Several leading Institutes have been immensely contributing to the Polar Biology Program. Institutes like the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Banaras Hindu University (BHU) etc. have carried out long-term programmes in different fields of biological research in both the Arctic as well as Antarctic. The key programmes are based on microbiological research, invertebrate faunal research, wildlife ecology research and Arctic and Antarctic biology research.

Significant Achievements (last 10 years)

Microbiological Research:

 

·   Identified 8 new genera and 80 new species of bacteria from Antarctica, Arctic, Himalayan glaciers, deep sea and the stratosphere. Most significant being identification of 32 new species of bacteria from Antarctica thus contributing to ~10% of the new species so far discovered in Antarctica (Shivaji, et al. 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015; Shivaji and Reddy, 2014; Reddy et al. 2013; Srinivas et al. 2011, 2012, 2013; Prasad et al. 2012).

·   Bacterial diversity studies in the Antarctic, Arctic and Himalayan glaciers revealed that similar species of cold loving bacteria habitat the cryosphere thus implying that they have evolved independently irrespective of geographical distance (Shivaji, 2005).

·   Discovered a new fatty acid desaturase gene from an Antarctic bacterium essential for the survival of life forms at low temperature (Chintalapati et al. 2006, 2007).

·   Established that two genes aspartae aminotransferase gene and tRNAmodificationGTPase gene are required for survival of life forms at low temperature (Singh, et al. 2009, 2014; Sundareswaran et al. 2010; Singh and Shivaji, 2010; Chattopadhyay et al. 2014).

·   Several bacterial isolates from the Cryosphere produce cold active proteases and lipases with applications in biotechnology industries such as in detergent, baking and brewery industries (Reddy et al. 2009; Srinivas et al. 2009; Prasad et al. 2013).

·   Research on the biodiversity of psychrophilic bacteria has attracted worldwide recognition as evidenced by collaborations both within the country and countries abroad such as in Japan, Germany and France (Shivaji and Prakash, 2010; Singh et al. 2015).

·   Genome sequencing has been completed for about 20 bacteria from Cryosphere to identify genes involved in growth and survival at freezing temperatures (Reddy et al. 2013, 2014, 2015; Shivaji et al. 2013; Anil Kumar et al. 2013; Karl Hassan et al. 2013; Sreenivas et al.  2014; Singh et al. 2014; Pilla et al. 2015).

·   Over 30 species of algae and cyanobacteria (dominant flora) were observed in six freshwater streams of the Schirmacher Oasis, Antarctica. Nitrogen (N₂) fixing species of cyanobacteria contributed >50% to the count. The physiological processes of the isolated cyanobacteria strains indicated that N₂- fixation, nitrate uptake and its reduction, ammonium (NH₄⁺) uptake and glutamine synthetase transferase activity and photosynthesis continued at low temperature (5 ⁰C) indicating low temperature adaptation for Antarctic cyanobacteria (Pandey et al. 2013).

·   The bryophytes (7 species) collected from Schirmacher Oasis found to play a major role in habitat modification, nutrient cycling and primary production as well as an indicator of short-term climatic stability/dynamics of snow and ice deserts of Oasis. Over 19 species of fungi were recorded from this area for the first time. A species (believed to be an alien species) named Hormoconisresinae was isolated from the oil spills/soils adjacent to liquid waste barrels. Diatoms were found to be in frequent association with the cyanobacteria (dominant) group. Algal diversity was more in inter-mountainous lakes where the salt concentration/conductivity was comparably higher. Higher diversity was observed in western Schirmacher compared to other parts (Singh, D.K. et al. 2013).

·    A total of 54 species of lichens were encountered from the Schirmacher Oasis and Larsemann hills, Antarctica. Oxalic acid from lichens is instrumental in dissolving calcium and other elements from the rock minerals and play a major role is biogeochemical weathering. Furthermore the lichens can be very useful for dating of surface, bio-monitoring of certain elements, and in biotechnological applications (Singh, S.M. et al. 2013).

