Dr. Shweta Panchal

Associate Professor

shwetap@rvu.edu.in

About
Publication & Works
Research Summary
Awards & Achievements

Dr. Shweta Panchal is an academic researcher and educator with a strong foundation in microbiology, aspiring to blend research and teaching to make biology approachable and less daunting for students. She has a strong interest in advancement of STEM education, with a focus on developing pedagogical strategies that emphasize clarity, accessibility, and elegance in contemporary learning environments.

Dr. Panchal received her doctorate from the University of Texas at Arlington, USA specializing in plant pathology. Post-PhD, she pursued postdoctoral research at laboratories in M.S. University, Baroda, and at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore. She worked as an Associate Professor at Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore for nearly three years before joining RV University.

Dr. Panchal has presented her research at various national and international conferences. Her scholarly contributions include several peer-reviewed international publications and book chapters, with research addressing questions in plant immunity, molecular plant pathology, and bacterial and fungal pathogens.

"Chance favors the prepared mind." - Louis Pasteur

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Pattapulavar V, Ramanujam S, Muthusamy S, Panchal S and Christopher JG. (2025) Metabolite Production and Extraction of Indole Compound From the Tomato Endophyte Streptomyces sp. VITGV100. Bio-protocol 15(14): e5386. https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.5386.

Tomichen S and Panchal S*. (2025) The Cardamom-Fusarium Pathosystem: Current Knowledge and Future Directions. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. 41:189 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-025-04426-3 *Corresponding author

Veilumuthu P, Sekaran, M, Chandrasekaran R, Panchal S, Christopher G. (2025) Biosynthetic pathway of psi. psi. carotene from Streptomyces sp. VITGV38 (MCC 4869). Frontiers in Microbiology 16: 1548894. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1548894

Panchal S* and Si Z. (2025) Editorial: Global Excellence in Fungal Pathogenesis: Asia & Australasia Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology 15:1573927. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1573927 *Corresponding author

Mal S and Panchal S* (2024) Drought and salt stress mitigation in crop plants using stress-tolerant auxin-producing endophytic bacteria: a futuristic approach towards sustainable agriculture. Frontiers in Plant Science 15:1422504. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1422504 *Corresponding author

Isanapong, J., Suwannoi, K., Lertlattanapong, S., Panchal S. (2024). Purification, characterization of laccase from Pleurotus ostreatus HK35, and optimization for congo red biodecolorization using Box–Behnken design. 3 Biotech 14, 73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13205-024-03926-7

Panchal S*, Murali TS, Suryanarayanan TS, Sanyal K (2022) Hypersaline fungi as a source of potentially active metabolites against pathogenic Candida species. Czech Mycology 74(1): 93–101. https://doi.org/10.33585/cmy.74107 *Corresponding author

Panchal S*, Sanyal K (2022) Loss of nucleosome assembly protein 1 affects growth and appressorium structure in blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. microPublication Biology *Corresponding author https://doi.org/10.17912/micropub.biology.000520

Navarro-Mendoza M, Perez-Arques C, Panchal S, Nicolas FE, Mondo SJ, Ganguly P, Pangilinan J, Grigoriev IV, Heitman J, Sanyal K and Garre V (2019) Early diverging fungus Mucor circinelloides lacks centromeric histone CENP-A and displays a mosaic of point and regional centromeres. Current Biology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.09.024 Recommended by F1000 Prime

Isanapong J, Krailoekpaiboon T, Noiniyom W, Panchal S (2017) Utilization of organic wastes for laccase production by Pleurotus ostreatus. International Journal of Applied Science and Technology 10(3):239-244 https://dx.doi.org/10.14416/j.ijast.2017.08.003

Panchal S and Melotto M (2017) Stomate-based defense and environmental cues. Plant Signaling and Behavior 12(9).https://doi.org/10.1080/15592324.2017.1362517

Panchal S, Breitbach ZS, Melotto M (2017) An HPLC-based Method to Quantify Coronatine Production by Bacteria. Bio-protocol 7(5): e2147. https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.2147https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.2147

Jacob C*, Panchal S*, Melotto M (2017) Surface inoculation and quantification of Pseudomonas syringae population in the Arabidopsis leaf apoplast. *Co-first authorship. Bio-protocol 7(5): e2167. https://doi.org/10.21769/BioProtoc.2167

