Venu (Kal) Kalavacharla, PhD
Associate Dean for Research, College of Agriculture, Science and Technology
Professor, Molecular Genetics and Genomics, Dept. of Agriculture & Natural Resources
Director, Center for Integrated Biological & Environmental Research (CIBER)
222 Ag. Annex Bldg.
302.857.6453
vkalavacharla [at] desu.edu
Education
May 2001 Ph.D. (Plant Science-Genetics, Molecular Genetics), North Dakota State University
May 1996 M.S. (Plant Science-Genetics, Plant Pathology), University of Manitoba
May 1993 B.Sc (Agriculture), Punjabrao Agricultural University
Research Interests/Area
- Plant Science – Physiology and Genetics
- Molecular Genetics
Professional Memberships
- Delaware BioScience Association
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American Society for Plant Biology (ASPB)
- Crop Science Society of America
- Bean Improvement Cooperative
- Switchgrass Genomics Consortium
Publications
- Todd, A.R.; Donofrio, N.; Sripathi, V.R.; McClean, P.E.; Lee, R.K.; Pastor-Corrales, M.; Kalavacharla, V.K. (2017) Marker-Assisted Molecular Profiling, Deletion Mutant Analysis, and RNA-Seq Reveal a Disease Resistance Cluster Associated with Uromyces appendiculatus Infection in Common Bean Phaseolus vulgaris L.. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2017, 18, 1109.
- Kalavacharla, V. (Kal), Subramani, M., Ayyappan, V., Dworkin, M. C., & Hayford, R. K. (2017). Plant Epigenomics. Handbook of Epigenetics, 245–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805388-1.00016-X
- Dworkin, M., Xie, S., Saha, M., Thimmapuram, J., & Kalavacharla, V. K. (2017). Analyses of methylomes of upland and lowland switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) ecotypes using MeDIP-seq and BS-seq. BMC Genomics, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-017-4218-0.
- Hayford, R. K., Ligaba-osena, A., Subramani, M., Melmaiee, K., Hossain, K., & Kalavacharla, V. K. (2017). Characterization and Expression Analysis of Common Bean Histone Deacetylase 6 during Development and Cold Stress Response. International Journal of Genomics, 2017, 12.
- Ayyappan, V., Saha, M. C., Thimmapuram, J., Sripathi, V. R., Bhide, K. P., Fiedler, E., … Kalavacharla, V. K. (2016). Comparative transcriptome profiling of upland (VS16) and lowland (AP13) ecotypes of switchgrass. Plant Cell Reports, 36(1), 1–22. doi.org/10.1007/s00299-016-2065-0
- Crampton, M., Sripathi, V. R., Hossain, K., & Kalavacharla, V. (2016). Analyses of Methylomes Derived from Meso-American Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Using MeDIP-Seq and Whole Genome Sodium Bisulfite-Sequencing. Frontiers in Plant Science, 7(April), 447. doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00447
- Melmaiee, K., Kalavacharla, V., Brown, A., Todd, A., Thurston, Y., & Elavarthi, S. (2015). Quantification and gene expression analysis of histone deacetylases in common bean during rust fungal inoculation. International Journal of Genomics. doi.org/10.1155/2015/153243
- Ayyappan, V., Kalavacharla, V., Thimmapuram, J., Venkateswara, S., Manoharan, M., Smolinski, T., Thurston, Y., Todd, A., and Kingham, B. Genome wide profiling of histone modifications (H3K9me2 and H4K12ac) and gene expression in rust (Uromyces appendiculatus) inoculated common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). PLOS ONE 10(7): e0132176. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0132176 2015
- Melmaiee, K., Kalavacharla, V., Brown, A., Todd, A., Thurston, Y, and Elavarthi S. Quantification and gene expression analysis of histone deacetylaces in common bean during rust fungal inoculation. International Journal of Plant Genomics. 28;2015:153243. Epub 2015
- Melmaiee, K., Todd, A., Lee, R., McClean, P., Schleuter, J., Jackson, S, and Kalavacharla, V. Identification of molecular markers associated with the deleted region in common bean Ur-3 mutants. Australian Journal of Crop Science, 7:354-360. 2013.
- Liu, Z., *Crampton, M., Todd, A and Kalavacharla, V. Identification of expressed resistance gene-like sequences by data mining in 454-derived transcriptomic sequences of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). BMC Plant Biology, 12:42. 2012.
