INSTITUTE : Environmental Microbiology Section

INSTITUTE : Environmental Microbiology Section

BIODATA

NAME: DR. ABHAY RAJ

DESIGNATION : Scientist

INSTITUTE : Environmental Microbiology Section

CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research

Vishvigyan Bhavan 31, Mahatma Gandhi Marg,
Post Box. No. 80, Lucknow-226001, UP, India.

Email:,

Phone: 0522-2476051 Ext.215

Mob: 9721949152

DATE OF BIRTH: March 08, 1978

Sex (M/F): Male

Educational Qualifications:(Starting from Graduation onwards)

Sl No. / Institution
Place / Degree
Awarded / Year / Field of Study
1 / University of Lucknow, Lucknow , U.P. / M.Sc. / 2001 / Environmental Science
2. / University of Lucknow, Lucknow, U.P / Ph.D. / 2009 / Environmental Science

Research Area:

Environmental Toxicology

Present Research Interests:

Microbial process for bioremediation and detoxification of industrial wastewaters

Keywords:Bioremediation, Microbial Enzyme, Genotoxicity, Environmental Microbiology, Protein Purification.

Summary of Research:

We are working on development of microbial process for bioremediation of the industrial wastewaters mainly pulp and paper mill and tannery. Lignin is the primarily contaminant of pulp and paper industry wastewater. Since, it is a complex polymer, its biodegradation is difficult. Moreover, the degradation products of lignin are toxic and hazardous to environment. So, there is an unmet need to develop a biological technology for efficient removal of lignin and its breakdown products from the pulp and paper mill effluents. Therefore, two bacterial strains namely Paenibacillus sp. and Serratia liquefaciens were isolated with laccase and lignin peroxidase (LiP) enzymes producing ability, respectively. Bioremediation of pulp and paper mill effluent with pure culture of Paenibacillus sp. and Serratia liquefaciens showed efficient decolourisation of effluents. After bioremediation of effluents, significant reduction in phytotoxicity and genotoxicity effects was observed. Development of an efficient microbial consortium using ligninolytic bacteria is being explored. We are also working development of an ecofriendly pulp biobleaching combination for application in paper industry.Thermostable and alkaline xylanases have been purified from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Providencia sp. by ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography. Enzyme immobilization is also being done as it is an exciting alternative to improve the stability of enzymatic processes and economic viability in terms of reusability. The process optimization for the development of suitable biobleaching combination using xylanase and laccase is under way. In another activity, bioremediation of tannery wastewater is also being explored and initial finding is encouraging. We are also using molecular biology technique like RAPD, comet assay, chromosomal aberrations for genotoxicity assessment of industrial wastewaters before and after bacterial treatment. We have also expertise for isolation and characterization of microorganisms from water, soil, food and air samples.

Awards and Honors

2nd prize for best poster presentation in National seminar on New Trends in Green Chemistry held at DAV College, CSJM University, Kanpur.

Fellowship / Membership of Professional bodies

  • Association of Microbiologist of India (AMI), Life member
  • American Society of Microbiology (ASM), Annual member (2014-2015)

Training imparted under skill India development Program: Participated and delivered lectures.

  • Advance instrumentation for monitoring and analysis of environmental pollutants” held at CSIR-IITR during 1st MAY 2017 to 9th JUNE, 2017.
  • Basic and advance tools in microbiology and molecular biology” held at CSIR-IITR during 5th SEP to 28th SEP.

