Research focus: (High Altitude Himalayan Medicinal Plants)

• Development of cambial cell culture, single cell culture, and tissue culture systems for the sustainable production of bioactive compounds in Himalayan medicinal plants
• Understanding the molecular mechanism linked with enhanced secondary metabolites in single-cell culture using an omics approach
• Aeroponic and Hydroponic farming for metabolite-enriched plant biomass production and understanding of the mechanism of nutrients towards growth and development.

Publication (from IHBT):

1. Shagun Sharma, Pankaj Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Ashish R. Warghat (2023) In vitro propagation and omics breakthroughs for understanding specialized metabolite production in high-value Himalayan Fritillaria species. Industrial Crops & Products, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.117541.

2. Ashrita, Shiv Shanker Pandey, Ashish R. Warghat* (2023) The influence of ex-vitro acclimatization of elicitor-treated Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), on growth biomass, physiological traits, steviol glycosides accumulation, and biosynthesis pathway gene expression pattern. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-023-11109-6

3. Shiv Rattan, Ashish R. Warghat* (2023) Comparative analysis of salidroside and rosavin accumulation and expression analysis of biosynthetic genes in salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate elicited cell suspension culture of Rhodiola imbricata (Edgew.). Industrial Crops and Products, Volume 198, 116667, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2023.116667.

4. Archit Sood, Kanika Thakur, Robin Joshi, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2023) Comparative quantification of dactylorhin among different wild tissues and in vitro cultures of Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soó, an endangered medicinal orchid of Western Himalayas. South African Journal of Botany, Volume 153, Pages 172-177, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sajb.2022.12.024.
5. Shiv Rattan, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R. Warghat* (2022) The influence of phenylalanine feeding on cell growth, antioxidant activity, phenylpropanoids content, and yield in cell suspension culture of Rhodiola imbricata (Edgew.) Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11240-022-02356-8.
6. Mahinder Partap, Shiv Rattan, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R. Warghat* (2022) Bioprocess development for enhancing cell biomass, differential picrosides accumulation, and gene expression profiling at shake flask levels in suspension cultures of Picrorhiza kurroa. Industrial Crops and Products, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2022.115311.
7. Shiv Rattan, Pankaj Kumar, Ekjot Kaur, Archit Sood, Vishal Acharya, Ashish Warghat* (2022) Comparative transcriptome and tissue-specific expression analysis of genes reveal tissue-cultured plants as an alternative source for phenylethanoids and phenylpropanoids in Rhodiola imbricata (Edgew.) Gene. 836, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gene.2022.146672
8. Mahinder Partap, Jyoti Chhimwal, Pawan Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Yogendra Padwad, Ashish R. Warghat* (2022) Growth dynamics and differential accumulation of picrosides and its precursor metabolites in callus cell lines of Picrorhiza kurroa with distinct anti-steatotic potential. Process Biochemistry. 120, 85100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2022.06.002.
9. Shiv Rattan, Anil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2022) Enhanced production of phenylethanoids mediated through synergistic approach of precursor feeding and light regime in cell suspension culture of Rhodiola imbricata (Edgew.). Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-022-03914-8.
10. Mahinder Partap, Ashish R Warghat*, Sanjay Kumar (2022) Cambial meristematic cell culture: a sustainable technology towards in vitro specialized metabolites. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2022.2055995.
11. Mahinder Partap, Pankaj Kumar, Pawan Kumar, Probir Kumar Pal, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2022) Fruit derived callus and cell suspension culture as promising alternative sources for mogrosides production in Siraitia grosvenorii (Swingle) C. Jeffrey: a zero-caloric natural sweetener. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Volume 108, May 2022, 104450.
12. Shiv Rattan, Mahinder Partap, Kanika, Shiv Kumar, Ashish R. Warghat* (2022) Nutrient feeding approach enhances the vegetative growth biomass, volatile oil composition, and myristicin content in hydroponically cultivated Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Nyman. Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Volume 26, 100359.
13. Akhil Kumar, Seema Chauhan, Shiv Rattan, Ashish R. Warghat, Dinesh Kumar, Bhavya Bhargava (2022) In vitro propagation and phyto-chemical assessment of Cymbidium aloifolium (L.) Sw.: An orchid of pharma-horticultural importance. South African Journal of Botany, Volume 144, January 2022, Pages 261-269.
14. Shiv Rattan, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2021) Growth kinetics, metabolite yield, and expression analysis of biosynthetic pathway genes in friable callus cell lines of Rhodiola imbricata (Edgew). Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture, 146, 149–160.
15. Kanika Thakur & Ashrita & Archit Sood & Pawan Kumar & Dinesh Kumar & Ashish R. Warghat* (2021) Steviol glycoside accumulation and expression profiling of biosynthetic pathway genes in elicited in vitro cultures of Stevia rebaudiana. In vitro cellular and Developmental Biology, Plant, 57: 214–224.
16. Pankaj Kumar, Ashrita, Vishal Acharya, Ashish R. Warghat* (2021) Comparative transcriptome analysis infers bulb derived in vitro cultures as a promising source for sipeimine biosynthesis in Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don (Liliaceae, syn. Fritillaria roylei Hook.) - High value Himalayan medicinal herb, Phytochemistry, 183, 112631.
17. Mahinder Partap, P Kumar, A Kumar, R Joshi, D Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2020) Effect of elicitors on morpho-physiological performance and metabolites enrichment in Valeriana jatamansi cultivated under aeroponic conditions. Frontier in Plant Science, 11, 01263.
18. Mahinder Partap, P Kumar, Ashrita, P Kumar, D Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2020). Growth kinetics, metabolites production and expression profiling of picrosides biosynthetic pathway genes in friable callus culture of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 192, 1298–1317.
19. Shiv Rattan, Archit Sood, Pankaj Kumar, Anil Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2020). Phenylethanoids, Phenylpropanoids, and Phenolic acids quantification vis-a-vis gene expression profiling in leaf and root derived callus lines of Rhodiola imbricata. Industrial Crop and Products, 154,112708.
20. Pankaj Kumar, Mahinder Partap, Ashrita, Divya Rana, Pawan Kumar, Ashish R. Warghat* (2020). Metabolite and expression profiling of steroidal alkaloids in wild tissues compared to bulb derived in vitro cultures of Fritillaria roylei - high value critically endangered Himalayan medicinal herb, Industrial Crops and Products, 145, 11945.
21. Kanika Thakur, Mahinder Partap, Dinesh Kumar, Ashish R Warghat* (2019). Enhancement of picrosides content in Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. mediated through nutrient feeding approach under aeroponic and hydroponic system. Industrial Crops and Products, 133, 160-167.

