56.5
Sanoj Kumar
National Botanical Research Institute, Banaras Hindu University
Sanoj Kumar's research has significantly contributed to the understanding of stress response mechanisms in plants. Studies on metallothionein (mt1) revealed its role as a molecular marker for stress tolerance, enhancing adaptive efficacy against drought and heavy metal stresses in transgenic chickpea plants. The discovery of chickpea glutaredoxin (cagrx) gene further shed light on the importance of antioxidant defense mechanisms in mitigating drought and salinity stresses. Additionally, over-expression of mt1 and cagrx genes conferred tolerance to toxic heavy metals in Arabidopsis and enhanced resistance against insect pests in transgenic chickpea. These findings have important implications for crop improvement and stress management in agriculture.