PROJECT NAME
BIOENGINEERING OF THE RHIZOSPHERE
The goal
The goal is to improve the soil health and crop yield by engineering the existing indigenous soil and plant-associated microbiomes using novel nanomaterials and nano-biochar
Topics of ongoing projects
- Soil bioengineering;
- Efficiency and mechanisms of PAH biodegradation and carbon sequestration in polluted soils using immobilized synergistic microbiota;
- Nanoplatform based on organometallic polymers for quality control and safety of contaminated soils of industrial and agricultural landscapes;
- Theoretical foundations, experimental methods of soil control and remediation in case of contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals;
- Assessment of the state of contaminated soils and plants using synchrotron methods;
- Buffering capacity of soils of the chernozem zone in relation to heavy metals and metalloids;
- Scale effect in urban geochemistry: manifestations of spatial heterogeneity for contrasting urban areas and different groups of pollutants;
- Monitoring, modeling and management of ecosystem functions and services of soils and green spaces for the sustainable development of natural, agro- and urban landscapes of the South of Russia;
- Agrobiotechnology and health care;
- Ecological and geochemical patterns of formation of natural and anthropogenic flows of substances in the soils of the estuary region of the Don River and the coast of the Taganrog Bay;
- Fractional composition of heavy metals in soils and medicinal herbaceous plants of steppe and forest-steppe zones − Bio-restoration of polluted soil ecosystems;
- Agrobiotechnology to improve soil fertility and the quality of agricultural products;
- Key technologies for carbonation and rational disposal of urban food waste using big data and artificial intelligence.
Research Methods
The emerging materials such as nano-biochar and nanomaterials, metagenomic and CRSIPR technology will be applied for engineering of the soil microbiome.
Insight into the mechanism of root exudates, relationship between nutrients, structure, and function of soil rhizospheric microbiome could be a breakthrough contribution to the scientific domain to increase the crop resilience.
Equipment
Laboratory equipment and infrastructure of 12 youth laboratories and 3 research centers of the Academy of Biology and Medicine of the Southern Federal University are available for research
- Rigaku R-XAS Looper Spectrometer for measuring the fine structure of near-field X-ray absorption (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption (EXAFS) is the only Rigaku laboratory spectrometer in Russia and Europe.
- The synchronous thermal analysis device STA 449 F5 Jupiter (NETZSCH-Gerätebau GmbH) is designed to measure the heat capacity and temperature of phase transitions, as well as to measure changes in the mass of solid and powdery materials during heating.
- High-performance hybrid triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with linear LC/MS/MS ion trap (model 3200 QTrap, ABSciex, Singapore, 2014) with HPLC system with diode-matrix detection (Agilent Technologies 1260, Germany, 2014)) for the determination of PAHs, organic compounds, microplastics and antibiotics.
- Liquid chromatograph (1260 Agilent Technologies, USA, 2014) for the determination of PAHs.
- The Waters e2695 Alliance HPLC liquid chromatography system is designed to separate complex samples into their constituent components, detect most components, and measure concentrations of PAHs, organic compounds, microplastics, and antibiotics.
- 500 MHz solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) Spectrometer (CP-MAS) - Bruker Avance III for qualitative and quantitative chemical NMR spectroscopy, mixture analysis, authentication and determination of the structure of compounds of organic, bioorganic and inorganic substances.
- Quantum-2mt atomic absorption spectrometer with flame sputtering for the quantitative determination of metals in water, soil extracts, sediments and plants.
- Specord 71-IR spectrophotometer – identification and verification of purity and analysis of the structure of organic substances.
- ANALYSETTE 22 NanoTec laser diffraction particle size analyzer for determining the size of soil particles.
- ASAP 2020, Micromeritics (USA) for an automated system for analyzing surface area and studying the porous structure of materials by physical sorption methods.
- The CHNS-O EMA 502 elemental analyzer (VELP Scientifica, Italy) is designed to detect carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen in samples.
- IR Fourier spectrometer (PerkinElmer), designed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of solid, liquid and gaseous samples and product quality control using IR spectra.
