Dr T. Raja Swaminathan, Principal Scientist and ICAR National Fellow

Experience

My research interests include development of finfish cell lines, fish virology, fish disease diagnosis and fish disease surveillance. I have twenty years’ research experience in finfish diseases in India and have confirmed three important finfish viruses including Cyprinid herpesvirus-2 (CyHV-2), Tilapia lake virus (TiLV) and Carp edema virus (CEV). I have isolated and maintain CyHV-2 and TiLV. I impart training in advanced techniques in the fields of fish disease diagnosis and fish cell culture to students, faculties and scientists. I also provide consultancy services to fish farmers in the disease management of aquatic animals.

Projects

• Isolation and detection of important bacterial and viral pathogens of ornamental finfish.
  • Mass mortality in ornamental fish, Cyprinus carpio koi caused by a bacterial pathogen, Proteus hauseri.
  • First report of cutaneous infiltrative lipoma in goldfish Carassius auratus.
• Studies on association of viral infections in diseases of cultured freshwater carps by immunological and molecular techniques.
  • Koi Herpes Virus: A Review and Risk Assessment of Indian Aquaculture.
  • Emergence of carp edema virus in cultured ornamental koi carp, Cyprinus carpio koi, in India.
• Development and characterization of cell lines from Labeo rohita and virus isolation studies on established cell line of Cyprinus carpio.
  • Development, characterization, conservation and storage of fish cell lines: a review.
  • A new epithelial cell line, HBF from caudal fin of endangered yellow catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma.
  • A new fish cell line derived from the caudal fin of freshwater angelfish Pterophyllum scalare: development and characterization.
• National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases of ornamental fishes in the states Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
  • Detection of goldfish haematopoietic necrosis herpes virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus-2) with multi-drug resistant Aeromonas hydrophila infection in goldfish: First evidence of any viral disease outbreak in ornamental freshwater aquaculture farms in India.
  • Derivation of two tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cell lines for efficient propagation of Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV).
  • Emergence of Tilapia Lake Virus associated with mortalities of farmed Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus 1758) in India.
• Disease surveillance of endemic and commercially important ornamental fishes of the Western Ghats.
  • Establishment of caudal fin cell lines from tropical ornamental fishes Puntius fasciatus and Pristolepis fasciata endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
  • A new epithelial cell line, HBF from caudal fin of endangered yellow catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma.
  • Effect of immunization of rohu Labeo rohita with inactivated germinated zoospores in providing protection against Aphanomyces invadans.

