Department of Botany

department of botany

The DST-FIST supported Department of Botany started to function as a part of the Centre for Biosciences in 2009 and became an independent Centre in 2015. In 2017 the name was changed from “Centre for Plant Sciences” to “Department of Botany”. We offer two academic programs, M.Sc. in Botany and PhD in Botany. Admissions to both these programs are through an all-India entrance test, CUCET. Our department aims to achieve excellence in research and teaching in the areas of basic and applied plant sciences. This department provides excellent research and training opportunities for postgraduate students and research scholars. The department is supported by a DST-FIST Grant sanctioned in 2021. Department also houses an international herbarium which has been recognized by Steere Herbarium, NY, US as an enlisted herbarium with index herbariorum with the code “CUPB”.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/cup-herbarium-gets-international-recognition/articleshow/81130306.cms

Currently, research in the department is focused on Molecular Systematics, Plant Cell and Tissue Culture, Genome editing, Molecular Stress Physiology, Floristic Diversity of Antarctica, Anticancer compounds from algae and fungi, Genetics and Applied Genomics, Himalayan Lichen Photobionts, Marine, Terrestrial and Freshwater Algal diversity, and Plant Metabolic Engineering. In a short span of its existence, the department has obtained grants of over 2.4 crores from external funding agencies. The department has well equipped laboratories. Some highlights of research infrastructure include fluorescence microscopes, phase contrast microscope, RT PCR, gradient PCRs, Nanodrop spectrophotometer, Refrigerated ultracentrifuge, Laminar Flows, Cell culture facilities, plant growth chamber, and culture room. In addition, department has growth rooms for designing a wide range of experiments and offers an excellent research environment in both fundamental and applied aspects of plant molecular sciences. The department also maintains university’s central botanical garden and allied field experimental facilities.

There are four research groups in the department whose synergistic focus is the plant complexities with respect to climate change. The research and teaching labs are supported by two technical staff members. At present 19 Ph.D. scholars are doing research in the department.

Vision :

The department envisions to create responsible skill force trained in botany for the country through education and research

Missions:

Value-based botanical education centered on ethics and character building
Discovery Learning through first-hand exposure to excellent primary research in botany
Skill-based training for youth empowerment and employability in botany and allied field

Faculty

Prof. Sanjeev K. Thakur, Professor
Profile Publications
Prof. Felix Bast, Professor
Profile Publications
Dr. Vinay Kumar, Associate Professor & HOD
Profile Publications
Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj, Associate Professor
Profile Publications
Dr. Nirmal Renuka, Assistant Professor
Profile Publications
Dr. Prashant Swapnil, Assistant Professor
Profile Publications
Dr. Yadvinder Singh, Assistant Professor
Profile Publications

Academic Programmes

2023-25
- M.Sc Botany
- Ph.D Botany
2022-24
- M.Sc Botany
- Ph.D Botany

Syllabi

Research Thurst Area

Stress biology in crops.
Plant Taxonomy,Molecular Systematics, Biodiversity, Conservation, Ethnobotany, Plant Ecology.
Adaptation of plant species to the extreme environment and effect of climate change.
Plant genetic and metabolic engineering.
Tissue Culture
Algal Biotechnology
Abiotic stress tolerance in cyanobacteria

Facilities

Department of Botany is equipped with state-of-the-art scientific laboratories with avant-garde research infrastructure including low temperature deep freezers, Cytogenetic Workstation, Gradient PCR machines, Automated DNA Sequencer, Plant Tissue culture, laminar air flow
The department also has access to the equipment in the Central Instrumentation Laboratory (CIL):

Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
Confocal Microscope
Flow Cytometer
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer
GC-MS
ICP-MS
Scanning Electron Microscope
UHPLC

Department of Botany has been involved with Union Government’s flagship program SWAYAM since the inception. Dr. Felix Bast is the coordinator of a PG level 3 credit course, Biostatistics and Mathematical Biology. Course Link: https://onlinecourses.swayam2.ac.in/cec21_bt12/preview With over 7000 enrolments all over India, this is one of the most popular courses in SWAYAM. This course had been ranked at 7th in the world in an international ranking system in 2020. Link https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/modules-by-2-central-varsity-teachers-in-global-top-10/articleshow/73819694.cms In addition to SWAYAM, individual faculties disseminate e-contents to the students for all courses offered at the department. Many teachers adopt ‘flip class’ mode of pedagogy as well, where in the classroom hours are utilized for extensive discussions.