Books/Chapters

1. Mahinder Partap, Abhishek Kumar, Pankaj Kumar, Shiv Shanker Pandey, and Ashish R. Warghat* (2023) Metabolomic studies of medicinal plant-fungi interaction. Plant-Microbe Interaction—Recent Advances in Molecular and Biochemical Approaches. Volume 2: Agricultural Aspects of Microbiome Leading to Plant Defence, Elsevier, pp 1-407, ISBN: 978-0-323-91876-3.
2. Shiv Rattan, Mahinder Partap, Ashrita, Kanika, Pankaj Kumar, Archit Sood, Ashish R. Warghat* (2022) Callus culture approach towards production of plant secondary metabolites. Agricultural Biotechnology: Latest Research and Trends, Springer, pp 171-183, ISBN: 978-981-16-2338-7.
3. Mahinder Partap, Shiv Rattan, Kanika, Ashrita, Archit Sood, Pankaj Kumar, Ashish R. Warghat* (2022) Hydroponic and Aeroponic Cultivation of Economically Important Crops for Production of Quality Biomass. Agricultural Biotechnology: Latest Research and Trends, Springer, pp 573-585, ISBN: 978-981-16-2338-7.
4. Pankaj Kumar, Ashrita, Mahinder Partap and Ashish R. Warghat* (2021) Fritillaria roylei; Himalayan Medicinal Plants, Advances in Botany, Production & Research Elsevier, pp 57-64. ISBN: 9780128231517.
5. Pushpender Bhardwaj, Shiv Rattan, Avilekh Naryal, Ashwani Bhardwaj and Ashish R. Warghat* (2021) Valeriana jatamansi, Himalayan Medicinal Plants, Advances in Botany, Production & Research Elsevier, ISBN: 9780128231517, pp. 259-268.