- The Bruker VERTEX 70 infrared spectrometer opens up wide possibilities for solving complex analytical and research tasks of organic matter.
- The Bruker M4 TORNADO X-ray microfluorimeter is designed for elemental analysis with a spatial resolution of up to 25 micrometers.
- Bruker D2 PHASER X-ray diffractometer for qualitative and quantitative X-ray diffraction and X-ray phase analysis.
- X-ray fluorescence analyzer "Spectroscan MAX GV" for macro- and microelement analysis of soil samples.
- A specialized research complex based on a scanning electron microscope with advanced functionality of Phenom, FEI Co, (Netherlands) for determining the morphology of small particles: bacteria, cells, pollen, metals, etc.
- VEGA II LMU scanning electron microscope (Tescan) with INCA ENERGY 450/XT energy dispersive microanalysis systems (with nitrogen-free X-Act ADD detector) and INCA WAVE 700 wave dispersive microanalysis (OXFORD Instruments Analytical) to obtain SEM images and analyze the elemental composition in real time in one window of the TESCAN Essence software.
- Tecnai G2 Spirit BioTWIN transmission electron microscope for studying anatomical and physiological features of plants.
- Ultramicrotome Leica EM UC6. Allows to obtain ultrathin tissue sections for electron microscopic analysis.
- Medical microscope "MIKMED 6" for diagnostics and morphology of the studied objects.
- High-temperature laboratory muffle furnace SNOL 8.2/1100 for drying and annealing materials in air at temperatures up to 1100 C.
- The centrifuge is a high-speed Sigma 3-30HS with the possibility of cooling and heating.
- PULVERISETTE 7 premium planetary mill for grinding both brittle and medium-hard materials to a size of about 100 nm.
- PAM-Fluorimeter (Junior-PAM, Heinz Walz, Germany) for measuring plant photosynthesis parameters.
- Field expedition equipment for sampling and primary sample preparation.
- The Bruker M4 TORNADO X-ray microfluorimeter is designed for elemental analysis with a spatial resolution of up to 25 micrometers.
- Bruker D2 PHASER X-ray diffractometer for qualitative and quantitative X-ray diffraction and X-ray phase analysis.
- X-ray fluorescence analyzer "Spectroscan MAX GV" for macro- and microelement analysis of soil samples.
- A specialized research complex based on a scanning electron microscope with advanced functionality of Phenom, FEI Co, (Netherlands) for determining the morphology of small particles: bacteria, cells, pollen, metals, etc.
- VEGA II LMU scanning electron microscope (Tescan) with INCA ENERGY 450/XT energy dispersive microanalysis systems (with nitrogen-free X-Act ADD detector) and INCA WAVE 700 wave dispersive microanalysis (OXFORD Instruments Analytical) to obtain SEM images and analyze the elemental composition in real time in one window of the TESCAN Essence software.
- Tecnai G2 Spirit BioTWIN transmission electron microscope for studying anatomical and physiological features of plants.
- Ultramicrotome Leica EM UC6. Allows to obtain ultrathin tissue sections for electron microscopic analysis.
- Medical microscope "MIKMED 6" for diagnostics and morphology of the studied objects.
- High-temperature laboratory muffle furnace SNOL 8.2/1100 for drying and annealing materials in air at temperatures up to 1100 C.
- The centrifuge is a high-speed Sigma 3-30HS with the possibility of cooling and heating.
- PULVERISETTE 7 premium planetary mill for grinding both brittle and medium-hard materials to a size of about 100 nm.
- PAM-Fluorimeter (Junior-PAM, Heinz Walz, Germany) for measuring plant photosynthesis parameters.
- Field expedition equipment for sampling and primary sample preparation.