Panchal S, Chitrakar R, Thompson B, Obulareddy N, Roy D, Hambright SW, Melotto M (2016). Regulation of Stomatal Defense by Air Relative Humidity. Plant Physiology 172(3):2021-2032. Epub 2016 Oct 4; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1104/pp.16.00696

Panchal S, Roy D, Chitrakar R, Price L, Breitbach ZS, Armstrong DW and Melotto M (2016). Coronatine facilitates Pseudomonas syringae infection of Arabidopsis leaves at night. Frontiers in Plant Science 7:880. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2016.00880

Melotto M, Panchal S, Roy D (2014) Plant innate immunity against human pathogens. Frontiers in Microbiology 5:411. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2014.00411

Roy D, Panchal S, Rosa, BA, Melotto M (2013). Escherichia coli O157:H7 induces stronger plant immunity than Salmonella enterica Typhimurium SL1344. Phytopathology 103(4):326-32. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO-09-12-0230-FI. Editor’s choice article of the focus issue on Human Pathogens on Plants

Obulareddy N, Panchal S, Melotto M (2013). Guard cell protoplasting and RNA isolation suitable for high throughput transcriptional analysis of cell-type responses to biotic stresses. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions 26(8): 844-849 http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/MPMI-03-13-0081-TA

Baker CM, Chitrakar R, Obulareddy N, Panchal S, Williams P, Melotto M (2010). Molecular battles between plant and pathogenic bacteria in the phyllosphere. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research 43:698-704. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-879X2010007500060

Book Chapter

Panchal, S. (2022). Fundamentals of Genetics. In: Kar, D., Sarkar, S. (eds) Genetics Fundamentals Notes. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7041-1_1

My research bridges plant pathology, microbiology, and molecular biology to study plant–microbe interactions. During my doctoral research, I investigated the modulation of plant immunity and pathogen virulence mechanisms using the Arabidopsis–Pseudomonas syringae pathosystem, with a particular focus on stomatal defense regulation under environmental and pathogenic cues. In my postdoctoral training, I expanded this scope to study significant plant and human pathogens, including Magnaporthe oryzae, Mucor circinelloides, and Candida species—exploring aspects of pathogenesis, genomic architecture, and the screening of natural extracts for antifungal activity. Currently, my research focuses on deepening our understanding of plant–pathogen interactions in the tomato–Pseudomonas and cardamom–Fusarium pathosystems, particularly examining the role of the microbiome and biocontrol microbial agents in shaping these interactions.
Research Interests
Studying molecular pathways involved in plant-microbe interactions
Utilizing microbes for sustainable agriculture
Microbiome engineering
Studying plant immunity with an aim to develop climate-resilient plants

Received VIT Seed Grant for research as Principal Investigator, VIT, Vellore – 2023-2025
Received DST WOS-A Postdoctoral Fellowship and Research Grant as Principal Investigator, Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India -2019-2022
Associate Editor – Bio-protocol (2023-present)
Guest Editor - Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology (2023-2025)
Received DST-SERB National Postdoctoral Fellowship as Principal Investigator, Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India as Principal Investigator 2016-2018
Received DBT-Postdoctoral Research Associateship, Dept. of Science and Technology, Govt. of India Postdoctoral Fellowship – 2016
Awarded Dissertation Fellowship for graduate students, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA – Jan-May 2014
Awarded Graduate Teaching/Research Assistantship, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA – 2009-2014
Awarded winner for oral presentation at The Annual Celebration of Excellence by Students (ACES) at the University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA (2013)
Awarded IS-MPMI Student Travel Grant to attend and present research at the XV International Congress of MPMI at Kyoto, Japan (2012)
Awarded Outstanding Graduate Research Award for the 2011-2012 academic year (2012) at University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA
Awarded William L. and Martha Hughes scholarship for outstanding academic record (2012) at University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA
Awarded Graduate Student Travel and Participation award by American Phytopathological Society-Public Policy Board (APS-PPB) and USDA-National Institute of Food Agriculture (NIFA) to attend the 2012 Human Pathogens on Plants: A Multidisciplinary Strategy for Research Conference at MD, USA (2012)
Presented with Mentoring award by the Department of Education funded Upward Bound Math and Science Center at University of Texas, Arlington, TX, USA (2011)