Preethi Vijayaraghavareddy
Research Quest
As a researcher in Agricultural Sciences, Botany, Microbiology, and Sustainable Agriculture, I am driven by the need to develop resilient and sustainable farming systems in the face of climate change and resource limitations. My research focuses on understanding how plants respond to environmental stresses such as drought and heat at physiological and molecular levels, while also exploring the role of beneficial microbes in supporting plant health and productivity. I am particularly interested in plant–microbe interactions that enhance nutrient uptake, improve stress tolerance, and promote soil health. By integrating knowledge from plant physiology, microbial ecology, and sustainable farming practices, I aim to identify innovative strategies that reduce input dependence and increase water and nutrient use efficiency. Through this interdisciplinary approach, my goal is to bridge fundamental research with practical agricultural solutions that are environmentally friendly, scalable, and beneficial to both farmers and ecosystems, ultimately contributing to food and nutritional security.
Academic Bio
Preethi Vijayaraghavareddy has taught at Chanakya University’s Centre for Sustainability since 2025. She is interested in plant responses to abiotic stress, plant–microbe interactions, and sustainable agricultural practices. Her work explores how physiological, molecular, and microbial processes can be harnessed to improve crop resilience, water and nutrient use efficiency, and soil health.
She has published widely cited work on nocturnal transpiration, drought responses, and genotype-dependent water use in crops. Her articles on topics such as plant physiology, stress signaling, plant–microbe interactions, and plant phenomics have appeared in several professional journals, including Environmental and Experimental Botany, Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, and Frontiers in Plant Science.
She serves as a reviewer for many Scopus-indexed journals in the fields of plant science, microbiology, and sustainable agriculture. She is also an Associate Editor for Plant Physiology Reports and Modern Agriculture, where she contributes to maintaining the quality and relevance of published research by overseeing peer review and editorial processes.
She teaches course on Environmental Sustainability. In 2023, she was awarded the DST-INSPIRE Faculty Fellowship, GOI for her research on improving water use efficiency in rice.
Educational Qualification
Ph.D. Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands BSc and MSc, University of Agricultural Sciences, BangalorePublications
[1] P. Vijayaraghavareddy, X. Yin, P. C. Struik, U. Makarla, and S. Sreeman, “Responses of lowland, upland and aerobic rice genotypes to water limitation during different phases,” Rice Sci., vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 345–354, 2020.
[2] P. Vijayaraghavareddy, R. S. Vemanna, X. Yin, P. C. Struik, U. Makarla, and S. Sreeman, “Acquired traits contribute more to drought tolerance in wheat than in rice,” Plant Phenomics, 2020.
[3] P. Vijayaraghavareddy, N. N. Akula, R. S. Vemanna, R. G. H. Math, D. D. Shinde, X. Yin, P. C. Struik, U. Makarla, and S. Sreeman, “Metabolome profiling reveals impact of water limitation on grain filling in contrasting rice genotypes,” Plant Physiol. Biochem., vol. 162, pp. 690–698, 2021.
[4] V. S. Lekshmy, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, A. N. Nagashree, R. S. Vemanna, V. Ramegowda, U. Makarla, and S. Sreeman, “Induction of acquired tolerance through gradual progression of drought is the key for maintenance of spikelet fertility and yield in rice under semi-irrigated aerobic conditions,” Front. Plant Sci., vol. 11, p. 2275, 2021.
[5] P. Vijayaraghavareddy, S. V. Lekshmy, P. C. Struik, U. Makarla, X. Yin, and S. Sreeman, “Production and scavenging of reactive oxygen species confer to differential sensitivity of rice and wheat to drought stress,” Crop Environ., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 15–23, 2022.
[6] P. A. Vanitha, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, A. Uttarkar, A. Dawane, D. Sujitha, V. Ashwin, K. C. Babitha, et al., “Novel small molecules targeting bZIP23 TF improve stomatal conductance and photosynthesis under mild drought stress by regulating ABA,” FEBS J., 2022.
[7] V. Adhinarayanreddy, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, A. Vargheese, S. Dadi, A. Uttarkar, V. Niranjan, A. C. Venkatraman, S. M. Sreeman, and R. S. Vemanna, “A simple and rapid oxidative stress screening method of small molecules for functional studies of transcription factor,” Rice Sci., vol. 3, 2022.
[8] V. S. Lekshmy, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, K. S. Nanaiah, and S. Sreeman, “Relevance of acquired tolerance traits and root length in determining spikelet fertility and yield in rice,” Plant Physiol. Rep., vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 641–652, 2022.
[9] P. Doddaraju, P. M. Dharmappa, A. Thiagarayaselvam, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, R. Bheemanahalli, P. A. Basavaraddi, M. K. V. Malagondanahalli, S. Kambalimath, H. V. Thulasiram, and S. M. Sreeman, “Comprehensive analysis of physiological and metabolomic responses to drought reveals specific modulation of acquired tolerance mechanisms in rice,” Physiol. Plant., vol. 175, no. 3, p. e13917, 2023.
[10] D. Albert, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, and S. Sreeman, “Seed size, an imperative trait for seed vigor and drought tolerance in rice,” Cereal Res. Commun., vol. 52, no. 2, pp. 559–568, 2023.
