Avishek Banik

Assistant Professor

               During my doctoral work at ICAR- National Rice Research Institute, I have explored the diversity, colonization pattern of beneficial N2-fixing endophytic and epiphytic microbial communities of wild and cultivated rice genotypes. Among all characterized endophytes- epiphytes, a novel rice root endophytic Azotobacter sp. was found to increase rice yield under field conditions when it was compared with other preexisting rhizospheric Azotobacter. I have also developed a novel Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET)- based technique for tracking of endophytic bacteria in rice roots demonstrating the endophytic colonization.

              Apart from that I have characterized tea pest (Buzura suppressaria, Hyposidra talaca, Hyposidra infixaria) specific Bacillus thuringiensis and identified a novel toxin (immune inhibitor A of Bt) by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The strain has been optimized for large-scale production in 250-liter fermenter and currently being used to control tea loopers in tea cultivated areas of the Dooars region of West Bengal. I have also demonstrated the microbial biofilm base phytostabilization process in groundnut ecologies at coastal regions of Gujarat. The system was unique in its kind, demonstrating plant-microbe protocooperation to withstand salinity and metal stress which can be implemented to improve crop production in saline metal-polluted agriculture fields of India.

Fellowships availed from

1. University of California, Davis, California, USA
2. Indian Council of Agricultural Research
3. DST-PURSE, Govt. of India

Honours and Awards

1. Selected as a Young Investigator at “Young Investigators' Meeting 2023” at IIT Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad University, organized by IndiaBioscience

2. Awarded AMI- YOUNG SCIENTIST in Agricultural Microbiology by the Association of Microbiologists of India for the year 2019.

3. Awarded Best Young Researcher National by IRDP AWARDS, (October, 2018), Chennai, India, for Teaching, Research and Publications.
4. Awarded outstanding contribution in reviewing by Science of the Total Environment (Elsevier: ISSN: 0048-9697), Applied Soil Ecology (Elsevier: ISSN: 0929-1393) and European Journal of Soil Biology (Elsevier: ISSN: 1164-5563)

5.  Awarded Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, State of Israel / Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development. (2018) (Not availed) 

6. Awarded Post-Doctoral Fellowship from Department of Plant Sciences, Mail Stop 5, University of California, 1 Shields Ave, Davis, California 95616, USA (2017)

Research area: Plant-microbe interaction

The plant-microbe interaction plays a crucial role in shaping plant growth and development. Beneficial microorganisms can promote plant growth and increase crop yield, while harmful microorganisms can cause diseases and limit plant growth. The use of metabolomics has emerged as a powerful tool for studying the plant-microbe interaction and understanding the metabolic pathways involved.

Research Question:

What is the role of metabolomics in understanding the plant-microbe interaction and how can it be used to develop new strategies for sustainable agriculture?

Objectives:

1. To investigate the metabolic pathways involved in the plant-microbe interaction.
2. To identify the changes in metabolite profiles in plants in response to microbial colonization.
3. To evaluate the potential of beneficial microbes as biocontrol agents for plant diseases.

My research mainly focused on different aspects of plant-microbe interactions through metabolomics, phenotyping, bio-imaging, and different molecular biological techniques. I would love to supervise enthusiastic postgraduate students to decode different interactions between microbes with Rice/ Groundnut/ Tea ecologies.

Editorial activity of Journals

1. Frontiers in Agronomy (Guest Associate Editor, 2020-2021)

Regular peer reviewers for journals

1. Science of the Total Environment (Elsevier: ISSN: 0048-9697),
2. Food Chemistry (Elsevier: ISSN: 0308-8146),
3. Physiologia Plantarum (Wiley: ISSN: 1399-3054),
4. Plant Science (Elsevier: ISSN: 0168-9452), 
5. Land Degradation & Development (Wiley: ISSN: 1099-145X),
6. Applied Soil Ecology (Elsevier: ISSN: 0929-1393),
7. European Journal of Soil Biology (Elsevier: ISSN: 1164-5563),
8. Journal of Plant Growth Regulation (Springer: ISSN: 0721-7595),
9. Journal of King Saud University – Science (Elsevier: ISSN: 1018-3647),
10. CLEAN - Soil, Air, Water (Wiley; ISSN:1863-0669),
11. Marine Environmental Research (Elsevier: ISSN: 0141-1136),
12. International Journal of Phytoremediation (Taylor & Francis; ISSN:1522-6514),
13. Archives of Microbiology (Springer: ISSN: 0302-8933),
14. International Journal of Phytoremediation (Taylor & Francis: ISSN:1522-6514),
15. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B - Plant Soil Science  (Taylor & Francis; ISSN:0906-4710),
16. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition (Springer: ISSN: 0718-9508),
17. International Journal of Environmental Research (Springer: ISSN: 2008-2304),
18. BioMed Research International (Hindawi: ISSN: 2314-6133),
19. Journal of Crop Research (Sci Technol: ISSN: 2454-1761),
20. The Open Microbiology Journal (Bentham Open: ISSN: 1874-2858),
21. Frontiers in Agronomy (Frontiers: ISSN: 2673-3218)
22. Industrial Crops & Products (Elsevier: ISSN: 0926-6690)

