Award and Honors:

• Secured 6th rank in Msc Botany in Acharya Nagarjuna University (State University) common entrance test (ANU-CET).
• Qualified for GATE-2009 in Life Sciences with 91.25 percentile.
• Qualified for DBT-JRF in 2010.
• Qualified for CSIR-UGC/NET in 2010.
• Qualified for ICAR-ASRB NET in 2010 & 2017.
• Awarded DAAD-NPTI fellowship, visited Prof. Bruno M. Moerschbacher laboratory, WWU of Munster, Germany for three months in 2012 (1st Jul-30th Sep).
• Received travel grant from Department of Biotechnology (DBT-CTEP) (DBT Commitment letter No: DBT/CTEP/02/201500864) to present a poster in EUCHIS/ICCC 2015, International conference held in Germany during 30th Aug-2nd Sep, 2015.
• Received award for publishing research article in high impact factor (>4) journal from Dept of Plant Sciences, University of Hyderabad in 2017.
• Selected for DBT-RA 2019 given by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), India.
• Selected as a scientist (Knowledge Management) in CSIR-IHBT, 2019- not availed.
• Selected as an assistant professor (Botany), Kanchi Mamunivar Centre for Post Graduate Studies, Puducherry (UT) through Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)- not availed.
• Received Young Scientist Award-2020 from Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences (APAS).
• Received best oral presentation award in International Conference on Vegetable Oils-2023 (ICVO-2023) (Co-author).
• Received best poster presentation award at Second National Genetics Congress-Genetics and Genomics for a Better Future: Microbes to Man held at IARI,New Delhi on December 11-13, 2024 (Co-author).

Foreign Visits :

1. WWU of Munster, Germany (1st Jul 2012 to 30th Sep 2012) as a DAAD-NPTI Fellow.

Research title: Investigation for novel Microbe Associate Molecular Patterns (MAMPs) from Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR).

Research supervisor: Dr. Bruno M. Moerschbacher, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Biology.

2. WWU of Munster, Germany (1st Sep 2015 to 30th Nov 2015) as a EU- funded project: Nano3Bio.

Research title: In-depth characterization of various transglycosylating (TG) chitinases & checking for priming and elicitor activity of crude chitooligosaccharide mixture on rice and medicago plant cell suspensions.

Research Supervisor: Dr. Bruno M. Moerschbacher, Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Biology.

Technologies/Products/Varieties/Novel germplasm/Methodologies developed:-  

Patents/copyrights :

Student Guided : 

Member of Scientific Society : 

1. Life member for Indian Society of Oilseed Research
2. Life member for Asian PGPR society

Training Organized : 

Training Undergone :

• Presented a poster presentation titled “Animal –Type family 18 bacterial salt tolerant chitinase from Flavobacterium johnsoniae (FjChiC) exhibits transglycosylation” in 12th International Conference of the European Chitin Society / 13th International Conference on Chitin and Chitosan (EUCHIS /ICCC 2015), organized by University of Munster, Germany during 30thAug-2nd Sep 2015.
• Participated in European Union (EU) - sponsored “NanoBioSaccharides (NBS) Dissemination Conference” organized by University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad during 18th -19th Sep 2008.
• Participated and presented a poster presentation titled “Functional and taxonomic diversity of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) from tomato” in International conference on microbial biotechnology for sustainable development”, organized jointly by Punjab University, Chandigarh and 52nd Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI) during 3rd-6th Nov 2011.
• Participated and presented a poster presentation titled “Characterization of Bacterial strains isolated from different parts of tomato plant for their use as potential Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)” in Asian PGPR Society- Indian Group Meeting, organized by University of Hyderabad on 5th Dec 2011.
• Participated and presented a poster presentation titled “Chitin Binding Protein 21 (CBP21): A novel protein elicitor from root endophytic Serratia proteamaculans 568” in Indo-japan workshop on “Signal sensing and transduction in photosynthetic organisms- from cyanobacteria to land plants” organized by University of Hyderabad on during 5th Dec 2013.
• Participated and presented a poster presentation titled “Cloning of Chitinases from Chitin-digesting Gliding Bacterium Flavobacterium johnsoniae UW101: Partial Characterization of Chitinase C” in International conference on Genomes: mechanism and function, organized jointly by University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad and Society of Biological Chemists (SBC), India during 2nd -5th Dec, 2013.
• Participated and given oral presentation titled “FjChiC: Animal –Type family 18 bacterial chitinase, from Flavobacterium johnsoniae exhibits transglycosylation Activity” in National Conference on Application of the Derivatives of Chitin and Chitosan (ADCC-2014) organized jointly by Gandhigram Rural Institute, Gandhigram, Tamil Nadu and Indian Chitin and Chitosan Society (ICCS) during 22nd -23rd Aug 2014.
• Participated and presented a poster presentation titled “Chitinase-D from a plant growth promoting Serratia marcescens GPS5 with high transglycosylation activity on chitooligomers” in 6th Annual conference for Asian Community of Glycoscience and Glycotechnology, organized by University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad during 9th-12th Dec 2014.
• Participated in Young Researcher Symposium held in WW University Munster (WWUM) as a part of 12th International Conference of the European Chitin Society / 13th International Conference on Chitin and Chitosan (EUCHIS /ICCC 2015), held on 30th august 2015, Germany.
• Participated in the workshop on “A Panoply of Statastical Genetics and Data Mining- Destiny with R” jointly organized by CR Rao advanced institute of Mathemitics, Statestics and Computer Sciences and University of Hyderabad betwnn 26th to 29th July, 2016.
• Participated in National Training programme "Computational Analysis of Protein Structures" (CAPS)” held from 9th to 13th December, 2019 at CSIR-IMTECH, Chandigarh.
• Participated in ICAR Sponsored winter school on the “Development, Evaluation, and Biosafety assessment of Genome Edited Crops: Hands-on Training” from January 20- February 09, 2023.

