Umesh K. Reddy, Ph.D.

Plant Genomics, Biotechnology 
Dr. Reddy teaches Biotechniques, Genetics, Crop Diversity and Evolution, Graduate Seminar and Eukaryotic Molecular Genetics.  Dr. Reddy's lab specializes in genomics of significant traits in commercially important plants, including cotton, peppers, melons.

Plant Genomics, Biotechnology


Education

1996     PhD, Department of Genetics, Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
1987     MS, Genetics & Plant Breeding, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India

Professional Experience

2013-              Professor of Biology, West Virginia State University
2004- 2012     Associate Professor of Biology, West Virginia State University
2001- 2004     Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture, Alcorn State University
1997- 2001     Assistant Research Scientist (Cotton), Texas A&M University
1989 -1996     Scientist (Plant Breeding), Indian Council of Agriculture Research
 

Graduate Programs

Biotechnology

Courses: Biotechniques I (BT-571), Genetics (Biol-270), Crop Evolution and Improvement, Eukaryotic Molecular Genetics (Bio 573), Graduate Seminar (BT-511).

Current students:

• Lav Kumar Yadav (Nepal): Genome analysis of ankyrin-repeat genes in pepper. (Co-chair)
• Bandana Ghimire (Nepal): Microbiome analysis of watermelon fruits during ripening.
• Nirwan Tandukar (Nepal): Genome-wide association study of longevity in fruit fly using     capsaicin food.
• Dimple Sharma (India): Editing of watermelon trichome genes using CRISPR CAS9

Past students:

• Krittika Tonapi (India): Genome-wide association of fruit traits in Capsicum spp. (Co-chair)
• Vasilios Dianellos (USA): Comparative transcriptomics of watermelon and Arabidopsis trichomes.
• Zachary D. Perry (USA): Genome-wide transcriptome profiling of wood forming tissue of     paulownia tree.
• Abiodun Bodunrin (Nigeria): Genome-wide association study (GWAS) for trichome density and     trichome length in watermelon.
• Brittany Davenport (USA): Diversity analysis and association mapping of fruit colors in     capsicum annuum.
• Alejandra Alvarado (Mexico): Small RNA regulation in response to drought and high CO2     concentrations in sweet potato Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam. Variety Beauregard (B14).     (Co-chair)
• Aldo Almeida (Mexico): Genetic analysis of capsaicin biosynthetic pathway.
• Lavanya Abburi (India): Analysis of genome diversity in watermelon and association mapping     for various traits.

Current lab members:

• Thangasamy Saminathan, PhD (Biotechnology)

May, 2013 – till now:     Postdoctoral research associate/Assistant Research Scientist
Functional genomics, transcriptomics, molecular biology, and coal-mine transcriptome

• Yan Tomason, PhD (Plant Breeding and Seed Production)

 April, 2008 – till now: Postdoctoral research associate, Plant breeding

• Venkata Gopinath Vajja: Research technician (Plant genomics, molecular breeding)
• Venkata Lakshmi Abburi: Research technician (Plant genomics, molecular breeding)
• Sureshbabu Alaparthi: Research technician (Plant metabolites, HPLC analysis)
• Marjan Nadimi: Research technician (Cell culture, plant metabolites)

 

Research Interests

•    Genetic analysis and genome-wide association studies of key traits in Capsicum spp., watermelon, melon, pumpkin, cotton;
•    Plant breeding for whitefly resistance in watermelon and nutraceutical research in pepper;
•    Transcriptomic studies of diploid and tetraploids in watermelon;
•    Genomic approaches to reclaim coal mines and coal-mine water quality analysis in West Virginia; and
•    Mapping of genes and functional studies of longevity using Drosophila melanogaster.
 

Research Summary

Genetic analysis and genome-wide association mapping
We use genotyping by sequencing and other genome complexity reduction tools to generate high density SNP markers and use these for genome wide association study (GWAS) to locate candidate SNPs for quantitative trait loci in various horticulturally important crops, fly panels for nutraceutical traits and mine site adaptation traits.

The exploitation of synthetic polyploids for producing seedless fruits is well known in watermelon. Tetraploid progenitors of triploid watermelon plants, compared with their diploid counterparts, exhibit wide phenotypic differences. In this study, we used tissues of leaf, stem, and fruit of diploid and tetraploid sweet watermelon to understand changes in gene expression and the occurrence of AS. We finally confirmed that 22 genes underwent AS events across tissues, indicating possibilities of generating different protein isoforms with altered functions of important transcription factors and transporters. Future proteome sequencing would help further resolving the variation in protein load between diploid and tetraploid.

