Dr. Umesh K. Reddy, Ph.D. – Profile

Education

• 1996: Ph.D., Genetics, Osmania University, Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, India
• 1987: MS, Genetics & Plant Breeding, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India

Professional Experience

• 2012–Present: Professor of Biology, West Virginia State University
• 2007–2012: Tenured Associate Professor of Biology, West Virginia State University
• 2004–2007: Assistant Professor, West Virginia State University
• 2002–2004: Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture, Alcorn State University
• 1997–2001: Assistant Research Scientist, Texas A&M University, Crop Biotechnology Center
• 1989–1997: Scientist (Plant Breeding), Indian Council of Agriculture Research

Teaching & Research Areas

• Biotechniques, Genetics, Crop Diversity and Evolution, Graduate Seminar, Eukaryotic Molecular Genetics
• Research focus: Genomics of cotton, peppers, melons, cucurbits; nutraceutical compounds; gene transfer in grafting; ecological genomics; stress physiology

Current Lab Members

• Subbu Chinreddy, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral research associate, functional genomics, CRISPR tools
• Yan Tomason, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral research associate, plant breeding and seed production
• Carlos Lopez Ortiz: Research technician, plant genomics and molecular breeding
• Mohankumar Amirthalingam, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral research associate, C. elegans responses to phytochemicals
• Karthik Chinnannan, Ph.D.: Postdoctoral research associate, heavy metal tolerance in cucurbits

Research Interests

• Genetic analysis and GWAS of key traits in Capsicum spp., watermelon, melon, and cotton
• Plant breeding for whitefly resistance in watermelon and nutraceutical research in pepper
• Transcriptomic studies in watermelon and genomic approaches for reclaiming coal mines in West Virginia
• Mapping genes and functional studies on longevity using Drosophila melanogaster

Research Summary

Dr. Reddy’s lab employs advanced techniques such as genotyping by sequencing, GWAS, and genome-wide diversity analysis. His work includes seedless fruit production in watermelon, adaptation to coal mine soil, and the impact of nutraceuticals using Drosophila as a model system.

Selected Publications

1. Belcher S, Flores-Iga G, Natarajan P, Crummett G, Talavera-Caro A, Gracia-Rodriguez C, Lopez-Ortiz C, Das A, Adjeroh DA, Nimmakayala P, Reddy UK (2024) Dietary Curcumin Intake and Its Effects on the Transcriptome and Metabolome of Drosophila melanogaster. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25:6559.
2. Bhattarai A, Nimmakayala P, Davenport B, Natarajan P, Tonapi K, Kadiyala SS, Lopez-Ortiz C, Ibarra-Muñoz L, Chakrabarti M, Benedito V, Reddy UK (2024) Genetic Tapestry of Capsicum Fruit Colors: A Comparative Analysis of Four Cultivated Species. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 137:130.
3. Garcia‐Lozano M, Natarajan P, Levi A, Katam R, Lopez‐Ortiz C, Nimmakayala P, Reddy UK (2021). Altered chromatin conformation and transcriptional regulation in watermelon following genome doubling. The Plant Journal, 106(3):588-600.
4. Joshi V, Nimmakayala P, Song Q, Abburi V, Natarajan P, Levi A, Crosby K, Reddy UK (2021). Genome-wide association study and population structure analysis of seed-bound amino acids and total protein in watermelon. PeerJ, 9:e12343.
5. Natarajan P, Ahn E, Reddy UK, Perumal R, Prom LK, Magill C (2021). RNA-Sequencing in Resistant and Susceptible Sorghum Cultivars Inoculated with Johnsongrass Isolates of Colletotrichum sublineola. Frontiers in Genetics, 12:722519.
6. Perry ZD, Saminathan T, Arun A, Vaidya BN, Basu C, Reddy UK, Joshee N (2021). Transcriptome Analysis of Cambium Tissue of Paulownia Collected during Winter and Spring. Diversity, 13(9):423.
7. Singh NV, Patil PG, Sowjanya RP, Parashuram S, Natarajan P, Babu KD, Pal RK, Sharma J, Reddy UK (2021). Chloroplast Genome Sequencing, Comparative Analysis, and Discovery of Unique Cytoplasmic Variants in Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.). Frontiers in Genetics. DOI:10.3389/fgene.2021.704075.
8. Nimmakayala P, Lopez-Ortiz C, Shahi B, Abburi VL, Natarajan P, Kshetry AO, Shinde S, Davenport B, Stommel J, Reddy UK (2021). Exploration into natural variation for genes associated with fruit shape and size among Capsicum chinense collections. Genomics. DOI:10.1016/j.ygeno.2021.06.041.
9. Lopez-Ortiz C, Peña-Garcia Y, Bhandari M, Abburi VL, Natarajan P, Stommel J, Nimmakayala P, Reddy UK (2021). Identification of miRNAs and Their Targets Involved in Flower and Fruit Development across Domesticated and Wild Capsicum Species. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(9):4866.
10. Kulkarni KP, Vorsa N, Natarajan P, Elavarthi S, Iorizzo M, Reddy UK, Melmaiee K (2021). Admixture Analysis Using Genotyping-by-Sequencing Reveals Genetic Relatedness and Parental Lineage Distribution in Highbush Blueberry Genotypes and Cross Derivatives. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(1):163.

Grants

• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2023-38821-39807: Machine Learning Approaches for Modelling Color Patterns and Fruit Shapes with Metabolites for Breeding Capsicum chinense Peppers. Award Total: $599,831.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2022-38821-37343: Translational Genomics Using Drosophila Model for Obesity and Human Health by Linking Gut Microbiome with the Benefits of Various Phytochemicals. Award Total: $599,808.
• NSF-RII Track 2FEC: Multi-Scale Integrative Approach to Digital Health: Collaborative Research and Education in Smart Health in West Virginia and Arkansas. Award Total: $1,999,999.
• NASA Space Life and Physical Sciences: Elucidation of Stress Resilience of Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) for Mars-like Soil. Award Total: $100,000.

Graduate Students

• Neha Boora (India): Genetic analysis of arsenic tolerance.
• Juan Iga Flores (Mexico): Single Cell Sequencing in Drosophila.
• Preeti Kayastha (Nepal): Genome-wide association study of longevity in Drosophila using capsaicin food.
• Sahithi Ramireddy (India): Editing of pepper fruit shape genes using CRISPR-Cas9.
• Prapooja Somagattu: Selenium and cadmium effects in watermelon.
• Nathan Lyttle (USA): Capsaicin responses in C. elegans.
• Meghana Nallavaari (India): Evolution of heavy metal tolerance in cucurbits.
• Autumn Southern (USA): Natural Variation in C. elegans for Capsaicin Responses.
• Vaibhavi Patel (India): Genome editing of tomato genes for heavy metal tolerance.
• Ramya Madabathula (India): Graft-mediated transmission of genes in cucurbits.

Editorial Board Memberships

• Editorial Board Member: Comparative Genomics and Evolution, BMC Genomics
• Editorial Board Member: Plant Genomics and Biotechnology, BMC Plant Biology
• Editorial Board Member: Plant Genomics, Nature Scientific Reports
• Editorial Board Member: Genetic Mapping, Frontiers in Plant Sciences
• Editorial Board Member: Plant Genetics and Molecular Biology, Plant Molecular Biology and Physiology
• Editorial Board Member: Plant Breeding, Euphytica