Research Projects

Global warming has triggered rise of ultraviolet radiation and temperature play distinguished role in weakness of organism resilience, community disturbance and halting regular ecosystem services. In response to global warming induced environment vulnerability, progressive demand and supply of eco-foods and value-added metabolites rapidly decline with rise of world papulation. The continuous surge of global warming effects on plants has severely limited the resource. The continuous limited resource and biomass production have adversely affected the food and ecosystem economy of Earth surface near future. Current, it is utmost need to enhance the biomass production in ecological sustainable approach led to more production of eco-foods, fuels, and healthy green metabolites for welfare of Earth ecosystem. Cyanobacteria are a group of most ancient photosynthetic prokaryotes that adapt progressively over threatening environmental conditions and maintain ecological balance of C/N ratio in the environment. All the cyanobacteria utilize unique and ancient signalling mechanisms to survive under harsh conditions. Cyanobacteria facilitate environmental adaptation through chemical messengers and extracellular polymers (EPS) formation through crosstalk social interaction between inter or intra species. EPS-mediated environmental adaptation facilitates the mass production of cyanobacteria under open thermal and solar ultraviolet radiation without any external recourse. A minimal or insignificant study has been carried out on sustainable large-scale cultivation of cyanobacteria (except Spirulina). The critical knowledge of self-protection, eco-sensing, genetic expression, proliferation, and role of EPS in cyanobacteria under harsh environments are still unreachable. In this project, our aim to understand crosstalk signal mechanism and role of EPS for adaption under increase of ultraviolet and thermal stress. To test the crosstalk and EPS synthesis, we shall use unicellular and filamentous habitats specific cyanobacteria including reference cyanobacteria Gloeothece and Anabaena PCC 7120. To address our objectives, we shall identify crosstalk biomolecules and EPS biosynthesis by combining tools of biochemistry, glycomics, and molecular biology. Gene expression pattern (lux SIR and associated genes), and functional role of EPS will be understood with applications. The results of current research project provide state-of-art-knowledge about novel crosstalk biomolecules, sensing mechanism, and gene regulation in adaptation of cyanobacteria under harsh condition. In addition, our results also provide new insights application of EPS for human welfare. Moreover, it provides novel strategies of cyanobacterial agriculture for economically cost-effective production of EPS, food and value-added metabolites under open environment according to world norm of sustainable development goals.