 

Invertebrate Faunal Research:

·   The sub-Antarctic and cool temperate islands displayed greater diversity and included many invertebrate species that are rare and/or endemic. Beetles (~100 species) were the dominant in arthropod group. Besides, species belonging to protozoa (12), nematode (16), rotifera (1), tardigrada (2), acarina and collembolan (7) group were also encountered. A substantial contribution to knowledge of diversity, ecology and population fluctuation of invertebrate fauna was made by Hazra and Mitra (2008, 2013 and references therein).

·    Five new species of nematodes were reported from east Antarctica by Bohra et al. (2010).

·    Hazra (2006) have summarized the overview on Antarctic life science research at Schirmacher Oasis by India.

·    Impact of climate change on the diversity and distribution of moss-inhabiting invertebrate fauna in Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica was described by Sanyal et al. (2013).

 

Wildlife Ecology Research:

·    A total of 49 species of sea birds and 12 species of marine mammals have been recorded from the area of operation of India in Antarctica and voyage routes of Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (Hussain and Saxena, 2008; Sivakumar and Sathyakumar, 2012; Kumar and Johnson, 2014; Pande et al, 2014).

·   Abundances of birds and mammals occurred in the area of operation of India in Antarctica were seems to be stable although there were temporary variations largely due to micro-habitat dynamism because of local weather (Sivakumar and Sathyakumar, 2012; Pande et al, 2014).

·   Ecotone, where both warm water of Southern-Indian ocean and cold Antarctic sea meets was observed with high species richness of birds but this ecotone region was gradually moving towards Antarctica probably due to climate change and it needs to be scientifically verified with more samplings (Sivakumar and Sathyakumar, 2012).

·    Range extension of Cory’s Shearwater, Antarctica skua, Cape Petrel, White-capped albatross, Grey-headed albatross, Blue petrel, Sooty albatross, Kerguelen petrel and Great winged petrel towards Antarctica might be due to increase in temperature because of global climate change (Sivakumar and Sathyakumar, 2012).

·    Frequent disturbances in the local weather during summer affected the breeding success of the snow-petrel in Antarctica (Hussain and Saxena, 2008; Sivakumar and Sathyakumar, 2012; Kumar and Johnson, 2014; Pandeet al, 2014). 

 

Arctic and Antarctic Biology Research:

·   Yeast isolates collected from the Kongsfjorden, an Arctic fjord were characterized. This study highlights the wide tolerance of psychrotrophic yeast isolate to temperature and salinity as well as their biotechnological potential (Hatha et al., 2013).

·   Sterotyping of different isolates of E. coli from the droppings of Brantaleucopis revealed presence of nine different serotypes dominated by O149 and O24. The present study highlights the role of Brantaleucopisas a possible means of dissemination of diverse E. coli serotypes into the Svalbard region of the Arctic (Hatha et al., 2013a).

·   Isolates from fjord sediments in general showed relatively high prevalence of antibiotic resistance against most of the antibiotics tested, indicating to better selection pressure for drug resistance mutants in the fjord sediments (Hatha et al, 2015).

·   This study was conducted on the samples collected from the brackish water lakes in the Larsemann Hills region (east Antarctica), which suggest that cobalt could have a more profound role in manganese oxidation, while nickel promoted manganese reduction in polar aquatic systems (Krishnan et al., 2009).

·   Experimental simulations suggested that a gradual increase in temperature in the fjord may enhance the magnitude of    bacterial nitrification and denitrification in the fjord (Krishnan et al., 2013).

·   Bacterial metabolic diversity was determined in the Sub-Antarctic Front and Polar Fronts I and II of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean. Utilization of polyols over carbohydrates in polar waters indicates a niche with lesser influence of the Antarctic melt waters on the bacterioplankton metabolism (Krishnan et al., 2014).

·   Considerable adaptive variations among B. cereus strains from extremophilic environments was observed. This could be significant in evaluating the taxonomy and evolution of this species (Sinha and Krishnan, 2013).

·   Several reports on the recovery of the longest ever ice core of ~3769 m opened up a new window for answering many questions about microbiological life in extremes, evolution, and adaptations. This review presents an updated understanding on the potential significance of subglacial environments in unraveling the mystery of evolution of life in Antarctica (Sinha and Krishnan, 2013a).

