Biology

Dr. Gitanjali Yadav
National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), New Delhi, India

Biological invasions, considered as one of the most important threats to biodiversity, have become a major global issue in ecosystem conservation. For decades, both scientists and nature-conservationists have attempted to mechanistically explain the competitive superiority of invasive alien species in new habitats, and very little is known about genomic traits that may facilitate invasive success. Allelopathic abilities of alien species are known to be actively involved in this process, although a comprehensive assessment of phytochemical turnovers between native and invaded habitats over diverse spatial and temporal scales has not been done before. This work is based on the premise that the spectacular success of invasive plant species arises out of changes in phytochemical profiles subsequent to invasion of a new habitat.

My talk will mainly cover two approaches, first, the correlation of phytochemical diversity with invasivity, using Geo Spatial Imaging techniques and species distribution modeling in Ageratum conyzoides, a major plant invader. We find a significant increase in phytochemicals in the species following invasion, both in terms of quality and quantity of compounds emitted, particularly the terpenes. We have identified specific alterations in the terpenome that may hold the key to competitive superiority of invasive species. Although all organisms synthesize terpenes, the plant kingdom exhibits tremendous variation in their chemistry and roles, ranging from primary and secondary metabolism to specialized ecological interactions with the environment. The second part of the talk touches upon the issue of whether, and to what extent, genomic signatures may regulate the terpenome based phytochemical expansion observed across invaded habitats.