Genomic approaches to reclaim Appalachian coal mines and coal-mine water quality analysis in West Virginia

Efficient postmining reclamation requires successful revegetation. By using RNA sequencing, we evaluated the growth response of two invasive plants, goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria L.) and mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), grown in two Appalachian acid-mine soils (MS-I and -II, pH ∼ 4.6). Although deficient in macronutrients, both soils contained high levels of plant-available Al, Fe and Mn. Both plant types showed toxicity tolerance, but metal accumulation differed by plant and site. With MS-I, Al accumulation was greater for mugwort than goutweed (385 ± 47 vs 2151 ± 251 μg g-1). An in situ approach revealed deregulation of multiple factors such as transporters, transcription factors, and metal chelators for metal uptake or exclusion. The two plant systems showed common gene expression patterns for different pathways. Both plant systems appeared to have few common heavy-metal pathway regulators addressing mineral toxicity/deficiency in both mine sites, which implies adaptability of invasive plants for efficient growth at mine sites with toxic waste. Functional genomics can be used to screen for plant adaptability, especially for reclamation and phytoremediation of contaminated soils and waters. Currently we are working on quality of coal-mine leaching water from Appalachian Mountains.

Drosophila would be appropriate model system to evaluate plant products. We are currently working with fly association panel by feeding different nutraceutical compounds to observe the longevity as well as analyze metabolisms with regards to different human diseases and disorders.

Grants awarded to Dr. Umesh Reddy (as investigator and co-investigator)

• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2015-51181-24285. CucCAP: Leveraging applied genomics to increase disease resistance in cucurbit crops. (01 SEP 2015 - 31 AUG 2019), $184,761 (Total amount: $6,515,655).
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2015-05304. An integrated approach of genomics and metabolomics for incorporation of whitefly resistance in cultivated watermelon (01 SEP 2015 - 31 AUG 2018), $299,042.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2015-06226. Phenomics for crop improvement: tools to create next generation plant breeders (01 SEP 2015 - AUG 2018), $299,940.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2013-04053. Summer academy of plant breeding: A platform to develop minority workforce in molecular plant breeding (01 SEP 2013 - 31 AUG 2016), $120,000.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2013-03685. Diversifying the watermelon cultivar genetic base using genomic selection to improve nutraceutical traits and use them as parental lines (01 SEP 2013 - 31 AUG 2016), $444,346.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2012-02508. Genome-wide association mapping for improving nutraceutical traits in pumpkin and squash (01 SEP 2012 -31 AUG 2016), $299,832.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2012-02617. Engaging students in global genomic research through CGIAR visits and independent next-generation sequencing projects (01 SEP 2012 - 31 AUG 2015), $299,811.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2010-02247. Stories of crop evolution, biodiversity and domestication and methods of genomic assisted crop improvement for curricula development (01 SEP 2010 - 31 AUG 2014), $299,986.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2007-03349. BAC to genes: "Upgrading the genome core facility with robotics for use in integrating genomic research and education" (01 SEP 2007 - 31 AUG 2011), $199,936.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2007-03466. Syntenic analysis of cucurbit cultivar complex for widening genetic diversity and functional genomics of fruit quality and architecture (01 SEP 2007 - 31 AUG 2011), $499,762.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2005-03605. Physical mapping and eco-tilling for high-throughput allele mining of disease resistant and nutraceutical genes for pyramiding in sweet potato (15 SEP 2005 - 31 AUG 2010), $499,960.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2004-02467. Understanding the simplicity of DNA sequence and jugglery of gene mapping: a new paradigm for biology education (01 SEP 2004 - 31 AUG 2008), $198,695.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2004-02563. Use of functional genomics for pyramiding favorable allele combinations for enhancing the technology to produce seedless watermelon (01 SEP 2004 - 31 AUG 2009), $285,925.
• USDA-NIFA Proposal no. 2003-03965. Utilization of genomics for molecular breeding of high quality and disease resistant peppers (01 SEP 2003 - 31 AUG 2008), $299,647.