·   The ability of the microorganisms to survive prolonged periods of freezing and multiple cycles of freeze-thaw reflect the ability of psychrophiles and psychrotolerant bacteria to adapt to low temperature conditions. Bioprospecting studies indicated that these isolates could be used as a bioresource for the generation of psychrophilic enzymes (Shivaji et al., 2013).

·   Metal tolerant bacterial strains of Bacilluscereus, Bacillussp. and Chromohalobacterbeijerinckii were isolated from the surface sediments of a solar saltern in Ribandar, Goa. This study relates the metal induced regulation of proteins to phenotypic variations encountered in growth and substrate utilization (Pereira et al., 2012).

·   Solar salterns behave as ecological sinks with a potential to transform native bacterial populations to metal-resistant strains, in relation to the dynamic changes in the surrounding metal concentrations (Pereira et al., 2013).

·   Glucose was found to be the best source for production of lipase in the psychrotrophic bacteria isolated from water and sediment sample of Kongsfjorden, an Arctic fjord (Neethu et al., 2012).

·   The study report for the first time the isolation of Cellulosimicrobiumcellulans from Antarctic snow. It also shows that this genus could be more cosmopolitan than hitherto thought of and is capable of living in extreme cold environments (Antony et al., 2009).

·   Snow in elevated coastal ice-cap regions with a significantly higher concentration of ions such as NO^3-, NH⁴⁺ , PO₄^3- and Br⁻contribute more to DMS oxidation via BrO mediated reactions than snow in coastal ice-free regions adjacent to the sea (Antony et al., 2010).

·    Microbiological studies of polar ice at different depths provide important comparisons, as they preserve records of microbial cells and past climate. This study shows thatvariation in bacterial abundance and diversity was probably associated with the prevailing in situ conditions in ice (Antony et al., 2012).

·    Expression of heat shock proteins in an Antarctic psychrotrophic strain of Cellulosimicrobiumcellulans was compared with its mesophilic counterpart. Contrary to expectations, the psychrotrophic strain was found to have better mechanisms to tolerate higher temperatures (Sinha et al., 2012).

·    The ability of bacteria in snow to utilize diverse low molecular weight and high molecular weight substrates indicates that they could be important in the uptake of similar compounds in snow and therefore potentially govern snow chemistry (Antony et al., 2012a).

·    The tephra relating to Agung (1963) and Karkatau (1883) volcanic eruptions, as recorded, in the ice core harbored microbial cells (both coocoid and rods). The occurrence of organic and inorganic particles which bear relation to volcanic eruption and continental dust implies significant environmental changes in the recent past in Antarctica (Laluraj et al., 2008).

 

References:

1.   Anil Kumar, P., Sreenivas, A., Aditya Singh, Shivaji, S. (2013) Draft genome sequence of Winogradskyellapsychrotolerans RS-3T, isolated from the marine transect of Kongsfjorden, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Arctic. Genome Announcements. 1(4): e00630-13.

2.  Chattopadhyay, M.K., Reddy, G.S.N., Shivaji, S. (2014) Psychrophilic bacteria: biodiversity, molecular basis of cold adaptation and biotechnolgical implications. Current Biotechnology: 3100-116. DOI: 10.2174/22115501113026660039

3.   Chintalapati, S., Prakash, J.S.S., Gupta, P., Ohtani, S., Suzuki, I., Sakamoto, T., Murata, N. and Shivaji, S. (2006) A novel D9 acyl-lipid desaturase, DesC2 from cyanobacteria acts on fatty acids esterified to the sn-2 position of glycerolipids. Biochemical J. 398: 207-214.

4.   Chintalapati, S., Prakash, J.S.S., Singh, A.K., Ohtani, S., Suzuki, I., Murata, N. and Shivaji, S. (2007) Desaturase genes in a psychrotolerantNostoc sp. are constitutively expressed at low temperature. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 362: 81-87.

5.   Karl Hassan, A., Ajit Singh, Pramod Kumar Jangir, Sharma, R., Aditya Singh, Anil Kumar, P., Shivaji, S. (2013) Draft genome sequence of Indibacteralkaliphilus LW1T, isolated from Lonar Lake, a haloalkaline lake in Buldana district of Maharashtra, India. Genome Announcements. 1(4): e00513-13.

