Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Kamal Kumar Malukani

Kamal Kumar Malukani, first author of Dual activities of receptor like kinase OsWAKL21.2 induce immune responses

Current Position: Research Associate in the lab of Dr. Ramesh V. Sonti at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, India. Looking for postdoc in plant-microbe interaction.

Education: Ph.D. In Rice-Xanthomonas interaction from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India; M.Sc. in Plant Biotechnology from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, India; B. Sc. in Biotechnology from Devi Ahilya University, Indore, India

Non-scientific Interests: photography, travelling, science communication in public.

Brief bio:

Co-evolution of plants and plant-associated microbes is the area of my interest since I was an undergraduate. During my M.Sc. dissertation, I learnt to work with various biocontrol agents and pathogens of pulses. Continuing my journey in plant-microbe interaction, I joined Dr. Ramesh Sonti’s lab which is one of the leading lab in the area of plant-pathogen interaction in India. My Ph.D. project was focused on immunity induced following different kind of cell wall damage in rice plant during Rice-Xanthomonas interaction. As one of the major findings of the project, we have identified a moonlighting receptor kinase that is required for induction of immune response following treatment with a particular cell wall degrading enzyme of Xanthomonas. Interestingly, we also observed that this protein could activate similar immune responses in two different plant species but via two different biochemical activities. The main results of my Ph.D. are presented in this article. Currently, I am continuing my research in the same laboratory working on aspect of perception of cell wall damage in plants and also on transcriptome analyses during plant-microbe interactions. I am also looking for new opportunities for Postdoc position in the field of plant-microbe interactions.