Our research group studies prokaryotic diversity from different habitats with a special focus on Biodiversity hot spots. The microbial community structure is characterized using culture-dependent and -independent metagenomics approaches based on 16S rRNA gene tag sequencing. We have been involved in studying the surface of intertidal macroalgae and mangrove environments as specialized niches for bacteria. In the past few years we have described several novel taxa from these environments and have also applied genomic approaches to rectify their taxonomy. Current research projects

1) Bioprospecting and taxonomic studies of marine microorganisms in search of novel anti-infectives.

2) Use of genomic approaches for deciphering taxonomic intricacies in bacterial taxa.

• Verma, A., Pal, Y., Ojha, A.K., Gruber-Vodicka, H., Schumann, P., Dastager, S., Subramanian, S., Mayilraj, S. & Krishnamurthi, S. (2017). Examination into the taxonomic position of Bacillus thermotolerans Yang et al., 2013, proposal for its reclassification into a new genus and species Quasibacillus thermotolerans gen. nov., comb. nov. and reclassification of B. encimensis Dastager et al., 2015 as a later heterotypic synonym of B. badius. Sys Appl Microbiol. 40, 411-422.
• Verma, A., Ojha, A.K., Pal, Y., Kumari, P., Schumann, P., Gruber-Vodicka, H., Dastager, S., Natarajan, R.K, Mayilraj, S. & Krishnamurthi, S. (2017). An investigation into the taxonomy of “Bacillus aminovorans” and its reclassification to the genus Domibacillus as Domibacillus aminovorans sp. nov.. Sys Appl Microbiol. 40, 458-467.
• Verma, A., Ojha, A.K., Dastager, S., Natarajan, R., Mayilraj, S. & Krishnamurthi, S. (2017). Domibacillus mangrovi sp. nov., and Domibacillus epiphyticus sp. nov., isolated from the marine habitats of Central West coast of India. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 67, 3063-3070.
• Verma, A., Ojha, A.K., Dastager, S., Natarajan, R., Mayilraj, S. & Krishnamurthi, S. (2017). Domibacillus mangrovi sp. nov., and Domibacillus epiphyticus sp. nov., isolated from the marine habitats of Central West coast of India. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 67, 3063-3070
• Krishnan, Ramya and Menon, Rahul R and Likhitha, . and Busse, Hans-Jürgen and Tanaka, Naoto and Krishnamurthi, Srinivasan and Rameshkumar, N (2017). Novosphingobium pokkalii sp nov, a novel rhizosphere-associated bacterium with plant beneficial properties isolated from saline-tolerant pokkali rice. Res Microbiol. 168, 113-121.
• Krishnan, Ramya and Menon, Rahul Ravikumar and Tanaka, Naoto and Busse, Hans-Jürgen and Krishnamurthi, Srinivasan and Rameshkumar, Natarajan (2016). Arthrobacter pokkalii sp nov, a Novel Plant Associated Actinobacterium with Plant Beneficial Properties, Isolated from Saline Tolerant Pokkali Rice, Kerala, India. PloS one, 11 (3). e0150322.