Surinder Chopra, Ph.D.
- Professor of Maize Genetics
University Park, PA 16802
- Email sic3@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-1159
Areas of Expertise
- Epigenetics
- Genetics
- Molecular Biology
- Plant-pathogen interactions
- Maize Genetics
- Sorghum Genetics
- Flavonoids
- Phytoalexins
- Plant-fungus interactions
- Plant-insect interactions
- Plant-Environment interactions
Education
- Ph.D., Plant Molecular Genetics, Vrije Univ. of Brussels, Belgium, 1993. Thesis: Molecular Analysis of the Expression of Aldolase and Sucrose Synthase Genes of Arabidopsis.
- M.S. Molecular Biology. Vrije Univ. of Brussels, Belgium, 1989. Thesis: Cloning and Characterization of Aldolase Gene of Arabidopsis.
- M.S. Plant Breeding and Genetics. Punjab Agric. Univ., Ludhiana, India. Thesis: Early Generation Selection for high yield, protein and oil in Brassica.
Professional Background
- 7/12-current. Professor, maize molecular genetics, Department of Plant Science, The Pennsylvania State University.
- 7/06–6/12. Associate Professor, maize molecular genetics. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
- 7/00–7/06. Assistant Professor, maize molecular genetics. Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University.
- 7/96–7/00. Associate Scientist. Department of Zoology and Genetics and Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University. Ames, IA.
- 9/93–6/96. Post Doctoral Res. Associate. Lab. of Dr. Thomas Peterson, Department of Zoology and Genetics, Iowa State University, Ames, IA.
- 3/93–8/93. Visiting Research Fellow. Department of Horticulture, Washington State Univ., Pullman, WA.
- 10/87–2/93. Graduate Research Assistant. Belgian Development and Cooperation scholarship, Lab. of Prof. Michele Jacobs, Vrije Univ. of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium.
- 9/82–9/87. Graduate Research Assistant. Belgian Development and Cooperation scholarship, Lab. of Prof. Michele Jacobs, Vrije Univ. of Brussels, Brussels, Belgium.
- 8/78–6/81. Junior Research Fellow. Dept of Plant Breeding, Punjab Agricultural. Univ, Ludhiana, India.
Responsibilities and Interests
The goal of our research is to understand epigenetic gene regulation and metabolic coordination for the role of secondary metabolites in plant developmental processes as well as plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. We use a flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in maize and sorghum as our model system. Our research has lead to the identification of genetic factors involved in the regulation and biosynthesis of specific plant flavonoid compounds that act as potent antioxidants in animals and plants.
Appointment
- 70% Research
- 30% Teaching
Courses
- AGRO/BIOTC 460 (3 credits) - Advances and Applications of Plant Biotech
- PLBIO 516 (2 credits) - Modern Techniques in Plant Molecular Biology
Links
Current Members of the Lab
- Debamalya Chatterjee, Postdoctoral Scholar, Maize-Fall Armyworm interactions.
- Tyler Lesko, Graduate Student, Maize-Fall Armyworm interactions.
- Brianna Huber, Undergraduate Researcher
- Bryan Panek, Undergraduate Researcher
- Maria A. Gil-Polo, Graduate Student, Lab Rotation.
Past Lab Members
- Binning Wu, Graduate Student.
- Iffa Gaffoor, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The interaction of sorghum Phytoalexins with Colletotrichum sublineola.
- Kameron Wittmeyer, Graduate Student, Epigenetic Gene Regulation in maize. Current: USDA/ARS, Delaware
- Qixian Tan, Graduate Student.
- Bin Liu, Graduate Student.
- Dinakaran Elango, Graduate Student, Sorghum Phytoalexins. Current: Postdoctoral Scholar, Iowa State.
- Jin Cui, Graduate Student, Epigenetic Gene Regulation in maize. Current: CVS, USA
- Debamalya Chatterjee, Graduate Student, Role of Zmufo1 in Maize Seed Development. Current: Postdoctoral Scholar, Penn State.
- Xiaoyu Wang, Visiting Graduate Student, JiLin University, Cold tolerance Genetics and molecular biology in maize and sorghum
- Cullen Dixon, Undergraduate Student. Current: Grad Student, Ohio State
- Rajandeep Sekhon, Graduate Student, Postdoctoral fellow. Current: Associate Professor, Clemson University
- Vineet Sangar, Graduate student. Current: Research Scientist, Amazon.