Principal Researcher
- Vishnu D RajputLeading Researcher
Vishnu D. Rajput working as “Principal Scientist" and Head of ‘International Laboratory on Nanobiotechnology at Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia. His ongoing research is based on the investigation of effective remediation approaches using biochar/nano-biochar based sorbents and nanomaterials. With long experience and experimental work, Dr. Rajput comprehensively detailed the state of research in environmental science about “how nanoparticles/heavy metals interact with plants, soil, microbial community, and the larger environment as well as possible remediation technology using nanoparticles/nano-biochar. Recently he is working nano-enhanced remediation of soil and water system. In recent work, he is working on nano-bioengineering for soil rhizospheric microbes and enhanced remediation using nanotechnology, CRISPR and metagenomics.
Educational Experience
- Doctor of Science in Natural Science (2012-2015)
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- M.Sc. Agricultural Biotechnology (2005-2007)\
Chander Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture & Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh 208002, India.
Professional Experience
- Principal Scientist, (March 2024 continue)
Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Southern Federal University, Rostov, Russia
Duties: Research & teaching (undergraduates & masters students);
- Leading Researcher, (June 2020 continue)
Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Southern Federal University, Rostov, Russia, Duties: Research & teaching (undergraduates & masters students);
- Senior Researcher, (March 2016 June 2020);
- Academy of Biology and Biotechnology, Southern Federal University, Rostov, Russia, Duties: Research & teaching (undergraduates & masters students);
- Senior Research Fellow, (2009-2012);
- Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal-132001 Haryana, India, Duties: Research;
- Project Assistant, (9 March to 31 May 2009);
- Center for Plant Biotechnology, Hissar, Haryana, India, Duties: Research
Key achievements
- Observed influence of Biochar and heavy metal tolerant microbes on plant growth in polluted soil.
- Optimized safe application of metal-based nanoparticles for sustainable agriculture.
- Revealed the mechanism of nanoparticles translocation, effects and accumulation in plant tissues and discovered effective concentration of ZnO & CuO NPs for plant growth.
- Developed nano-enhanced remediation technologies for heavy metal contamination, combined with metal tolerant microbes and hyperaccumulator plants.
- Fabricated biochars with various sizes such as nano-biochar, nanomaterial-enabled biochar, microbes-enriched biochar for soil health improvement.
- Developed methodology for rhizospheric microbes modulation and bio-nanoengineering for soil microbes using metagenomic and CRISPR.
Publications and Metrics
- As per Scopus/WoS database: Documents: 425, h-index: 41, Citations: 7,054, FWCI: 2.82 on 31st July 2024.
- In year 2023, he is included in the list of 2% worlds potential scientists by Elsevier BV publishing house.
Scopus Author ID: 56516545100
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6802-4805
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ru/citations?user=DDXokDYAAAAJ&hl=en
Postdoc
- Role of the Postdoctoral FellowThe postdoc will be involved in a diversified scientific work related to the preparation of publications, interaction with members of the scientific group, work with students and graduate students as a supervisor and co-director in the implementation of the project and the creation of a youth scientific laboratory.
- Candidate Requirements
- PhD or equivalent academic degree relevant to the project profile.
- Research experience in one or more of the following fields: soil science, environmental sciences, biogeochemistry, microbiology, biotechnology, analytical chemistry, nanomaterials.
- Publications in journals indexed in Scopus and/or Web of Science.
- Experience in experimental work and scientific data interpretation.
- Proficiency in working with complex equipment is welcome: liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry or atomic absorption spectrophotometer, electron microscopy;
- Scientometric indicators: h-index is not lower than 8 (Scopus), the number of publications is not less than 10 (Scopus/WoS).
- Ability to work in an international interdisciplinary team and to prepare scientific publications in English.
Soil Science, Environmental sciences, Biotechnology & applied microbiology, Plant sciences, Cell biology, Ecology, Environmental studies.
Academy of Biology and Medicine named after D.I. Ivanovsky of the Southern Federal University, utilizing the infrastructure of youth research laboratories and research centers of SFedU, as well as synchrotron facilities through scientific collaborations.
- Terms and ConditionsThe salary starts from 130,000 RUB per month and may be higher depending on qualifications and assigned tasks.
Organizational support will be provided for visa and accommodation matters, as well as support for academic mobility and integration of the researcher into the scientific environment of Southern Federal University.
The expected duration of the position is up to 3 years
Working Languages