Underground Explorers

The Indo-Gangetic Plains are among the world's most important agricultural regions yet remain a major gap in global knowledge of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity. This project will investigate the effects of irrigation intensity, soil salinity, and land-use on AMF communities across agricultural landscapes in Sonipat district, Haryana, India. Soil samples representing semi-natural vegetation, irrigated croplands, and stress-affected fields will be analyzed using high-throughput sequencing of the AMF SSU rRNA region amplified with WANDA/AML2 primers. Environmental variables, including soil physicochemical properties, will be integrated with microbial diversity data to identify key drivers of AMF community structure. Machine-learning approaches will be used to predict environmental conditions supporting beneficial microbial communities. The study will generate the first AMF baseline for the IGP and contribute critical data to global mycorrhizal biodiversity initiatives.

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