Extramural fund for research

1. UGC (2020-  2023): Topic: Rice microbiome
2. SERB (2020- 2022):Topic: Tea microbiome
3. DBT (2024-2025): Topic: Bacterial EPS

1. General Microbiology
2. Agricultural Microbiology
3. Environmental Microbiology
4. Industrial microbiology

Prospective students

Highly motivated students with CSIR-UGC JRF/NET or BET (DBT) or ICMR-JRF with their own fellowship having a background in Microbiology or any other allied disciplines are welcome to contact at avishek.dbs@presiuniv.ac.in

• Current lab members

          1. Anupam Mondal (Project Assistant in SERB project assistant)

          2. Dipankar Bera (DBT-JRF) (BET)

          3. Amrita Ghosh (DBT-JRF) (Project)

Doctoral student (Ph.D. awarded: 1):  Dr. Chandrashekhar PS (RK University, Gujarat, 2021)

M. Sc.  dissertation students

1. Sk Soyal Parvez (M.Sc. Dissertation Student, PU, 2024),
2. Madhurima Pal (M.Sc. Dissertation Student, PU, 2024),
3. Somdatta Maiti (M.Sc. Dissertation Student, PU, 2023),
4. Shamita Maji (M.Sc. Dissertation Student, Vidyasagar University, 2023)
5. Ms. Sushreeta Paul (SBT, Presidency University, 2022)
6. Ms. Sanchari Dey (Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, 2022)
7. Ms. Anusha Majumder (SBT, Presidency University, 2021)
8. Ms. Pooja Pandya (Department of Microbiology, RK University, 2016-2017)
9. Ms. Maya Dangar (Department of Microbiology, RK University, 2016-2017)
10. Ms. Rutvika Tholiya (Department of Microbiology, RK University, 2016-2017)

1. Life member of THE ASSOCIATION OF MICROBIOLOGISTS OF INDIA (AMI) 
2. Life member of The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) 

Indian patent: 01 (Application field on 18th September, 2024)

