Dhanush Srikanth Srikanthan Email and Phone Number

Master's Thesis Title: “Seed treatments to address biofortification and water stress by iron pulsing and poly-γ-glutamic acid priming in rice.”• Developed a functional experimental framework to tackle water stress due to climate change and hidden hunger through the implementation of biofortification strategies. • Conducted microscopic analysis of rice seedlings to identify the presence of iron and reactive oxidative species and performed semi-quantification of these INTERESTS elements.• Conducted qualitative, quantitative, and experimental research to facilitate data analysis.• Conducted data mining using various rice-specific databases with the objective of identifying gene-based hallmarks to understand germination behavior.• Engaged in a collaborative effort with the Microbial Genetics Laboratory, acquired knowledge on Poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA) production.

Bachelor's Thesis Title: “Physiological and molecular characterization of Sorghum and Wheat under extreme temperatures.”• Controlled environment (Growth chamber) and field studies aimed at enhancing chilling tolerance in sorghum.• Acquired knowledge and hands-on experience in performing diverse biochemical assays, quantifying various leaf morphological parameters, and utilizing SPAD analysis to measure chlorophyll content.• Determining starch metabolism pathway genes expression profiling in wheat plants exposed to high-nighttime temperature.• Completion of novel, fully automated field-based heat tents and in its operation to capture high nighttime temperature impact on yield and quality of hard red winter wheat association mapping panel.

• Familiarized with cytological techniques on plant breeds – sugarcane, sorghum, and rice.• Prepared materials for planned experiments and documented initial conditions.• Attained hands on training in techniques such as Fluorescent in-situ Hybridization (FISH).