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Sanjay Kumar Pradhan

Candidature

Dual Award PhD Candidate (Western Sydney University & University of Agricultural Sciences Bangalore)

Thesis Title

Gene editing and virome studies for potential applications in the control of tephritid fruit flies

Research Project

Sanjay Kumar Pradhan Tephritid fruit flies, including the melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), and the Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), are notorious agricultural pests, causing substantial damage to a variety of fruit crops worldwide. Their devastating impact extends across tropical, subtropical and warm-temperate regions, threatening the horticultural industry by reducing crop yields and quality, as well as creating barriers for market assess. Their life cycles, intricately linked to specific host substrates, vary between species, affecting traits such as development and reproduction. Expanding knowledge of their host preference and host selection can assist in predicting potential risks to various crops and developing more effective control measures. The development of cutting-edge gene-editing techniques, such as clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) (CRISPR/Cas9) allows the manipulation of genes regulating critical traits, with the aim to unravel significant insights into fruit fly biology and develop improved or new fruit fly control strategies. Furthermore, tephritid fruit flies are associated with diverse fruit fly-specific RNA viruses that may affect their biology and ecology and hence also management approaches.

My Dual Award PhD project included a comprehensive life table study of melon fly, Z. cucurbitae, in India to identify most suitable host substrate for melon fly under laboratory conditions to collect embryos for CRISPR/Cas9 modification. My PhD project also involves the editing of white gene in melon fly using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tool. Further, my PhD project involves a comprehensive analysis of the RNA virome diversity in a melon fly laboratory-reared and field collected population from India and characterisation of transmission parameters of RNA viruses in Queensland fruit fly, B. tryoni. Our research will provide important new information about gene editing in melon fly and RNA virus transmission and host effects that is of relevance to the biology and management of B. tryoni.

Awards and Honours
Publications

Bhargava CN, Ashok K, Pradhan SK, Kumar S, Manamohan M, Rai A, Asokan R, (2025) 'CRISPR/Cas9 Mediated Editing of Bdtektin1 Gene Induces Sterility in Male Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)', Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology, vol.118, no.3, art no.e70043

Ashok K, Bhargava CN, Pradeep C, Pradhan SK, Jha GK, Maligeppagol M, Shivanna B, Asokan R, (2024) 'Toward the genetic suppression of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera:Tephritidae) through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated editing of spermatogenesis-related genes, Tssk1 and topi for imparting male sterility', Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 117(5), pp. 270-279

WSU Supervisors

Professor Markus Riegler and Dr Jennifer Morrow