Publications

1. Sushreeta Paul, Sk Soyal Parvez, Anusree Goswami, Avishek Banik*.  Exopolysaccharides from agriculturally important microorganisms: Conferring soil nutrient status and plant health.  International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 262, 129954(2024) 262, 129954 I.F.: 8.2 (Corresponding Author)
2. Somdatta Maiti, Avishek Banik*. Strategies to fortify the nutritional values of polished rice by implanting selective traits from brown rice: A nutrigenomics-based approach. Food Research International. 173,113271 (2023). I.F.: 8.1 (Corresponding Author)  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2023.113271
3. Baishali Pandit, Abdul Moin, Anupam Mondal, Avishek Banik, Masrure Alam. Characterization of a biofilm-forming, amylase-producing, and heavy-metal-bioremediating strain Micrococcus sp. BirBP01 isolated from oligotrophic subsurface lateritic soil. Archives of Microbiology. (2023). I.F. 2.8
4. Chandrashekharaiah P.S., Yash Gupte, Purbasha Sarkar, Shyam Prasad,  Debanjan Sanyal, Santanu Dasgupta, Avishek Banik*. Algae-bacterial aquaculture can enhance heavy metals (Pb2+ and Cd2+) remediation and water re-use efficiency of synthetic streams. Resources, Conservation & Recycling (2022) 180, 106211. I.F.: 13.2 (Corresponding Author)
5. Anusha Majumder, Sunil Kanti Mondal, Samyabrata Mukhoty, Sagar Bag, Anupam Mondal, Yasmin Begum, Kalpna Sharma, Avishek Banik*. Virtual screening and docking analysis of novel ligands for selective enhancement of tea (Camellia sinensis) flavonoids.Food Chemistry: X (2022) 13, 100212. I.F.: 6.1 (Corresponding Author)
6. Sagar Bag, Anupam Mondal, Anusha Majumder, Sunil Kanti Mondal, Avishek Banik*. Flavonoid mediated selective cross-talk between plants and beneficial soil microbiome. Phytochemistry Reviews (2022). DOI: 10.1007/s11101-022-09806-3 Accepted  I.F.: 7.7 (Corresponding Author)
7. Sagar Bag, Anupam Mondal, Avishek Banik*. Exploring tea (Camellia sinensis) microbiome: Insights into the functional characteristics and their impact on tea growth promotion. Microbiological Research (2022) 254, 126890. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micres.2021.126890.  I.F.: 6.7 (Corresponding Author)
8. Sagar Bag, Anupam Mondal, Anusha Majumder, Avishek Banik*. Tea and its  Phytochemicals:  Hidden  Health  Benefits  &  Modulation of  Signaling  Cascade by Phytochemicals. Food Chemistry (2022) 371, 131098. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.131098 . I.F.: 8.8 (Corresponding Author)
9. Chandrashekharaiah Purushanahalli Shivagangaiah, Debanjan Sanyal, Santanu Dasgupta, Avishek Banik*. Phycoremediation and photosynthetic toxicity assessment of lead (Pb2+) by two freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus acutus and Chlorella pyrenoidosa. Physiologia Plantarum (2021) 173 (1), 246-258.  I.F.: 6.4 (Corresponding Author) 
10. Chandrashekharaiah P.S., Debanjan Sanyal, Santanu Dasgupta, Avishek Banik*. Cadmium biosorption and biomass production by two freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus acutus and Chlorella pyrenoidosa: An integrated approach. Chemosphere (2021) 269, 128755. I.F.: 8.8 (Corresponding Author)
11. Trinetra Mukherjee, Avishek Banik, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay. Plant Growth-Promoting Traits of a Thermophilic Strain of the Klebsiella Group with its Effect on Rice Plant Growth. Current Microbiology (2020) 77, 2613–2622. I.F.: 2.6
12. Rajesh Kumar Mohapatra, Avishek Banik, Sarat Kumar Sahu, Sudarsan Panda, Tushar Kanti Dangar. Parasites and bacteria associated with Indian pangolins Manis crassicaudata (Mammalia: Manidae). Global Ecology and Conservation (2020). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01042. I.F.: 4
13. Avishek Banik, Amarnath Chattopadhyay, Subir Ganguly, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay. Characterization of a tea pest specific Bacillus thuringiensis and identification of its toxin by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Industrial Crops & Products (2019) 132, 549-556. I.F.: 5.9
14. Avishek Banik*, Gautam Kumar Dash, Padmini Swain, Upendra Kumar, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Tushar Kanti Dangar*. Application of rice (Oryza sativa L.) root endophytic diazotrophic Azotobacter sp. strain Avi2 (MCC 3432) can increase rice yield under green house and field condition. Microbiological Research (2019) 219, 56-65. I.F.: 6.7 (Co-corresponding Author)
15. Satyajit Mondal, Moumita Chakraborty, Antu Mondal, Bholanath Pakhira, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Avishek Banik, Swaraj Sengupta, Shyamal Kumar Chattopadhyay. Crystal structure, spectroscopic, DNA binding studies and DFT calculations of a Zn (II) complex. New Journal of Chemistry (2019) 43, (2019): 5466-5474. I.F.: 3.3
16. Avishek Banik*, Pooja Pandya, Bhoomi Patel, Chirag Rathod, Maya Danger. Characterization of halotolerant, pigmented, plant growth promoting bacteria of groundnut rhizosphere and its in-vitro evaluation of plant-microbe protocooperation to withstand salinity and metal stress. Science of the Total Environment (2018) 630, 231-242. I. F.: 9.8 (*Corresponding Author)
17. Upendra Kumar, P. Panneerselvam, Avishek Banik, K. Annapurna. Lower Frequency and Diversity of Antibiotic-Producing Fluorescent Pseudomonads in Rhizosphere of Indian Rapeseed–Mustard (Brassica juncea L. Czern.). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences (2018) 88: 579-586.
18. Ranjan C. Khunt, Khushal M. Kapadiya, Yashwantsinh S. Jadeja, Avishek Banik. In silico and in vitro studies of fluorinated chroman-2-carboxilic acid derivatives as an anti-tubercular agent. Folia Medica (2018) doi: 10.2478/folmed-2018-0034  