- Liu, L, Yu, L, Kalavacharla, V. and Liu, Z. A Bayesian model for gene family evolution. BMC Bioinformatics, 12:426. 2011.
- Kunjeti, S., Evans., T, Marsh, A., Gregory, N., Kunjeti, S., Meyers, B., Kalavacharla, V. and Donofrio, N. RNA-seq reveals infection related global changes in Phytopthora phaseoli, the causal agent of lima bean downy mildew. Molecular Plant Pathology, 13(5): 454-466 2012
- Kalavacharla, V., Liu, Z., Meyers, B.C., Thimmapuram, J. and Melmaiee, K. Identification and analysis of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) transcriptomes by massively parallel pyrosequencing. BMC Plant Biology, 11:135. 2011.
- Melmaiee, K. and Kalavacharla, V. ESTs and their Role in Functional Genomics. In Kole, C and Abbot, A.G. Editors: Principles and Practices of Plant Genomics, Volume 3, Advanced Genomics. Science Publishers, Inc. New Hamsphire and Edenbridge Ltd., British Isles.2009.
- Kalavacharla, V., Hossain, K., Riera-Lizarazu, O., Gu, Y., Maan, S.S. and Kianian, S.F. Radiation hybrid mapping in crop plants. In Sparks, D.L. Editor: Advances in Agronomy, Vol. 102, Burlington: Academic Press, pp. 201-222. 2009
- Michalak, M., …..Kalavacharla, V. et al. High-resolution radiation hybrid mapping in wheat: an essential tool for the construction of the wheat physical maps. International Wheat Genetics Symposium. 2008.
- Kalavacharla, V., Gu, Y., Riera-Lizarazu, O., Maan, S.S. and Kianian, S.F. High resolution radiation hybrid map of wheat chromosome 1D. International Symposium on Molecular Basis of Plant Breeding, Meerut, India. pp-4-11, February 26-28, 2007.
- Kalavacharla, V.S., Gu, Y., Hossain, K., Riera-Lizarazu, O., Vales, I., Maan, S.S., Bhamidimarri, S., Gonzalez-Hernandez, J. and Kianian, S.F. High resolution radiation hybrid mapping of wheat chromosome 1D. Genetics 173: 1089-1099 2006.
- Kalavacharla, V.S., Hossain, K.G., Maan, S.S. and Kianian, S.F. Nuclear cytoplasmic interactions in wheat. Recent Res.Devel. Genet. Breeding, 2:71-84 2005.
- Hossain, K.G., Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. A 2148 EST loci map of group 7 chromosomes of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Genetics 168: 687 – 699, 2004.
- Lazo, G.R., ….. Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. Development of a 16,009 loci wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) bin-delineated map: expressed sequence tag (EST) generation, unigene analysis, probe selection, and bioinformatics. Genetics 168: 585-593, 2004.
- Munkvold, J.D.,…. Kalavacharla, V.S., et al. Group 3 chromosome bin maps of wheat and their relationship to rice chromosome 1. Genetics 168:639-650, 2004.
- Hossain, K.G., Riera-Lizarazu, O., Kalavacharla, V.S., Isabel-Vales, M., Maan, S.S. and Kianian, S.F. Radiation hybrid mapping of a species cytoplasm specific (scsae) gene in wheat Genetics 168: 415-423, 2004.
- Peng, J.H…. Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. Chromosome bin map of expressed sequence tags in homoeologous group 1 of hexaploid wheat and homoeology with rice and Arabidopsis. Genetics 168:609 - 623 , 2004.
- Randhawa, H.S., … Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. Deletion mapping of homoeologous group 6-specific wheat ESTs. Genetics 168:677-686, 2004.
- Miftahudin, K…. Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. Analysis of wheat EST loci on wheat chromosome Group 4. Genetics 168: 651-663, 2004.
- Conley, E., … Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. A 2600-loci map of wheat homoeologous group 2. Genetics 168:625-637. , 2004.
- Linkiewicz, A.M.,…. Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. A 2500-loci bin map of wheat homoeologous group 5 provides insights on gene distribution and colinearity with rice. Genetics 168: 665-676 , 2004.
- Qi, L., …. Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. A chromosome bin map of 16,000 EST loci and distribution of genes among the three genomes of polyploid wheat. Genetics 168:701-712, 2004
- Wennerlind, E., …..Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. A 2600-locus chromosome bin map of wheat homoeologous group 2 reveals interstitial gene-rich islands and colinearity with rice. Genetics 168:625-637 2004
- Akhunov, E.D….Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. Synteny perturbations between wheat homoeologous chromosomes caused by locus duplications and deletions correlate with recombination rates along chromosome arms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 100: 10836-10841, 2003.
