Dr. Rajal Debnath | Scientist D

Research Area & Overview

Dr. Rajal Debnath’s research focuses on eri silkworm breeding, mulberry germplasm characterization, and silkworm-virus system based novel biotechnology. His research integrates experimental rearing, advanced sequencing technologies, molecular biology, and computational genomics. He began his research career studying microbial ecology of high-altitude ecosystems in the Eastern Himalaya at CSIR-NEIST, Jorhat, India.

Genomic assisted breeding in silkworm

Integrative genomics of the eri silkworm to characterize genetic variation and chromosome scale mapping of economically important traits, with the goal of developing genomics-assisted breeding tools.

Silkworm biotechnology

Harnessing the baculovirus-silkworm system to develop efficient and scalable platforms for molecular biopharming; alongside characterization and engineering of repetitive silk genes to understand their functional properties and explore their potential for novel biomaterial applications.

Mulberry Germplasm management

Characterizing genetic diversity across germplasm collections and developing molecular barcodes and markers to resolve population structure, differentiation, and support effective bioresource management.

Research Experience

Scientist D

Silkworm Biotechnology Division, Institute for Seri-Biotechnological Research (Bengaluru), Central Silk Board, Govt of India (2024 – Present)

Scientist C

Seribiotech Research Laboratory (Bengaluru), Central Silk Board, Govt of India (2021 – 2024)

Scientist C

Central Muga Eri Research & Training Institute (Jorhat), Central Silk Board, Govt of India (2019 – 2021)

Scientist B

Central Muga Eri Research & Training Institute (Jorhat), Central Silk Board, Govt of India (2015 – 2019)

Senior Project Fellow

CSIR-North East Institute of Science & Technology (Jorhat), Assam, India (2012 – 2013)

Junior Project Fellow

CSIR-North East Institute of Science & Technology (Jorhat), Assam, India (2010 – 2012)

Academic Record

PhD in Biotechnology

CSIR-North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat, India (2013 – 2017)

M.Sc in Biotechnology

Bangalore University, India (2007 – 2009)

Awards & Fellowships

CSIR Senior Research Fellowship (SRF) Award (June 2013 – 2016)
UGC-CSIR National Eligibility Test (NET) (December 2011 & June 2011)
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE 2011)

Select Publications

Boruah, J.L.H., Borah, B., Yadav, A. et al. Diving into borpung hot spring: microbial diversity, sediment characteristics, and potential for lignocellulolytic thermozymes. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 22, 17189–17180 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-025-06769-8

Himanshu Dubey, AR Pradeep, Kartik Neog, Rajal Debnath, PJ Aneesha, Suraj Kumar Shah, Indumathi Kamatchi, KM Ponnuvel, A Ramesha, Kunjupillai Vijayan, Upendra Nongthomba, Utpal Bora, Sivaprasad Vankadara, KM VijayaKumari, Kallare P Arunkumar. Genome Sequencing and Assembly of Indian Golden Silkmoth, Antheraea Assamensis Helfer (Saturniidae, Lepidoptera). Genomics. 2024 May;116(3):110841.

Indumathi Kamatchi Balakrishnan, Kuni Sasaki, Diksha Khajje, Himanshu Dubey, Shantibala Tourangbam, Sinam Subharani Devi, Gangavarapu Subrahmanyam, Jun Kobayashi, Ponnuvel KM and Rajal Debnath. Comparative pan-genomics of group I nucleopolyhedroviruses infecting Antheraea proylei and saturniid/bombycid silkmoths reveals genomic reassortments and divergences. International Journal of Wild Silkmoths and Silks 24, 21–38 (2023).

Gogoi, P., Boruah, J.L.H., Yadav, A. et al. Comparative seasonal analysis of Eri silkworm (Samia ricini Donovan) gut composition: implications for lignocellulose degradation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 109198–109213 (2023).

Juthika Saikia, Rhitu Kotoky, Rajal Debnath, Niraj Kumar, Priyanka Gogoi, Archana Yadav, Ratul Saikia, De novo genomic analysis of Enterobacter asburiae EBRJ12, a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of Phaseolus vulgaris L, Journal of Applied Microbiology, Volume 134, Issue 2, February 2023, lxac090.

Debnath R, Yadav A, Gupta VK, Singh BP, Handique PJ and Saikia R (2016) Rhizospheric Bacterial Community of Endemic Rhododendron arboreum Sm. Ssp. delavayi along Eastern Himalayan Slope in Tawang. Front. Plant Sci. 7:1345. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2016.01345

Anwesha Gohain, Animesh Gogoi, Rajal Debnath, Archana Yadav, Bhim P. Singh, Vijai K. Gupta, Rajeev Sharma, Ratul Saikia, Antimicrobial biosynthetic potential and genetic diversity of endophytic actinomycetes associated with medicinal plants, FEMS Microbiology Letters, Volume 362, Issue 19, October 2015, fnv158.

Debnath, R., Saikia, R., Sarma, R.K. et al. Psychrotolerant antifungal Streptomyces isolated from Tawang, India and the shift in chitinase gene family. Extremophiles 17, 1045–1059 (2013).

Sarma RK, Gogoi A, Dehury B, Debnath R, Bora TC, Saikia R (2014) Community Profiling of Culturable Fluorescent Pseudomonads in the Rhizosphere of Green Gram (Vigna radiata L.). PLoS ONE 9(10): e108378.

Research Profiles

Research Collaboration & Academic Interaction

If you are interested in research collaboration, applying fellowships, student projects, bioinformatics training, or biotechnology applications in sericulture, please write to me at: rajal.debnath@gmail.com