19. Avishek Banik*, Upendra Kumar, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Tushar Kanti Dangar*. Dynamics of endophytic and epiphytic bacterial communities of Indian cultivated and wild rice (Oryza spp.) genotypes. Ecological Genetics and Genomics (2017) 3-5, 7-17. (Co-corresponding Author)
20. Upendra Kumar, P. Panneerselvam, V. Govindasamy, L. Vithalkumar, M. Senthilkumar, Avishek Banik, K. Annapurna. Long-term aromatic rice cultivation effect on frequency and diversity of diazotrophs in its rhizosphere. Ecological Engineering (2017) 101, 227-236. I. F.: 3.8
21. Avishek Banik, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Tushar Kanti Dangar. Characterization of N2-fixing plant growth promoting endophytic and epiphytic bacterial community of Indian cultivated and wild rice (Oryza spp.) genotypes. Planta (2016) 243, 799-812. I. F.: 4.3 (Recommended in F1000Prime)
22. Avishek Banik, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Animesh Sahana, Debasis Das, Tushar Kanti Dangar. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) based technique for tracking of endophytic bacteria in rice roots. Biology and Fertility of Soils (2016) 52, 277- 282. I. F.:  6.5
23. Abhijit Ghosh, Sangita Adhikari, Sabyasachi Ta, Avishek Banik, Tushar Kanti Dangar, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Jesús Sanmartín Matalobos, Paula Brandão, Vítor Félix, Debasis Das. Tuning of azine derivatives for selective recognition of Ag+ with in-vitro tracking of endophytic bacteria in rice root tissue. Dalton Transactions (2016) 45, 19491-19499. I. F.: 4
24. Abhijit Ghosh, Sabyasachi Ta, Milan Ghosh, Subhajit Karmakar, Avishek Banik, Tushar Kanti Dangar, SubhraKanti Mukhopadhyay, Debasis Das. Dual mode ratiometric recognition of zinc acetate: nano-molar detection with in-vitro tracking of endophytic bacteria in rice root tissue. Dalton Transactions (2016) 45, 599-606. I. F.: 4
25. Barnali Naskar, Ritwik Modak, Yeasin Sikdar, Dilip K. Maiti, Avishek Banik, Tushar Kanti Dangar, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Debasish Mandal, Sanchita Goswami. A simple Schiff base molecular logic gate for detection of Zn2+ in water and its bio-imaging application in plant system. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry (2016) 321, 99-109. I. F.: 4.3
26. Debasis Karak, Avishek Banik, Arindam Sarkar, Shyamalendu Chatterje, Jesus Sanmartín Matalobos, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Debasis Das. 9-Acridone-4-carboxylic acid: Crystal structure, immune-fluorescence detection of viral antigen and cell imaging studies. Journal of The Indian Chemical Society (2014) 91, 245-251.
27. Avishek Banik, Subir Ganguly, Bansi Badan Mukhopadhyay, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay. A new report on rapid, cheap and easily extractable mass spore production of Beauveria bassiana using recyclable polyurethane foams as support medium; Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology Research (2014) 4 (1): 1-6
28. Arindam Sarkar, Avishek Banik, Bani K Pathak, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Shyamalendu Chatterjee. Envelope protein gene based molecular characterization of Japanese encephalitis virus clinical isolates from West Bengal, India: a comparative approach with respect to SA14-14-2 live attenuated vaccine strain; BMC Infectious Diseases (2013) 13, 368-381. I. F.: 3.7
29. Animesh Sahana, Arnab Banerjee, Sisir Lohar, Avishek Banik, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Damir Safin, Maria G. Babashkina, Michael Bolte, Yann Garcia and Debasis Das. FRET based tri-color emissive rhodamine-pyrene conjugate as Al3+ selective colorimetric and fluorescence sensor for living cell imaging; Dalton Transactions (2013) 42, 13311-13314. I. F.: 4
30. Ajit Kumar Mahapatra, Saikat Kumar Manna, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Avishek Banik.  First Rhodhamine-Based “Off-On” Chemosensor with High Selectivity and Sensitivity for Zr4+ and Its Imaging in Living Cell; Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical (2013) 183, 350-355. I. F.: 8.4
31. Ajit Kumar Mahapatra, Jagannath Roy, Prithidipa Sahoo, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Avishek Banik, Debasish Mandal. Carbazole phenylthiosemicarbazone-based ensemble of Hg2+ as selective fluorescence turn-on sensor toward cysteine in water; Tetrahedron letters (2013) 54, 2946-2951. I. F.: 1.8
32. Sisir Lohar, Animish Sahana, Arnab Banerjee, Avishek Banik, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Jesús Sanmartín Matalobos, Debasis Das. Antipyrine Based Arsenate Selective Fluorescent Probe for Living Cell Imaging. Analytical chemistry (2013) 85 (3), 1778– 1783. I. F.: 7.4
33. Sisir Lohar, Arnab Banerjee, Animesh Sahana, Avishek Banik, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Debasis Das. A rhodamine–naphthalene conjugate as a FRET based sensor for Cr3+ and Fe3+ with cell staining application. Analytical Methods (2013) 5, 442-445. I. F.: 3.53
34. Ajit Kumar Mahapatra, Rajkishor Maji, Prithidipa Sahoo, Prasanta Kumar Nandi, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Avishek Banik. A new colorimetric chemodosimeter for mercury ion via specific thioacetalde protection in aqueous solution and living cells; Tetrahedron Letters (2012) 53, 7031–7035. I. F.: 3.1
35. Ajit Kumar Mahapatra, Jagannath Roy, Saikat Kumar Manna, Supratim Kundu, Prithidipa Sahoo, Subhra Kanti Mukhopadhyay, Avishek Banik. Hg2+ Selective “turn-on” fluorescent chemodosimeter derived from glycine and living cell imaging; Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry (2012) 240, 26–32. I. F.: 4.3