Publications (Top 30) :

• Research articles:
  Vaikuntapu, P.R., Rambabu, S., Madhuprakash, J., Podile, A.R., 2016. A new chitinase-D from a plant growth promoting Serratia marcescens GPS5 for enzymatic conversion of chitin. Bioresour. Technol. 220, 200-207. DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2016.08.055. (Impact Factor: 11.40).
• Vaikuntapu, P.R., Mallakuntla, M.K., Das, S.N., Bhuvanachandra, B., Ramakrishna, B., Nadendla, S.R., Podile, A.R., 2018. Applicability of endochitinase of Flavobacterium johnsoniae with transglycosylation activity in generating long-chain chitooligosaccharides. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 117, 62-71. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.05.129. (IF: 8.20).
• Vaikuntapu, P.R., Dutta, S., Samudrala, R.B., Rao, V.R.V.N., Kalam, S., Podile, A.R., 2014. Preferential Promotion of Lycopersicon esculentum (Tomato) Growth by Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria Associated with Tomato. Indian J. Microbiol. 54, 403-412. DOI:10.1007/s12088-014-0470-z. (IF: 3.00).
• Nadendla, S.R., T., S.R., Vaikuntapu, P.R., Maddu, R.R., Podile, A.R., 2018. Harpin Pss encapsulation in chitosan nanoparticles for improved bioavailability and disease resistance in tomato. Carbohydr. Polym. 199, 11-19. DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.06.094. (IF: 11.20).
• Ramakrishna, B., Vaikuntapu, P.R., Mallakuntla, M.K., Bhuvanachandra, B., Dokku, S., Uikey, S., Podile, A.R., 2018. Carboxy-terminal glycosyl hydrolase 18 domain of Chitinophaga pinensis is a non-processive exochitinase. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 115:1225-1232. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2018.04.159. (IF: 8.20).
• Mallakuntla, M.K., Vaikuntapu, P.R., Bhuvanachandra, B., Das, S.N., Podile, A.R., 2017. Transglycosylation by a chitinase from Enterobacter cloacae subsp. cloacae generates longer chitin oligosaccharides. Sci. Rep. 7, 5113. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-05140-3. (IF: 4.60).
• Thilagar, G., Bagyaraj, D.J., Podile, A.R., Vaikuntapu, P.R., 2016. Bacillus sonorensis, a novel plant growth promoting rhizobacterium in improving growth, nutrition and yield of chilly (Capsicum annuum L.). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. India Sect. B Biol. Sci. 88, 813-818. DOI: 10.1007/s40011-016-0822-z.
• Podile AR, Vukanti RVNR, Ankati S, Kalam S, Dutta A, Durgeshwar P, Vaikuntapu, P.R., 2014. Root colonization and quorum sensing are the driving forces of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) for growth promotion. Proc. Ind. Nat. Sci. Acad. 80:407-413. DOI: 10.16943/ptinsa/2014/v80i2/55117.
• Aparna, N., Vaikuntapu, P.R., Chinthapalli, D.K., Podile, A.R., Subramanyam, R., 2019. Truncated domains of human serum albumin improves the binding efficiency of uremic toxins: a surface plasmon resonance and computational approach. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. DOI:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2019.11.089. (IF: 8.20).
• Mohan K.M., Vaikuntapu P.R., Bhoopal Bhuvanachandra, Podile A.R., 2020. Selection and mutational analyses of the substrate interacting residues of a chitinase from Enterobacter cloacae subsp. cloacae (EcChi2) to improve transglycosylation. Int. J. Biol. Macromol, 165: 2432-2441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.10.125. (IF: 8.20).
• Vaikuntapu, P.R., Kumar V.D., Sujatha, M., Radhakrishnan, T., 2020. Genome editing without the hassles of tissue culture: Hope for editing plants recalcitrant to in vitro manipulations. J. Oilseeds Res., 37(3): 154-157, Sept., 2020.
• Vaikuntapu, P.R., Kumar, V.D. Applications and challenges of harnessing genome editing in oilseed crops. J. Plant Biochem. Biotechnol. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-022-00821-1 (IF: 1.9).
• Vora, Z., Pandya, J., Sangh, C., Vaikuntapu PR*. 2023. The evolving landscape of global regulations on genome-edited crops. J. Plant Biochem. Biotechnol. 32, 831–845 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13562-023-00863-z. (* Corresponding author). (IF: 1.9)
