Research Projects

An urgent need to document the mycota of mangroves, which are being destroyed/reclaimed at the rate of 1% per year, has been emphasized by Ong (1982, 1995). Human disturbances such as sewage and industrial effluent discharge, oil spills, and leachates containing pesticides are ever increasing in the marine environment (Molitoris and Schaumann, 1986). Hence it has been suggested that microbial diversity in addition to floral and faunal diversity to be undertaken with high priority. Many mangrove formations in India are yet to be completed for diversity analysis. Whereas their biotechnological potential for human benefit is yet to be fully explored in India. Hence the present project is being taken up. If a baseline data is generated on the diversity of mycota from a region then that data would serve for comparisons, with subsequent events like tsunamis or other natural calamities, if any, to check the loss of fungi from the system. In addition to this in the present study attempts would be made to isolate as many marine fungi as possible and would be deposited in a recognized culture collection centre (NFCCI, ARI, Pune, Maharashtra). This would provide opportunities to other scientists to study marine fungi for various biotechnological applications.