Dr. Balaram Mohapatra

About

• Currently heading the Geomicrobiology, Ecogenomics, and Metabolic Engineering (GEME) Laboratory at GBU, Gandhinagar. The group is interested in understanding the genomic and physiological provenance of tiny catalytic machines “microbes” in connection to ecological principles, phenomena using geomicrobiology and adaptive-directed evolution approaches as well as re-purposing metabolic pathways that would help in solving biotechnological challenges.
• Fascinated with the beauty of biology and chemistry, I entered the University for Bachelors (Botany-Zoology-Chemistry-Math, Utkal University) and learned about plant processes. While graduating, I got to know the outstanding role of tiny, invisible, fascinating robust machines, Microbes! With great enthusiasm, I continued pursuing Microbiology as a major (at OUAT, Bhubaneswar). I was trained to study microbes and their metabolic intricacies. I started characterizing microbes from rare earth mineral soil (Indian Rare Earths Ltd. Ganjam, Odisha) and their plant growth promoting traits, as a minor project. Subsequently, I took up a project at CSIR-IMMT on characterizing novel bacterial symbionts of marine sponge (Aurora globostellata) of Indian Ocean for alkaline and cold-active lipases. Though passionate enough, I was wondering to work on a more fascinating microbial world, hence joined National Rice Research Institute, Cuttack to work on Rice. I learned the combined effect of microbes, soil, and nutrient management on crop yield. My love towards microbes grew stronger and I joined at IIT Kharagpur (led by Prof. Pinaki Sar) to work on groundwater Arsenic (As) problem. I looked into the Bengal’s aquifer microbiome, which direct the fate of toxic Arsenic in groundwater, affecting hundreds of millions of people. I worked on four of the novel groundwater bacteria (now in standing nomenclature), their As bio-geo-transformation mechanisms using multi-OMICS and deciphered the role of sediment-microbiome interaction for release of toxic As into Bengal’s groundwater. Following, I worked on a community survey project on tracking As from Root-to-Gut, funded by Univ. of Sheffield, UK. Then I joined the team (led by Prof. Prashant Phale) at IIT Bombay, a place with full of vibrant and enthusiastic scholars! Here, I got to work on a unique bacterium that loves to feed on toxic synthetic aromatic compounds, degrades it so fast but hates glucose and sugars. Wow, this is cool! I was desperate to study it. I found out ways of horizontal transfer of integrative conjugative elements (ICEnahCSV86 for naphthalene degradation and PBGI-1 for Co-Zn-Cd resistance) to new host and how these elements helped the bacterium in better niche adaptation. The bacterium has got its new name, Pseudomonas bharatica, dedicated to Bharat (India). The genome-scale metabolic landscape was also deciphered to demarcate its novel eco-physiological traits. Since then, I am focused to delineate the geo-microbiological fate of toxic metal and organic pollutants, its clean-up and envisioned to work on aspects of water-energy nexus for developing microbial technologies for waste to wealth, metabolic engineering, resource recovery, and circular economy. I am available as a Review Editor (Frontiers group) and Reviewer (for Elsevier and Springer journals) for evaluating scientific work as well.

 

Background

Education:

• • Aug, 2019-July, 2022: Institute Post-Doctorate Researcher (PDF) at IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India. Worked on “genomics and metabolic engineering of microbes for pollutant biodegradation (plastics and pesticides) in soil and groundwater systems and strategies for environmental clean-up”
  • May, 2019-Aug, 2019: Research Associate (RA) at IIT Kharagpur, worked for GCRF networking project on “Arsenic from root-to-gut” by University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
  • 2013-19: Ph. D. from Department of Biotechnology, IIT Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India. Worked on “understanding Arsenic (As)

geo-microbiology of groundwater of Bengal plain (West Bengal), India” through multi-OMICS and cutting-edge geochemistry tools

• 2017: Training on groundwater development, monitoring, and water-shed management at Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Kolkata, India
• 2015: International Summer-Winter Term (ISWT) training on Genomics, Metagenomics and Metabolic engineering at IIT Kharagpur, India
• 2011-2012: Senior Research Fellow (SRF) at National Rice Research Institute (NRRI-ICAR), Cuttack, India. Worked on “effects of soil nutrient management on Rice crop yield and adaptive strategies for climate change situations”
• 2011: Dissertation on “alkaline and cold-active lipases from marine sponges (Aurora globostellata) of Indian ocean, India” at Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT-CSIR), Bhubaneswar, India
• 2009-11: M. Sc. (Microbiology, University Gold medal) from Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT-ICAR), Bhubaneswar, India

