The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) researchers have discovered the first-ever genus of Cyanobacteria from the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir using a polyphasic approach. The study was conducted by Dr Prashant Singh, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, BHU and Naresh Kumar, a doctoral student working under the supervision of Dr Singh. Naresh Kumar, the first author of this study sampled the cyanobacterium and went on to characterize as well as establish it as a new genus. This finding is a part of the Indo-US collaboration research coming out of the Fulbright Program.
Honouring the significant contributions of Senator James William Fulbright, who was instrumental in the creation of the prestigious Fulbright Program, the team has named the new genus as 'Fulbrightiella'. Dr Prashant Singh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany, BHU was the recipient of the Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship 2020-2021. He did an important part of this work in the laboratory of his Fulbright host Professor Jeffrey R Johansen, John Carroll University, Cleveland, United States. The work becomes even more special as it was carried out in 2021 when the Fulbright Program celebrated its 75th anniversary.
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One of the new species discovered has been named as 'Fulbrightiella bharadwajae' in honour of Professor Yajnavalkya Bharadwaja, who established the Banaras School of Phycology in the Department of Botany at the Banaras Hindu University. Interestingly, in the same study, the team has also described another new genus of cyanobacteria from the Hawaii Islands, naming it 'Sherwoodiella', as a tribute to Professor Alison R Sherwood, a noted phycologist.
This work is an extension of Dr Singh's research group which has discovered and described numerous cyanobacterial taxa from different parts of the world with a greater aim of not just addressing the issue of biodiversity loss but aiding in its conservation through identification, documentation and preservation of these forms of life. The research team also comprised Aniket Saraf (RJ College, Mumbai), Sagarika Pal and Deeksha Mishra (Department of Botany, BHU).
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Cyanobacteria are one of the first evolved oxygenic photoautotrophic, nitrogen-fixing and prokaryotic microorganisms that are responsible for the oxygenation of Earth's atmosphere. In spite of being ancient, these algae have often been neglected leading to a gross underestimation of their diversity. Many scientists all across the globe are interested to study the different life forms and adaptation strategies associated with different environmental conditions not just with an intent to know them but to conserve this precious biodiversity in an era of much talked about global climatic change.
The work was funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST-SERB), India through the Core Research Grant Project. BHU is also acknowledged for providing Seed Grants under the Institution of Eminence (IoE) Scheme. The Fulbright Program, United States India Educational Foundation (USIEF) and John Carroll University are deeply acknowledged for their support during the course of this study.
