Kalappa Muniyappa (born 8 September 1952) is an Indian molecular biologist and geneticist, known for his researches on the chromatization of DNA and

gene targeting Gene targeting (also, replacement strategy based on homologous recombination) is a genetic technique that uses homologous recombination to modify an endogenous gene. The method can be used to delete a gene, remove exons, add a gene and modify ind ...

. He is a professor and chairman of the department of biochemistry of the Indian Institute of Science and an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Indian Academy of Sciences and the

National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu * Sudha Bhattacharya * Ch ...

. The

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (IAST: ''vaigyanik tathā audyogik anusandhāna pariṣada''), abbreviated as CSIR, was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the l ...

, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1995, for his contributions to biological sciences.

Biography

Born on 2 February 1951 in the

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

n state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

, Kalappa Muniyappa, after graduating in science from Mysore University in 1974, secured his master's degree in 1976 from the same university with first rank. His doctoral degree came from the Indian Institute of Science in 1980 after which he did his post-doctoral studies (1981–86) at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and at Yale University School of Medicine and returned to India in 1987 to join the Indian Institute of Science the next year as a member of faculty. He was made a professor in 1999 and is the incumbent chairman of the department of biochemistry of IISc. In between, he held visiting professorships at

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

, University of Washington, Seattle,

Osaka University , abbreviated as , is a public research university located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It is one of Japan's former Imperial Universities and a Designated National University listed as a "Top Type" university in the Top Global University Project. ...

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and the Medical Research Council, London.

Legacy

Chording mycobacterium tuberculesis culture

Focusing his early researches on the molecular basis of homologous

genetic recombination Genetic recombination (also known as genetic reshuffling) is the exchange of genetic material between different organisms which leads to production of offspring with combinations of traits that differ from those found in either parent. In eukaryo ...

and employing RecA paradigm, Muniyappa demonstrated the effects of chromatization of DNA on homologous pairing and strand exchange and his studies are known to have assisted in exploring ways for gene targeting, cell senescence and genome stability. His studies on chromosome

synapsis Synapsis is the pairing of two chromosomes that occurs during meiosis. It allows matching-up of homologous pairs prior to their segregation, and possible chromosomal crossover between them. Synapsis takes place during prophase I of meiosis. Whe ...

, genetic recombination and

telomere A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Although there are different architectures, telomeres, in a broad sense, are a widespread genetic feature mos ...

dynamics attempted to widen the understanding of cellular recombination and

Holliday junction A Holliday junction is a branched nucleic acid structure that contains four double-stranded arms joined. These arms may adopt one of several conformations depending on buffer salt concentrations and the sequence of nucleobases closest to the ju ...

and he is credited with the discovery of a negative regulatory mechanism of homologous recombination. His contributions in deciphering genetic recombination in

mycobacterium tuberculosis ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (M. tb) is a species of pathogenic bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis. First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, ''M. tuberculosis'' has an unusual, waxy coating on its c ...

are also reported to have influenced further researches on the mechanism of

genetic exchange In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...

and

lateral gene transfer Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offspring ( reproduction). ...

. His researches have been published in a number of articles, 136 of which have been listed by

ResearchGate ResearchGate is a European commercial social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a 2014 study by ''Nature'' and a 2016 article in ''Times Higher Education'' ...

, an online article repository. At the Indian Institute of Science, he set up a laboratory, K. Muniyappa's Lab, to pursue researches in the fields of Cancer biology, Genetics, Biochemistry and Biophysics, where he mentors a number of doctoral and post-doctoral research scholars. Under his leadership, IISc introduced new academic programs such as the integrated PhD program, interdisciplinary program in chemical biology, and national post-doctoral training program in Biotechnology and Life Sciences. He served as their coordinator at inception. A member of the editorial board of the ''Journal of Molecular Signaling'', he has also been associated with ''

Journal of Biosciences The ''Journal of Biosciences'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Indian Academy of Sciences, Bengaluru, India. The current editor-in-chief is Prof. B J Rao (IISER Tirupati, Tirupati). According to the ''Journal Citation Rep ...

'' and ''Indian Journal of Biophysics and Biochemistry'' as their editorial board member and has served as the vice president and secretary of the Society of Biological Chemists.

Awards and honors

Muniyappa received the Hanumantha Rao Memorial Medal of the

IISc The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a Public university, public, Deemed university, deemed, research university for higher education and research in science, engineering, design, and management. It is located in Bangalore, Bengaluru, in ...

in 1980 and the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

Career Development Award in 1992. The

awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, one of the highest Indian science awards, in 1995. The same year, he received the M. Sreenivasaya Memorial Award of the Indian Institute of Science. The

extended the Eleanor Roosevelt Fellowship Award to him in 1995. He received the Yamagiwa International Cancer Fellowship Award in 1999. The

Indian Science Congress Association Indian Science Congress Association(ISCA) is a premier scientific organisation of India with headquarters at Kolkata, West Bengal. The association started in the year 1914 in Kolkata and it meets annually in the first week of January. It has a ...

selected him for the Anima Sen Memorial Award in 2002. In 2007 he received the Indian Institute of Science Alumnus Award and the Kempe Gowda Award of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). He was given the Sir M. Visvesvaraya Award for lifetime contributions to Science & Technology by GoK, and the Karnataka Rajyotsava Award by GoK. A founder member of the Karnataka State Academy for Science and Technology, Muniyappa is an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy and the Indian Academy of Sciences. He was elected to The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the

References

External links

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Biography

Legacy

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links

Further reading