Publications

• Pradhan, P.K., Sood, N., Yadava, M.K., Arya, P., Chaudhary, D.K., Kumar, U., Kumar, C.B., Swaminathan, T.R. and Rathore, G. (2018). Effect of immunization of rohu Labeo rohita with inactivated germinated zoospores in providing protection against Aphanomyces invadans. Fish and Shellfish Immunology, 78: 195–201.
• Swaminathan, T.R., Ravi, C., Kumar, R., Dharmaratnam, A., Basheer V.S., Pradhan, P.K. and Sood, N. (2018). Derivation of two tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) cell lines for efficient propagation of Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV). Aquaculture, 492: 206–214.
• Behera, B.K, Pradhan, P.K., Swaminathan , T.R., Sood, N., Paria, P., Das, A., Verma, D.K., Kumar, R., Yadav, M.K., Dev, A.K., Parida, P.K., Das, B.K., Lal, K.K. and Jena, J.K. (2018). Emergence of Tilapia Lake Virus associated with mortalities of farmed Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus 1758) in India. Aquaculture, 484: 168–174.
• Sood, N., Swaminathan, T.R., Yadav, M.K., Pradhan, P.K., Kumar, R. and Sood, N.K. (2017). First report of cutaneous infiltrative lipoma in goldfish Carassius auratus. Diseases of Aquatic Organism, 125(3): 243-247.
• Swaminathan T. R, Kumar, R., Dharmaratnam, A., Basheer, V.S., Sood, N., Pradhan, P.K., Sanil, N.K., Vijayagopal, P. and Jena, J.K. (2016). Emergence of carp edema virus (CEV) in cultured ornamental koi carp, Cyprinus carpio koi in India. Journal of general Virology, 97(12), 3392-3399.
• Swaminathan, T.R., Kumar, R., Jency, P.M.E., Charan, R., Syamkrishnan, M.U., Basheer, V.S., Sood, N. and Jena. J. K. (2016). A new fish cell line derived from the caudal fin of freshwater angelfish Pterophyllum scalare: development and characterization. Journal of Fish Biology, 89(3): 1769–1781.
• Sahoo P.K., Swaminathan, T.R., Abraham, T.J., Kumar, R., Pattanayak, S., Mohapatra, A., Rath, S.S., Patra, A., Adikesavalu, H., Sood, N., Pradhan, P.K., Das, B.K., Jayasankar, P. and Jena, J.K. (2016). Detection of goldfish haematopoietic necrosis herpes virus (Cyprinid herpesvirus 2) with Aeromonas hydrophila infection in goldfish: First evidence of any viral disease outbreak in ornamental freshwater aquaculture farms of India. Acta Tropica, Vol. 161, pp. 8–17.
• Swaminathan T.R., Basheer, V.S., Gopalakrishnan, A., Sood, N. and Pradhan, P.K. (2016). A new epithelial cell line, HBF from caudal fin of endangered yellow catfish, Horabagrus brachysoma (Gunther, 1864). Cytotechnology, 68: 515–523.
• Kumar, R., Swaminathan T.R., Kumar, R.G., Dharmaratnam, A., Basheer, V.S. and Jena, J.K. (2015). Mass mortality in ornamental fish, Cyprinus carpio koi caused by a bacterial pathogen, Proteus hauseri. Acta Tropica, 149: 128-134.
• Swaminathan T.R, Basheer, V.S., Kumar, R., Pandian, A.K., Sood, N. and Jena, J.K. (2015). Establishment and characterization of fin derived cell line from ornamental carp, Cyprinus carpio var. Koi for virus isolation in India. In Vitro Developmental and Cellular Biology-Animal, 51(7): 705–713.
• Pradhan, P.K., Rathore, G., Sood, N., Swaminathan, T.R., Yadav, M.K., Verma, D.K., Chaudhary, D.K., Abidi, R., Punia, P. and Jena, J.K. (2014). Emergence of epizootic ulcerative syndrome: large-scale mortalities of cultured and wild fish species in Uttar Pradesh, India. Current Science, 106(12): 1711 -1718.
• Swaminathan, T.R., Basheer, V.S., Gopalakrishnan, A., Rathore, G., Chaudhary, D.K., Kumar, R. and Jena, J.K. (2013). Establishment of caudal fin cell lines from tropical ornamental fishes Puntius fasciatus and Pristolepis fasciata endemic to the Western Ghats of India. Acta Tropica, 128(3): 536 – 541.
• Swaminathan T.R., Lakra, W.S., Gopalakrishnan, A., Basheer, V.S., Khushwaha, B. and Sajeela, K.A. (2012). Development and characterization of a fibroblastic-like cell line from caudal fin of the red-line torpedo, Puntius denisonii (Day) (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Aquaculture Research. Vol. 43(4): 498–508.
• Rathore, G., Kumar, G., Swaminathan, T.R., Swain, P. and Lakra, W.S. (2012). Risk assessment of Koi Herpes virus to Indian Fisheries and Aquaculture. Indian Journal of Virology, now renamed as Virus Disease, 23(2): 124-133.
• Lakra W.S., Swaminathan T.R. and Joy, K.P. (2011). Development, characterization, conservation and storage of fish cell lines: a review. Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, 37(1): 1-20.

Contact details

Peninsular and Marine Fish Genetic Resources Centre
ICAR National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources
ICAR Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
Ernakulam North (PO)
Kochi, Kerala - 682018
India
Mobile: +91 (949) 6454170
Fax: +91 (484) 2395570
Email: [email protected]