Rajasri Ray

Bio: Rajasri Ray is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Science. The author has contributed to research in topics: Biodiversity & Ecosystem services. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 19 publications receiving 196 citations.

Predictive distribution modeling for rare Himalayan medicinal plant Berberis aristata DC.

Abstract: Predictive distribution modelling of Berberis aristata DC, a rare threatened plant with high medicinal values has been done with an aim to understand its potential distribution zones in Indian Himalayan region. Bioclimatic and topographic variables were used to develop the distribution model with the help of three different algorithms viz. GeneticAlgorithm for Rule-set Production (GARP), Bioclim and Maximum entroys(MaxEnt). Maximum entropy has predicted wider potential distribution (10.36%) compared to GARP (4.63%) and Bioclim (2.44%). Validation confirms that these outputs are comparable to the present distribution pattern of the B. atistata. This exercise highlights that this species favours Western Himalaya. However, GARP and MaxEnt's prediction of Eastern Himalayan states (i.e. Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur) are also identified as potential occurrence places require further exploration.

How Many Wild Edible Plants Do We Eat—Their Diversity, Use, and Implications for Sustainable Food System: An Exploratory Analysis in India

Abstract: Wild edible plants still cater to a large section of the global population and ensure affordable food and nutritional security. We tested this in an Indian context, where enormous diversity of such plants constitutes a significant part of rural diet and their acceptance has been high. In this study, we assessed diversity of wild edible plant resource, importance of species based on the use and its pattern. We have also shortlisted a set of plants to make an informed-decision on prioritization. We found a great variety of plants (1403 species) from 184 families consumed across India, although the first forty-four families (24%) contributed largely to the (75%) diversity. Leguminosae followed by Compositae, Poaceae, Malvaceae, Rosaceae were the families with highest number of species. We note that a few species from the large pool were extensively used throughout the country while another few were valued for their multiple edible plant parts. Leafy shoots (722 species) followed by fruits (652 species) were two most-eaten plant parts. Our results strengthen the fact that (a) wild edibles have been an integral part of the diet, (b) their widespread assimilation into local food culture suggests untapped potential to ensure easy availability and access to micronutrients for sustainable food system, thus in social welfare, (c) they required to be incorporated into the national food policy for formal cultivation and promotion.

Phenotypic characters of rice landraces reveal independent lineages of short-grain aromatic indica rice

Abstract: Rice landraces are lineages developed by farmers through artificial selection during the long-term domestication process. Despite huge potential for crop improvement, they are largely understudied in India. Here, we analyse a suite of phenotypic characters from large numbers of Indian landraces comprised of both aromatic and non-aromatic varieties. Our primary aim was to investigate the major determinants of diversity, the strength of segregation among aromatic and non-aromatic landraces as well as that within aromatic landraces. Using principal component analysis, we found that grain length, width and weight, panicle weight and leaf length have the most substantial contribution. Discriminant analysis can effectively distinguish the majority of aromatic from non-aromatic landraces. More interestingly, within aromatic landraces long-grain traditional Basmati and short-grain non-Basmati aromatics remain morphologically well differentiated. The present research emphasizes the general patterns of phenotypic diversity and finds out the most important characters. It also confirms the existence of very unique short-grain aromatic landraces, perhaps carrying signatures of independent origin of an additional aroma quantitative trait locus in the indica group, unlike introgression of specific alleles of the BADH2 gene from the japonica group as in Basmati. We presume that this parallel origin and evolution of aroma in short-grain indica landraces are linked to the long history of rice domestication that involved inheritance of several traits from Oryza nivara, in addition to O. rufipogon. We conclude with a note that the insights from the phenotypic analysis essentially comprise the first part, which will likely be validated with subsequent molecular analysis.

Syzygium (Myrtaceae): Monographing a taxonomic giant via 22 coordinated regional revisions

Abstract: 1 Recommended citation: SYZWG (2016) Syzygium Working Group 2 Faculty of Science & Natural Resources, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, 88400 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. 3 The Mauritius Herbarium, Agricultural Services, Ministry of Agro-Industry and Food Security; R. E. Vaughan Building, Reduit, Mauritius. 4 Plant Gateway, 5 Talbot Street, Hertford, Hertfordshire, SG13 7BX, UK. 5 School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK. 6 School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia. 7 Ecology & Ecosystem Research, Georg-August-University Gottingen, Untere Karspule 2, 37073 Gottingen, Germany. 8 Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Botany, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands. 9 Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AE, UK. 10 Department of Biosciences, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius. 11 Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Sciences, Bengaluru, 560012, India. 12 Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru, India 13 Department of Biology, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas, U.S.A. 14 College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, Guangxi 530005, PR China. 15 Royal Botanic Gardens, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

Biodiversity and ecological assessments of Indian sacred groves

Abstract: Sacred groves are patches of forests preserved for their spiritual and religious significance. The practice gained relevance with the spread of agriculture that caused large-scale deforestation affecting biodiversity and watersheds. Sacred groves may lose their prominence nowadays, but are still relevant in Indian rural landscapes inhabited by traditional communities. The recent rise of interest in this tradition encouraged scientific study that despite its pan-Indian distribution, focused on India’s northeast, Western Ghats and east coast either for their global/importance or unique ecosystems. Most studies focused on flora, mainly angiosperms, and the faunal studies concentrated on vertebrates while lower life forms were grossly neglected. Studies on ecosystem functioning are few although observations are available. Most studies attributed watershed protection values to sacred groves but hardly highlighted hydrological process or water yield in comparison with other land use types. The grove studies require diversification from a stereotyped path and must move towards creating credible scientific foundations for conservation. Documentation should continue in unexplored areas but more work is needed on basic ecological functions and ecosystem dynamics to strengthen planning for scientifically sound sacred grove management.

