Browsing by Author "Pramod Kumar Sahu"

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Functional metagenomics: A potential tool for mining of biomolecules from environmental samples
(Elsevier Inc., 2025) Vivek Kumar; Anjali Singh; Vijay Shankar Singh; Rajan Chaurasia; Mahesh Rao; Pramod Kumar Sahu; Durgesh Kumar Jaiswal
Functional metagenomics is emerging as a transformative tool for discovering biomolecules from environmental samples, offering unprecedented insights into microbial diversity and functionality. This review explores the potential of functional metagenomics to uncover novel enzymes, antibiotics, and therapeutic compounds by analyzing environmental DNA (eDNA) without the constraints of traditional culture-based methods. The vast microbial biomass in diverse ecosystems, from soil to extreme habitats, harbors a wealth of genetic resources that can be harnessed for biotechnological applications. Researchers can use modern sequencing techniques and functional screening approaches to find and characterize genes with advantageous features, such as bioremediation capacities and industrially relevant enzymes. Despite challenges in DNA extraction and host expression systems, integrating functional metagenomics with multi-omics approaches promises to enhance our understanding of microbial interactions and facilitate the development of eco-friendly bioprocesses. This review underscores the importance of functional metagenomics in expanding our repertoire of biomolecules and highlights its potential to significantly impact biotechnology and environmental sustainability. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.
Lesson from ecotoxicity: Revisiting the microbial lipopeptides for the management of emerging diseases for crop protection
(MDPI AG, 2020) Deepti Malviya; Pramod Kumar Sahu; Udai B. Singh; Surinder Paul; Amrita Gupta; Abhay Raj Gupta; Shailendra Singh; Manoj Kumar; Diby Paul; Jai P. Rai; Harsh V. Singh; G.P. Brahmaprakash
Microorganisms area treasure in terms of theproduction of various bioactive compounds which are being explored in different arenas of applied sciences. In agriculture, microbes and their bioactive compounds are being utilized in growth promotion and health promotion withnutrient fortification and its acquisition. Exhaustive explorations are unraveling the vast diversity of microbialcompounds with their potential usage in solving multiferous problems incrop production. Lipopeptides are one of such microbial compounds which havestrong antimicrobial properties against different plant pathogens. These compounds are reported to be produced by bacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, and few other microorganisms; however, genus Bacillus alone produces a majority of diverse lipopeptides. Lipopeptides are low molecular weight compounds which havemultiple industrial roles apart from being usedas biosurfactants and antimicrobials. In plant protection, lipopeptides have wide prospects owing totheirpore-forming ability in pathogens, siderophore activity, biofilm inhibition, and dislodging activity, preventing colonization bypathogens, antiviral activity, etc. Microbes with lipopeptides that haveall these actions are good biocontrol agents. Exploring these antimicrobial compounds could widen the vistasof biological pest control for existing and emerging plant pathogens. The broader diversity and strong antimicrobial behavior of lipopeptides could be a boon for dealing withcomplex pathosystems and controlling diseases of greater economic importance. Understanding which and how these compounds modulate the synthesis and production of defense-related biomolecules in the plants is a key question—the answer of whichneeds in-depth investigation. The present reviewprovides a comprehensive picture of important lipopeptides produced by plant microbiome, their isolation, characterization, mechanisms of disease control, behavior against phytopathogens to understand different aspects of antagonism, and potential prospects for future explorations as antimicrobial agents. Understanding and exploring the antimicrobial lipopeptides from bacteria and fungi could also open upan entire new arena of biopesticides for effective control of devastating plant diseases. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Soil meta-omics: Current status, challenges, and applications
(Elsevier Inc., 2025) Vivek Kumar; Durgesh Kumar Jaiswal; Pramod Kumar Sahu; Rajan Chaurasia; Shraddha Kasoundhan; Ayushi Patel; Digvijay Verma
The soil is one of the most important components of Earth and provides the greatest nutrient reservoir to support the diverse groups of microbes due to its heterogeneous nature. Often, pedigree shifts of microbial communities are seen in soil samples due to the influence of biotic and abiotic factors. Apart from the soil, organic matter is the main driver of acquiring new traits as well as physiological adaptability in microbes. Therefore, it encourages us to make a clear understanding of microbes and their functions from diverse habitats of soil. As is well known, the inhabiting microbes play a crucial role in biogeochemical cycles, plant growth promotion (PGP), bioremediation, and several other interactions. However, we have limited knowledge about the hidden microbial potential that is continuously at work inside the soil system, due to a lack of precise methods for total microbe identification and functional annotation. Omics approaches alone are insufficient to reveal real-time functional information due to several limitations. However, due to the emergence of meta-omics approaches, it is now possible to unlock the complete functioning of soil. In contrast, we can explore multiple facts at a time by minimizing barriers associated with molecular soil microbiology. So far, critical analysis of soil microbes has yielded unique findings, as well as insights into microbial strength, inter- and intra-dependent mechanisms, pathways, and novel biomolecules with industrial applications. This review can provide valuable insights into soil microbial functioning and challenges. © 2025 Elsevier Inc.