- Michael Robbins, Graduate Student, Postdoctoral Fellow. Current: Assistant Professor, Lock Haven University
- Farag Ibraheem, Graduate Student. Current: Faculty, University of Mansoura, Egypt.
- Jay Boddu, Postdoctoral Fellow. Current: Big Data Scientist, Monsanto, St Louis
- Weiya Xue, Postdoctoral Research Associate. Current: Research Associate, Plant Pathology, Penn State.
- Rashmi Thakare, Visiting Scholar
- Sanjeev Deshpande, Visiting Borlaug Fellow, Department Chair, University of Ag. Sciences, Dharward, India
Selected Publications
Chatterjee D, Wittmeyer K, Lee TF, Cui J, Yennawar NH, Yennawar HP, Meyers BC, Chopra S. 2021. Maize unstable factor for orange1 is essential for endosperm development and carbohydrate accumulation. Plant Physiology. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiab183
Gaffoor I, Sandoya GV, Xavier KV, Nuckles EM, Pinnamaneni SR, Vaillancourt LJ, Chopra S. 2021. Performance of novel sorghum germplasm in Pennsylvania and their response to anthracnose (Colletotrichum sublineola). Crop Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/csc2.20486
Wu B, Chang H, Marini R, Chopra S, Reddivari L. Characterization of Maize Near-Isogenic Lines With Enhanced Flavonoid Expression to Be Used as Tools in Diet-Health Complexity. Frontiers in plant science. 2021 Jan 18;11:2249. 10.3389/fpls.2020.619598
Cloutier M, Chatterjee D, Elango D, Cui J, Bruns MA, Chopra S. 2020. Sorghum root flavonoid chemistry, cultivar, and frost stress effects on rhizosphere bacteria and fungi. Phytobiomes Journal. Aug 12:PBIOMES-01. https://doi.org/10.1094/PBIOMES-01-20-0013-FI
Wu B, Li S, Chang H, Anderson R, Chopra S, Reddivari L. Maize Flavan-4-ols and Anthocyanins Alleviated Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice via Intestinal Barrier Function Restoration. Current Developments in Nutrition. 2020 Jun;4(Supplement_2):488.
Wu B, Bhatnagar R, Indukuri VV, Chopra S, March K, Cordero N, Chopra S, Reddivari L. 2020. Intestinal mucosal barrier function restoration in mice by maize diet containing enriched flavan-4-ols. Nutrients. Apr;12(4):896. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12040896
Publications
Plant defense against insect herbivory: Flavonoid-mediated growth inhibition of Helicoverpa zea
Plant Stress, Chatterjee, Debamalya, Colvin, Charles, Lesko, Tyler, Peiffer, Michelle, Felton, Gary W., Chopra, Surinder, 2025
Maize unstable factor for orange1 encodes a nuclear protein that affects redox accumulation during kernel development
Plant Cell, Chatterjee, D, Zhang, Z, Lin, P, Wang, P, Sidhu, G, Yennawar, Neela H., Hsieh, J, Chen, P, Song, R, Meyers, B, Chopra, Surinder, 2024
The effects of a high-flavonoid corn cultivar on the gastrointestinal tract microbiota in chickens undergoing necrotic enteritis
PLoS One, Buiatte, Vinicius, Proszkowiec-Weglarz, Monika, Miska, Katarzyna, Dominguez, Dorian, Mahmoud, Mahmoud, Lesko, Tyler, Panek, Bryan P., Chopra, Surinder, Jenkins, Mark, Lorenzoni Calvo, Alberto Gino, 2024
NSF grant to fund research on genetics and physiology of corn kernel development, Chopra, Surinder, 2024
Maize near-isogenic lines with enhanced flavonoids alleviated dextran sodium sulfate-induced murine colitis via modulation of the gut microbiota
Food and Function, Wu, B, Cox, A, Chang, H, Kennett, M, Rosa, Cristina, Chopra, Surinder, Li, S, Reddivari, L, 2023
Sorghum and maize flavonoids are detrimental to growth and survival of fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda
Journal of Pest Science, Chatterjee, Debamalya, Lesko, Tyler, Peiffer, Michelle, Elango, Dinakaran, Beuzelin, Julien, Felton, Gary W., Chopra, Surinder, 2023
Comparative analysis of microbiota in the ceca of broiler chickens with necrotic enteritis fed a commercial corn diet or with corn high in flavonoids (PennHFD1)
Frontiers in Microbiomes, Miska, Katarzyna B., Proszkowiec-Weglarz, Monika, Buiatte, Vinicius, Mahmoud, Mahmoud, Lesko, Tyler, Jenkins, Mark C., Chopra, Surinder, Lorenzoni, Alberto Gino, 2023
Association genetics of early season cold and late season frost tolerance in Sorghum bicolor
Crop Science, Elango, Dinakaran, Wang, Xiaoyu, Bhatnagar, Rohil Sahai, Tan, Qixian, Gaffoor, Iffa, Hu, Zhenbin, Xue, Weiya, Roth, Gregory W., Morris, Geoffrey P., Reddivari, Lavanya, Chopra, Surinder, 2022
Inclusion of high-flavonoid corn in the diet of broiler chickens as a potential approach for the control of necrotic enteritis
Poultry Science, Buiatte, Vinicius, Dominguez, Dorian, Lesko, Tyler, Jenkins, Mark, Chopra, Surinder, Lorenzoni, Alberto Gino, 2022
Raffinose Family Oligosaccharides: Friend or Foe for Human and Plant Health?
