Keerti Rathore

Keerti Rathore is a Professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Texas A&M University, affiliated with the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and Texas A&M AgriLife Research. His work focuses on crop transformation, genetic improvement of cotton, rice, sorghum, and tomato. He leads research on enhancing drought tolerance, disease resistance, nutritional quality, and transgenic crop development.

Education: Undergraduate studies in Agricultural Sciences (details not specified in text). Professional training in genetic engineering and plant biotechnology.

Research Interests:

• RNAi-mediated reduction of gossypol in cottonseed to improve nutritional value
• CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing for crop improvement
• Development of transgenic cotton with resistance to pests and pathogens
• Phosphite-based weed suppression systems

Key Projects:

• Ultra-low gossypol cottonseed (TAM66274) to combat protein malnutrition
• CRISPR-modified rice for enhanced lysine content
• RNAi technology for boll weevil control

Grants and Collaborations: Active in translational research with Texas A&M AgriLife, focusing on biotechnology applications for sustainable agriculture.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Crop Transformation Lab at Texas A&M, collaborating with international partners on GMO development and food security initiatives.