Editorial

1. Avishek Banik*, Muhammad Arslan Ashraf, Ganesan Govindan and Mariadhas Valan Arasu. Plant-growth promoting microbes: A Green approach to enhance crop productivity. Frontiers in Agronomy (2022). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fagro.2022.991329
2. Avishek Banik. Plant Endophytes: True Symbiont or Opportunistic Pathogens? EC Microbiology (2019) 15 (7): 533-535.

Book chapters

1.     P. S. Chandra Shekharaiah, Debanjan Sanyal, Santanu Dasgupta, Ajit Sapre, Avishek Banik*. Heavy Metal Mitigation with Special Reference to Bioremediation by Mixotrophic Algae-Bacterial Protocooperation; Cellular and Molecular Phytotoxicity of Heavy Metals. Springer Nature Switzerland AG. (2020): 305-334 (ISBN:978-3-030-45974-1) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45975-8_15 (*Corresponding Author)

2.     Avishek Banik. Plant growth promoting microbes of rice and their application for sustainable agriculture; “Agriculturally Important Microorganisms” (ISBN " 9789390175031) to be published by NIPA, New Delhi (2021)

3.     Avishek Pahari, Sudipta Maity, Avishek Banik, Suraj Nayak, Bibhuti Bhusan Mishra. Microbial Nitrogen fixation: A Potential substitution to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer; “Agriculturally Important Microorganisms” (ISBN " 9789390175031) to be published by NIPA, New Delhi (2021)

4.    Ronita Chandra and Avishek Banik*. Detoxification and bioconversion of arsenic and chromium, “Nanobiotechnology: Microbes and plant assisted synthesis of nanoparticles, mechanisms and applications. Elsevier (2021) (ISBN: 9780128228784) https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-822878-4.00016-X (*Corresponding Author)

5.     Rizwan Rasheed, Muhammad Arslan Ashraf, Shafaqat Ali, Muhammad Iqbal, Sadia Zafar, Ali Akbar, Avishek Banik. “Role of NO in plants: a current update” Nitric Oxide in Plant Biology, Academic Press, 2022, Pages 139-168, ISBN 9780128187975, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818797-5.00021-2.

6.  Anupam Mondal, Sagar Bag, Ronita Chandra, Avishek Banik*. “Nanobiotechnology of endophytes” in “Agricultural Nanobiotechnology” Elsivier (2022) https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-91908-1.00018-3 (*Corresponding Author)

7. Sagar Bag, Anupam Mondal, Avishek Banik*. Regulation of Plant Growth by Microbe-Assisted Nitric Oxide Production in “Nitric Oxide in Plants: A Molecule with Dual Roles”, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (ISBN: 9781119800156). (2022) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119800156.ch6 (*Corresponding Author)

8. Aranya Mitra, Avishek Banik*, (2022) Xerophiles in Extremophiles: Diversity, Adaptation and Applications. https://www.eurekaselect.com/chapter/18500 (*Corresponding Author)

9. Anupam Mondal,Sagar Bag, Avishek Banik*, (2024) Plant microbiome: trends and prospects for sustainable agriculture management https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323983945000171 (*Corresponding Author)

Extended Summaries

1.     Upendra Kumar, Megha Kaviraj, P Panneerselvam, A. Banik, TK Dangar, AK Nayak. An unfolding success story of endophytic diazotroph Azotobacter chroococcum Avi2: A substantial substitute of n-fertilizer in rice. 1st Indian Rice Congress – 2020, Rice Research and Development for Achieving Sustainable Development Goals, December 8-9, 2020

E-publication

Microbial Sequence submitted to NCBI GenBank, BANKIT: 119

(Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequence = 108, Bacterial nifH gene sequence= 11, ITS=2)