R&D Projects completed/ongoing

S. No. / Project title / Funding Agency / PI/ Participant / Status
1 / Studies on treatment efficacy improvement of existing tannery wastewater treatment system. / DST, Gov. of India. / Principal Investigator / Ongoing
2 / Bioaugmentation of activated sludge for enhanced biodegradation of paper mill wastewater: An effort to restore river ecosystem. / DBT, Gov. of India. / Principal Investigator / Ongoing
3 / Development of an improved biobleaching combination for application in paper industry / DBT, Gov. of India. / Principal Investigator / Ongoing
4 / Development of a novel bioremediation technique by formulation of effective microbial consortia for detoxification of pulp and paper mill wastes. / CSIR, Gov. of India. / Principal Investigator / Completed, 2017
5 / Characterization of air pollutants in cooking oil fumes and its impact on the respiratory health of Kitchen workers (completed, 2017) / CSIR, Gov. of India. / Participant / Completed, 2017

List of Ph.D. Students

S.No. / Name / Thesis title / University / Enrolled Year
1 / Anil Kumar Singh / In silico approach to identify bacterial lignin peroxidase (LiP) for minimizing the toxic lignin level emerged from paper mills effluents. / AcSIR / 2015
2 / Sandeep Kumar / Genotoxic Effect of Tannery Wastewater and its Bioremediation / BBD University / 2015
3 / Izharul Haq / Bioremediation of pulp and paper mill effluent by ligninolytic bacteria / Integral University / 2014 (Pre-thesis submitted)
4 / Sharad Kumar / Functional characterization of thermostable xylanase for toxicity reduction in pulp and paper industry wastes. / Amity University / 2014 (Work completed)

List of Publication:

(a)Research papers:

