I  am  an  evolutionary  geneticist  by  training  but  my  interests  range  from  molecular ecology  to  functional  genomics.  I  am  particularly  interested  in  1)  the  evolution  of arthropod-endosymbiont  interactions  with  a  special  emphasis  on  Wolbachia,  2) evolutionary genetics with the parasitic wasp Nasonia as the model system and 3) molecular evolution and functional genomics of arthropod-bacterial symbiosis. I am also  interested  in  phylogeography  with  particular  emphasis  on  Indian  taxa.  The biological questions that I seek to answer often involves the use of various techniques ranging from field work to  genomic tools. Presently the two broad research areas are:

1. Symbiosis: Wolbachia is one of the most abundant endosymbionts of the world and infects majority of terrestrial arthropods. They also cause various reproductive alterations in their hosts like cytoplasmic incompatibility, feminization, male-killing and parthenogenesis. I  am  interested  in  various  aspects  of  Wolbachia  biology  like  its abundance  in  Indian  insects,  the  genetic  basis  of  these  reproductive  alterations, evolutionary history of host-bacterial symbiosis, etc.
2. Evolutionary Genetics:  The  parasitic  wasp  Nasonia  is  an  excellent  model system for the genetic dissection of complex traits. The four species are relatively easy to interbreed and also have a wealth of molecular markers along with sequenced genomes. I am interested in investigating the genetic basis of various biological traits using Nasonia as a model system.

• Buellesbach J, Gadau J, Beukeboom LW, Echinger F, Raychoudhury R, Werren JH, Schmitt T. Cuticular hydrocarbon  divergence  in  the  jewel  wasp  Nasonia:  Evolutionary  shifts  in  chemical  communication channels? Journal ofEvolutionary Biology, 2013 Nov;26(11):2467-78. (DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12242).
• Sen R*, Raychoudhury R*, Cai Y, Sun Y, Ulrike-Lietz V, Boucias DG and Scharf ME. Differential impacts of juvenile  hormone,  soldier  head  extract  and  alternate  caste  phenotypes  on  host  and  symbiont transcriptome  composition  in  the  gut  of  the  termite  Reticulitermes  flavipes  and  its  symbionts.  BMC Genomics, 2013, 14:491. (DOI: 10.1186/10.1186/1471-2164-14-491)
• Boucias DG, Cai Y, Sun Y, Ulrike-Lietze V, Sen R, Raychoudhury R and Scharf ME. The hindgut-lumen microbiome of the lignocellulose-degrading termite Reticulitermes flavipes and its responses to dietary lignocellulose composition.  Molecular Ecology, 2013, 22(7):1836-1853. (DOI: 10.1111/mec.12230)
• Raychoudhury R*, Sen R*, Cai Y, Sun Y, Ulrike-Lietze V, Boucias DG and Scharf ME. Comparative metatranscriptomic signatures of wood and paper feeding in the gut of the termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae). Insect Molecular Biology, 2013, 22(2):155-171. (DOI: 10.1111/imb.12011)
• Raychoudhury  R  and  Werren  JH  (2012).  Host  genotype  changes  bi-directional  to  uni-directional cytoplasmic incompatibility in Nasonia longicornis. Heredity, 108: 105-114. (DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2011.53)
• Werren et al. (2010). Functional and evolutionary insights from the genomes of three parasitoid Nasoniaspecies. Science, 327: 343-348, (DOI: 10.1126/science.1178028).
• Raychoudhury R, Desajrdins CA, Buellesbach J, Loehlin DW, Grillenberger BK, Beukeboom L, Schmitt T, Werren  JH  (2010a).  Behavioral  and  genetic  characteristics  of  a  new  species  of  Nasonia.  Heredity, 104:278-288. (DOI: 10.1038/hdy.2009.147).
• Raychoudhury R*, Grillenberger BK*, Gadau J, Bijlsma R, van de zande L, Werren JH, Beukeboom LW (2010b). Phylogeography of Nasonia vitripennis(Hymenoptera) indicates a mitochondrial sweep in North America. Heredity, 104:318-326. (DOI:10.1038/hdy.2009.160)
• Raychoudhury  R,  Baldo  L,  Oliveira  DCSG,  Werren  JH  (2009).  Modes  of  acquisition  of  Wolbachia: Horizontal transfer, hybrid introgression and co-divergence in the Nasonia species complex. Evolution, 63(1): 165-183 (DOI:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00533.x)
• Oliveira DCSG, Raychoudhury R, Lavrov DV, Werren JH (2008).  Rapidly evolving mitochondrial genome and   directional   selection   in   mitochondrial   genes   in   the   parasitic   wasp   Nasonia   (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Molecular Biology and Evolution, 25(10): 2167-2180. (DOI:10.1093/molbev/msn159) (*equal contribution)