S.K. Gupta, Ph.D.

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S. K. Gupta, Ph.D.
Nodal Officer
Wildlife Forensic and Conservation Genetics Cell &
Scientist – F, Head, Dept. of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology
Wildlife Institute of India
Chandrabani, Dehra Dun 248 001, India
Phone: 0135-2646343
E-mail: skg [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in
Dr. Gupta has been conducting research in the area of conservation genetics and wildlife forensics since 2002. His research interests are evolutionary and conservation Genetics and his team is working on basic and applied research projects for the conservation of rare and endangered species. He is also undertaking customized teaching and training courses on the illegal wildlife trade in India.

Specialization

Wildlife forensics; conservation and evolutionary genetics

Current Projects/Responsibility:

  • Examination of Wildlife Crime Cases (Examined more than 2200 Wildlife Crime Cases)
  • Phylogeography of ungulates
  • Development of molecular markers for wildlife conservation
  • Applied conservation genetics of tigers for population management and enforcement
  • Evolutionary and phylogenetics of endangered animal species
 

Position handled

  • Scientist-E at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun from 1st Jan. 2017 to till date
 

  • Scientist-D at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun from 1st Jan. 2013 to 31st Dec. 2016
 
  • Scientist-C at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun from 05th Sept. 2008 to 31st Dec. 2012
 
  • Scientist at Dr. Surapaneni Genomic Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, India from June 2006 to July 2008
 
  • ‘JRF’ in a DBT funded project at CCMB, Hyderabad from October 2002 to June 2006
 

Educational Qualification:

  • Ph.D. in ‘Wildlife Science’ from Saurashtra University, Rajkot, Gujarat

  • M.Sc. (Biotechnology) in 2002 from Ch. Charan Singh University Campus, Meerut, India

Professional Membership

  • Member of ‘IUCN SSC Deer Specialist Group 2017-2020’
 
  • International Society of Forensic Genetics (ISFG): membership ID is 2517
 

Key Publications:

  • PriceTD, Hooper DM, Buchanan CD, Johansson US, Tietze TD, Alström P, Olsson U, Ghosh-Harihar M, Ishtiaq F, Gupta SK, Martens JE, Harr B, Singh P and Mohan D (2014) Niche filling slows the diversification of Himalayan songbirds. Nature 509: 222–225.
 

  • Gupta SK, Kumar A, Angom S, Singh B, Ghazi MGU, Tuboi C, Hussain SA (2018) Genetic analysis of endangered hog deer (Axis porcinus) reveals two distinct lineages from the Indian subcontinent. Scientific Reports, 8:16308
 

  • Kumar A, Gazi MGU, Hussain SA, Bhatt D, Gupta SK (2017) Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA based genetic assessment indicated distinct variation and low genetic exchange among the three subspecies of swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelli). Evolutionary Biology, 44: 31-42.
 

  • Gupta SK, Jyotsana B,Thangaraj K and Singh L (2011) Establishing the identity of the massacred tigress in a case of wildlife crime. Forensic Science International: Genetics 5: 73-74.
 

  • Gupta SK, Kumar A, Hussain SA, Vipin and Singh L (2013) Cytochrome b based genetic differentiation of Indian wild pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) and domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) and its use in wildlife forensics. Science and Justice 53: 220-222.
 

 

Comprehensive list of Publications (39)

 

  • Gupta SK, Singh P, Srinivas Y (2021) Molecular investigation of three leopards death: a case of suspicious revenge killing. Forensic Science International: Genetics 51:102425
 
  • Kumar A, Yadav P, Usmani A, Hussain SA, Gupta SK (2020) Complete mitogenome of Ganges river dolphin, Platanista gangetica gangetica and its phylogenetic relationship with other cetaceans. Molecular Biology Reports (In press).
 
