Areas of Research: Molecular Microbiology, Infectious Disease

Mycobacterium tuberculosis pathogenesis and its virulence. The study focuses on iron regulation and the role of genes that are involved in latency and reactivation using Mycobacterium smegmatis model.

Characterization of new cry protein from Bacillus thuringiensis for insect pest management. Screening, isolation, purification and cloning of new cry genes from Bacillus thuringiensis isolated from western ghats

Characterization of cold protease from Bacillus species. Isolation, screening, purification of cold protease from Bacillus species.

Contributions to Teaching:

Nine years of teaching experience in the field of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry subjects at the level of Masters which include Genomics & Proteomics, Molecular Genetics, Fundamental of Molecular Biology, Molecular Microbiology, Applied and Medical Microbiology and supervising doctoral students for their PhDs.

• Functional characterization of the iron regulatory negative repressor gene sirR in Mycobacterium smegmatis. CSIR ~30 lakhs (PI) (2013-2016)
• Isolation and Identification of Indigenous Entompathogenic Nematodes of Amritsar to evaluate their biocontrol potential against important insect pests RUSA-DST ~15 lakhs (Co-PI) (2019-2021)

2002 Subbaiah Poopathi, K. Anup Kumar, L. Kabilan and Vaithilingam Sekar. Development of low-cost media for the culture of mosquito larvicides, Bacillus sphaericus and Bacillus thuringiensis serovar. israelensis. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. Vol 18: 209-216. ISSN: 0959-3993.

2002 Victor A. Doss, K. Anup Kumar, R. Jayakumar and Vaithilingam Sekar. Cloning and Expression of the Vegetative Insecticidal Protein (vip3V) gene of Bacillus thuringiensis in Escherichia coli. Protein Expression and Purification. Vol. 26:82-88. ISSN: 1046-5928

2002 Poopathi S, Kumar KA Novel fermentation media for production of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis. J Econ Entomol. Aug; 96(4):1039-44. ISSN: 0022-0493

2003 Neethirajan G, Hanson IM, Krishnadas SR, Vijayalakshmi P, Anupkumar K, Sundaresan P. A novel PAX6 gene mutation in an Indian aniridia patient. Mol Vis. May 29; 9:205-9. ISSN 1090-0535

2003 Poopathi S.; Anup Kumar K.; Arunachalam N.; Tyagi B.K.; Sekar V. Control of Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) by Bacillus sphaericus and B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis, Produced on a New Potato Extract Culture Medium Biocontrol Science and Technology, Vol.13, 8:743-748. ISSN  0958-3157

2005 Manabe YC, Hatem CL, Kesavan AK, Durack J, Murphy JR. Both Corynebacterium diphtheriae DtxR(E175K) and Mycobacterium tuberculosis IdeR(D177K) Are Dominant Positive Repressors of IdeR-Regulated Genes in M. tuberculosis. Infect Immun.Sep;73(9):5988-94.ISSN: 0019-9567

2005 Kesavan AK, Mendez SE, Hatem CL, Lopez-Molina J, Aird K, Pitt ML, Dannenberg AM Jr, Manabe YC. Effects of dexamethasone and transient malnutrition on rabbits infected with aerosolized Mycobacterium tuberculosis CDC1551. Infect Immun. Oct; 73(10):7056- 60. ISSN: 0019-9567

2005 Page KR, Jedlicka AE, Fakheri B, Noland GS, Kesavan AK, Scott AL, Kumar N, Manabe YC. Mycobacterium-induced potentiation of type 1 immune responses and protection against malaria are host specific. Infect Immun. Dec; 73(12):8369-80. ISSN: 0019-9567

2006 Tufariello JM, Mi K, Xu J, Manabe YC, Kesavan AK, Drumm J, Tanaka K, Jacobs WR Jr, Chan J. Deletion of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis Resuscitation-Promoting FactorRv1009 Gene Results in Delayed Reactivation from Chronic Tuberculosis. Infect Immun. May; 74(5):2985-95. ISSN: 0019-9567

2008 Susana Mendez, Christine L. Hatem , Anup K. Kesavan, Javier Lopez-Molina, M. Louise M. Pitt, Arthur M. Dannenberg, Jr., Yukari C. Manabe. Susceptibility to tuberculosis: Composition of tuberculous granulomas in Thorbecke and outbred New Zealand White rabbits.Vet Immunol Immunopathol. Mar 15;122(1-2):167-74. ISSN: 0165-2427

2008 Yukari C. Manabe, Anup K. Kesavan, Javier Lopez-Molina, Christine L. Hatem, Megan Brooks, Ricardo Fujiwara, Karl Hochstein, M. Louise M. Pitt, David N. McMurray. JoAnn Tufariello, William R. Bishai, Arthur M. Dannenberg, Jr., Susana Mendez. The aerosol rabbit model of TB latency, reactivation and immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. Tuberculosis.May;88(3):187-96. ISSN: 1472-9792

2009 Anup K. Kesavan, Megan Brooks, JoAnn Tufariello, John Chan, Yukari C Manabe. Tuberculosis genes expressed during persistence and reactivation in the resistant rabbit model. Tuberculosis. Jan;89(1):17-21. ISSN: 1472-9792

