Priyamvada Voothuluru

Limited water availability is the major environmental factor constraining plant performance and crop yields. Therefore, feeding a growing human population requires collaborative efforts among plant biologists to harness plant genetic diversity for the targeted development of plants with improved drought tolerance and increased productivity under water deficit conditions. The over-arching goal of my research program is to elucidate the molecular and physiological mechanisms that regulate plant growth and development under normal and stressful environments and to utilize that knowledge to enhance crop productivity. I am applying modern molecular genetics and functional genomic approaches and establishing interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations to develop transformative approaches to study plant growth and development under water deficit stress.

My research focuses on the following specific questions:

1. How is root growth regulated by changes in cell wall structure and composition, and how does water limitation impact these processes?
2. What physiological mechanisms regulate sugar movement from source to sink tissues in plants grown under normal and water deficit conditions?
3. What are the physiological processes involved in root-rhizosphere interactions, and how do these interactions benefit (or sometimes hinder) plant development and crop productivity under normal and stressful environmental conditions?
4. How do plants integrate environmental signals with developmental programming to modify their structure and functions?
5. How can we harness the power of plant genetic diversity to improve plant growth and crop productivity under normal and stressful environments?

To address these questions, I work with model and non-model plant and crop species, and the research is conducted across cellular, tissue and whole-plant scales. In the long-term, knowledge from these integrated studies will pave the way to promote stress-responsive growth and development in plants and optimize them for sustainable food and energy production.

Assistant Professor | 2025-Present
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Research Scientist | 2023-2025
Division of Plant Sciences
University of Missouri

Research Scientist | 2019-2023
Center for Renewable Carbon
University of Tennessee

Research Associate | 2018-2018
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Tennessee

Postdoctoral Researcher | 2012-2017
Division of Plant Sciences
University of Missouri

• Interdisciplinary Plant Group Community Award, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, University of Missouri, 2021
• Gamma Alpha Gamma Dissertation Year Fellowship, Graduate School, University of Missouri, 2011
• Ferguson Fellowship, College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia 2007-2008
• R. C. Smith Award, Department of Entomology, Kansas State University 2004-2005 

1. Voothuluru P., Y. Wu and R.E. Sharp. 2024. Not so hidden anymore: Advances and challenges in understanding root growth under water deficit conditions. Plant Cell 36: 1377-1409
2. Kang J., P. Voothuluru, E. Hoyos, D. Alexander, M.J. Oliver and R.E. Sharp. 2022. Differential antioxidant and sulfur metabolisms in cotton and maize primary roots in response to equivalent water-deficit stress. Antioxidants 11: 820
3. Voothuluru P.*, P. Mäkelä, M. Yamaguchi, J. Zhu, I-J Cho, M.J. Oliver, J. Simmonds and R.E. Sharp. 2020. Apoplastic hydrogen peroxide in the growth zone of the maize primary root. Increased levels differentially modulate root elongation under well-watered and water-stressed conditions. Frontiers in Plant Sciences 11:392
4. Voothuluru P., D.M. Braun and J.S. Boyer. 2018. A novel in vivo imaging assay detects spatial variability in glucose release from plant roots. Plant Physiology 178: 1002-1010.
5. Voothuluru P., J.C. Anderson, R.E. Sharp and S.C. Peck. 2016. Plasma membrane proteomics in the maize primary root growth zone: novel insights into root growth adaptation to water stress. Plant Cell Environment 39: 2043-2054
6. Voothuluru P., H.J. Thompson, S.F. Flint-Garcia, and R.E. Sharp. 2013. Genetic variability of oxidase oxalate activity and elongation in water-stressed primary roots of diverse maize and rice lines. Plant Signaling & Behavior 8(3): e23454 doi: 10.4161/psb.23454.
7. Voothuluru P. and R.E. Sharp. 2013. Apoplastic hydrogen peroxide in the growth zone of the maize primary root under water stress. I. Increased levels are specific to the apical region of growth maintenance. Journal of Experimental Botany 64(5): 1223-1233.