Research Outcomes
Microbial functions in soil translate into a wide range of ecosystem services that benefit agriculture such as nutrient cycling, detoxification and waste recycling, regulation of pest and disease control and carbon storage. These services have an estimated value of US$11.4 trillion for soils. This large monetary value accruing from soil-based microbes makes them valuable targets for patents.
Recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of the project objectives, MICROB-COM combined desk-based review of literature pertaining to microbial ecology, genomics and patent laws with empirical research on microbial applications in agriculture and ecosystem management. Empirical lab and field-based works were performed through the research networks of David Kothamasi to demonstrate microbial ecosystem services. Experiments were designed using local crops and symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) as a model system to demonstrate how these organisms when applied as agricultural inputs can offer economic and sustainable options to manage agroecosystems. The importance of AMF in sustainable agriculture was evaluated by reviewing the current state-of-the-art in AMF application as microbial inputs.
In addition to the empirical research works mentioned above, which have contributed to the objectives of MICROB-COM, a book chapter that critically reviewed the role of arbuscular mycorrhizas in sustainable climate smart agriculture has also been published. These original research articles and book chapter form the basis for the work evaluating the access restrictions imposed by intellectual property laws and whether a commons regime would provide an acceptable viable alternative. This question and recent trends in environmental law recognizing the rights of nature were integrated into studies analysing whether rights of nature could provide a normative legal paradigm for ecological processes to be eligible for intellectual property rights.
The following impact generating articles have been published:
Journal Articles
- Goswami V, Deepika S, Chandra R, Babu CR, Kothamasi D (2023). Arbuscular mycorrhizas accelerate the degradation of colour containing organic pollutants present in distillery spent wash leachates. Journal of Hazardous Materials 452:131291.
- Goswami V, Deepika S, Diwakar S, Kothamasi D (2023). Arbuscular mycorrhizas amplify the risk of heavy metal transfer to human food chain from fly ash ameliorated agricultural soils. Environmental Pollution 329:121733.
- Deepika S, Kothamasi D (2021). Plant hosts may influence arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community composition in mangrove estuaries. Mycorrhiza 31:699 – 711.
Book Chapter
- Deepika S, Goswami V, Kothamasi D (2023). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and climate smart agriculture – prospects and challenges. In: Ansari W, Singh AK, Tuteja N (Eds) Global climate change and plant stress management. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester, UK, pp 175–200.