- Hossain, K.G., Riera-Lizarazu, O., Kalavacharla, V.S., Isabel-Vales, M., Rust, J., Maan, S.S. and Kianian, S.F. Molecular cytogenetic characterization of an alloplasmic durum wheat line with a portion of chromosome 1D of Triticum aestivum carrying the scsae gene Genome 47:206-214, 2003.
- Sorrells, M. E., ….Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. Comparative Genome Sequence Analysis of Wheat and Rice. Genome Research 13: 1818-1827, 2003.
- Akhunov, E.D….Kalavacharla, V.S. et al. The organization and rate of evolution of wheat transcriptome correlate with recombination rates across chromosome arms. Genome Research 13: 753-763, 2003.
- Kianian, S.F., Hossain, K.G., Riera-Lizarazu, O., Kalavacharla, V.S., Vales, M.I and S.S. Maan. Radiation hybrid mapping of a species cytoplasm specific (scsae) gene in wheat. Proceedings of the Tenth International Wheat Genetics Symposium, 1-6 September, Italy, Pp 597-597, 2003.
- Gill, B.S., ….Kalavacharla, V.S., et al. A transcriptome map of wheat. Proceedings of the Tenth International Wheat Genetics Symposium, 1-6 September, Italy Pp 597-597, 2003.
- Dvorak, J., …Kalavacharla, V.S., et al. New insights into the organization and evolution of the wheat genomes. Proceedings of the Tenth International Wheat Genetics Symposium, 1-6 September, Italy Pp 597-597, 2003.
- Kalavacharla, V.S., Goreham, J., Spaeth, K., Osenga, M., Elias, E.M., Kianian, S.F. Progress towards saturation mapping and BAC contig development for Qfhs.NDSU-3AS a major FHB QTL in durum wheat. National Fusarium Head Blight Forum, 2001.
- Kalavacharla, V.S., Stavely, JR., Myers, JR, McClean, PE. Crg, a Gene required for Ur-3-mediated rust resistance in common bean, maps to a resistance gene analog cluster. Molecular Plant Microbe Interactions 13:1237-1242, 2000.
- Kalavacharla, V.S., Wu, C., Rimmer, S. R. Genetic analysis for resistance to Albugo candida in Brassica differentials. In “New Horizons for an old crop” 10th International Rapeseed Congress, 1999.
Honors & Awards
- 2014 Educator of the year (Higher Education), Delaware Biosciences Association
- 2014 Invited Speaker, International Plant Genomics Congress, London, UK (legume epigenetics)
- 2014 Invited Speaker, International Plant Genomics Congress, St. Louis, USA (switchgrass epigenetics)
- 2013 Chair, W2150: Breeding Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for Resistance to Abiotic and Biotic Stresses, Sustainable Production, and Enhanced Nutritional Value
- 2012 Invited Speaker, Phaseomics: The Genome, Special Edition, an international conference on common bean genomics, Mexico
- 2012 Member, International Committee on Phaseomics-planning next steps of bean genomics
- 2011 Secretary, W2150: Breeding Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) for Resistance to Abiotic and Biotic Stresses, Sustainable Production, and Enhanced Nutritional Value
- 2011 Faculty Excellence Award for Research/Creative Activities, Delaware State University
- 2001 Presidential Travel Award, North Dakota State University
- 1999 Graduate Student Travel Award, College of Agriculture, NDSU
- 1998 National Science Foundation EPSCoR Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship
Teaching
- 2018 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Molecular Genetics & Genomics 23-375/575, 29-375/575 Delaware State University
- 2017 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Plant Genetics & Breeding 29-316/29-516. Delaware State University
- 2016 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Plant Genetics & Breeding 29-316/29-516. Delaware State University
- 2015 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Plant Genetics & Breeding 29-316/29-516. Delaware State University
- 2014 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Molecular Genetics & Genomics 23-375/575, 29-375/575 Delaware State University
- 2013 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Plant Genetics & Breeding 29-316/29-516. Delaware State University
- 2012 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Molecular Genetics & Genomics 23-375/575, 29-375/575 Delaware State University
- 2011 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Plant Genetics & Breeding. 29-316/29-516. Delaware State University
- 2010 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Molecular Genetics & Genomics 23-375/575, 29-375/575 Delaware State University
- 2009 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Plant Genetics & Breeding. 29-316/29-516. Delaware State University.