  1. Izharul Haq, Abhay Raj and Markandeya (2017) Biodegradation of Azure-B dye by Serratia liquefaciens and its validation by phytotoxicity, genotoxicity and cytotoxicity studies. Chemosphere 196: 58-68.
  2. Pankaj Chowdhary, Abhay Raj, Ram Naresh Bharagava (2017) Environmental pollution and health hazards from distillery wastewater and treatment approaches to combat the environmentalthreats: A review. Chemosphere, 194: 229-246
  3. Sharad Kumar, Izharul Haq, Jyoti Prakash, Sudheer Kumar Singh, Shivaker Mishra, Abhay Raj (2017) Purification, characterization and thermostability improvementof xylanase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and its applicationin pre-bleaching of kraft pulp. 3 Biotech, 7: 20-31
  4. Izharul Haq, Sharad Kumar, Abhay Raj, Mohtashim Lohani, G.N.V. Satyanarayana (2017) Genotoxicity assessment of pulp and paper mill effluent before and after bacterial degradation using Allium cepa test. Chemosphere,169: 642-650.
  5. Pankaj Chowdhary, Nandkishor More, Abhay Raj and Ram Naresh Bharagava (2017) Characterization and identification of bacterial pathogens from treated tannery wastewater. Microbiology Research International, 5(3): 30-36.
  6. Sharad Kumar, Abhay Raj, Izharul Haq, Jyoti Prakash (2017) Improved enzyme properties upon glutaraldehyde cross-linking of alginate entrapped xylanase from Bacillus licheniformis. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 98:24–33.
  7. Sharad Kumar, Abhay Raj, Jyoti Prakash, Mahadeo Kumar and Nishi Kumar Shukla (2016) Evaluation of RAPD Technique to induced DNA damage by heavy metal to detect the genotoxic effect on mung bean (Vigna Radiata (L.) Wilczek) seedlings.International Journal of Applied Research and Technology. 1(1): 1-12.
  8. Sharad Kumar, Izharul Haq, Ashutosh Yadav, Jyoti Prakash, Abhay Raj(2016) mmobilization and Biochemical Properties of Purified Xylanase from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens SK-3 and Its Application in Kraft Pulp Biobleaching. Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Biochemical Technology. Vol. 2(1): 26-34.
  9. Vineeta Kumari , Ashutosh Yadav , Izharul Haq, Sharad Kumar, R.N. Bharagava, S.K. Singh, Abhay Raj (2016) Genotoxicity evaluation of tannery effluent treated with newly isolated hexavalent chromium reducing Bacillus cereus, Journal of Environmental Management. 183: 204-211.
  10. Izharul Haq, Vineeta Kumari, Sharad Kumar, Abhay Raj, Mohtashim Lohani, and Ram Naresh Bhargava (2016). Evaluation of the phytotoxic and genotoxic potential of pulp and paper mill effluent using Vigna radiata and Allium cepa. Advances in Biology. Vol. 2016, Article ID 8065736, 10 pages
  11. Izharul Haq, Sharad Kumar, Vineeta Kumari, Sudheer Kumar Singh, Abhay Raj, (2016) Evaluation of bioremediation potentiality of ligninolytic Serratia liquefaciens for detoxification of pulp and paper mill effluent. Journal of Hazardous Materials. Vol. 305:190–199.
  12. Amarnath Singh, Kesavachandran Chandrasekharan Nair, Ritul Kamal, Vipin Bihari ,Manoj Kumar Gupta, Mohana Krishna Reddy Mudiam, Gubbala Naga Venkata Satyanarayana, Abhay Raj, Izharul Haq, Nishi Kumar Shukla, Altaf Husain Khan, Anup Kumar Srivastava (2016) Assessing hazardous risks of indoor airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the kitchen and its association with lung functions and urinary PAH metabolites in kitchen workers. Clinica Chimica Acta. Vol. 452: 204–213.
  13. Bhosale S.H., Chaudhari B. P. and Raj A (2016)Antimicrobial potential of few marine derived fungi against dermatophytes, moulds and fouling bacteria.World Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences.Vol. 4(4): 20-25.
  14. Yadav A, Mishra S, Kaithwas G, Raj A and Bharagava R.N.(2015)Organic pollutants and pathogenicbacteria in tannery wastewater and their removal strategies. Book Chapter in “Microbes and Environmental Management”, Studium Press (India) Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
  15. Gaurav Saxena, Ram Naresh Bharagava, Gaurav Kaithwas and Abhay Raj (2014) Microbial indicators, pathogens and methods for their monitoring in water environment. Journal of Water and Health. Vol. 13(2)319-339
  16. Abhay Raj, Sharad Kumar, Izharul Haq and Sudheer Kumar Singh(2014) Bioremediation and toxicity reduction in pulp and paper mill effluent by newly isolated ligninolyticPaenibacillussp.Ecological Engineering. Vol. 71:355-362.