  • Yadav P, Kumar A, Hussain SA, Gupta SK (2020) Evaluation of the effect of longitudinal connectivity in population genetic structure of endangered golden mahseer, Tor putitora (Cyprinidae), in Himalayan rivers: Implications for its conservation. PLOS One 15(6): e0234377.
 
  • Singh G, Srinivas Y, Kumar GC, Singh A, Sharma CP, Gupta SK (2020) Identification of selected small cats using hair morphology and forensically informative nucleotide sequencing (FINS): wildlife forensics prospective. Legal Medicine. 44: 101692
 
  • Singh VK, Joshi PC, Gupta SK (2020) Molecular and morphometric divergence of four species of butterflies (families nymphalidae and pieridae) from the western Himalayan region of Uttarakhand, India. Molecular Biology Reports (In press).
 
  • Sharma SP, Katdare S, Zaidi Z, Ghazi MGU, Gupta SK, Hussain SA (2020) Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals extremely low genetic diversity in a managed population of the Critically Endangered Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus, Gmelin 1789). The Herpetological Journal 30: 202-206.
 

  • Singh A, Gupta SK, Alström P, Mohan D, Hooper DM, Kumar RS, Bhatt D, Singh P, Price TD (2020) Taxonomy of cryptic species in the Cyornis rubeculoides complex in the Indian subcontinent. IBIS 162: 924-935.
 
  • Prasad VK, Gautam KB, Gupta SK, Murthy RS, Ramesh K, Shinde AD, DAS A (2020) Determining cryptic amphibian diversity from Panna Tiger Reserve, CentraI central India, using integrated approach. Zootaxa, 4851 (3): 450–476.
 
  • Kumar A, Gautam KB, Singh B, Yadav P, Gopi GV and Gupta SK (2019) Sequencing and characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Mishmi takin (Budorcas taxicolor taxicolor) and comparison with the other Caprinae species. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 137: 87-94.
 
  • SharmaCP, KumarA, Vipin, Sharma V, Singh B, Kumar GC, Gupta SK (2019) Online selling of wildlife part with spurious name: a serious challenge for wildlife crime enforcement. International Journal of Legal Medicine, 133: 65–69.
 
  • Singh B, Kumar A, Uniyal VP, Gupta SK (2019) Complete mitochondrial genome of northern Indian red muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis) and its phylogenetic analysis. Molecular Biology Reports, 46:1327–1333.
 
  • Gupta SK, Kumar A, Angom S, Singh B, Ghazi MGU, Tuboi C, Hussain SA (2018) Genetic analysis of endangered hog deer (Axis porcinus) reveals two distinct lineages from the Indian subcontinent. Scientific Reports, 8:16308
 
  • Vipin, Sharma V, Gupta SK (2018) Molecular identification of victim species and its sex from the ash: a case of burning alive leopard (Panthera pardus). International Journal of Legal Medicine, 132:1075–1078.
 
  • Vipin, Sharma V, Gupta SK, Sharma CP, Sankar K, Goyal SP (2018) Development of a fast and low-cost age determination method in spotted deer, Axis axis. Folia Zool, 67: 3–4
 
  • Kumar A, Gazi MGU, Hussain SA, Bhatt D, Gupta SK (2017) Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA based genetic assessment indicated distinct variation and low genetic exchange among the three subspecies of swamp deer (Rucervus duvaucelli). Evolutionary Biology, 44: 31-42.
 
  • Singh A, Kumar A, Kumar RS, Bhatt D, Gupta SK (2017) Amplification of mtDNA control region in opportunistically collected bird samples belonging to nine families of the order Passeriformes. Mitochondrial DNA Part B 2: 99-100.
 
  • Kumar A, Hussain SA, Bhatt D, Gupta SK (2017) Conserve primers for sequencing complete ungulate mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene from problematic and decomposed biological samples. Mitochondrial DNA Part B: 2: 64-66.
 
  • Angom S, Kumar A, Gupta SK and Hussain SA (2017) Analysis of mtDNA control region of an isolated population of Eld’s deer (Rucervus eldii) reveals its vulnerability to inbreeding. Mitochondrial DNA Part B. 2: 277-280.
 