2009 Paul J. Converse, Petros C. Karakousis, Lee G. Klinkenberg, Anup K. Kesavan, Lan H. Ly, Shannon Sedberry Allen, Jacques H. Grosset, Sanjay K. Jain, Gyanu Lamichhane, Yukari C. Manabe, David N. McMurray, Eric L. Nuermberger, William R. Bishai. The role of the dosR/dosS two-component regulatory system in Mycobacterium tuberculosis virulence in three animal models. Infect Immun. Mar;77(3):1230-7. ISSN: 0019-9567

2016 Sharma A, Thakur S, Kumar V, Kanwar MK, Kesavan AK, Thukral AK, Bhardwaj R, Alam P and Ahmad P. Pre-sowing Seed Treatment with 24-Epibrassinolide Ameliorates Pesticide Stress in Brassica juncea L. through the Modulation of Stress Markers. Front. Plant Sci. 7:1569. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01569

2017 Sharma A,  Thakur S , Kumar V,  Kesavan AK ,  Thukral AK ,  Bhardwaj R . 24- epibrassinolide stimulates imidacloprid detoxification by modulating the gene expression of Brassica juncea L. BMC Plant Biol. 2017 Feb 28;17(1):56. doi: 10.1186/s12870-017- 1003-9.

2017 Heena Sareen, Pawan Prasher, Sujan Singh, Ashwani Kumar Thukral, Anup Kumar Kesavan. Role of MDM2 SNP309 gene mutation in pterygium: a pilot study. IJOOO. 2017 Vol:3(2). 108-111

2018 Sharad Thakur, Seema Madhumal Thayil and Anup Kumar Kesavan. Binding studies of a universal transcriptional metalloregulator, DtxR, from Corynebacterium diphtheria withdivalent cations. The Pharma Innovation Journal.2018; 7(1): 265-271

2018 Singh G,Bhatti R, Mannan R, Singh D, Kesavan A, Singh P.Osthole ameliorates neurogenic and inflammatory hyperalgesia by modulation of iNOS, COX-2, and inflammatory cytokines in mice.Inflammopharmacology. DOI 10.1007/s10787-018-0486-9

2019 Singh D, Thakur S, Thayil SM, Kesavan AK. Characterization of a cold-active, detergent- stable metallopeptidase purified from Bacillus sp. S1DI 10 using Response Surface Methodology. PLoS One. 2019 May 23;14(5):e0216990. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216990.

2019 Parihar Ripu Daman, Drishtant Singh, Verma Vinod, Sohal Satwinder Kaur, Kesavan Anup Kumar, Ohri Puja. Biocontrol Potential of Distolabrellus veechi isolate KPI (Nemata: Rhabditida)Against Cotton Cutworm, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).Indian Journal of Nematology. Vol: 49 (1). 71-82

2019 Samiksha, Singh D, Kesavan AK, Sohal SK. Purification of a trypsin inhibitor from Psoralea corylifolia seeds and its influence on developmental physiology of Bactrocera cucurbitae. Int J Biol Macromol. 2019 Oct 15;139:1141-1150.

2019 Kaur R, Singh D, Kesavan AK, Kaur R Molecular characterization and antimicrobial susceptibility of bacterial isolates present in tap water of public toilets. Int Health. 201 Nov 6. pii: ihz074. doi:10.1093/inthealth/ihz074.

2019 Samiksha, Singh D, Kesavan AK, Sohal SK. Exploration of anti-insect potential of trypsin inhibitor purified from seeds of Sapindus mukorossi against Bactrocera cucurbitae. Sci Rep. 2019 Nov 19;9(1):17025. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-53495-6.

2020 Singh D, Singh AP, Singh D, Kesavan AK, Arora S, Tiwary AK, Bedi N.Enhanced oral bioavailability and anti-diabetic activity of canagliflozin through a spray dried lipid based oral delivery: a novel paradigm. Daru. 2020 Jun;28(1):191-208. doi: 10.1007/s40199-020- 00330-3.

2020 Singh G, Kaur M, Singh D, Kesavan AK, Kang TS. Antimicrobial Colloidal Complexes of Lysozyme with Bio-Based Surface Active Ionic Liquids in Aqueous Medium.J Phys Chem B. 2020 May 7;124(18):3791-3800. doi: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c00339.

2020 Dilpreet Singh, Amrit Pal Singh, Drishtant Singh, Anup Kumar Kesavan, Ashok K Tiwary, Neena Bedi. Polymeric Precipitation Inhibitor–Based Solid Supersaturable SMEDD Formulation of Canagliflozin: Improved Bioavailability and Anti-diabetic Activity. Journal of Pharmaceutical Innovation https://doi.org/10.1007/s12247-020-09445-1

2020 Samiksha, Drishtant Singh, Anup Kumar Kesavan, and Satwinder Kaur Sohal.Deterioration of digestive physiology of Bactrocera cucurbitae larvae by trypsin inhibitor purified from seeds of Mucuna pruriens. Pestic Biochem Physiol. 2020 Oct;169:104647. doi: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2020.104647

2020 Sharma H, Singh D, Mahant A, Sohal SK, Kesavan AK, Samiksha.Development of mitochondrial replacement therapy: A review. Heliyon. 2020 Sep 14;6(9):e04643. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04643. eCollection 2020 Sep.

2020 Singh R, Kesavan AK, Landi M, Kaur S, Thakur S, Zheng B, Bhardwaj R, Sharma A. 5- aminolevulinic acid regulates Krebs cycle, antioxidative system and gene expression in Brassica juncea L. to confer tolerance against lead toxicity.J Biotechnol. 2020 Sep 22;323:283-292. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2020.09.004