Publications

Research articles:

• Nimmakayala P, Tomason Y, Abburi VL, Rodríguez A, Saminathan T, Vajja VG, Salazar G, Panicker G, Levi A, Wechter W, McCreight J, Korol A, Ronin Y, Garcia-Mas J, Reddy U (2016) Genome-wide differentiation of various melon horticultural groups for use in GWAS for fruit firmness and construction of a high resolution genetic map. Frontiers in Plant Science 7 (1437). doi:10.3389/fpls.2016.01437
• Vaddi S, Thiruvengadam V, Joshi S, Jalali SK, Chinnappareddy LRD, Nimmakayala P, Tomason Y, Vajja G, Reddy UK (2016) In silico mining of microsatellites and analysis of genetic diversity among inter- and intra-generic aphids of the subfamily Aphidinae. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata:n/a-n/a. doi:10.1111/eea.12460
• Venkatesan T, Sridhar V, Tomason YR, Jalali SK, Behere GT, Shanthi RM, Kumar R, Vajja VG, Nimmakayala P, Reddy UK (2015) Use of expressed sequence tag microsatellite markers for population genetic research of Helicoverpa armigera(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from India. The Canadian Entomologist FirstView:1-13. doi:doi:10.4039/tce.2015.47
• Saminathan T, Bodunrin A, Singh NV, Devarajan R, Nimmakayala P, Jeff M, Aradhya M, Reddy UK (2016) Genome-wide identification of microRNAs in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) by high-throughput sequencing. BMC Plant Biology 16 (1):1-16. doi:10.1186/s12870-016-0807-3
• Perla, V.; Nimmakayala, P.; Nadimi, M.; Alaparthi, S.; Hankins, G. R.; Ebert, A. W.; Reddy, U. K. Vitamin C and reducing sugars in the world collection of Capsicum baccatum L. genotypes. Food Chemistry 2016, 202, 189-198. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26920284.
• Saminathan, T.; Malkaram, S. A.; Patel, D.; Taylor, K.; Hass, A.; Nimmakayala, P.; Huber, D. H.; Reddy, U. K. Transcriptome Analysis of Invasive Plants in Response to Mineral Toxicity of Reclaimed Coal-Mine Soil in the Appalachian Region. Environmental Science & Technology 2015, 49 (17), 10320-10329. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26269111.
• Singh, N. V.; Abburi, V. L.; Ramajayam, D.; Kumar, R.; Chandra, R.; Sharma, K. K.; Sharma, J.; Babu, K. D.; Pal, R. K.; Mundewadikar, D. M.; Saminathan, T.; Cantrell, R.; Nimmakayala, P.; Reddy, U. K. Genetic diversity and association mapping of bacterial blight and other horticulturally important traits with microsatellite markers in pomegranate from India. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 2015, 290 (4), 1393-1402. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25675870.
• Saminathan, T.; Nimmakayala, P.; Manohar, S.; Malkaram, S.; Almeida, A.; Cantrell, R.; Tomason, Y.; Abburi, L.; Rahman, M.; Vajja, V. Differential gene expression and alternative splicing between diploid and tetraploid watermelon. Journal of experimental botany 2015, 66 (5), 1369-1385. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25520388.
• Reddy, U.; Abburi, L.; Abburi, V.; Saminathan, T.; Cantrell, R.; Vajja, V.; Reddy, R.; Tomason, Y.; Levi, A.; Wehner, T. A genome-wide scan of selective sweeps and association mapping of fruit traits using microsatellite markers in watermelon. The Journal of heredity 2015, 106 (2), 166. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25425675.
