Prof. J.S Virdi
Professor
Email: virdi_dusc@rediffmail.com
Area of research: Molecular epidemiology of emerging food- and water-borne pathogens, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and its rapid detection
Research description:
The focus of the lab has been on emerging food- and water-borne pathogens especially molecular epidemiology of Yersinia enterocolitica and antibiotic resistant E.coli, and their public health significance in India. Studies on molecular epidemiology of Yersinia enterocolitica revealed that though several serotypes were present in India, genotypically these constituted only two clonal groups. The majority of the Indian strains though biovar 1A are enterotoxigenic. Comparative genomic studies using VNTRs, minimum spanning tree, MLRT, & e-BURST showed that clinical biovar 1A strains originated from aquatic strains by genetic change and host adaptation. The study also revealed that Indian strains possessed unique β-lactamases. The sequencing of β-lactamase genes (bla) and their flanking regions in Y.enterocolitica and E.coli, and their comparison with diverse bla genes in databases suggested that these may serve as a goldmine for rapid detection of antibiotic resistance in different bacteria.
Building on these leads from the work carried out in the laboratory, the lab is currently engaged in developing a rapid test in point of care (POC) format for detection of antibiotic resistance using the state of art microbial genomics (bacterial whole genome sequencing, resistome analysis) and informatics approach in collaboration with bioinformaticians and inputs from clinical microbiologists and microfluidics experts. This idea was adjudged best and awarded the first prize by BIRAC-DBT-NESTA for development. This work is currently being carried out in the laboratory further to develop the test for rapid detection of antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Laboratory Resources:
The following laboratory resources may be made available to prospective investigators from India/ any other country after signing the relevant MTA.
1. Authentic strains of Yersinia enterocolitica isolated from wastewater, pork, pigs and stools of diarrheic patients in India. All strains have been biotyped and serotyped at WHO Reference Centre for Yersinia Pasteur Institute, Paris.
2. Authentic strains of Yersinia enterocolitica of European and American origin (Only selected biotypes/serotypes available). These strains have been procured from well-known investigators working on Yersinia enterocolitica in Europe and WHO Reference Centre for Yersinia Pasteur Institute, Paris.
3. Authentic strains of Escherichia coli (all phylotypes) isolated from urban aquatic wastewater (river Yamuna) of India. These strains have been confirmed and serotyped at WHO Reference Centre for Escherichia and Salmonella, Central Institute of Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh). Partial 16S sequence data of all the strains has been deposited with NCBI.
4. Azide-resistant strain of Escherichia coli for conjugation studies.
Indian strains deposited with Reference Labs:
1. Indian strains deposited with Yersinia Reference Lab and WHO Collaborating Centre, Pasteur Institute, Paris, France: Download here.
2. Indian strains deposited with Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS), London, UK: Download here
3. Indian strains deposited with Microbial Type Culture Collection (MTCC) and Gene Bank, Chandigarh, India: Download here.
Awards and Recognitions:
|
Year |
Award / Distinction |
Details |
|
2016 |
 |
The collaborative team (Team Lead – Prof. J.S.Virdi) from the Departments of Microbiology & Biophysics, University of Delhi South Campus awarded Discovery Award by Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC)-Nesta (UK) seed funding. The team is developing a rapid Point of Care device for detection of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria |
|
2016
|
 |
Prof. J.S.Virdi awarded the Invitrogen Science Hero 2016 Award in the Best Lab Mentor Category (University Level) on a global competition. The results were announced in the American Society for Cell Biology Conference in San Francisco, December 2016 |
|
2016 |
 |
The collaborative team (Team Lead – Prof. J.S.Virdi) from the Departments of Microbiology & Biophysics, University of Delhi South Campus awarded Ideathon-2016 Award in the area of Rapid Tests for detection of of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria |
|
2006 |
 |
Prof. J.S.Virdi Awarded the Indian Council of Medical Research Award 2006 for Research in Microbiology. The award was given for working out the detailed Molecular Epidemiology of Yersinia enterocolitica, a food- and water-borne enteropathogen, in India |
|
2000 |
 |
The detailed research paper reporting the presence of Yersinia enterocolitica in pigs, pork, wastewater and stools of diarrheic patients from India appeared as cover page report in the Current Science August 2000 |
|
2003 |
 |
The work on the detailed molecular epidemiology of Yersinia enterocolitica in India was reported in The Hindu June 2004 |
|
1998
|
 |
The first report of the presence of Yersinia enterocolitica in the wastewaters in India and authenticated by Central Public Health LAB (UK) and Yersinia Reference Lab and WHO Collaborating Centre at Pasteur Institute (France) reported in Times of India April 1998 |
Select Publications:
Singh, N.S., Singhal, N., and Virdi, J.S. (2018) Genetic environment of blaTEM-1, blaCTX-M-15, blaCMY-42 and characterization of integrons of Escherichia coli isolated from an Indian urban aquatic environment. Front Microbiol, 9, 382.
Kaushik, M., Kumar, S., Kapoor, R.K., Virdi J.S., and Gulati, P. (2017) Integrons in Enterobacteriaceae: diversity, distribution and epidemiology. Int J Antimicrob Agents, 51:167-176.
Bajaj, P., Singh, N.S., and Virdi, J.S. (2016). Escherichia coli β-Lactamases: What Really Matters. Front Microbiol, 7: 417. doi: 10.3389/ fmicb.2016.00417.
Singhal, N., Kumar, M., Kanaujia, P.K., and Virdi, J.S. (2015). MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry: an emerging technology for microbial identification and diagnosis. Front Microbiol, 6:791.
Singhal, N., Srivastava, A., Kumar, M., and Virdi, J.S. (2015). Structural variabilities in β-lactamase (blaA) of different biovars of Yersinia enterocolitica: Implications for β-lactam antibiotic and β-lactamase inhibitor susceptibilities. PLoS One 10: e0123564.