6.  Pilla, SK, Sreenivas, A, Singh, DK, Shivaji, S, Jogadhenu SSP (2015) Draft genome sequence of Bacillus okhensis Kh10-101T, a halo-alkali tolerant bacterium from Indian saltpan Genomics Data  6, 283–284,doi:10.1016/j.gdata.2015.10.019

7.  Prasad, S., Manasa, B.P., Buddhi, S., Pratibha, M.S., Begum, Z., Sunil, B., Tirunagiri, P. and Shivaji, S. (2012) Arcticibactersvalbardensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel bacterium of the family Sphingobacteriaceae phylum Bacteroidetes isolated from Arctic soil. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.044420-0

8.   Prasad, S., Manasa, B.P., Sailaja, B., Preethi, T., Begum, Z., Rajan, S., Shivaji, S. (2013) Diversity and bioprospective potential (cold-active enzymes) of cultivable marine bacteria from the subarctic glacial fjord, Kongsfjorden. Current Microbiology. 68(2): 233-8.

9.   Reddy, G.S.N., PoornaManasa, B., Singh, S.K. and Shivaji, S. (2013a) Paenisporosarcinaindica sp. nov., a psychrophilic bacterium from Pindari Glacier of the Himalayan mountain ranges and reclassification of Sporosarcinaantarctica Yu et al., 2008 as Paenisporosarcinaantarctica comb. nov.and emended description of the genus Paenisporosarcina. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. IJS/2012/047514.

10.  Reddy, G.S.N., Pradhan, S., Manorama, R. and Shivaji, S. (2009) Cryobacteriumroopkundensis sp. nov., a psychrophilic bacterium from Roopkund Glacier of the Himalayan mountain ranges. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 60 : 866-870.

11. Reddy, G.S.N., Sreenivas, A., Aditya Singh, Anil Kumar, P., Shivaji, S. (2013) Draft genome sequence of Psychrobacteraquaticus CMS 56T, isolated from a cyanobacterial mat sample collected from water bodies in the McMurdo Dry Valley region of Antarctica. Genome Announcements. 1(6): e00918-13.

12.  Shivaji S., Sreenivas A., Aditya Singh, Anil Kumar P. (2012) Draft genome sequence of Cecembialonarensis strain LW9T isolated from Lonar Lake, a haloalkaline lake in India. J. Bacteriol. 194(23):6631.

13.  Shivaji, S and Reddy G.S.N (2014): Phylogenetic analyses of the genus Glaciecola:emended description of the genus Glaciecola, transfer of Glaciecolamesophila, G. agarilytica, G. aquimarina, G. arctica, G. chathamensis, G. Polaris and G. psychrophila to the genus Paraglaciecola gen. nov.asParaglaciecolamesophila comb. nov.,P. agarilytica comb. nov., P. aquimarina comb. nov., P. arctica comb. nov., P. chathamensis comb. nov., P. polaris comb. nov.and P. psychrophila comb. nov., and description of Paraglaciecolaoceanifecundans sp. nov., isolated from the Southern Ocean IJSEM, 64, 3264–3275.

14.  Shivaji, S. and Prakash, J.S.S. (2010) How do bacteria sense and respond to low temperature? Arch. Microbiol. 192 : 85-95.

15.  Shivaji, S., Begum, Z., Shiva Nageswara Rao S.S., Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, P.V., Manasa P., Sailaja, B., Pratibha, M.S., Thamban, M., Krishnan, K.P., Singh, S.M. and Srinivas, T.N.R. (2012) Antarctic ice core samples: Culturable bacterial diversity. Res. Microbiol. S0923-2508(12)00128-3.

16.  Shivaji, S., Chaturvedi, P., Begum, Z., Pindi, P.K., Manorama, R., Padmanaban, D., Shouche, Y.S., Pawar, S., Vaishampayan, P., Dutt, C.B.S., Datta, G.N., Manchanda, R.K., Rao, U.R., Bhargava, P.M. and Narlikar, J.V. (2009) Isolation of three novel bacterial strains, Janibacterhoyleisp. nov., Bacillus isronensissp. nov.andBacillusaryabhattaisp. nov.fromcryotubes used for collecting air from upper atmosphere. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 59 : 2977-2986.