Frontiers in Plant Science, Elango, Dinakaran, Rajendran, Karthika, Van der Laan, Liza, Sebastiar, Sheelamary, Raigne, Joscif, Thaiparambil, Naveen A., El Haddad, Noureddine, Raja, Bharath, Wang, Wanyan, Ferela, Antonella, Chiteri, Kevin O., Thudi, Mahendar, Varshney, Rajeev K., Chopra, Surinder, Singh, Arti, Singh, Asheesh K., 2022
Near-isogenic lines as powerful tools to evaluate the effect of individual phytochemicals on health and chronic diseases, Wu, Binning, Vanamala, Jairam K.P., Chopra, Surinder, Reddivari, Lavanya, 2021
Techniques and tools of modern plant breeding, Elango, Dinakaran, Sandoya, Germán, Chopra, Surinder, 2021
Plant biotechnology: Experience and future prospects: Second edition, Ricroch, Agnès, Chopra, Surinder, Kuntz, Marcel, 2021
Maize unstable factor for orange1 is essential for endosperm development and carbohydrate accumulation
Plant Physiology, Chatterjee, Debamalya, Wittmeyer, Kameron, Lee, Tzuu Fen, Cui, Jin, Yennawar, Neela H., Yennawar, Hemant P., Meyers, Blake C., Chopra, Surinder, 2021
Performance of novel sorghum germplasm in Pennsylvania and their response to anthracnose
Crop Science, Gaffoor, Iffa, Sandoya, Germán V., Xavier, Katia V., Nuckles, Etta M., Pinnamaneni, Srinivasa R., Vaillancourt, Lisa J., Chopra, Surinder, 2021
Characterization of Maize Near-Isogenic Lines With Enhanced Flavonoid Expression to Be Used as Tools in Diet-Health Complexity
Frontiers in Plant Science, Wu, Binning, Chang, Haotian, Chopra, S, Marini, Rich, Marini, Richard, Chopra, Surinder, Reddivari, Lavanya, 2021
Sorghum root flavonoid chemistry, cultivar, and frost stress effects on rhizosphere bacteria and fungi
Phytobiomes Journal, Cloutier, Mara, Chatterjee, Debamalya, Elango, Dinakaran, Cui, Jin, Bruns, Maryann Victoria, Chopra, Surinder, 2021
Elective cancer surgery in COVID-19-free surgical pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: An international, multicenter, comparative cohort study
Journal of Clinical Oncology, Glasbey, James C., Nepogodiev, Dmitri, Simoes, Joana F.F., Omar, Omar, Li, Elizabeth, Venn, Mary L., Chaar, Mohammad K.Abou, Capizzi, Vita, Chaudhry, Daoud, Desai, Anant, Edwards, Jonathan G., Evans, Jonathan P., Fiore, Marco, Videria, Jose Flavio, Ford, Samuel J., Ganly, Ian, Griffiths, Ewen A., Gujjuri, Rohan R., Kolias, Angelos G., Kaafarani, Haytham M.A., Minaya-Bravo, Ana, McKay, Siobhan C., Mohan, Helen M., Roberts, Keith J., Miguel-Méndez, Carlos San, Pockney, Peter, Shaw, Richard, Smart, Neil J., Stewart, Grant D., Sundar, Sudha, Vidya, Raghavan, Bhangu, Aneel A., Allemand, C., Boccalatte, L., Figari, M., Lamm, M., Larrañaga, J., Marchitelli, C., Noll, F., Odetto, D., Perrotta, M., Saadi, J., Zamora, L., Alurralde, C., Caram, E. L., Eskinazi, D., Mendoza, J. P., Usandivaras, M., Badra, R., Esteban, A., 2021
Genome wide association mapping of epi-cuticular wax genes in Sorghum bicolor
Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, Elango, Dinakaran, Xue, Weiya, Chopra, Surinder, 2020
Intestinal mucosal barrier function restoration in mice by maize diet containing enriched flavan-4-ols