- 2007 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Molecular Genetics & Genomics. 23-375/575/ Delaware State University. Initiated, co-developed and co-taught new course
- 2007 Undergraduate and Graduate Course in Plant Genetics & Breeding. 29-316/29-516. Delaware State University. Initiated, developed and taught new course
- 2006 Graduate Biochemistry Laboratory Bio 501, (three sections, 48 students), Drexel University. Prepared, organized and conducted three laboratory sections with pre-lab lecture.
- 2006 Chemical & Biological Foundations of Engineering, CBFE III, (lecture and lab, 130 students) Drexel University. Lectured, organized laboratory components and supervised teaching assistants.
- 2005 Applied Biology 151, (lecture and lab- 125 students), Drexel University, Lectured, organized laboratory components, and supervised teaching assistants.
- 2005 Fall Quarter, Graduate Biochemistry Laboratory Bio 501, (2 sections, 40 students), Drexel University, Prepared, organized and ran two laboratory sections with pre-lab lecture.
- 2005 Fall quarter, Biotechnology 212 (23 students), Drexel University. Lectured on principles and methods in agriculture, medical, microbial and animal biotechnology
- 2005 Summer quarter, Biotechnology 212 (17 students), Drexel University, Lectured on principles and methods in agriculture, medical, microbial and animal biotechnology
- 2005 Summer quarter, Chemical & Biological Foundations of Engineering, CBFE III, (lecture and lab,48 students), Drexel University, Lectured, organized laboratory components and supervised teaching assistants
- 2005 Spring quarter, Plant Molecular Genetics & Genomics 480/680, (17 students) Drexel University, Initiated course, Co-taught course, lectured and provided opportunities for discussion and new learning methods
- 2005 Spring quarter, Chemical & Biological Foundations of Engineering, CBFE III, (lecture and lab, 160 students) Drexel University. Lectured, organized laboratory components, and supervised teaching assistants.
- 2005 Winter quarter, Applied Biology 151, (lecture and lab- 220 students), Drexel University, Lectured, organized laboratory components, and supervised teaching assistants.
- 2004 Fall quarter, Graduate Biochemistry Laboratory Bio 501, (three sections, 58 students), Drexel University. Prepared, organized and run three laboratory sections with pre-lab lecture.
- 2004 Biotechnology, Invited Lecturer, Delaware State University.
- 2001 Genetics, Invited Lecturer, North Dakota State University.
- 1995 Plant Disease Control, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Manitoba.
- 1994 Plant Disease Control, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Manitoba.
- 1994 Crop Science, Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of Manitoba.
Additional Information
Funded Grant Proposals ($13.1 Million to DSU)
- 2018 National Science Foundation-Office of Integrative Activities: Delaware EPSCoR Research Improvement (RII-Track 1) Proposal: Water Security in Delaware’s Changing Coastal Environment (PI-Kent Messer-University of Delaware, Co-PI Kalavacharla-DSU and others,) Awarded $4.25 million; DSU Focus-Marsh grass salinity uptake, oyster aquaculture water quality, environmental sensors; K-16 & graduate training.