  • Jha DK, Gupta SK, Kshetry NT, Panday R, Pokharel BR (2017) A Pioneer Case Study on Identification of Infant Rhinoceros Horn. Journal of Forensic Research 8:2. doi: 10.4172/2157-7145.1000374.
 
  • Gupta SK, Kumar A, Gaur A and Hussain SA (2015) Detection of 40 bp insertion-deletion (INDEL) in mitochondrial control region among sambar (Rusa unicolor) populations in India. BMC Research Notes 8: 581.
 
  • Angom S, Gupta SK, Kumar A and Hussain SA (2015) Identification of globally threatened cervids from problematic samples using cytochrome b and control region genes. Conservation Genetics Resources 7:647650.
 
  • PriceTD, Hooper DM, Buchanan CD, Johansson US, Tietze TD, Alström P, Olsson U, Ghosh-Harihar M, Ishtiaq F, Gupta SK, Martens JE, Harr B, Singh P and Mohan D (2014) Niche filling slows the diversification of Himalayan songbirds. Nature 509: 222–225.
 
  • Gupta SK, Kumar A and Hussain SA (2014) Novel primers for sequencing of the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene of ungulates using non-invasive and degraded biological samples. Conservation Genetics Resources 6: 499-501.
 
  • Kannan K, Johnson JA, Kumar A, Gupta SK (2014) Mitochondrial DNA variation in the endangered fish Dawkinsia tambraparniei (Actinopterygil: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from southern Western Ghats, India. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 44: 3-8.
 
  • Gupta SK and Kumar A (2014) Molecular identification of man-eating carnivores from scat samples. Conservation Genetics Resources 6:271–274.
 
  • Gupta SK, Sharma CP, Singh L (2014) DNA typing established as an unambiguous tool for species identification in a dispute case. Forensic Science Journal 13: 9-14.
 
  • Jegatheesh TR, Rajendran A, Kumar A, Gupta SK, Johnson JA (2014) Genetic diversity phylogenetic analysis of the genus Dawkinsia filamentosa group (actinopterygii: cypriniformes: cyprinidae) from southern Western Ghats, India, using mitochondrial gene sequences. International Journal of Recent Scientific Research 5: 1281-1285.
 
  • Gupta SK, Kumar A, Hussain SA, Vipin and Singh L (2013) Cytochrome b based genetic differentiation of Indian wild pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) and domestic pig (Sus scrofa domestica) and its use in wildlife forensics. Science and Justice 53: 220-222.
 
  • Gupta SK, Kumar A and Hussain SA (2013) Extraction of PCR-amplifiable DNA from a variety of biological samples with uniform success rate. Conservation Genetics Resources 5: 215-217.
 
  • Gupta SK and Singh L (2012) Molecular insight into suspected food crime cases: a study to determine the legitimacy of meat by DNA typing. Biological and Biomedical Reports 2: 171-174.
 
 
  • Gupta SK, Jyotsana B,Thangaraj K and Singh L (2011) Establishing the identity of the massacred tigress in a case of wildlife crime. Forensic Science International: Genetics 5: 73-74.
 
  • Gupta SK, Thangaraj K and SinghL (2011) Identification of the source of ivory idol by DNA analysis. Journal of Forensic Science 56: 1343-1345.
 
  • Vanniarajan A, Govindaraj P, Carlus SJ, Aruna M, Aruna P, Kumar A, Jayakar RI, Lionel AC, Gupta S, Rao L, Gupta NJ, Chakravarthy B, Deenadayal M, Selvaraj K, Andal S, Reddy BM, Singh L, Thangaraj K (2011) Mitochondrial DNA variations associated with recurrent pregnancy loss among Indian women. Mitochondrion, 11: 450-456
 
  • Gupta SK, Kumar A and Nigam P (2011) Multilocus genotyping of Asian elephant ivory: a case study in suspected wildlife crime. Journal of Forensic Research S1-002. (DOI: 10.4172/2157-7145.S1-002)
 
  • Hussain SA, Gupta SK and de Silva P K (2011) Biology and ecology of Asian small-clawed otter Aonyx Cinereus (Illiger, 1815): A review. IUCN Otter Specialist Group Bulletin 28: 63-75.
 