  17. Vineeta Kumari, Sharad Kumar, Izharul Haq, Ashutosh Yadav,Vinay Kumar Singh, Zulfiqar Ali,Abhay Raj (2014) Effect of tannery effluent toxicity on seed germination alpha-amylase activity and early seedling growth of mung bean (Vigna radiata) seeds.International Journal of Latest Research in Science and Technology. Vol. 3 (4):165-170.
  18. Abhay Raj, Sharad Kumar, Izharul Haq, and Mahadeo Kumar (2014) Detection of tannery effluents induced DNA damage in mung bean by use of random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. ISRN Biotechnology. Vol. Article ID 727623: 8 pages.
  19. Vinay Kumar Singh, Zulfiqar Ali, Abhay Raj (2014) Impact of tannery effluent in simulated condition on some physico-chemical characteristics of river water and its seasonal variation. Journal of Applicable Chemistry. Vol.3 (2):776-782.
  20. Vinay Kumar Singh, Zulfiqar Ali, Abhay Raj (2014) Study of impact of tannery effluent on river water quality using Vigna radiata L. bioassay. Research Journal of Chemistry and Environment. Vol.18(1):62-65.
  21. Vinay Kumar Singh, Zulfiqar Ali, Abhay Raj (2014) Modulatory effect of tannery effluents on physico-chemical quality of Ganga river water. Chemical Science Transactions. Vol. 3(1):73-78.
  22. Abhay Raj, Sharad Kumar, Sudheer Kumar Singh, and Mahadeo Kumar (2013) Characterization of a new Providencia sp. strain X1 producing multiple xylanases on Wheat Bran. The Scientific World Journal. Vol. 2013, Article ID 386769: 10 pages.
  23. Abhay Raj, Sharad Kumar, and Sudheer Kumar Singh (2013) A highly thermostable xylanase from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia: purification and partial characterization. Enzyme Research. Vol. 2013, Article ID 429305: 8 pages.
  24. Vinay Kumar Singh, Zulfiqar Ali, Abhay Raj (2013) Impact of tannery effluent in simulated condition on some physico-chemical parameters of river water. ISST Journal of Applied Chemistry. Vo. 4(2):39-41.
  25. Vinay Kumar Singh, Zulfiqar Ali, Abhay Raj Sumant Kumar Singh (2012) Studies of water quality: physico-chemical characteristics of Ganga river in Kanpur. ISST Journal of applied Chemistry. Vol. 3(1):17-22.
  26. Abhay Raj (2012) Antibiotic resistance, plasmid and RAPD profiles of multidrug-resistant coliform bacteria isolated from sewage samples of Ghaziabad City, India. Universal Journal of Environmental Research and Technology. Vol. 12 (4): 1-7.
  27. Ram Chandra, Abhay Raj, Sangeeta Yadav andDevendra Kumar Patel (2009) Reduction of pollutants in pulp paper mill effluent treated by PCP-degrading bacterial strains. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.Vol.155: (1-4):1-11.
  28. Ram Chandra, Abhay Raj, Hemant J. Purohit and Atya Kapley (2007) Characterization and optimisation of three potential aerobic bacterial strains for Kraft lignin degradation from pulp paper waste. Chemosphere. 67, 839-846.
  29. Abhay Raj,M M Krishna Reddy and Ram Chandra(2007)Identification of low molecular weight aromatic compounds by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) from kraft lignin degradation by three Bacillus sp. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation. 59, 292-296.
  30. Abhay Raj,M M Krishna Reddy and Ram Chandra (2007) Decolourisation and treatment of pulp and paper mill effluent by lignin degrading Bacillus sp.Journal of Chemical technology and Biotechnology. 82, 399-406.
  31. Abhay Raj, Ram Chandra, M.M. Krishna Reddy, Hemant J Purohitand Atya Kapley (2007) Biodegradation of kraft lignin by newly isolated bacterial strain, Aneurinibacillus aneurinilyticus from sludge of a pulp paper mill. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. 23, 793-799.
  32. Abhay Raj, M M Krishna Reddy, Ram Chandra, Hemant J. Purohit and Atya Kapley (2007) Biodegradation of kraft-lignin by Bacillus sp. isolated from sludge of pulp and paper mill. Biodegradation. 18(6), 783-792.
  33. Ram Chandra, Shail Singh and Abhay Raj (2006) Seasonal bacteriological analysis of Gola river water contaminated with pulp paper mill waste in Uttranchal, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 188, 393-406.
  34. Abhay Raj,Ram Chandra and Devendra Kumar Patel (2005) Physico-chemical characterization of pulp and paper mill effluent and toxicity assessment by a tubificid worm, Tubifex tubifex.Toxicology International. 12, 109-188.
  35. Abhay Rajand Ram Chandra (2004) Comparative analysis of physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters of Kraft and pulp paper mill effluents. Indian Journal of Environmental Protection. 24, 481-489.