• Reddy, U. K.; Nimmakayala, P.; Levi, A.; Abburi, V. L.; Saminathan, T.; Tomason, Y. R.; Vajja, G.; Reddy, R.; Abburi, L.; Wehner, T. C.; Ronin, Y.; Karol, A. High-Resolution Genetic Map for Understanding the Effect of Genome-Wide Recombination Rate on Nucleotide Diversity in Watermelon. G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics 2014, 4 (11), 2219-2230. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25227227.
• Nimmakayala, P.; Levi, A.; Abburi, L.; Abburi, V. L.; Tomason, Y. R.; Saminathan, T.; Vajja, V. G.; Malkaram, S.; Reddy, R.; Wehner, T. C.; Mitchell, S. E.; Reddy, U. K. Single nucleotide polymorphisms generated by genotyping by sequencing to characterize genome-wide diversity, linkage disequilibrium, and selective sweeps in cultivated watermelon. BMC genomics 2014, 15 (1), 1-15. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25196513.
• Nimmakayala, P.; Abburi, V. L.; Bhandary, A.; Abburi, L.; Vajja, V. G.; Reddy, R.; Malkaram, S.; Venkatramana, P.; Wijeratne, A.; Tomason, Y. R.; Levi, A.; Wehner, T. C.; Reddy, U. K. Use of VeraCode 384-plex assays for watermelon diversity analysis and integrated genetic map of watermelon with single nucleotide polymorphisms and simple sequence repeats. Molecular Breeding 2014, 34 (2), 537-548.
• Djanaguiraman, M.; Vara Prasad, P. V.; Murugan, M.; Perumal, R.; Reddy, U. K. Physiological differences among sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) genotypes under high temperature stress. Environmental and Experimental Botany 2014, 100, 43-54.
• Nimmakayala, P.; Abburi, V. L.; Abburi, L.; Alaparthi, S. B.; Cantrell, R.; Park, M.; Choi, D.; Hankins, G.; Malkaram, S.; Reddy, U. K. Linkage disequilibrium and population-structure analysis among Capsicum annuum L. cultivars for use in association mapping. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 2014, 289 (4), 513-521.
• Reddy, U. K.; Almeida, A.; Abburi, V. L.; Alaparthi, S. B.; Unselt, D.; Hankins, G.; Park, M.; Choi, D.; Nimmakayala, P. Identification of Gene-Specific Polymorphisms and Association with Capsaicin Pathway Metabolites in Capsicum annuum L. Collections. PLoS ONE 2014, 9 (1), e86393.
• Reddy, U.; Aryal, N.; Islam-Faridi, N.; Tomason, Y.; Levi, A.; Nimmakayala, P. Cytomolecular characterization of rDNA distribution in various Citrullus species using fluorescent in situ hybridization. Genet Resour Crop Evol 2013, 60 (7), 2091-2100.
• Manohar, S.; Jagadeeswaran, G.; Nimmakayala, P.; Tomason, Y.; Almeida, A.; Sunkar, R.; Levi, A.; Reddy, U. K. Dynamic regulation of novel and conserved miRNAs across various tissues of diverse Cucurbit species. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 2013, 31 (2), 335-343.Levi, A.; Thies, J.; Wechter, W. P.; Harrison, H.; Simmons, A.; Reddy, U.; Nimmakayala, P.; Fei, Z. High frequency oligonucleotides: targeting active gene (HFO-TAG) markers revealed wide genetic diversity among Citrullus spp. accessions useful for enhancing disease or pest resi
• stance in watermelon cultivars. Genet Resour Crop Evol 2013, 60 (2), 427-440.
• Tomason, Y.; Nimmakayala, P.; Levi, A.; Reddy, U. K. Map-based molecular diversity, linkage disequilibrium and association mapping of fruit traits in melon. Molecular Breeding 2013, 31 (4), 829-841.