17.  Shivaji, S., Chaturvedi, P., Suresh, K., Reddy, G.S.N., Rajaratnam, P., Wainwright, M., Narlikar, J.V. and Bhargava, P.M. (2006) Bacillus aerius sp. nov., Bacillus aerophilussp. nov., Bacillus stratosphericus sp. nov.andBacillusaltitudinis sp. nov., isolated from cryogenic tubes used for collecting air samples from high altitudes. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 56 : 1465-1473.

18.  Shivaji, S., Kiran Kumari, Hara Kishore, K., Pindi, P.K., Rao, P.S., Srinivas, T.N.R., Asthana, R. and Ravindra, R. (2010) Vertical distribution of bacteria in a lake sediment from Antarctica by culture-independent and culture-dependent approaches. Res. Microbiol. 162 : 191-203.

19.  Shivaji, S., Pratibha, M.S., Sailaja, B., Hara Kishore, K., Singh, A.K., Begum, Z., Anarasi, U., Prabagaran, S.R., Reddy, G.S.N. and Srinivas, T.N.R. (2011) Bacterial diversity of soil in the vicinity of Pindari Glacier, Himalayan mountain ranges, India using culturable bacteria and soil 16S rRNA gene clones. Extremophiles, 15: 1-22.

20.  Shivaji, S., Reddy G.S.N., Sundareswaran V. R., Thomas, C. (2015) Description of Thalssospiralohafexi sp. nov.ispolated from Southern ocean, Antarctica. Arch Microbiol. 197(5):627-37. doi: 10.1007/s00203-015-1092-5. Epub 2015 Feb 22.

21.  Shivaji, S., Reddy, P.V.V., Rao, S.S.S.N., Begum, Z., Manasa, P. and Srinivas, T.N.R. (2011) Cyclobacteriumqasimiisp. nov., a psychrotolerant bacterium isolated from a marine sediment of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 61: 1762.

22.  Shivaji, S., Sreenivas, A., Aditya Singh, Anil Kumar, P. (2013) Draft genome sequence of Cyclobacteriumqasimii M12-11B T, isolated from an Arctic marine sediment. Genome Announcements. 1(4): e00642-13. 

23.  Singh, A.K. and Shivaji, S. (2010) A cold-active and a heat-labile t-RNA modification GTPase from a psychrophilic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae (Lz4W). Res. Microbiol. 161: 46-50.

24.  Singh, A.K., Pindi, P.K., Dube, S., Sundareswaran, V.R. and Shivaji, S. (2009) In the psychrophilic Pseudomonas syringae, trmE is important for low temperature growth. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 4419-4426.

25. Singh, A.K., Sad, K., Singh, S.K., Shivaji, S. (2014) Regulation of gene expression at low temperature: role of cold-inducible promoters. Microbiology. doi: 10.1099/mic.0.077594-0.

26.  Singh, SK, Arunasri K, Raj KK, HaraKishore K, SreenivasaRao P, Pratibha MS, Sundareswaran RV, Sathyanarayana Reddy G, Ramaiah N, Shivaji S. Response of bacterioplankton to iron fertilization of the Southern Ocean, Antarctica. Frontiers in Microbiol. (2015) 6: doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00863.

27.  Sreenivas, A., Reddy G.S.N and Shivaji, S. (2014) Draft genome sequence of a psychrophilic bacterium Sphingomonasantarcticum 4BY, isolated from the soils of Schirmacher oasis, Antarctica. Genome Announcements 2:e00696-14. doi:  10.1128/genomeA.00696-14

28.  Srinivas, T.N.R., Manasa, P., Begum, Z., Sunil, B., Sailaja, B., Singh, S.K., Prasad, S. and Shivaji, S. (2013)Iodobacterarcticus sp. nov., a psychrotolerant bacterium isolated from a sediment from a melt water stream of MidtreLovénbreen glacier, an Arctic glacier. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. doi: 10.1099/ijs.0.044776-0.

