. CASA CC 101 Algal Research. 47:101877 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.algal.2020.101877 (IF- 5.1)
Thiyagarajan S Arumugam M, Kathiresan S.* (2019) Identification and Functional Characterization of Two Novel Fatty acid Genes from Marine Microalgae for Eicosapentaenoic acid Production. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. 190:13711384 (3.0)