• Jagadeeswaran, G.; Nimmakayala, P.; Zheng, Y.; Gowdu, K.; Reddy, U. K.; Sunkar, R. Characterization of the small RNA component of leaves and fruits from four different cucurbit species. BMC genomics 2012, 13 (1), 329.
• Andrew, H. P.; Jonathan, F. W.; Heidrun, G.; Hui, G.; Jerry, J.; Dianchuan, J.; Danny, L.; Kurtis, C. S.; Shengqiang, S.; Joshua, U.; Mi-jeong, Y.; Robert, B.; Wei, C.; Adi, D.-F.; Mary, V. D.; Lei, G.; Jane, G.; Corrinne, G.; Kara, G.; Guanjing, H.; Tae-ho, L.; Jingping, L.; Lifeng, L.; Tao, L.; Barry, S. M.; Justin, T. P.; Alison, W. R.; Elisson, R.; William, S. S.; Emmanuel, S.; Xu, T.; Haibao, T.; Chunming, X.; Jinpeng, W.; Zining, W.; Dong, Z.; Lan, Z.; Hamid, A.; Frank, B.; John, E. B.; Curt, L. B.; Peng, W. C.; Sayan, D.; Alan, R. G.; Candace, H. H.; David, H.; Lucia, V. H.; Ran, H.; Donald, C. J.; Cornelia, L.; Shahid, M.; Mehboob ur, R.; Lisa, N. R.; Aditi, R.; Umesh, K. R., et al.,. Repeated polyploidization of Gossypium genomes and the evolution of spinnable cotton fibres. Nature 2012, 492 (7429), 423-427.
• Hussain, A. J.; Ali, J.; Siddiq, E. A.; Gupta, V. S.; Reddy, U. K.; Ranjekar, P. K. Mapping of tms8 gene for temperature-sensitive genic male sterility (TGMS) in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Plant Breeding 2012, 131 (1), 42-47.
• Li, D.; Cuevas, H. E.; Yang, L.; Li, Y.; Garcia-Mas, J.; Zalapa, J.; Staub, J. E.; Luan, F.; Reddy, U.; He, X. Syntenic relationships between cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and melon (C. melo L.) chromosomes as revealed by comparative genetic mapping. BMC genomics 2011, 12 (1), 396.
• Nimmakayala, P.; Vajja, G.; Gist, R. A.; Tomason, Y. R.; Levi, A.; Reddy, U. K. Effect of DNA methylation on molecular diversity of watermelon heirlooms and stability of methylation specific polymorphisms across the genealogies. Euphytica 2011, 177 (1), 79-89.
• Paterson, A.; Rong, J.-k.; Gingle, A.; Chee, P.; Dennis, E.; Llewellyn, D.; Dure, L., III; Haigler, C.; Myers, G.; Peterson, D.; Rahman, M.; Zafar, Y.; Reddy, U.; Saranga, Y.; Stewart, J.; Udall, J.; Waghmare, V.; Wendel, J.; Wilkins, T.; Wright, R.; Zaki, E.; Hafez, E.; Zhu, J. Sequencing and Utilization of the Gossypium Genomes. Tropical Plant Biol. 2010, 3 (2), 71-74.
• Reddy, U. K.; Rong, J.-k.; Nimmakayala, P.; Vajja, G.; Rahman, M. A.; Yu, J.; Soliman, K. M.; Heller-Uszynska, K.; Kilian, A.; Paterson, A. H. Use of diversity arrays technology markers for integration into a cotton reference map and anchoring to a recombinant inbred line map. Genome 2011, 54 (5), 349-359.
• Levi, A., Thies, J.A, Wechter, W.P, Kousik, C.S, Hassell, R, Reddy, U. Employing Phylogenetic and Population Structure Analyses to Identify Potential Rootstock Resources for Grafted Watermelon. Cucurbitaceae Proceedings 2010, 55-58.
• Nimmakayala, P., Levi, A., Ponniah, S., Tomason, Y., Wechter, W.P., Reddy, U. A Glance at Microsatellite Motifs from 454 Sequencing Reads of Watermelon Genomic DNA. Cucurbitaceae Proceedings 2010, 91-94. Thies, J.A., Kousik, C., and Levi, A. (Eds).
• Nimmakayala, P.; Tomason, Y. R.; Jeong, J.; Ponniah, S. K.; Karunathilake, A.; Levi, A.; Perumal, R.; Reddy, U. K. Genetic reticulation and interrelationships among Citrullus species as revealed by joint analysis of shared AFLPs and species-specific SSR alleles. Plant Genetic Resources 2010, 8 (01), 16-25.