29.  Srinivas, T.N.R., Nageswara Rao, S.S.S., Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, P., Pratibha, M.S., Sailaja, B., Kavya, B., Hara Kishore, K., Begum, Z., Singh, S.M. and Shivaji, S. (2009) Bacterial diversity and bioprospecting for cold-active lipases, amylases and proteases, from culturable bacteria of Kongsfjorden and Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, Arctic. Curr. Microbiol. 59: 537-547.

30.  Srinivas, T.N.R., Prasad, S., Manasa, P., Sailaja, B., Begum, Z. and Shivaji, S. (2012) Lacinutrixhimadriensissp. nov., a psychrophilic bacterium isolated from a marine sediment of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Arctic. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 63(2): 729-34.

31.  Srinivas, T.N.R., Reddy, P.V.V., Begum, Z., Manasa, P. and Shivaji, S. (2011) Oceanisphaeraarcticasp. nov., isolated from a marine sediment of Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Arctic. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 61:1763.

32.  Sundareswaran, V.R., Singh, A.K., Dube, S. and Shivaji, S. (2010) Aspartate aminotransferase is involved in cold adaptation in psychrophilic Pseudomonas syringae. Arch. Microbiol. 192: 663-672.

33.  Pandey, KD, Giri, DD, Singh, R, Gupta, RK, Shukla, SP, Shukla, PN and Kashyap, AK (2013). Cyanobacteria in Schimarcher Oasis, Antarctica: Status review. In: Studies in Biological Sciences and Human Physiology: Three Decades of Indian Scientific Activities in Antarctica (ISBN: 978-81-906526-8-1). Editors: Tripathy, S.C., Mishra, R.K., Mohan, R. and Khare, N., printed at NISCAIR, New Delhi, pp. 83-116.

34.  Singh, DK, Sharma, JR, Gupta, RK and Palinisamy, M (2013). Plant diversity in Schimarcher Oasis, East Antarctic with special reference to bryophytes, fungi and diatoms. In: Studies in Biological Sciences and Human Physiology: Three Decades of Indian Scientific Activities in Antarctica (ISBN: 978-81-906526-8-1). Editors: Tripathy, S.C., Mishra, R.K., Mohan, R. and Khare, N., printed at NISCAIR, New Delhi, pp. 117-137.

35.  Singh, SM, Nayaka, S and Upreti DK (2013). Contribution of lichen flora of Schirmacher Oasis and Larsemann hills, Antarctica. In: Studies in Biological Sciences and Human Physiology: Three Decades of Indian Scientific Activities in Antarctica (ISBN: 978-81-906526-8-1). Editors: Tripathy, S.C., Mishra, R.K., Mohan, R. and Khare, N., printed at NISCAIR, New Delhi, pp. 139-155.

36.  Bohra, P., Sanyal, A. K., Hussain, A. and Mitra, B. (2010). Five new records of nematodes from East Antarctica. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 12 (6): 974-977.

37.  Hazra, A. K. (2006). An Overview on Antarctic Life Science Research at Shirmacher Oasis by India. (Ed. Director, Zoological Survey of India), pp. 8.

38.  Hazra, A. K. and Mitra, B. (2008). Scopes and trends of Antarctic invertebrate faunal research with special reference to Southern Ocean, East Antarctica and Schirmacher Oasis. Indian Journal of Marine Sciences, 37 (4): 450-454.

39.  Sanyal, A. K., Venkatraman, K., De, J. K. and Mitra, B. (2013). Impact of climate change on the diversity and distribution of moss-inhabiting invertebrate fauna in Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica. Rec. zool. Surv. India, 113 (Part -2): 85-90.

40.  Hazra, AK and Mitra, B (2013). Scopes and trends of Antarctic invertebrate faunal research with special reference to Southern Ocean, East Antarctica and Schirmacher Oasis. In: Studies in Biological Sciences and Human Physiology: Three Decades of Indian Scientific Activities in Antarctica (ISBN: 978-81-906526-8-1). Editors: Tripathy, S.C., Mishra, R.K., Mohan, R. and Khare, N., printed at NISCAIR, New Delhi, pp. 157-166.