(b)Paper presented in conferences/symposia:

  1. Abhay Raj (2017) Biodegradation of tannery effluent using immobilized cell of Bacillus cereus oral presentation in 58th Annual Conference of Association of Microbiologists of India (AMI2017) & International Symposium on “Microbes for Sustainable Development: Scope & Applications” (MSDSA-2017) held at BBAU during November 16-19, 2017.page.
  2. Izharul Haq, Abhay Raj and Ram Chandra (2017) Biodegradation of Azure B dye by Serratia liquefaciens and its detoxification evaluation by phytotoxicity, genotoxicity and cytotoxicity studies. 58th Annual Conference of Association of Microbiologists of India & International Symposium on Microbes for Sustainable Development: Scope & Applications (MSDSA-2017). 16-19 Nov. 2017. Page 86.
  3. Anil Kumar Singh and Abhay Raj (2017) Modern Trends in Next Generation Sequencing for 16srRNA based Bacterial identification. 58th Annual Conference of Association of Microbiologists of India & International Symposium on Microbes for Sustainable Development: Scope & Applications (MSDSA-2017). 16-19 Nov. 2017. Page 349.
  4. Abhay Raj, Anil Kumar Singh and Izharul Haq (2017) Detection and Bioremediation of Genotoxicity in Effluent from Paper Industry. International Conference on Emerging Trends in Biotechnology for Waste Conversion (ICETBWC – 2017). CSIR-NEERI. Poster Presented.8th -10th Oct -2017.
  5. Anil Kumar Singh, Abhay Raj (2017) Exploration of Bacterial Derived Dyp type Peroxidase from structure to function. International Toxicology Conclave 2017.Souvenir ITC 2017. 5-6 nov 2017. Poster Presented.
  6. Izharul Haq, Abhay Raj and Mohtashim Lohani (2016) Biodegradation of pulp and paper mill effluent by lignin peroxidase producing Serratia liquefaciens. 2nd International conference on new challenges in biotechnology and molecular biology in the context of 21st centaury (NCBMBCC) organised by Indian society of genetics, biotechnology research and development at St John’s College Agra (UP), India during FEB 27-29, 2016, page 82.
  7. Jyoti Prakash, Sharad Kumar, Garima Awasthi, Abhay Raj (2015) Evaluation of RAPD technique to induced DNA damage by heavy metals to detect the genotoxicity effect in mung beans seedling (Vigna radiate L). 5th International conference on plant and environmental pollution (ICPEP-5) held during FEB 24-27, 2015 organised by International society of environmental botanist at CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow (U.P.), page 35
  8. Izharul Haq and Abhay Raj (2013) Isolation and characterization of laccase producing Paenibacillus sp. for bioremediation of pulp and paper mill effluent. 54th Annual conference of AMI (Association of Microbiologist of India) held during NOV 17-20, 2013 at M.D. University, Rohtak (H.R.).page. 271-272.
  9. Sharad Kumar and Abhay Raj (2013) Detection of tannery effluents induced DNA damage in mung bean by use of random amplified polymorphic DNA markers. Microbes Promoting Crop Health held during during OCT 26-27, 2013. CSIR-CIMAP, Lucknow (U.P.), page 103
  10. Sharad Kumar and Abhay Raj (2013) Isolation and characterization of a new Providencia sp. strain X1 producing multiple xylanase on wheat bran. 33th Annual conference of STOX held during OCT 23-25, 2013. At College of Veterinary Science and Technology, DUVASU, Mathura (U.P.) Page 131.
  11. Sharad Kumar, Mahadeo Kumar and Abhay Raj (2012) Evaluation of genetic analysis of Escherichia coli isolated from two different environmental sources: sewage water verses soiled bedding materials of laboratory rodents. 32nd Annual Session of the Academy of Environmental Biology (AEB) and national seminar on emerging pollutants and pathogens: challenges and risk reduction (EPPCRR) held during SEPT 20-22, 2012 at CSIR-IITR, Lucknow (U.P.)
  12. Abhay Raj, Ashish Verma and Ram Chandra (2010) Thermophilic aerobic bacterium producing cellulose-free and thermoalkaloactive xylanase isolated from saw mill soil. National Seminar on New Trends in Green Chemistry held during DEC, 14-15, 2010 at CSJM University, Kanpur (U.P.), page 67-68.
  13. Ram Chandra and Abhay Raj,Hemant J Purohitand Atya Kapley (2005)Biodegradation of kraft lignin by three pure and mixed aerobic bacterial cultures isolated from pulp and paper sludge presented in “International Conference on Toxicology Environmental and Occupational Health”; held on November 14-17, 2005 at Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, India, S8-LP-03, pp-18.
  14. Abhay Raj and Ram Chandra (2004) Effect of 1st phase application of anaerobically treated distillery sludge on soil micro-flora and plant growth of Phaseolus mungo L. presented in “National symposium on Biodiversity, Biotechnology and Environmental Toxicology in the New Millennium” and 24th annual session of the Academy of Environmental Biology held on November 22nd , 2004 at Mumbai University.