Our alumni have excellent track records. Some of the notable include:

Dr. Devendra Meena: PhD from Oxford, currently an RA at Imperial College, London
Dr. Pushpendra Singh, Scientist in State Forensic Department, MP
Dr. Satej Bhushan, Shashi Shekhar Anand (Taiwan Govt Fellowship, PhD in Taiwan)
Ajay Prakash (PhD, IIT Roorkee, CSIR-JRF)
Komal (IIT Roorkee, CSIR-JRF)
Sauradeep Banerjee (PhD, Ashoka University, CSIR-JRF)
Manisha (CSIR-JRF PhD candidate, CSIR NIPGR, New Delhi)
Venus (CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, CSIR-JRF)
Diksha Bisht (PhD, DU South Campus, CSIR-JRF)
Archana (ILS Bhubaneshwar, CSIR-JRF)
Muzamil & Ashutosh (Tezpur University)
Alokesh (Assam Agricultural University)
Adesh Kumar (CSIR-JRF PhD candidate, CSIR NIPGR, New Delhi)

CSIR NET/JRF Holders June 2023
Foreign Students:
Mrs. Odgerel Bumandalai, Researcher, Microbial Synthesis Laboratory,
Institute of General and Experimental Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, Mongolia supported by NAM S&T Centre Research Training Fellowship for Developing Country Scientists (RTF-DCS) (2016-17) with Dr. Felix Bast as mentor.

botany

List of the Research Projects Operational in the department

Molecular and morphological diversity in photobiont associated with Parmelioid lichens of Indian Himalaya (2018-2021) Funded by CSIR Sponsored Research Scheme (22 lakh)
DNA Sequence-based molecular systematics of marine macroalgae from Indian Coast (2020-2023) Funded by DST-SERB Core Research Grant (37.57 lakh)
Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj, Transcriptomic investigations of active gene networks in hyper-accumulator plant species in response to heavy metal toxicity. Funding agency: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Sanctioned amount: 20 Lacs.
Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj, Genetic diversity assessment of highly endangered species Taxus wallichiana and Ulmus wallichiana by DNA markers and geospatial technologies for effective conservation strategies. Funding Agency: Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Sanctioned Amount: 35 Lacs.
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Identification and characterization of stress proteins and related Heat Shock Factors; assessment of up/down-regulated stress genes in preconditioned chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Funding agency: Central University of Punjab, Sanctioned amount: 03 Lacs (INR).
Dr. Vinay Kumar, “Deep Sequencing for Identification and Differential Expression Analysis of Reproductive Organ(s) Enriched transcripts after Fertilization in Chickpea” Funding agency: UGC-Start Up Research Grant, Amount 10 lakhs (INR)

List of the Projects Completed

Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj, Analyses of genetic variations and structure of Rhododendron, a rare and endangered tree species in Western Himalayas. Funding agency: University of Grant Commission, Sanctioned amount: 06 Lacs (INR).
Dr. Felix Bast, Sequence-based DNA barcoding, Phylogeography and Conservation Genetics of selected Medicinal Plants from Indian Subcontinent. Funding agency: Central University of Punjab, 03 Lacs (INR).
Dr. Felix Bast, Tracing evolutionary heritage of Indian Languages using Computational Phylogenetics. Funding agency: ICSSR, 07 Lacs (INR).
Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj, Analyses of genetic variations and structure of Rhododendron, a rare and endangered tree species in Western Himalayas. Funding agency: Department of Science Technology, Sanctioned amount: 17 Lacs (INR).
Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj, Differential gene expression in response to ultra-low temperature in Rhododendron arboreum by whole genome transcriptome. Funding agency: Central University of Punjab, Sanctioned amount: 03 Lacs.
Dr. Felix Bast, Genotoxicity detection in drinking water from Malwa region, Punjab. Funding agency: University of Grant Commission, Sanctioned amount: 06 Lacs (INR).
Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Investigating the mechanism associated with temperature stress tolerance imposed by non-lethal stress conditions; Understanding metabolic relationship between cold and draught x heat stress in chickpea (Cicer arietinumL.) Funding agency: University of Grant Commission, Sanctioned amount: 06 Lacs (INR).

Seminar/Symposia

Science Academies’- INYAS Science Leadership Workshop (India’s first Science Leadership Program), From June 22 to June 28.
Lecture Workshop:”Tangled Bank” series organized in connection with UN World Environment Day jointly by INYAS (Indian National Young Academy of Sciences) and the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda.
An interactive session organized by Goa Science Centre in connection with UN World Environment Day jointly with INYAS (Indian National Young Academy of Sciences) 5th June 2020 at 12:30 PM.
Organised a webinar series entitled 'Blue Planet', in connection with World Ocean’s Day, from 7th June till 9th June. jointly with INYAS (Indian National Young Academy of Sciences).
DAV College, Bathinda, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda and Indian National Young Academy of Science New Delhi co-organized a webinar series entitled #ZeroWaste, from 16th June till 18th June.
Science Academies’ Refresher Course on Plant Taxonomy, Ecology and Phytpgeography (March, 2019)
Science Academies’ Lecture Workshop in Recent Breakthroughs in Plant Sciences (2016)
Science Academies’ Refresher Course in Environmental Biology (2016)