Nutrients, Wu, Binning, Bhatnagar, Rohil, V.indukuri, Vijaya, Chopra, Shara, March, Kylie, Cordero, Nina, Chopra, Surinder, Reddivari, Lavanya, 2020
Seeding and nitrogen fertilization effects on the yield and quality of brachytic dwarf brown midrib forage sorghum hybrids
Crop, Forage and Turfgrass Management, Elango, Dinakaran, Chopra, Surinder, Roth, Gregory W., 2020
Sorghum 3-Deoxyanthocyanidin Flavonoids Confer Resistance against Corn Leaf Aphid
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Kariyat, Rupesh R., Gaffoor, Iffa, Sattar, Sampurna, Dixon, Cullen W., Frock, Nadia, Moen, Juliet, De Moraes, Consuelo M., Mescher, Mark C., Thompson, Gary A., Chopra, Surinder, 2019
Sorghum: A multipurpose bioenergy crop, Rao, P. Srinivas, Vinutha, K. S., Kumar, G. S.Anil, Chiranjeevi, T., Uma, A., Lal, Pankaj, Prakasham, R. S., Singh, H. P., Rao, R. Sreenivasa, Chopra, Surinder, Jose, Shibu, 2019
The dominant and poorly penetrant phenotypes of maize Unstable factor for orange1 are caused by DNA methylation changes at a linked transposon
Plant Cell, Wittmeyer, Kameron, Cui, Jin, Chatterjee, Debamalya, Lee, Tzuu Fen, Tan, Qixian, Xue, Weiya, Jiao, Yinping, Wang, Po Hao, Gaffoor, Iffa, Ware, Doreen, Meyers, Blake C., Chopraa, Surinder, 2018
Genotypic and pathogenic diversity of Colletotrichum sublineola isolates from sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and Johnsongrass (S. halepense) in the southeastern United States
Plant Disease, Xavier, K. V., Mizubuti, E. S.G., Queiroz, M. V., Chopra, S., Vaillancourt, L., 2018
Overlapping RdDM and non-RdDM mechanisms work together to maintain somatic repression of a paramutagenic epiallele of maize pericarp color1
PLoS One, Wang, Po Hao, Wittmeyer, Kameron T., Lee, Tzuu fen, Meyers, Blake C., Chopra, Surinder, 2017
Aggressiveness of Colletotrichum sublineola strains from Sorghum bicolor and S. Halepense to sweet sorghum variety sugar drip, and their impact on yield
Plant Disease, Xavier, K. V., Pfeiffer, T., Parreira, D. F., Chopra, S., Vaillancourt, L., 2017
Soil management affects expression of genes involved in carbon and nitrogen metabolism in maize
Crop Science, Roach, Erika, Duiker, Sjoerd W., Chopra, Surinder, 2016
Sorghum: A multipurpose bioenergy crop
Sorghum: State of the art and future perspectives, Rao, P, Vinutha, KS, Kumar, GS, Chiranjeevi, T, Uma, A, Lal, Pankaj, Prakasham, RS, Singh, HP, Rao, R, Chopra, Surinder, others, None, 2016
Biosynthesis, Regulation and Genetic Associations for Phytoalexins Induced during Sorghum-Colletotrichum interactions, Chopra, Surinder, 2016
Genetic diversity of Colletotrichum isolates from Sorghum bicolor and S. halepense in the Southeastern United States, Xavier, K, Schardl, C, Buiate, E, Torres, M, Queiroz, M, Chopra, Surinder, Vaillancourt, L, 2016
A sorghum MYB transcription factor induces 3-deoxyanthocyanidins and enhances resistance against leaf blights in maize
Molecules, Ibraheem, Farag, Gaffoor, Iffa, Tan, Qixian, Shyu, Chi Ren, Chopra, Surinder, 2015
Sorghum as a sustainable feedstock for biofuels, Rao, P. Srinivasa, Prakasham, Reddy Shetty, Rao, P. Parthasarathy, Chopra, Surinder, Jose, Shibu, 2015
