7th IBSE Seminar by Dr. Shyam K. Masakapalli

IBSE is very pleased to introduce you all to our guest speaker Dr. Shyam K. Masakapalli who will give IBSE Seminar on Monday 17th June in RBC-DSAI Seminar Hall (Biotechnology Dept. Block 2, 5th Floor), at 11:30 am. The title of his presentation will be: “Introducing 13C Fluxomics and Smart Agriculture in Indian context”. Dr. Shyam K. Masakapalli is an Assistant Professor at BioX Center, School of Basic Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi [http://faculty.iitmandi.ac.in/~shyam/] (http://faculty.iitmandi.ac.in/~shyam).

Abstract

This talk will focus on two research aspects of much relevance to Indian Science - 13C Fluxomics towards defining cellular metabolic phenotypes and FarmerZone™, A DBT initiative towards smart Agriculture in India. Understanding the phenotypes of cellular systems using omics platforms is of core interest to Biologists. 13C Metabolic Flux Analysis (MFA) defines flux maps that provide detailed quantitative insights into cell metabolism. The underlying workflow including the 13C tracer feeding, analytical techniques for isotopomer analysis and metabolic modelling we are adopting to understand metabolism of microbes and plant systems with relevance to agriculture and industry will be discussed. The case studies of selected systems will highlight the potential of integrating 13C fluxomics with other complementary omics approaches for novel discoveries. In the second half of the talk, I will briefly introduce the current status of FarmerZone™ project, a Dept. of Biotechnology’s (Govt. of India) vision of an integrated information delivery service for smallholder farmers for improved yields and enhance livelihood. The cloud platforms we are developing provides advisories related to crop and soil health, desired growing conditions, preferred seed varieties, availability of seed, and may also include market linkages in future. This first sentinel lead by IIT Mandi and other partners is targeted towards data driven advisories for potato and the talk will provide insights into the strategies we are adopting.