Pothur Sreenivasulu (1950–2020): a humble virologist who made eminent contributions to virology discipline in India

Abstract

Plant virology lost an outstanding scientist and an eminent teacher with the sudden demise of Prof. Pothur Sreenivasulu (hear afterward, Sreenivasulu) on 19th August 2020 in Bangalore. We lost a mentor and a most trustworthy friend. He was known for his pioneering contributions to the characterization of viruses infecting groundnut, sugarcane, sorghum, rice, banana, pigeonpea, vegetable and aroid crop plants in India, and development of diagnostic tools for their detection based on serological and nucleic acid properties. As a co-founder, he made immense contributions to the Department of Virology's growth at Sri Venkateswara University (SVU), Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. Several of his students have become renowned scientists around the world. The first three co-authors of this contribution were his students, and the last author was his mentor for postdoctoral research.Sreenivasulu was born in Thagguparthy village in Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, on 1st June 1950. He was awarded Konri Venkatagiri and Srimathi Ganjam Venkata Ramanaiah memorial prizes for obtaining the first rank in his M.Sc. degree, indicating his brilliance and interest in higher education. He earned a Ph.D. degree in plant virology in 1978 from SVU under the guidance of Prof. M. V. Nayudu. He was a recipient of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi Junior-, Senior and Postdoctoral Research fellowships (JRF/SRF/PDF).Sreenivasulu had spent his entire career at the SVU. He was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Botany in 1979. Subsequently, sustained efforts by him and Prof. M. V. Nayudu resulted in the establishment of the Virology department with University Grants Commission (UGC) recognition to offer M.Sc. and Ph.D. programs at SVU in 1987, first of its kind in India. Prof. Sreenivasulu made significant contributions to the design of the virology course curriculum on par with international standards. It was the first and only department in SVU to offer an interdisciplinary post-graduate (PG) program in a semester system during that time.Sreenivasulu became a Reader and, in 1994, became a