Citations: https://scholar.google.co.in/citations?user=5YaCUhcAAAAJ&hl=en

Technical Expert Review Committee

DST (AWSAR)

Editorial Board Member:

BMC Plant Biology and BMC Biotechnology

Awards/recognition

1. Shiv rattan, Ashish R. Warghat* got 2nd prize in poster presentation Entitled “In vitro propagation of Rhodiola imbricata (Edgew.): a high value rare medicinal herb” in International conference on conservation and sustainable use of high altitude medicinal and aromatic plants for the socio-economic development, Dehradun (29th-30th Nov., 2020).

2. Kanika Thakur, Ashish R Warghat* awarded as Best research scholar award for the paper presented entitled “Enhancement of picrosides content in Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth. mediated through nutrient feeding approach under aeroponic and hydroponic system” in Recent advances in Agricultural, environmental and applied Sciences for Global development, Nauni University, Solan (27th-29th Sept., 2019).

3. Research Associate ship, DIHAR (DRDO), Chandigarh, 2014

4. Travel grant received from Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and Human Resource Development Group, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to attend World Orchid Conference, at Singapore, 2011.

5. JRF and SRF- DIHAR (DRDO), Leh, 2009 and 2011.

Technology Transferred:

1. Amar Exports, Hyderabad-Tissue culture protocol & hydroponic cultivation of P. kurroa and V. jatamansi

2. HYDROCROPS INDIA PVT LTD, Jalandhar-Cultivation and production of Kutki and Jatamansi plants under hydroponic system 

3. Sh. Akshat Goel, New Delhi-Establishment of hydroponic facility for production of Lilium and Tulip plants

Nil

Interested and highly motivated students with independent fellowship like CSIR/UGC/DBT/INSPIRE are welcome to contact for PhD. Also candidates seeking for post doctoral research are encouraged to write their own research proposals for suitable funding of agencies like DST,CSIR,DBT etc.

Research Team:

1. Ms. Ashrita, Ph. D. Scholar (DBT-JRF), Topic: Plant cell culture for the enhancement of rebaudioside content in Stevia rebaudiana

2. Ms. Kanika Thakur, Ph. D. Scholar, Topic: Hydroponic and aeroponic farming for enhancement of picrosides content in Picrorhiza kurroa

3. Mr. Amit Kumar, Ph. D. scholar, Topic: Bioprocess development for enhancement of metabolites in Valeriana jatamansi

4. Ms. Shashi Rani, Ph. D. scholar, Topic: Development of cell culture for salidroside production in Rhodiola imbricata 

5. Ms. Aditi Sharma, Project Associate, Topic: Development of cell culture for picrosides production in Picrorhiza kurroa   

Start-up:

1. Sanjeev Kumar (Sanjeev Kumar Nursery, Kullu)-Cultivation of High Value lower Crops (Lilium and Tulip) using Hydroponic system

2. Kanik Kaushal (M/S Yuktika Biotech and Nutraceuticals Pvt. Ltd., Palampur)-Hydroponic Production of Strawberry and Cardamom

3. Akash Deep Rehan (Medicinal Nursery)- Hydroponic farming of kutki and jatamansi.

4. Ranjiv Singh (Hydro Farm)- Hydroponic cultivation of Bacopa monneri and Raulfoia serpentina

5. Suveer Singh (Vege Nursery)- Hydroponic farming of spice and exotic vegetable crops

6. Shikha Kalsi (Med plant tech)- Hydroponic cultivation of Nardostachys jatamansi

Past researchers:

Dr. Archit Sood (Currently working as Post Doc, at Institute of Plant Sciences, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Rishon Lezion, Israel)

Dr. Pankaj Kumar (Currently working as an Assistant Professor at Dr. Y. S. Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan, HP, India)

Dr. Shiv Rattan (Currently working as a Post-doctoral, at the Institute of Plant Sciences, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Rishon Lezion, Israel)

Dr. Mahinder Partap (Working as a Post-doctoral at the Institute of Plant Sciences, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Rishon Lezion, Israel)