Contact information

201 Life Science Center
1201 Rollins Road
University of Missouri
Columbia, MO 65211
Email: kumarri@missouri.edu
Lab Phone No.: (573) 884 4799

EDUCATION

Ph.D. Applied Life Science

September 2011-February 2017

Gyeongsang National University, South Korea

Advisor: Prof. Jae-Yean Kim

Dissertation: “Characterization of receptor like-kinases associated with plasmodesmata in Arabidopsis thaliana”.

Masters of Science Biotechnology

August 2005-November 2007

HNB Garhwal University, India

Advisor: Dr. Alok K. Sinha (NIPGR, New Delhi, India)

Dissertation: “Cloning of MAP kinase kinase from Oryza sativa and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation”

Bachelor of Science (Botany, Zoology, and Chemistry)

June 2002-April 2005

Himachal Pradesh University India

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

• May 2018-present

Postdoctoral Fellow, Stacey’s Lab, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA

• March 2017-May 2018 Postdoctoral Researcher

Cell Communication Lab, Gyeongsang National University, South Korea.

• September 2011-February 2017

Graduate Researcher, Cell Communication Lab, Gyeongsang National University, South Korea.

• February 2008-August 2009

Technical assistant, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.

• September 2009-July 2011

Senior research fellow, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India.

PUBLICATIONS

1. Wu, Shu-Wei, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2018. Callose balancing at plasmodesmata. Journal of experimental botany. (Accepted)
2. Ritesh Kumar et al. 2018. OsCBSCBSPB4 is a two cystathionine-β-synthase domain-containing protein from rice that functions in abiotic stress tolerance. Current Genomics 19(1): 50-59.
3. Dhinesh Kumar, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2017. A leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase RECEPTOR DEAD KINASE1 (RDK1) mediates the interaction of type 2C protein phosphatase ABI1 with plasma membrane and positively regulates ABA responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecular Plant 10(2): 223-243. (Equal first author).
4. Rohit Joshi, Khirod Kumar Sahoo, Amit Kumar Tripathi, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2017. Knockdown of an inflorescence meristem-specific cytokinin oxidase-OsCKX2 in rice reduces yield penalty under salinity stress condition. Plant, Cell & Environment doi: 10.1111/pce.12947.
5. Ritesh Kumar et al. 2016. A Strategy to validate the role of callose-mediated plasmodesmal gating in the tropic response. Journal of Visualized Experiments (110), e53513, doi:10.3791/53513.
6. Anil K Singh, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2015. Genome-wide investigation and expression analysis of Sodium/Calcium exchanger gene family in rice and Arabidopsis. Rice 8:21. doi:10.1186/s12284-015-0054-5. (Equal first author).
7. Ritesh Kumar et al. 2015. Players at plasmodesmal nano-channels. Journal of Plant Biology 58(2):75-86.
8. Xiao Han, Tae Kyung Hyun, M Zhang, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2014. Auxin-callose-mediated plasmodesmal gating is essential for tropic auxin gradient formation and signaling. Developmental Cell 28(2):132-146.
9. Dhinesh Kumar, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2014. Cell-to-cell movement of viruses via plasmodesmata. Journal of Plant Research 128(1). doi:10.1007/s10265-014-0683-6. (Equal first author).
10. Tae Kyung Hyun, Sarah Lee, Yeonggil Rim, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2014. De-novo RNA sequencing and metabolite profiling to identify genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis in Korean Black Raspberry (Rubus coreanus Miquel). PLoS ONE 9(2): e88292. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088292.
11. Tae Kyung Hyun, Sarah Lee, Dhinesh Kumar, Yeongil Rim, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2014. RNA-seq analysis of Rubus idaeus cv. Nova: transcriptome sequencing and de novo assembly for subsequent functional genomics approaches. Plant Cell Reports 33(10):1617-28.
12. Dhinesh Kumar, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2013. Plasmodesmata and phloem-based trafficking of macromolecules. Symplasmic Transport in Vascular Plants, Edited by Katarzyna Sokołowska and Paweł Sowiński,: chapter Plasmodesmata and phloem-based trafficking of macromolecules: Springer New York ISBN: 978-1-4614-7765-5, 183-216.
13. Xiao Han, Cong Chen, Tae Kyung Hyun, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2012. Metabolic module mining based on independent component analysis in Arabidopsis thaliana. Molecules & Cells 34(3):295-304.
14. Tae Kyung Hyun, Yeonggil Rim, Hui-Jeong Jang, Cheol Hong Kim, Jongsun Park, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2012. De novo transcriptome sequencing of Momordica cochinchinensis to identify genes involved in the carotenoid biosynthesis. Plant Molecular Biology 79(4-5):413-27.
15. Ritesh Kumar et al. 2012. Functional screening of cDNA library from a salt tolerant rice genotype Pokkali identifies mannose-1-phosphate guanyl transferase gene (OsMPG1) as a key member of salinity stress response. Plant Molecular Biology 79(6): 555-68.
16. Anil K Singh, Ritesh Kumar et al. 2012. Overexpression of rice CBS domain containing protein improves salinity, oxidative, and heavy metal tolerance in transgenic tobacco. Molecular biotechnology 52 (3), 205-216.