Brief Profile
I pursued my education in Agricultural science and did PhD in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India (2005). From 2005 to 2016, I have worked in Japan at various levels starting from Post-Doc to Associate Professor. I also have working experience in International Agricultural Organization (ICARDA-International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas). I have joined CUK as an Associate Professor with the Department of Genomics in July 2016. In CUK, I Headed the Department of Genomic Science from 2016 to 2020 and Dean of Students’ Welfare from 2017 to 2020.
Recent and Major Publications
- S. Jyothsna, Minu M. Nair & Manickavelu Alagu,"Functional divergence of LncRNAs in wheat-fungal interactions: insights from stem rust-responsive wheat transcriptomes",Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants,https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-025-01599-x
- Jyothsna S, Alagu Manickavelu,"Comprehensive in silico analysis to decipher the role of long non-coding RNAs in bread wheat during fusarium head blight and leaf rust interactions",Academia Molecular Biology and Genomics,2 (1)
- Maya Peringottillam, Krishna T Sundaram, Alagu Manickavelu,"Genetic potential of grain-related traits in rice landraces: phenomics
and multi-locus association analyses",Molecular Biology Reports,https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-023-08807-5
- Minu M. Nair, S. Hari Krishna Kumar, S. Jyothsna, Krishna T. Sundaram, C. Manjunatha, M. Sivasamy & Manickavelu Alagu,"Stem and leaf rust–induced miRNAome in bread wheat near-isogenic lines and their comparative analysis",Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-022-12268-4
- Jyothsna, Manickavelu,"Role of phasiRNAs in plant-pathogen interactions: molecular perspectives and bioinformatics tools",Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants,https://doi.org/10.1007/s12298-022-01189-1
- Maya Peringottillam, Smitha Kunhiraman Vasumathy, Hari Krishna Kumar Selvakumar, Manickavelu Alagu,"Genetic diversity and population structure of rice (Oryza sativa L.) landraces from Kerala, India analyzed through genotyping‑by‑sequencing",Molecular Genetics and Genomics,https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-021-01844-4
- Radha Beena, Silvas Kirubakaran, Narayanan Nithya, Alagu Manickavelu, Rameshwar Prasad Sah, Puthenpeedikal Salim Abida, Janardanan Sreekumar, Poolakkal Muhammed Jaslam, Rajendrakumar Rejeth, Vijayalayam Gengamma Jayalekshmy, Stephen Roy, Ramakrishnan Vimala Manju, Mariasoosai Mary Viji and Kadambot M Siddique,"Association mapping of drought tolerance and agronomic traits in rice landraces",BMC Plant Biology,21:484
- Smitha Kunhiraman Vasumathy, Manickavelu Alagu,"SSR marker based genetic diversity analysis and SNP haplotyping of genes associating abiotic and biotic stress tolerance, rice growth and development and yield across 93 rice landraces",Molecular Biology Reports,48:5943-5953
- Minu M Nair and Alagu Manickavelu,"MicroRNAs as fine-tuners of gene regulation in plant–microbe interactions",Current Science,119:1282
- Smtiha KV, Maya P, Krsihna TS, Hari Krishna Kumar S, Manickavelu A,"Genome- wide structural and functional variant discovery of rice landraces using genotyping by sequencing",Molecular Biology Reports,https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-020-05794-9
- Minu M Nair, Krishna T. S and Alagu Manickavelu,"Bioinformatics insights into microRNA mediated gene regulation in Triticum aestivum during multiple fungal diseases",Plant Gene,21: 100210
- Manickavelu A, Hattori T, Yamaoka S, Yoshimura K, Kondou Y, Onogi A, Matsui M, Iwata H, Ban T,"Genetic nature of elemental content in wheat grains and its genomic prediction: Toward the effective use of wheat landraces from Afghanistan",PloS one,doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0169416
- Kondou Y, Manickavelu A, Komatsu K, Arifi M, Kawashima M, Ishii T, Hattori T, Iwata H, Tsujimoto H, Ban T, and Matsui M,"Analysis of elemental composition and identification of best genotypes in Afghan wheat landraces",Breeding Science,66: 676-682
- Manickavelu A, Reem J, Abdulqader J, Lan C, Julio H, Stanikzai AS, Kilian A, Singh RP and Ban T,"Genome wide association mapping of stripe rust resistance in Afghan wheat landraces",Plant Science,252:222-229
- Abdulqader J, Manickavelu A, Farid M, Murari S, Ogbonnaya FC,"Genomic regions linked to multiple disease resistance and their interactions in synthetic hexaploid wheat",Molecular Breeding,36:127
Research Projects Undertaken
Genome Exploration of Rice Landraces through Machine Learning Methods and their Validation
ANRF
Externally Funded Project
Developing new biotic and abiotic resistance genetic resources for CWANA & Australia
GRDC, Australia
Wheat germplasm evaluation and characterization for abiotic stresses
Tottori University, Japan
Development of Wheat Breeding material for sustainable food production in Afghanistan
JST & JICA, Japan
International Cooperation Project
Molecular characterization of orphan rice landraces and their utilization
DST-SERB
Books / Chapters
Chapter(s) - Co-Author, (2025). Receptor-Targeted Therapies in Diabetes Mellitus: From Pathophysiology to Innovative Treatments, Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
415 Oser Avenue, Suite N
Hauppauge, NY, 11788 USA, 979-8-89530-587-4Chapter(s) - Sole Author, (2023). Phytochemical Genomics, Springer, Singapore, 978-981-19-5778-9Chapter(s) - Co-Author, (2021). The Coconut Genome, Springer Nature, 978-3-030-76648-1Chapter(s) - Co-Author, (2021). Plant Genetic Resource Utilization: An Appraisal, Department of Botany, Kerala University, 978-81-951912-4-6
Miscellaneous
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| Contribution to corporate sector-management of the department and institution through participation in academic and administration,committees and responsibilities.
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| Any other relevant information, if not given above : |
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Teaching & Research Guidance
- GEN 525 Functional Genomics
GEN 5312 Functional Genomics:Post Graduate
- GEN 512 Biochemistry:Post Graduate
- GEN 515 Genomics-Lab 1:Post Graduate
- GEN 5102 Biochemistry & Microbiology:Post Graduate
- GEN 5191 Lab in Biochemistry & Microbiology:Post Graduate
- GEN 5003 Scientific Communication:Post Graduate
- Plant Genomics:Research Guidance
- Plant Genomics:Research Guidance