• Book chapters:
  Vaikuntapu, PR., Polumetla Ananda Kumar, PA., Madhav, MS., Sundaram, R.M. 2020. Exploration of CRISPR/Cas Toolbox for Developing Climate-Smart Plants. In: Ch. Srinivasarao et al., (Eds). Climate Change and Indian Agriculture: Challenges and Adaptation Strategies, ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. pp-23-48. SBN No : 978-81-943090-7-9.
• Kumar, K., Bhattacharjee, S., Vaikuntapu, PR., Sharma, CL., Jayaswal, D., Sharma, R., Sundaram, R.M. 2020. Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Through Biotechnological Interventions. In: Ch. Srinivasarao et al., (Eds). Climate Change and Indian Agriculture: Challenges and Adaptation Strategies, ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. pp-1-22. ISBN No : 978-81-943090-7-9.
• Kalam S, Ankati S, Vaikuntapu, P.R., Podile AR., 2015. Bacterial endophytes represent the hidden treasure for potential applications in agriculture. In: Plant microbe interactions (Ed: Ramasamy K, Kumar K); New India Publishing Agency, New Delhi, 123-142, ISBN No : 9789383305834.
• Ch.L.N. Manikanta, P. Ratnakumar, R. Manasa, Brij B. Pandey, P.R. Vaikuntapu, Akankhya Guru, Arti Guhey, R. Beena, K Ramesh and Yogeshwar Singh (2022) Chemical elicitors- a mitigation strategy for maximize crop yields under abiotic stress. Page number 271 to 292, book Plant Stress Mitigators (ISBN: 978-0-323-89871-3).
• Zarna Vora, Janki Pandya, Papa Rao Vaikuntapu, Sachidanand Singh, Asha. S, Ravi Kiran Purama (2022) Genome‐wide association of defense hormone cross-talk in plants. Book ‘Hormonal Cross-Talk, Plant Defense And Development’ to be published by Elsevier Inc., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. Accepted for publication. In Printing.
• Madhvi Sharma, Amanpreet K. Sidhu, Priya Shah, Papa Rao Vaikuntapu, Manish K. Pandey, Sunil S. Gangurde (2023) Repurposing CRISPR systems: technological advancements in CRISPR toolbox for improving plant salt tolerance – especially modifying gene expression along the Central Dogma. Final copy submitted.
• Radhakrishnan Thankappan, Mahesh K. Mahatma, Papa Rao Vaikuntappu, Manish K. Pandey, Kamal Krishna Pal (2023) Functional Genomics Research Advancement in Peanut. In a book entitled “Peanut genomics and biotechnology: status and prospects for sustainability”. Editors byDr. Weijian Zhuang, Dr. Rajeev K. Varshney, Dr. Xingjun Wang, and Dr. Ali Raza. To be published by CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group. Final copy submitted.

Any other Information

I started my research career by working on Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR). As a part of this work, I have isolated 74 pure bacterial isolates from a tomato plant and studied their plant growth promoting activities on different plant species viz., tomato, chickpea, groundnut, and sorghum. This project was successfully completed by identifying a potential non-host specific PGPR bacterial strain.

Since my Ph.D lab’s major thrust area of research canopies different aspects of chitinases, subsequently I have characterized diverse chitinases from Flavobacterium johnsoniae and Serratia marcescens to generate agriculturally important bioactive chitooligosaccharides (CHOS) from raw chitin polymers. Subsequently, the bioactivity of enzymatically generated CHOS were tested on plant cell suspension cultures of Medicago truncatula and Nicotiana tabacum. Thus, my work dealt mainly on the generation of biologically active chitin molecules to induce plant immunity.

I also worked as Research Associate (DBT-RA) at DBT-NIPGR, New Delhi, India on elucidating the role of rice wall associated kinase like (OsWAKL) protein in rice innate immunity against bacterial leaf blight causing by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). We are employed various technologies like CRISPR/Cas9, interactomics in this study. Later, I have joined as a Scientist at ICAR, India.