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- About
Diksha Jasrotia
Graduate Research Assistant
Plant and Environmental Sciences Department
Office: BRC302, Biosystems Research Complex
Phone:
Email: djasrot@clemson.edu
Educational Background
Ph.D. Plant and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University 2024 - present
M.S. Plant Breeding and Genetics
Punjab Agricultural University, India 2023
B.S. Agriculture (Hons.)
Punjab Agricultural University, India, 2020
Profile
Diksha Jasrotia is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Clemson University, beginning in Summer 2024. Her research in Dr. Stephen Kresovich's group centers on identifying and characterizing genetic loci and physiological traits associated with sugar transport and accumulation in sweet sorghum. She is also collaborating with Dr. Christopher Saski to investigate the functional role of a duplicated Vacuolar Iron Transporter (VIT) gene in sorghum using CRISPR-based genome editing tools.
Prior to joining Clemson, Diksha worked as a Project Associate at the School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), India. There, she conducted research on the molecular mechanisms underlying root-knot nematode resistance in eggplant (Solanum melongena) and also taught Biotech 206: Fundamentals of Plant Biotechnology to undergraduate students during the Spring 2024 semester.
She earned her M.S. in Plant Breeding and Genetics (minor in Biotechnology) in 2023 and her B.S. in Agriculture in 2020, both from PAU. Her master's research focused on improving maize nutritional quality by mapping modifier genes that influence endosperm traits.
Outside the lab, Diksha enjoys painting, hiking, and listening to music.
Research Interests
Diksha is broadly interested in conducting basic research with translational relevance to crop improvement. Her scientific interests lie at the intersection of evolutionary and quantitative genetics, where she aims to dissect the genetic architecture of complex agronomic traits. By integrating genomics, bioinformatics, and molecular biology, she seeks to identify and characterize genetic variation both within and across species. Her long-term goal is to utilize this genetic diversity to enhance breeding strategies and ensure the preservation of valuable alleles for future crop improvement.
Publications
Jasrotia, D., Kumar, S., Kaur, Y., Das, A. K., Singh, A., Paul, D., ... & Kumar, R. (2025). Identification of QTLs associated with opaque2 modifiers influencing kernel opacity, kernel hardness, and tryptophan content in quality protein maize. Frontiers in Plant Science, 16, 1553512.
