Siddiqi's studies in the field of neurogenetics unravelled the link between genes, behaviour and the brain. In the 1970s, his work with Seymour Benzer[4] at Caltech led to the discovery of temperature-sensitive paralytic Drosophila mutants and the generation and transmission of neural signals.[5] This heralded the dawn of the field of neurogenetics.
At TIFR, Siddiqi and his graduate student, Veronica Rodrigues,[6] isolated and characterized the first collection of mutants with defects in smell and taste in Drosophila. Siddiqi's work in neurogenetics led to the foundational advances in understanding how taste and smell are detected and encoded in the brain.[7]
The President, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam presenting Padma Vibhushan to Prof. Obaid Siddiqi, an eminent scientist, at investiture ceremony, in New Delhi on 29 March 2006
Siddiqi died on 26 July 2013 in Bangalore following a freak road accident on 21 July 2013 which caused severe damage to the brain. He is survived by his wife Asiya, sonsImran and Kaleem, and daughters Yumna and Diba.[10]
Siddiqi, O.; Apte, B. N.; Pitale, M. P. (1 January 1966). "Genetic Regulation of Aryl Sulphatases in Aspergillus nidulans".Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology.31:381–382.doi:10.1101/SQB.1966.031.01.049.
Joshi, G.P.; Siddiqi, O. (March 1968). "Enzyme synthesis following conjugation and recombination in Escherichia coli".Journal of Molecular Biology.32 (2):201–210.doi:10.1016/0022-2836(68)90004-1.PMID4868420.
Siddiqi, O.; Fox, M.S. (June 1973). "Integration of donor DNA in bacterial conjugation".Journal of Molecular Biology.77 (1):101–123.doi:10.1016/0022-2836(73)90365-3.PMID4588879.
Sarathy, P.Vijay; Siddiqi, O. (August 1973). "DNA synthesis during bacterial conjugation".Journal of Molecular Biology.78 (3):427–441.doi:10.1016/0022-2836(73)90466-X.PMID4585325.
Sarathy, P.Vijay; Siddiqi, O. (August 1973). "DNA synthesis during bacterial conjugation".Journal of Molecular Biology.78 (3):443–451.doi:10.1016/0022-2836(73)90467-1.PMID4585326.
Sarathy, P. Vijay; Siddiqi, O. (June 1973). "The effect of chromosome transfer on gene expression in Escherichia coli Hfr".Molecular and General Genetics.125 (2):125–132.doi:10.1007/BF00268865.PMID4590267.S2CID8900439.
Apte, B.N.; Bhavsar, P.N.; Siddiqi, O. (July 1974). "The regulation of aryl sulphatase in Aspergillus nidulans".Journal of Molecular Biology.86 (3):637–648.doi:10.1016/0022-2836(74)90186-7.PMID4605323.
Siddiqi, O. (1975). "Genetic blocks in the elements of neural network in Drosophila". In Talwar, G. P. (ed.).Regulation of growth and differentiated function in eukaryote cells. Raven Press. pp. 541–550.ISBN978-0-89004-032-4.
Singh, Satpal; Siddiqi, O. (March 1981). "torpid a new sex-linked paralytic mutation inDrosophila melanogaster".Molecular and General Genetics.181 (3):400–402.doi:10.1007/BF00425619.PMID6787392.S2CID35111844.
Stocker, R. F.; Singh, R. N.; Schorderet, M.; Siddiqi, O. (July 1983). "Projection patterns of different types of antennal sensilla in the antennal glomeruli of Drosophila melanogaster".Cell and Tissue Research.232 (2):237–248.doi:10.1007/BF00213783.PMID6411344.S2CID2694046.
Siddiqi, O. (1983) Olfactory Neurogenetics of Drosophila. Symposium on Neurogenetics. XV International Congress of Genetics. Genetics: New Frontiers. Oxford, Delhi. Vol. III 243–261.
Arora, Kavita; Rodrigues, Veronica; Joshi, Swati; Shanbhag, Shubha; Siddiqi, Obaid (November 1987). "A gene affecting the specificity of the chemosensory neurons of Drosophila".Nature.330 (6143):62–63.Bibcode:1987Natur.330...62A.doi:10.1038/330062a0.PMID3670396.S2CID4348467.
Siddiqi, O. (1988) Genetic Variation in Drosophila chemoreception. Genetics and Immunology of Chemical Communication. Monell Research Center, Philadelphia.
Ayyub, C., Paranjape, J., Rodrigues, V. & Siddiqi, O. (1990). Genetics of olfactory behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. J. Neurogenet. 6: 243–262.
Siddiqi, O.(1990) Olfaction in Drosophila. Chemical senses Vol. 3 Eds. Wyzockiet al. Marcel Dekker, NY, 79–96.
Jayaram, V.C. and Siddiqi, O. (1997). gustJ a salt insensitive mutant of Drosophila. Journal of Genetics, 76: 133–145.
Bala, A.D.S., Panchal, P. and Siddiqi, O. (1998). Osmotaropotaxis in the larva of Drosophila melanogaster. Current science, 75: 48–51.
Mistry, Y., R. Mistry, and O. Siddiqi, O. (2000). Evidence of age-related changes in the antennal glomeruli of Drosophila melanogaster using monoclonal antibodies. Arthropod Structure and Development. Vol.29 (2) 101–110.
Khurana S, Abu Baker MB, Siddiqi O. (2009). Odour avoidance learning in the larva of Drosophila melanogaster. J. Biosci. 34: 621–631.
Chakraborty TS, Goswami S.P, Siddiqi O. (2009). Sensory correlates of imaginal conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster. J. Neurogenet. 23: 210–219.
Iyengar A, Chakraborty TS, Goswami SP, Wu CF, Siddiqi O.(2010) Post-eclosion odor experience modifies olfactory neuron coding in Drosophila. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U S A. 107(21):9855-60.