Honours and Awards

• Best popular science story in PDF category, DST-AWSAR award, DST, 2020.
• Finalist, National Bio-entrepreneurship Challenge (NBEC-19) by C-CAMP, BIRAC.
• International Travel Grant Award, 2019, SERB, India.
• Best presentation at Young Scientist Conclave (YSC), India International Science Festival (IISF), 2019, DST, India.
• Best presentation at Indian Science Congress, Odisha chapter, 2018.
• Winner of National Entrepreneurship Competition, 2015, by DBT-ABLE, India.
• University Gold medal honour in M. Sc. Microbiology, OUAT-ICAR.
• DST-INSPIRE fellowship, DST, Govt. of India (2012-13).
• ICAR-NET & ARS-Pre (2014), ICMR-NET (2013), CSIR-NET (2013), GATE (2013-14).
• Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search (JBNSTS) fellowship, 2008-09.
• Best Graduate award (2009), SCS college, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar

Research Group Overview

Understanding the eco-physiology and re-purposing tiny catalytic machines “microbes” would open-up new avenues for solving environmental challenges. My research aims to gain insights into the underlying metabolic pathways, genetic system, and regulatory cascades of xenobiotic and geogenic pollutants degradation/bio-geo-transformation by efficient microbes enriched through adaptive and directed evolution. This will help to rationalise pollutant claen-up plans. Furthermore, my group is interested in synthetic biology and metabolic engineering (growth-coupled selection of metabolic modules), which will allow us to re-route the metabolic circuit (chassis) for effective treatment, resource recovery and rational bio-production of novel metabolites, contributing to the circular economy.

Publications

1. Mohapatra, B., & Phale, P. S. (2022). Sustainable management of genotoxic aromatic pollutants: Role of microbial traits in efficient bioremediation and resource recovery. Current Pollution Reports, 1-21, doi: 10.1007/s40726-022-00231-w.
2. Mohapatra, B., Malhotra, H., & Phale, P. S. (2022). Life within a contaminated niche: Comparative genomic analyses of an integrative conjugative element ICEnahCSV86 and two genomic islands from Pseudomonas bharatica CSV86T suggest probable role in colonization and adaptation. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.92884.
3. Mohapatra, B., Nain, S., Sharma, R., & Phale, P. S. (2022). Functional genome mining and taxono‐genomics reveal eco‐physiological traits and species distinctiveness of aromatic‐degrading Pseudomonas bharatica sp. nov. Environmental Microbiology Reports, 14(3), 464-474.
4. Phale, P. S., Mohapatra, B., Malhotra, H., & Shah, B. A. (2022). Eco‐physiological portrait of a novel Pseudomonas sp. CSV86T: an ideal host/candidate for metabolic engineering and bioremediation. Environmental Microbiology, 24(6), 2797-2816.
5. Mohapatra, B., & Phale, P. S. (2021). Microbial degradation of naphthalene and substituted naphthalenes: Metabolic diversity and genomic insight for bioremediation. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 9, 602445, doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2021.602445.
6. Mohapatra, B., Saha, A., Chowdhury, A. N., Kar, A., Kazy, S. K., & Sar, P. (2021). Geochemical, metagenomic, and physiological characterization of the multifaceted interaction between microbiome of an arsenic contaminated groundwater and aquifer sediment. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 412, 125099, doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125099.
7. Dey AS, Bose H, Mohapatra B, Sar P. (2020). Biodegradation of unpretreated low-density polyethylene (LDPE) by Stenotrophomonas sp. and Achromobacter sp., isolated from waste dumpsite and drilling fluid. Frontiers in microbiology, 11:603210, doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.603210.
8. Mohapatra, B., Kazy, S. K., & Sar, P. (2019). Comparative genome analysis of arsenic reducing, hydrocarbon metabolizing groundwater bacterium Achromobacter sp. KAs 3-5T explains its competitive edge for survival in aquifer environment. Genomics, 111(6), 1604-1619.