Biotechnological Advances in Agriculture, Healthcare, Environment and Industry

Prof. (Dr.) Priyanka Siwach, Ph.D. (Biotechnology & Molecular Biology), is serving as a professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India, with more than 23 years of regular teaching and research experience. Her specialization is Genomics and Plant Biotechnology. She has actively contributed to the academic administrative roles by discharging her duties as Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Dean Research, Chairperson of the Department of Biotechnology and Nodal Officer, Intellectual Property Rights. During her career, she has completed two R&D projects and has guided 10 Ph.D. and 15 M.Phil. students. She has published more than eighty research/review papers/articles in various national and international journals. She has three edited books (Springer Publishing House) and one authored book (Laxmi Publications) to her credit and has authored seven book chapters also. She has delivered many invited talks in her area of specialization in many conferences/workshops. Recently, in collaboration with the Supercomputing Facility for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, IIT, New Delhi, she developed a novel methodology for the annotation of the genome sequence and the work got published in Nucleic Acids Research. a journal of high repute (with an impact factor of 19.25). Recently, she has been granted one patent by the Indian Patent Office for a novel methodology of genetic transformation in Ficus religiosa L. She has been awarded Silver Jubilee Gold Medal for her Ph.D. thesis. She is also a reviewer of several international journals of reputed publishing houses like Wiley-VCH, Springer, Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis. Prof. (Dr.) Suresh Kumar Gahlawat, Ph.D. is a dedicated teacher with 26+ years of experience. Presently, he is working as a Professor of Biotechnology & Dean of Academic Affairs at Ch. Devi Lal University, Sirsa, and recipient of prestigious fellowships, namely BOYSCASTS and Biotechnology Overseas Associateship funded by Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India, availed at FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, Scotland. Published more than 90 research papers in journals of national and international repute, review articles, book chapters. Nine books published by Springer, CRC etc. were authored/edited by me. Completed four major research projects and supervised 14 Ph.D. and M.Phil. research scholars. Delivered more than 45 invited talks in the field of specialisation in various Academic staff colleges and conferences/seminars. Visited several laboratories i.e. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Weymouth, University of Stirling, BBSRC, Pirbright during Post-doctoral fellowships. Developed molecular diagnostic methods for detection of bovine viruses and filed four Indian patents. Easy and inexpensive methods for isolation of macrophages, sensitive non-destructive method for detection of IPNV carrier from Atlantic salmon, Loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum, Aeromonas hydrophila, Pseudomonas florescens were also developed. Major research work was carried out on IPNV carriers, Type-I interferon signaling, expression of interferon and interferon-induced genes, disease diagnosis, probiotics and nanotechnology on marine/freshwater fish and shellfish species. As an academic administrator, contributed as Dean of Colleges, Dean of Student’s Welfare, Dean of Research, Dean, Faculty of Life Sciences, Chairperson, Department of Biotechnology etc. Attended several trainings including the Leadership for Academician Programme (LeAP-2019) at AMU, Aligarh, and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia under the MHRD initiative. Prof. (Dr.) Raj Kumar Salar, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Biotechnology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India, with over 25 years of experience. He served as Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, Chairperson of the Department of Biotechnology and Controller of Examination at Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India. He is the recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship from the Ministry of Education, Slovak Republic, to pursue a post-doctorate from the Department of Biochemical Technology, Slovakia, and visited several other countries, including Japan, Norway, Austria, and Hungary, for academic pursuits. Besides thermophilic fungi, his current research interests include fermentation technology and harnessing the medicinal value of plants and microbes. He has supervised several PhD and MPhil students for their research work. He has published over 100 research papers and reviews in journals of national and international repute and edited four books published by Springer and CRC Press. He has also authored a book titled Thermophilic Fungi: Basic Concepts and Biotechnological Applications, published by CRC Press. Dr. Salar has also received several research and development projects from the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi, and the Haryana State Council for Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology, New Delhi. He is the academic editor of the prestigious journal PLOS ONE. Dr. Salar is also a reviewer of several journals published by Wiley-VCH, Springer, Elsevier, and Taylor & Francis. Dr. Salar received the prestigious King Abdulaziz City of Science & Technology Award for the best paper published in 3 Biotech Journal. He is also an elected Fellow of the Mycological Society of India. Prof. (Dr.) Joginder Singh Duhan, Ph.D. (Microbiology) is a professor and Chairperson, Department of Biotechnology, Microbiology and Zoology, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, India with 25+ years of experience in teaching and research. He is the recipient of the Young Scientist Award given by the Association of Microbiologists of India and the K.K. Nanda award for the best research and several other best paper awards. He has published more than 100 research papers in the Journal of National and International repute. He has four edited books in his credit, three are published by Springer and one by Narosa. He has received R&D projects from UGC and CSIR, New Delhi. He has supervised the research work of 15 M. Phil. and 11 Ph.D. students. His specialization includes Microbial Biotechnology, Fermentation Technology, and Nanotechnology. Professor Duhan is a reviewer of several journals published by Elsevier, Springer, MDPI, Wiley and Taylor and Francis. He is a life member of several prestigious academic bodies/associations like Indian Science Congress, Association of Microbiologists of India, SOCDAB etc. Dr. Pardeep Kumar Sadh, Ph.D., is currently serving as an Assistant Professor (Part-Time) in the Department of Biotechnology at Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, Haryana, India. He completed his MSc, M.Phil., and Ph.D. in the same department at Chaudhary Devi Lal University. Dr. Sadh has authored over 35 research and review articles in journals of national and international repute, contributed to 4 book chapters and edited one book published by Wiley Publishers. His research interests encompass bioresource technology, functional foods, food biotechnology, and agricultural waste management. During his Ph.D., he was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship by the University Grants Commission under the Government of India. He has received best poster awards at various conferences and certificates of excellence for his work as a reviewer for internationally reputed journals. Additionally, Dr. Sadh is a recognized reviewer and referee for several international and national journals.