[11] L. V. Sankarapillai, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, K. Nanaiah, G. D. Arpitha, P. M. Chaitanya, R. Sathishraj, D. Shindhe, R. S. Vemanna, X. Yin, P. C. Struik, and S. Sreeman, “Phenotyping and metabolome analysis reveal the role of AdoMetDC and Di19 genes in determining acquired tolerance to drought in rice,” Physiol. Plant., vol. 175, no. 5, p. e13992, Aug. 2023.
[12] A. Dawane, S. Deshpande, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, and R. S. Vemanna, “Polysome-bound mRNAs and translational mechanisms regulate drought tolerance in rice,” Plant Physiol. Biochem., vol. 208, p. 108513, 2024.
[13] S. Nagaraju, M. Ramesh, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, R. Abhishree, P. Chaitanya, and S. Sreeman, “Triose phosphate utilization determines the yield–grain protein trade-off in contrasting rice genotypes under varying light intensities,” Plant Soil, vol. 502, no. 1, pp. 333–349, 2024.
[14] P. M. Chaitanya, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, S. Lekshmy, S. Nagaraju, R. G. H. Math, D. D. Shinde, P. C. Struik, and S. Sreeman, “Molecular basis of distinct responses to drought between rice and wheat genotypes,” Environ. Exp. Bot., vol. 221, p. 105734, 2024.
[15] R. Abhishree, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, P. M. Chaitanya, S. Nagaraju, and S. Sreeman, “Decoding stomatal characteristics regulating water use efficiency at leaf and plant scales in rice genotypes,” Planta, vol. 260, no. 3, p. 56, 2024.
[16] S. Nagaraju, M. Ramesh, N. E. Mujjassim, S. Reddy, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, and S. Sreeman, “Rice night-time thirst: Genotype nutrient needs reflected in nocturnal transpiration,” Rhizosphere, vol. 32, p. 100956, 2024.
[17] M. Rathinam, N. Dokka, K. Senthil, S. Mahawar, S. Tyagi, D. Rengarajan, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, Y. Iyyappan, B. Y. Basavaraj, S. Reddy, V. T. Vinutha, R. G. Subodh, S. Sinha, P. Dash, S. Sreeman, M. Majee, and R. Sreevathsa, “Orchestration of ROS homeostasis and enhanced defense by CpMSRB1 against Helicoverpa armigera in Cajanus platycarpus,” Mol. Plant Microbe Interact., accepted, 2025.
[18] S. M. Sreeman, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, R. Sreevathsa, S. Rajendrareddy, S. Arakesh, P. Bharti, P. Dharmappa, and R. Soolanayakanahally, “Introgression of physiological traits for a comprehensive improvement of drought adaptation in crop plants,” Front. Chem., vol. 6, p. 382, 2018.
[19] S. Yadav, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, S. Dadi, C. S. Seth, K. G. Keshavareddy, B. K. Chandrashekhara, and R. S. Vemanna, “Small molecules alter plant processes to deliver big impacts on agriculture,” Physiol. Mol. Biol. Plants, accepted, 2024.
[20] R. S. Vemanna, P. Vijayaraghavareddy, K. N. Nisarga, K. R. Srivastava, M. S. Sreeman, K. S. Mysore, and M. Udayakumar, “Carbonyl cytotoxicity affects plant cellular processes and detoxifying enzymes scavenge these compounds to improve stress tolerance,” J. Agric. Food Chem., vol. 68, no. 23, pp. 6237–6247, 2020.
[21] P. Vijayaraghavareddy, V. Adhinarayanreddy, R. S. Vemanna, S. Sreeman, and U. Makarla, “Quantification of membrane damage/cell death using Evan’s blue staining technique,” Bio-Protocol, vol. 7, no. 16, pp. e2519–e2519, 2017.
Projects
Project 1:
- Title: Importance of nocturnal transpiration in determining carbon assimilation and water productivity – physiological and molecular mechanisms that govern the variability in nocturnal transpiration in rice
- Duration: 5 years
- Granting Agency: Department of Science and technology
- PIs: Preethi Vijayaraghavareddy
- Short Description: This project investigates the role of nocturnal transpiration in rice, focusing on its impact on carbon assimilation and water productivity. While night-time water loss can support nutrient uptake and prepare leaves for early morning photosynthesis, rising night temperatures and drought make it an energetically costly process. The study aims to identify rice genotypes with minimal increases in nocturnal transpiration under heat and drought stress, using advanced phenomics tools. Physiological, molecular, and genetic analyses will uncover the mechanisms controlling variability in this trait, providing insights for breeding water-efficient rice varieties resilient to climate change.
- Status: Ongoing
- Grant Amount: 35000
Honours, Memberships, Special Trainings and Certifications
- INSPIRE Faculty, Department of Science and Technology, New-Delhi, 2023
- Dr. Sunderlal Bagai Young Agricultural Scientist award 2023-24 by Rotary Bangalore South
- Jury member for National Bio Entrepreneurship Competition organized by C-CAMP (2022)
- Prof. M Udayakumar Memorial Young Scientist Award-2024 at NCPP 2024, Kasaragod
- Associate Editor for Plant Physiology Reports
- Associate Editor for Modern Agriculture