41.  Kumar RS and Johnson JA (2014). Aerial surveys for pack-ice seals along the Ingrid Christensen and Princess Astrid Coasts, East Antarctica. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 6(9), 6230-6238.

42.  Sivakumar, K and Sathyakumar, S (2012). Climate Change and its impact on the distribution of birds in Southern Indian Ocean and Antarctica. In, G.K. Saha (Eds) Climate Change: Man and Environment. Daya Publishers, Delhi. 300 p. (ISBN 978-81-7035-771-1).

43.  Hussain SA and Saxena A (2008). Distribution and status of Antarctic seals and penguins along the Princess Astrid Coast, East Antarctica. Indian Journal of Marine Sciences, 37(4), 455.

44.  Pande A, Sivakumar K and Sathyakumar S (2014). Monitoring birds and mammals in southern ocean and Antarctica: preliminary results and challenges. Xth Internal Annual Research Seminar, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

45.  A.Mohamed Hatha, C.S. Neethu, S.M. Nikhil, K.M. MujeebRahiman, K.P. Krishnan, A.V. Saramma (2015). Relatively high antibiotic resistance among heterotrophic bacteria from arctic fjord sediments than water – evidence towards better selection pressure in the fjord sediments. Polar Science.  Vol.9 (4). 382–388.

46.  Flory Pereira, K.P.Krishnan, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and Savita Kerkar (2012). Some insights on the metal-microbe interactions in Bacillus sp. and Chromohalobacter sp. isolated from a solar saltern. Journal of Ecobiotechnology. 4(1):14-24.

47.  Flory Pereira, Savita Kerkar and K.P.Krishnan (2013). Bacterial response to dynamic metal concentrations in the surface sediments of a solar saltern (Goa, India). Environmental Monitoring Impact and Assessment. 185(5):3625-36.

48.  K.P.Krishnan, Rupesh Kumar Sinha and S. Rajan (2013). Pelagic nitrification and denitrification rates in an Arctic fjord during early spring. Annals of Microbiology. DOI: 10.1007/s13213-013-0671-4.

49.  K.P.Krishnan, Rupesh Kumar Sinha, Kiran Krishna, Shanta Nair and S.M.Singh (2009). Microbially mediated redox transformation of manganese (II) along with some other trace elements: A study from Antarctic lakes. Polar Biology. 32:1765- 1778.

50.  K.P.Krishnan, Rupesh Kumar Sinha, Shanta Nair, Sharon B. Noronha, Rachael Chacko and N. Anilkumar (2014). Carbon demand utilization and metabolic diversity of bacterioplankton in the frontal regimes of the Indian sector of Southern Ocean. Annals of Microbiology. DOI 10.1007/s13213-014-0948-2.

51.  Laluraj C.M, K.P.Krishnan, M. Thamban, Rahul Mohan, S.S.Naik, W.Dsouza, R. Ravindra and A. Chaturvedi (2008). Origin and characterisation of micro particles in the ice core from the Central Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.149:377-383.

52.  Mohamed Hatha A.A., Divya P.S., Saramma A.V., MujeebRahiman and K.P. Krishnan (2013). Migratory bird, Brantaleucopis (Barnacle goose), a potential carrier of diverse Escherichia coli serotypes into pristine Arctic environment. Current Science. Vol.104 (8). Pages 1078-1080.

53.  Mohamed Hatha A.A., MujeebRahiman, K.P. Krishnan, Saramma A.V., Saritha G., Deepu Lal (2013a). Characterization and cold adapted yeast. Indian Journal of Geo.Marine Sciences. Vol.42 (4). Pages 458-465.

54.  Neethu C S, MujeebRahiman K. M, Krishnan K. P, Saramma A.V., Hatha A. A. M (2012). Substrate specificity of cold active lipases of psychrotrophic bacteria from Kongsfjord, and its partial characterization. Advanced Biotech. Vol. 12. Is. 1. Pages 28-31.

55.  Runa Antony, K. Mahalinganathan, K.P. Krishnan, MelothThamban (2012a). Microbial preference for different size classes of organic carbon: A study from Antarctic snow.  Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. Vo.184 (10). Pages 5929-43.

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