PART I: AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

1. Wheat Biofortification: A Solution to Hunger and Malnutrition

Upendra Balyan, Yogita Singh, Priyanka Balyan, Sourav Panigrahi, Anuj Kumar

2. Molecular epidemiology of Cotton Leaf Curl Virus Disease: Recent developments toward sustainable fiber production

Inderjeet Singh, Heena Jain, Pardeep Kumar Sadh, Shiwani Chahal, Satish Kumar Sain, Sayed Sartaj Sohrab, Priyanka Siwach

3. Biotic stress amelioration in plants through Nanotechnology-driven antimicrobial interventions

Pawan Kaur, Chanchal Mony, Anamika Pal and Rita Choudhary

4. Exome sequencing: Genomic revolution of unlocking nutritional potential of food crops

Neeru S. Redhu, Bhart Garg, Jyoti Taunk, Vikram Singh, Jayanti Tokas, and Shikha Yashveer

5. Millets or Miracle: Biotechnological Interventions and Future Strategies

Deepika and Raj Kumar Salar

PART II: HEALTHCARE BIOTECHNOLOGY

6. RNAi: A promising next-generation therapeutics

Aman Kumar, Anubha Sharma, Sangeeta Das, Pankaj Deka, Kanisht Batra, Sunil Mor and Sushila Maan

7. Phage therapy as a vanguard against anti-microbial resistance (AMR): Prospects and applications

Shikha Malik, Nishu Rawat and Kiran Nehra

8. Terminalia arjuna for treatment of cardiovascular diseases: from traditional usage to high throughput drug discovery

Shiwani Chahal, Inderjeet Singh, Heena Jain, Anita Rani, Anita Rani Gill, Akhilesh Mishra and Priyanka Siwach

9. Nutrigenomics and personalised diet: Recent advancements and applications

Sanju Bala Dhull, Jyoti Rani, Pawan Kumar Rose, Mohd. Kashif Kidwai, Anita Singh Kirrolia, Gulden Goksen, Notoavina Faliarizao

10. Biosensor-based diagnosis of Infectious diseases: Advancements and challenges

Khushboo Sethi, Ruma Rani, Manju Bernela, Anita Rani Gill

11. Targeting hallmarks of cancer using a combo of traditional medicine and modern approaches

Basanti Brar, Kiran Bala, Kaushlesh Ranjan, Seema Joshi, Sumnil Marwaha, Anju Manuja, Minakshi Prasad

PART III: ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

12. Polyhydroxyalkanoate: A greener approach towards environmental sustainability

Sunena Dhania, Ruma Rani, Manju Bernela, Rajesh Thakur

13. Environmental and health risk assessment of organic pollutants: Biotechnological advancements

Ritu Rani and Dharmender Kumar

14. Herbal nano-formulations for control of storage grain pests

Asha Choudhary, Rajesh Thakur and Raj Kumar Salar

15. Duckweed utilization for management of freshwater resources: present understanding and future scope

Pawan Kumar Rose, Suman Rani, Meenakshi Suhag, Mohd. Kashif Kidwai, Sanju Bala Dhull, Jyoti Rani, Manjeet Bansal

16. Exploiting microbial genome for bioremediation of toxic pollutants: Recent developments

Sachin Malik and Dharmender Kumar

17. Effective Microorganisms as a key to biotechnologically emerging Eco-Remedial Technology for Restoration of Deteriorated Soil

Rani Devi, Alok Kumar Saran, and Pierre Navarro

PART IV: INDUSTRIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

18. Industrial applications of cellulases immobilised onto nano-supports: the plethora of opportunities

Shashi, Parul and Vinita Hooda

19. Oleaginous Algae-a promising industrial source for essential fatty acids: Developments and Scope

Manju Nehra, Amanjyoti, Vikas Nain, Kawaljeet Sandhu, Rahul Thory

20. Fermentation biotechnology and cereal industry: Nutritional and economic aspects

Sukhvinder Singh Purewal, Avneet Kaur, Raj Kumar Salar and Anil Kumar Siroha