Pramod Pantha: Plant Physiology First Author

Pramod Pantha, first author of “Living with high potassium: balance between nutrient acquisition and K-induced salt stress signaling”

Current Position: Post-doctoral researcher with Dr. Maheshi Dassanayake at the Department of Biological Sciences, Louisiana State University, LA, US

Education: Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, US), M.S in Agricultural Regulation (University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, AR, US), B.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics (Tribhuvan University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal)

Non-scientific Interests: Soccer, watching football with family, traveling, story time with daughter

Brief bio: My passion for plant sciences solidified during my undergraduate studies at Tribhuvan University, Nepal. My broad research interests revolve around understanding the molecular mechanisms of plant survival under extreme environments. In this study, I examined Arabidopsis and its extremophyte relative Schrenkiella parvula to identify cellular processes affected by excess potassium-induced salinity stress using a comparative multi-omics (ionomics, metabolomics, and transcriptomics) approach. Our results revealed extensive ionomic, metabolic, and transcriptomic reprogramming during plant responses to potassium toxicity. High potassium-induced salinity is less studied but is a significant source of salinity stress as we depend more on recycled water for irrigation. The pathways and candidate genes identified as key regulatory responses to potassium toxicity in our analysis provide a foundational resource to design new crops that can survive variable salinity stresses intensified by climate change.