- 2018 USDA Capacity Building Grant Program- Epigenomic and transcriptomic approaches to unravel potential breeding targets for common bean drought tolerance, PI-Mayavan Subramani, Co-PI Kalavacharla, Co-PI-Antonette Todd, Co-PI- Mollee Dworkin
- 2017 USDA Capacity Building Grant Program -TSU- Tomato Methylome. Co-PI-Kalavacharla
- 2015 USDA Capacity Building Grant Program-Development of Epigenomic Tools in Legumes-Global Understanding of Biotic Stress Methylomes and Transcriptomes in Common Bean. PI-Kalavacharla, Co-PIs-Manoharan (UAPB), Hossain (MSU)-$499,982
- 2014 USDA Capacity Building Grant Program-Transcriptome Analysis And Genome-Wide Association Studies In Sweet Potato. PI-Manoharan, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Co-PI-Kalavacharla; Co-PI-Srivastava- Awarded $500,000; DSU Focus-Epigenomics and transcriptomics of seed decline in sweet potato)
- 2013 National Science Foundation-Directorate of Integrative Affairs: Delaware EPSCoR Research Improvement (RII-3) Proposal: Meeting Delaware’s 21st Century Water and Energy Challenges through Research, Education and Innovation (PI-Sparks-University of Delaware, Co-PI Kalavacharla-DSU and others,) Awarded $20 Million; Total DSU Share-$7 Million; DSU Focus-Molecular genetics & epigenomics of bioenergy crops; abiotic and biotic stress, water quality, research infrastructure; K-16 & graduate training
- 2012 AFRI-CAP: NEWBio: The Northeast Bioenergy consortium (PI, Richard-Penn State Univ; Co-PI: Kalavacharla and others); Awarded $326,000; DSU leads bioenergy scholars training for consortium
- 2010 NSF-REU Site: Research experiences for undergraduates in Molecular Genetics & Genomics at Delaware State University. (PI-Kalavacharla; Co-PI-Melmaiee; Collaborators-Delaware Technical & Community College, Wesley College, Delaware Biotechnology Institute); Awarded $343,000; students recruited and trained nationwide; NSF highlight
- 2010 USDA-CSREES: Terminator-less transgene constructs for efficient gene silencing in crop plants. (PI-Manoharan, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Co-PI-Kalavacharla; Co-PI-Srivastava- Awarded $500,000; DSU Focus-molecular genetics & genomics of biotic stress
- 2008 National Science Foundation-Directorate of Integrative Affairs: Delaware EPSCoR Research Improvement (RII-2) Proposal: Building research and education infrastructure to enhance environmental science and its application in Delaware and State of Delaware (PI-Sparks-University of Delaware, Co-PI Kalavacharla-DSU and others,) Awarded $20 Million; Total DSU Share-$4.1 Million; DSU Focus-environmental sciences, plant biology, undergraduate and graduate research
- 2008 USDA-CSREES: Use of Legume Comparative Genomics for Understanding Common Bean Rust Resistance (PI-Kalavacharla); Awarded $299,899
- 2008 NSF RET: Teacher Research Experiences in Molecular Genetics & Genomics at Delaware State University (PI-Kalavacharla); Supplement to NSF REU Awarded $17,000
- 2008 University of Delaware Seed Grant- Development of a Molecular Map in Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus) and Identification of Molecular Markers Linked for Disease Resistance to Downy Mildew Caused by Phytophthora phaseoli. (PI-Evans, Co-PI-Donofrio, University of Delaware, Co-PI-Kalavacharla, DSU); Awarded $20,000
- 2007 USDA-CSREES: Development of Molecular Genetic and Genomic Resources for Disease Resistance in Dry Bean. (PI-Kalavacharla; Co-PIs-Manoharan, University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Donofrio-University of Delaware); Awarded $499,809
- 2007 Delaware EPSCoR Seed Grant: Development and Establishment of Molecular Genetic Resources for Common Bean Rust Resistance. (PI-Kalavacharla; Collaborator-Meyers, University of Delaware); Awarded $35,360
- 2007 USDA-National Research Initiative Conference Proposal: Evolution of Weediness and Invasiveness: Molecular Genetics Approaches. (PI-Stewart, University of Tennessee; Kalavacharla-Member, Organization and grant writing committee); Awarded $10,000
- 2007 NSF-REU Site: Undergraduate Research in Molecular Genetics & Genomics at Delaware State University. (PI-Kalavacharla; DSU Faculty-Labreveux, Fox, McIntosh, Ozbay; Collaborators-Delaware Technical & Community College, Wesley College, Delaware Biotechnology Institute); Awarded $230,000
- 2006 Beckman Genomics Educational Grant: Purchase of a CEQ 8000 XL Capillary Electrophoresis System at Delaware State University (PI-Kalavacharla); Awarded $50,000
- 2006 Delaware State University Curriculum Development Mini-Grant: Introduction to Molecular Genetics & Genomics (Developer-Kalavacharla); Awarded $3,000
- 2002 USDA-US Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative: Saturation mapping and contig development for Qfhs.ndsu-3AS, a major Fusarium Head Blight locus in durum wheat (PI-Kalavacharla) Awarded $29,268
- 2001 USDA-US Wheat & Barley Scab Initiative: Development of a Bacterial Artificial Chromosome (BAC) Contig Spanning Major Fusarium Head Blight Quantitative Trait Locus in Durum Wheat (PI-Kalavacharla) Awarded $28,230