Alumni

Dr. Pushpendra Singh (Supervisor: Dr. Felix Bast): Scientist at State Forest department, Madhya Pradesh
Dr. Prateek Singh (Supervisor: Dr. Sanjeev Kumar): Assistant Professor
Dr. Satej Bhushan (Supervisor: Dr. Felix Bast): PostDoc at NIPGR, New Delhi
Dr. Balraj Singh Gill (Supervisor: Dr. Sanjeev Kumar) : Post graduate Teacher in Higher Education Department Government of Himachal Pradesh
Dr. Richa Mehra (Supervisor: Dr. Felix Bast) : Scientist at UNESCO-Regional Centre for Biotechnology, Faridabad.
Dr. Pooja Rani (Supervisor: Dr. Felix Bast): Sr. Demonstrate, Dept. of Biophysics, PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Dr. Sapna Thakur (Supervisor: Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj):Post Doc fellow at IHBT CSIR Palampur, H.P.
Dr. Shruti Bhardwaj ((Supervisor: Dr. Pankaj Bhardwaj): PostDoc at Umeå University, Sweden.

Academic Calendar - 2022-23

Academic Calendar - 2021-22

Board of Studies(BOS)

Notifications of BOS

Minutes of Meetings

Academic & Administrative Committee (AAC)

Meetings of Meetings

2020

2022

Curriculum Development Committee(CDC)

Minutes of Meetings

THE CENTRAL HERBARIUM

ABOUT :

The Central Herbarium of the Central University of Punjab is Index herbariorum enlisted herbarium located at Ghudda Village, Bathinda, Punjab, India. The herbarium has a large collection of plant vouchers from throughout the Indian Subcontinent, with a focus on seaweeds from the Indian Coastline.

Our standard international identification code is "CUPB". Please mention this code in your manuscripts where accession numbers of our herbarium are mentioned.

The herbarium is fully digitalized. Our database with scanned images of all vouchers is accessible here

SERVICES OFFERED :

We offer the following services free of cost

Plant specimen voucher deposition
- A voucher can be broadly defined as a representative sample of an expertly identified organism that is deposited and stored at a facility from which researchers may later obtain the specimen for examination and further study.
Plant specimen authentication

GUIDELINES FOR PLANT VOUCHER DEPOSITION :

Press the prominent taxonomically relevant and representative plant materials, like algal fronds, flowers, branches showing branching patterns etc. on acid-free stiff cardboard paper of at least 160-300 gsm. Size of the herbarium sheet should be (31x21 cm). Guidelines for herbarium sheet preparation/plant press is here.
IMPORTANT: Herbarium sheet pressed on normal A4 sheets will not be accepted.
Label as per the following example format (Download Word format here)
Herbarium of the Central University of Punjab,
VPO Ghudda, Bathinda, 151401, INDIA

PLANTS OF PUNJAB

Striga gesnerioides (Willd.) Vatke
det.Dhanya M.S

JASSI PAUWALI: Just S. of Bathinda city limits, ± ½ mi. E. of S.H.17, along S. side of Mansa Rd. 30.158635 N,74.961092 E; 2 populations with cotton and dahlia plants growing in proximity, Height: ± 180 cm, Red round Fruits, Purple flowers; infrequent;

coll. Anju Agarwal # 0003 17 September 2022
with Rimplejeet Kaur and Jatinder Kaur

IMPORTANT: Pressed vouchers that are unlabelled/labels deviating from the required format will not be curated, and no accession numbers will be provided.
Scan the herbarium sheet with the label and keep it yourself for record and for submitting it while applying for authentication
Send the sample to the following address (or submit it to curator by hand):
Central Herbarium
431, Academic Block, Central University of Punjab,
Ghudda VPO Bathinda Punjab 151401 India
Make sure to enclose a cover letter with the request, your full name with address, phone number, and email address. Accession number will be sent via email to the email ID provided.

GUIDELINES FOR PLANT SPECIMEN AUTHENTICATION :

Note that for angiosperms we need photographs of flowers for identification and authentication. Merely submitting a leaf alone will not suffice.
For authentication, first submit the vouchers (herbarium sheet) for accession number following the steps mentioned above.
With an accession number at hand, use this form to apply for authentication. Note that these are the tasks needed to complete even before applying for authentication.
- Using PlantNet app on your mobile phone (Android/iPhone) find out the three nearest matching species names with percentage identity (You would need to mention these in the form above). Make sure to scan only flowers for angiosperms. Scanning leaf/habit/seeds are not at all reliable.
- Authentication based on morphology will only be preliminary. For DNA Barcode based authentication please get in touch with herbarium to inquire about costs.

VOUCHER EXCHANGE WITH OTHER HERBARIUMS :

As an Index Herbariorum enlisted herbarium, CUPB can exchnage its specimen with other index enlisted herbariums within and outside India. For further queries please get in touch with us.