Research Projects

The Himalayan high elevations are home to extremophile plants, such as woody evergreens, which face extreme low temperatures and high UV irradiance. These plants adapt their survival strategies by redistributing resources, lowering growth, and stimulating the production of vital secondary metabolites in response to these conditions. The combination of low temperature and UV radiations enhances the concentration of defense compounds, suggesting that both factors can exhibit synergism in plant defense mechanisms against these stresses. Studies on a highly adapted Juniperus species from high altitude environments of cold deserts in the Himalaya are lacking, which should be relevant for regions subjected to harsh environmental conditions. The study proposes studying Juniperus polycarpos K. Koch, which occurs in southern slopes with high irradiances of UV radiation. The researchers plan to conduct a UV attenuation experiment along an altitudinal gradient in the Trans-Himalayan region, using UV exclusion filters and weather data loggers. The study will involve sampling at different elevations, eco-physiological, biochemical, metabolome, and transcriptome analysis, and freezing tolerance studies. This first-of-its-kind study of UV attenuation on native plants of Himalaya in India would help understand adaptation strategies and mechanisms to extreme levels of UV and low-temperature stress in the higher elevations of trans-Himalaya. Such studies are especially important in the context of climate change predictions, which predict increased UV levels due to depletion in the ozone layer.