Conference Presentations:

• Umesh K. Reddy, Padma Nimmakayala,  Lakshmi V. Abburi,  CVC Mohan Reddy, Thangasamy Saminathan,  Richard G. Percy,  John Z. Yu,  James Frelichowski,  Josh Udall,  Justin T. Page,  Dong Zhang,  Tariq Shehzad,  Andrew H. Paterson. Comparative Analysis of Genome-Wide Divergence, Domestication Footprints and Genome-Wide Association Study of Root Traits for Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium barbadense. Plant and Animal Genome XXIV – The International Conference on the Status of Plant and Animal Genome Research, San Diego, CA, USA. January 9-13, 2016.
• Umesh K. Reddy, Padma Nimmakayala. Understanding genetic controls of capsaicin content in Capsicum annuum L. Plant and Animal Genome XXIV – The International Conference on the Status of Plant and Animal Genome Research, San Diego, CA, USA. January 9-13, 2016.
• Thangasamy Saminathan, Abiodun Bodunrin, Padma Nimmakayala, and Umesh Reddy. Mining trichome regulating genes in watermelon using genome wide association mapping and functional genomic approach. ASPB-Plant Biology 2015, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. July 26-30, 2015. (Travel grant awarded)
• Abiodun Bodunrin, Thangasamy Saminathan, Padma Nimmakayala, and Umesh Reddy. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) mapping of trichome density and length in watermelon. Plant and Animal Genome XXIII – The International Conference on the Status of Plant and Animal Genome Research, San Diego, CA, USA. January 10-14, 2015.
• Umesh K. Reddy, Padma Nimmakayala, Amnon Levi. Genome wide association mapping in watermelon. Plant and Animal Genome XXII – The International Conference on the Status of Plant and Animal Genome Research, San Diego, CA, USA. January 11-15, 2014.
• Thangasamy Saminathan, Sridhar A. Malkaram, David Huber, Dharmesh Patel, Amir Hass, Padma Nimmakayala and Umesh K. Reddy. Genomic Approaches for Appalachian Coal Mine-site Reclamation. Poster presented at: MCBIOS XI. Annual Bioinformatics & Computational Biology Conference; Stillwater, OK, USA. March 6-8, 2014.
• Alejandra Alvarado, Thangasamy Saminathan, Padma Nimmakayala, Sridhar Malkaram and Umesh K. Reddy. Alternative splicing across ploidy levels in watermelon. 23rd National NSF EPSCoR Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. November 3-7, 2013.
• Kaitlyn Taylor, Thangasamy Saminathan, Padma Nimmakayala, Sridhar Malkaram and Umesh K. Reddy. Mining Trichome Related Genes in Watermelon. 23rd National NSF EPSCoR Conference, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. November 3-7, 2013.
• Hugh Lee Dalton II, Reddy, U., Sumanth Manohar, Yan Tomason, Amnon Levi, Padma Nimmakayala, Differential Expression Of miRNA Across the Grafted Tissues Collected from Heterografts Involving Different Genera of Cucurbitaceae Family, International Plant & Animal Genome XXI. Conference, San Diego. January 12-16, 2013.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Lakshmi V. Abburi, Lavanya Abburi, Gopinath Vajja, Reddy U. Population Structure and Association Mapping Of Fruit Traits and Capsicum Content In Capsicum annuum. International Plant & Animal Genome XXI. Conference, San Diego. January 12-16, 2013.
• Reddy U., Padma Nimmakayala, Sumanth Manohar, Jonica Thompson, Aldo Almeida, Yan Tomason, Gopinath Vajja, Guru Jagadeeswaran, Amnon Levi, Ramanjulu Sunkar. Gene Expression Across Ploidy Levels of Watermelon. International Plant & Animal Genome XXI. Conference, San Diego. January 12-16, 2013.
• Reddy, U., Dingess L, Abburi L and Nimmakayala P. Competition ability of Arabidopsis ecotypes. 23rd International Conference on Arabidopsis Research. Vienna, Austria 3-7 July, 2012.
• Reddy U., Sumanth M and Nimmakayala P. 2012. Differential miRNA regulation across various ploidy levels in watermelon and Arabidopsis. 23rd International Conference on Arabidopsis Research. Vienna, Austria 3-7 July, 2012.
• Aldo Almeida, Padma Nimmakayala, Nischit Aryal, Sumanth Manohar, Gopinath Vajja, Mark Chatfield, Gagan Kaushal, Reddy U. Genomic Strategies to Mine Alleles That Control Capsaicin, Dihydrocapsaicin and Related Compounds. International Plant & Animal Genome XX. Conference, San Diego. January 14-18, 2012.
• Chantel Scheuring, Abhishek Bhandari, Nischit Aryal, Gopinath Vajja, Yang Zhang, Hongbin Zhan, Reddy U. Mining and mapping of SSR motifs from BAC-end sequences of watermelon. International Plant & Animal Genome XX. Conference, San Diego. January 14-18, 2012.
• Yan R. Tomason, Padma Nimmakayala, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. LD Mapping For Melon Fruit Related Traits. . International Plant & Animal Genome XX Conference. January 12-16, 2012.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Jooha Jeong, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. SNP Genotyping In Watermelon Heirloom Collections. International Plant & Animal Genome XX. Conference. January 12-16, 2012.