A High-Resolution Map of Human Evolutionary Constraint Using 29 Mammals

Abstract: The comparison of related genomes has emerged as a powerful lens for genome interpretation. Here we report the sequencing and comparative analysis of 29 eutherian genomes. We confirm that at least 5.5% of the human genome has undergone purifying selection, and locate constrained elements covering ∼4.2% of the genome. We use evolutionary signatures and comparisons with experimental data sets to suggest candidate functions for ∼60% of constrained bases. These elements reveal a small number of new coding exons, candidate stop codon readthrough events and over 10,000 regions of overlapping synonymous constraint within protein-coding exons. We find 220 candidate RNA structural families, and nearly a million elements overlapping potential promoter, enhancer and insulator regions. We report specific amino acid residues that have undergone positive selection, 280,000 non-coding elements exapted from mobile elements and more than 1,000 primate- and human-accelerated elements. Overlap with disease-associated variants indicates that our findings will be relevant for studies of human biology, health and disease.

Origin, migration routes and worldwide population genetic structure of the wheat yellow rust pathogen Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici.

Abstract: Analyses of large-scale population structure of pathogens enable the identification of migration patterns, diversity reservoirs or longevity of populations, the understanding of current evolutionary trajectories and the anticipation of future ones. This is particularly important for long-distance migrating fungal pathogens such as Puccinia striiformis f.sp. tritici (PST), capable of rapid spread to new regions and crop varieties. Although a range of recent PST invasions at continental scales are well documented, the worldwide population structure and the center of origin of the pathogen were still unknown. In this study, we used multilocus microsatellite genotyping to infer worldwide population structure of PST and the origin of new invasions based on 409 isolates representative of distribution of the fungus on six continents. Bayesian and multivariate clustering methods partitioned the set of multilocus genotypes into six distinct genetic groups associated with their geographical origin. Analyses of linkage disequilibrium and genotypic diversity indicated a strong regional heterogeneity in levels of recombination, with clear signatures of recombination in the Himalayan (Nepal and Pakistan) and near-Himalayan regions (China) and a predominant clonal population structure in other regions. The higher genotypic diversity, recombinant population structure and high sexual reproduction ability in the Himalayan and neighboring regions suggests this area as the putative center of origin of PST. We used clustering methods and approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) to compare different competing scenarios describing ancestral relationship among ancestral populations and more recently founded populations. Our analyses confirmed the Middle East-East Africa as the most likely source of newly spreading, high-temperature-adapted strains; Europe as the source of South American, North American and Australian populations; and Mediterranean-Central Asian populations as the origin of South African populations. Although most geographic populations are not markedly affected by recent dispersal events, this study emphasizes the influence of human activities on recent long-distance spread of the pathogen.

A quantitative synthesis of the importance of variables used in MaxEnt species distribution models

Abstract: Aim To synthesize the species distribution modelling (SDM) literature to inform which variables have been used in MaxEnt models for different taxa and to quantify how frequently they have been important for species’ distributions. Location Global. Methods We conducted a quantitative synthesis analysing the contribution of over 400 distinct environmental variables to 2040 MaxEnt SDMs for nearly 1900 species representing over 300 families. Environmental variables were grouped into 24 related factors and results were analysed by examining the frequency with which variables were found to be most important, the mean contribution of each variable (at various taxonomic levels), and using TrueSkill™, a Bayesian skill rating system. Results Precipitation, temperature, bathymetry, distance to water and habitat patch characteristics were the most important variables overall. Precipitation and temperature were analysed most frequently and one of these variables was often the most important predictor in the model (nearly 80% of models, when tested). Notably, distance to water was the most important variable in the highest proportion of models in which it was tested (42% of 225 models). For terrestrial species, precipitation, temperature and distance to water had the highest overall contributions, whereas for aquatic species, bathymetry, precipitation and temperature were most important. Main conclusions Over all MaxEnt models published, the ability to discriminate occurrence from reference sites was high (average AUC = 0.92). Much of this discriminatory ability was due to temperature and precipitation variables. Further, variability (temperature) and extremes (minimum precipitation) were the most predictive. More generally, the most commonly tested variables were not always the most predictive, with, for instance, ‘distance to water’ infrequently tested, but found to be very important when it was. Thus, the results from this study summarize the MaxEnt SDM literature, and can aid in variable selection by identifying underutilized, but potentially important variables, which could be incorporated in future modelling efforts.

Mangrove conservation: a global perspective

Abstract: Mangroves are of great ecological importance and socio-economic significance as a hub for tropical marine biotope. The mangroves are also one of the world’s richest storehouses of biological and genetic diversity. Furthermore, 90 % of the marine organisms spend part of their life in this ecosystem and 80 % of the global fish catches are dependent on mangroves. In addition, mangroves and their associated biota are identified as a promising source of natural and novel drugs. On the other hand, scientific community finds such an ecosystem as one among the world’s most threatened biome due to human intervention in the long past and on-going climate change. Already many countries lost their huge mangrove wealth within the last two decades. Further, decline of the mangrove cover may cause an irreparable damage of ecosystem service to mankind. Now it is high time to conserve the precious ecosystem in order to maintain a stable and healthy coastal environment.