  • Gupta SK, Thangaraj K and Singh L (2006) A simple and inexpensive molecular method for sexing and identification of the forensic samples of elephant origin. Journal of Forensic Science 51: 805-807.
 
  • Gupta SK, Verma SK and Singh L (2005) Molecular insight into a wildlife crime: the case of a peafowl slaughter. Forensic Science International, 154: 214-217.
 
  • Shivaji S, Kholkute SD, Verma SK, Gaur A, Umapathy G, Singh A, Sontakke S, Shailaja K, Reddy A, Monika S, Sivaram V, Jyotsana B, Bala S, Shakeel A, Bala A, Chandrashekar BVN, Gupta S, Prakash S and Singh L (2003) Conservation of wild animals by assisted reproduction and molecular marker technology. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 41: 710-723.
 

Pre-Print Pubilications:

  • Singh B, Gautam KB, Sahoo S, Kumar A, and Gupta SK (2020) Complete mitogenome of Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus) and its comparative phylogenetic relationships. bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2020.08.25.265850. (In press in Molecular Biology Reports)
 

  • Kumar A, Singh B, Sahoo S, Gautam KB, and Gupta SK (2020) Genetic evidence indicates new distribution record of endangered Kashmir musk deer (Moschus cupreus) with range expansion in Uttarakhand, India. bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2020.08.20.258962.

 

  • Singh B, Kumar A, Uniyal VP, and Gupta SK (2020) Phylogeography and population genetic structure of red muntjacs: Evidence of enigmatic Himalayan red muntjac from India. bioRxiv, doi: 10.1101/2020.08.11.247403.

 

  • Yadav P, Kumar A, Yadav Neha, Bist M, Hussain SA and Gupta SK (2020) Molecular evidence indicates the existence of multiple lineages of Sperata species in Indian Rivers. bioRxiv, doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.11.16.377507

 

Technical Report:

  • Gupta SK, Mohan N, Kumar A (2014) Phylogenetic Status of Sambar (Rusa unicolor) in Western Ghats. Project Compilation Report, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. TR-2014/008. Pp. 32
 
  • Gupta SK, Kumar A (2016) Evaluation of MHC Gene Heterozygosity in Isolated Tiger Population. Project Compilation Report, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. TR-2016/010. Pp. 38
 
  • Kumar RS, Singh P, Mohan D, Gupta SK, Rana SK, Singh A (2016) Causes of Avian Diversity Gradients Along the Himalayas. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (DST Project Compilation Report).
 
  • Gupta SK, Ghazi MGU, Hussain SA (2017) Genetic assessment of Sambar (Rusa unicolor) population in North-East India. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun (DST Project Compilation Report).
 

Book Chapters

  • Gupta SK (2019) Forensic Science in Wildlife Law Enforcement: Role of Wildlife Institute of India- Hornbill published by BNHS, Mumbai
 

  • Gupta SK (2018) Application of DNA Fingerprinting and Wildlife Forensics In:  DNA Fingerprinting: Advancements and Future Endeavors by Dash, H.R. et al (ed) publisher Springer Nature, Singapore
 
  • Gupta SK (2012) Growth of Wildlife Forensics. In: Aranya: A collection of articles on Wildlife Conservation edited by Bhujabal M., Publisher Wild Orissa, Bhubneswar, Odisha, India
 

Ph.D. thesis awarded/completed     (3)
 

Ongoing Ph.D. thesis                         13

As a supervisor:  6

As a co-supervisor: 7
 

M.Sc. Project:            16

Last Updated: November 1, 2022