Research Projects

White pollution is an environmental concern that refers to the massive pollution by plastic debris released into aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Exploration of microorganisms to reduce the hazardous effect of plastics to their simpler constituents is one of the most crucial strategies using modern biotechnological approaches. Microalgae are diverse organisms that occur in various forms and sizes, with a pivotal role in various ecosystems being constantly exposed to microplastics (MPs), the microalgae must develop some resistance which will enable them to stand the toxicity. As a result, microalgae can break down complex polymers into simple molecules. Understanding the molecular events during the interplay between microalgae and MPs have utmost requirement. Even though considerable number of studies mainly reviews reported larger information is primitive. Delineating the molecular mechanisms involved in the degradation can pave the way to manage sustainably. We isolated algae from lake and used to study the effect of MPs and bisphenol A, nonyl phenol, phthalates on growth. Result demonstrated that chemicals affected on the growth and biomass yield with biochemical, physiological changes. The secretome and cell lysate after treatment revealed significant changes in the lipid, carbohydrate and proteins composition, which supported by spectral, FTIR, HPLC analysis. The SEM analysis showed the homo and hetero aggregation confirms algal secretory interaction that may be useful to recover or reduce the toxic effect and aggregates mediate the vertical transport of MPs from the surface to bottom. An in-depth understanding of the microalgal adaptative mechanisms in the presence of MPs will help to assess the environmental risk, and also play important role to develop promising agents for remediation. Therefore, it is proposed to study the proteomic analysis of the both secretome and cellular proteins upon treatment in Monorapidium sps and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Epigenetics is the heritable changes occurring in gene expression without any change in DNA sequence. Epigenetic mechanisms, like methylation, acetylation etc of DNA and histones, lead to changes in the function under the effect of external factors. Epigenetic alterations induced by environmental chemicals and epigenetic plasticity to cope up extreme conditions and understanding the epigenetic inheritance will provide valuable insights to find the molecular targets. Therefore, we aim to study the MPs, bisphenol A, nonylphenol, and phthalates mediated effects with microalgae, physiological and biochemical mechanisms towards its biodegradation in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii using epigenomic approach. Further, study on epigenetic reprogramming and its horizontal transfer in the presence of MPs will help better understanding of the adaptive mechanism execute by the microalgae. It can be used to develop specific strains that target the degradation of these persistent environmental toxicants.