Mr Mandeep Mandeep1
1BRIC, National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, India
Biography:
I am Mandeep, a PhD scholar at National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi, India. My research focus to investigate the soil metagenomes and rhizomicrobiome to investigate the plant invasion.
Abstract:
Invasive alien species (IAS) pose a critical threat to biodiversity and ecosystem function worldwide. In India, approximately 40% of plant species are alien, with a significant fraction being invasive. Among them, Lantana camara stands out as a dominant invader, thriving across diverse landscapes and climates. Emerging evidence suggests that such species may reprogram soil microbial communities—particularly in the rhizosphere—through root-secreted metabolites, thereby gaining competitive advantages in nutrient uptake, stress tolerance, and pathogen resistance.
Despite these insights, the microbial mechanisms that underpin invasiveness remain poorly understood. Metagenomics offers a powerful avenue to explore the composition, diversity, and functional capacity of microbial communities associated with invasive plants, yet it remains underutilized in invasion biology. Current research is limited by geographic and taxonomic biases, inconsistent sampling protocols, and a lack of long-term, open-access datasets.
We propose a metagenomics-driven framework to advance our understanding of plant-soil-microbe interactions in invasion contexts. Key recommendations include (1) the implementation of standardized metagenomic workflows across study sites and species, (2) the establishment of an open-access, FAIR-compliant repository for invasion-related microbiome data, and (3) the fostering of cross-disciplinary collaboration among ecologists, soil microbiologists, and bioinformaticians. Such an approach will enable robust comparative analyses and support predictive ecological modelling of invasive plant dynamics.
By focusing on the microbial dimensions of invasions through metagenomic tools, we can unlock new strategies for early detection, risk assessment, and sustainable management of invasive species—contributing to long-term ecosystem resilience.