List of M.Sc. student guided:

S No / Name of the Person / Qualification / Place/ University / Duration
1 / Aniruddha Kumar / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / Bundelkhand University / Feb-July,2017
2 / Deepak Singh / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / Bundelkhand University / Feb-July, 2017
3 / Subham Mishra / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / Bundelkhand University / Feb-July, 2017
4 / Priya Chuahan / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / IFTM university / Jan-July, 2017
5 / Priyanka Yadav / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / Bundelkhand University / Jan-June, 2016
6 / Neha Pateria / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / Bundelkhand University / Jan-June, 2016
7 / Romil Sharma / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / Gurukul Kangri University Haridwar / Jan-June, 2015
8 / Anil Pandey / M.Sc. (Microbiology) / Bundelkhand University, Jhansi (U.P.) / Jan-June, 2015
9 / Prashank Dixit / M.Sc. (Biotechnology) / CSJM University Kanpur (U.P.) / July-Oct, 2014
10 / Suneel Kumar / M.Sc. (Biotechnology) / Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad (U.P.) / Feb-Jun, 2014
11 / Abinash Dixit / M. Sc. (Biotechnology) / Bundelkhand University, Jhansi (U.P.) / Jan-Jun, 2013
12 / Kalpna Verma / M. Sc. (Biotechnology) / Bundelkhand University, Jhansi (U.P.) / Jan-Jun, 2013
13 / Abhay Singh / M. Sc. (Biotechnology) / Amity University, Lucknow (U.P.) / Jan-May, 2013
14 / Ashutosh Yadav / M. Sc. (Microbiology) / Bundelkhand University, Jhansi (U.P.) / Feb-Jun, 2013
15 / Ajay Kumar / M. Sc. (Microbiology) / CSJM University Kanpur (U.P.) / July-Sep, 2012
16 / Gaurav Sharma / M. Sc. (Microbiology) / CSJM University Kanpur (U.P.) / July-Sep, 2012
17 / Dipika Rai / M.Tech ( Environmental Engineering) / Institute of Engineering & Technology, Lucknow (U.P.) / Jan-June, 2012
18 / Akhilesh Ojha / M.Tech ( Environmental Engineering) / Institute of Engineering & Technology, Lucknow (U.P.) / Jan-June, 2012
19 / Praveen Kumar / M. Sc. (Microbiology) / Lucknow University / Jan-May, 2012
20 / Ved Prakash Giri / M.Sc (Microbiology) / CSJM University Kanpur (U.P.) / Aug-Oct, 2011
21 / Vivek Kumar Pandey / M.Sc (Microbiology) / CSJM University Kanpur (U.P.) / Aug-Oct, 2011
22 / Rajesh Kumar / M.Sc.
(Biotechnology) / CSJM University Kanpur (U.P.) / July-Sep, 2011
23 / Roopam Pandey / M.Sc.
(Biotechnology) / Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad (U.P.) / July-Sep, 2011
24 / N. Neha Swamy / M.Sc (Microbiology) / SOS in life Science, Pt. Ravishanker Shukla University, Raipur(C.G.) / Jan-May,
2011
25 / Subhash Chandra / M.Sc (Env. Microbiology) / Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow / Jan-May,
2011
26 / Ashish Verma / M.Sc (Microbiology) / CSJM, University,Kanpur / Aug-Nov, 2011
27 / Rashmi Verma / M.Sc. (Biotechnology) / Banasthali University, Rajasthan / Jan-Jun, 2010
28 / Gorakh Nath Singh / M.Sc. (Biochemistry) / AAI-DU, Allahabad / Jun-Sep,
09
29 / Mohit Naresh / M.Sc. (Medical Microbiology) / Ch. Charan Singh University, Meerut / April-Oct,
09
30 / Kamlesh Yadav / M.Sc. (Biotechnology) / Jiwa Ji University, Gwalior / Jan-March,
09

Place and Date S/d Name & Signature of the investigator

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