• Aldo Almeida, Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Mark Chatfield, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. Identifying molecular variation in capsaicin biosynthetic pathway related genes in Capsicum annuum L. International Plant & Animal Genome XX. Conference. January 12-16, 2012.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. SNP genotyping to resolve population structure in watermelon heirloom collections. International Plant & Animal Genome XX. Conference. January 12-16, 2012.
• N. Aryal, N.I. Faridi, Padma Nimmakayala, Reddy U. 2011. Use of Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (FISH) to characterize Watermelon and its wild species. 1890 Land-Grant Universities Association of Research Directors, Inc.16th Biennial Research Symposium Proceedings. April 12-16, 2011.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Jooha Jeong, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. Molecular And Cytogenetic Characterization Of Watermelon Using DNA Markers And FISH. International Plant & Animal Genome XX. Conference. January 12-16, 2011.
• Perry Z, Reddy U. and Nimmakayala P. Genetic and metabolomic diversity in Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia L.) 1890 Land-Grant Universities Association of Research Directors, Inc.16th Biennial Research Symposium Proceedings. April 12-16, 2011.
• Yan R. Tomason, Padma Nimmakayala, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi Paul Gibson, Reddy U. LD Mapping For Melon Fruit Related Traits. International Plant & Animal Genome XVIII Conference. January 12-16, 2010.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Jooha Jeong, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Paul Gibson, Reddy U. Population Structure And Association Mapping In Watermelon Heirloom Collections. International Plant & Animal Genome XVIII. Conference. January 12-16, 2010.
• Mohamed Atik Rehman, Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Jooha Jeong, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. Mapping QTL In Synthetic Tetraploid Population Of Watermelon. International Plant & Animal Genome XVIII. Conference. January 12-16, 2010.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Jooha Jeong, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. Molecular And Cytogenetic Characterization Of Watermelon Using DNA Markers And FISH. International Plant & Animal Genome XVIII. Conference. January 12-16, 2010.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Tomason YR, Vajja VG and Reddy U. 2010. Population Structure and Association Mapping in Watermelon. 108th Annual conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, August 2-5, 2010. (Oral Presentation).
• Tomason YR, Nimmakayala P, Vajja VG, Levi A, Gibson P and Reddy U. 2010. LD Mapping for Melon fruit related traits. 108th Annual conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, August 2-5, 2010. (Oral Presentation).
• Aryal N, Nimmakayala P, Tomason YR, Jeong J, Vajja VG, Levi A and Reddy U. Molecular and cytogenetic characterization of watermelon using DNA Markers and FISH. 108th Annual conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, August 2-5, 2010.
• Lutz FG, Nimmakayala P, Tomason YR, Levi A and Reddy U. 2010. Syntenic Analysis of Cucurbit Cultivar Complex Using Microsatellite Markers. 108th Annual conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science, August 2-5, 2010. (Oral Presentation).
• Yan R. Tomason, Nimmakayala P, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi Paul Gibson, Reddy U. LD Mapping For Melon Fruit Related Traits. International Plant & Animal Genome XVIII Conference. January 12-16, 2010.
• Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Jooha Jeong, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Paul Gibson, Reddy U. Population Structure And Association Mapping In Watermelon Heirloom Collections. International Plant & Animal Genome XVIII. Conference. January 12-16, 2010.
• Mohamed Atikur Rehman, Padma Nimmakayala, Yan R. Tomason, Jooha Jeong, Gopinath Vajja, Amnon Levi, Reddy U. Mapping QTL In Synthetic Tetraploid Population Of Watermelon. International Plant & Animal Genome XVIII. Conference. January 12-16, 2010.

Book Chapters:

• Nimmakayala P, Perumal R, Sujatha M and Reddy, U. 2011. Sesamum (Book chapter). Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources, oilseeds. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg. 261-273.
• Nimmakayala P, Faridi NI, Tomason YR, Lutz F, Levi A and Reddy U. 2011. Citrullus. Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources, Vegetables. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg. 59-66.
• Nimmakayala P, Vajja G and Reddy U. 2011. Ipomoea. Wild Crop Relatives: Genomic and Breeding Resources, Industrial crops. Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg. 123-132.
• Reddy U., Dr. Padma Nimmakayala, Bates GT, Bohac JR. 2007. Advances in Sweet potato Genome Mapping. Chapter 13. Genome Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Plants, Volume 3. Pulses, sugar and tuber crops. C.Kole (Ed.). Springer-Verlog Berlin Heidelberg. 239-248.