Dr. Yash Pal completed his B.Sc. in Microbiology from Delhi University and M.Sc. in Biotechnology from Goa University. Dr. Pal completed his Ph.D. from CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, India, in Microbiology and Microbial taxonomy. He also worked for a short duration at Microbial Type Culture Collection and Gene Bank, IMTECH, Chandigarh. Further, he went to Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Department of Animal Nutrition and Management, Uppsala, Sweden for his post-doctoral training to investigate the alterations in rumen microbial communities and regulation of associated genes when regular feed in lactating dairy cow is substituted with forest by-products. Simultaneously, he also worked on the association of microbial communities in cheese production at SLU, Umea, Sweden. He joined NIAB in September 2022.

Honors, Awards and Fellowships:
1) Post-doctoral fellowship, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
2) CSIR-UGC-JRF (NET) examination , University Grants Commission-SRF
3) DBT fellowship, M.Sc. 
4) GATE, examination, Life sciences

Our research focuses on advancing nutrigenomics and ruminant nutrition through an integrated, systems-level understanding of the rumen ecosystem. A central component of our work involves profiling the rumen microbiome of indigenous cattle using multi-omics approaches, including 16S rRNA sequencing, metagenomics, and functional analyses. This enables us to decipher how microbial communities orchestrate the degradation of complex plant biomass, regulate fermentation pathways, and influence animal health, productivity, and metabolic resilience. By linking microbial composition with functional outputs, we aim to identify key microbial signatures associated with feed efficiency, methane production, and metabolic disorders, particularly in indigenous dairy breeds adapted to diverse agro-ecological conditions.

Building on these insights, we are developing next-generation functional feed strategies that integrate microbial biotechnology with animal nutrition. Our work on rumen-derived oleaginous yeasts focuses on their application in solid-state fermentation of agro-industrial residues such as oilseed cakes, leading to lipid enrichment, improved digestibility, and reduction of anti-nutritional factors. In parallel, we are exploring unconventional and sustainable feed resources, including microbial proteins, aquatic weeds, and marine biomass, to address feed scarcity and improve environmental sustainability. These studies evaluate the impact of alternative feed substrates on rumen fermentation dynamics, volatile fatty acid production, and enteric methane emissions, with the goal of developing climate-resilient feeding strategies.

Our research integrates in vitro rumen fermentation systems, in vivo validation in large ruminants, microbiome analysis, biochemical profiling (including lipid characterization) & Omics’ strategies to establish mechanistic links between diet, microbial function, and host performance. Overall, our work aims to bridge fundamental microbiome science with translational applications, contributing to sustainable livestock production, improved feed utilization, reduced environmental impact, and enhanced farmer livelihoods, particularly within the context of Indian dairy systems.

Our Research focus areas:

List of Selected Publications
1. Ramin, M., Chagas, J.C.C., Pal, Y., Danielsson, R., Fant, P., and Krizsan, S.J. (2023) Reducing methane production from stored feces of dairy cows by Asparagopsis taxiformis. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 7:1187838. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2023.1187838

2. Gupta D, Sarkar A, Pal Y, Suthar V, Chawade A and Kushwaha SK (2024) Bovine reproductive tract and microbiome dynamics: current knowledge, challenges, and its potential to enhance fertility in dairy cows. Front. Microbiomes 3:1473076. doi: 10.3389/frmbi.2024.1473076

3. Pal, Y., Mayilraj, S., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2022). Uncovering the structure and function of specialist bacterial lineages in environments routinely exposed to explosives. Letters in applied microbiology, 10.1111/lam.13810. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/lam.13810

4. Pal, Y., Torsten, E., Horacio, G., & Bengt-Ove, R. (2022). Metagenomics analysis suggests disparity in rumen microbiome profiles of dairy cows fed with forest by-products. Nordic feed science conference, Uppsala, Sweden.

5. Pal, Y., Mayilraj, S., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2022). Exploring the Distinct Distribution of Archaeal Communities in Sites Contaminated with Explosives. Biomolecules, 12(4), 489. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12040489

6. Pal, Y., Mayilraj, S., Paul, M., Schumann, P., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2019). Indiicoccus explosivorum gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from an explosives waste contaminated site. International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology, 69(8), 2555–2564. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003541.

7. Yadav, P., Das, J., Verma, A., Pal, Y. and Krishnamurthi, S. (2021). Tamilnaduibacter . In Bergey’s Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria (eds M.E. Trujillo, S. Dedysh, P. DeVos, B. Hedlund, P. Kämpfer, F.A. Rainey and W.B. Whitman). https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118960608.gbm01980.

8. Verma, A*., Pal, Y*., Kumar, P., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2020). Halocatena pleomorpha gen. nov. sp. nov., an extremely halophilic archaeon of family Halobacteriaceae isolated from saltpan soil. International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology, 70(6), 3693–3700. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.004222. (*Equal contribution)

9. Verma, A., Pal, Y*., Ojha, A. K., Kumari, M., Khatri, I., Rameshkumar, N., Schumann, P., Dastager, S. G., Mayilraj, S., Subramanian, S., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2019). Taxonomic insights into the phylogeny of Bacillus badius and proposal for its reclassification to the genus Pseudobacillus as Pseudobacillus badius comb. nov. and reclassification of Bacillus wudalianchiensis Liu et al., 2017 as Pseudobacillus wudalianchiensis comb. nov. Systematic and applied microbiology, 42(3), 360–372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.syapm.2019.03.003. (*Equal contribution)

10. Verma, A., Ojha, A. K., Pal, Y., Kumari, P., Schumann, P., Gruber-Vodicka, H., Dastager, S. G., Natarajan, R. K., Mayilraj, S., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2017). An investigation into the taxonomy of “Bacillus aminovorans” and its reclassification to the genus Domibacillus as Domibacillus aminovorans sp. nov. Systematic and applied microbiology, 40(7), 458–467. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.syapm.2017.07.003.

11. Verma, A., Pal, Y., Khatri, I., Ojha, A. K., Gruber-Vodicka, H., Schumann, P., Dastager, S., Subramanian, S., Mayilraj, S., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2017). Examination into the taxonomic position of Bacillus thermotolerans Yang et al., 2013, proposal for its reclassification into a new genus and species Quasibacillus thermotolerans gen. nov., comb. nov. and reclassification of B. encimensis Dastager et al., 2015 as a later heterotypic synonym of B. badius. Systematic and applied microbiology, 40(7), 411–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.syapm.2017.07.010.

12. Ojha, A. K., Verma, A., Pal, Y., Bhatt, D., Mayilraj, S., & Krishnamurthi, S. (2017). Marinomonas epiphytica sp. nov., isolated from a marine intertidal macroalga. International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology, 67(8), 2746–2751. https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.002014.

Current Lab Members:

PhD Students

Soham Majumdar
UGC-SRF
Current Research Interest: Enteric methane emission reduction

Tapan Khatua
UGC-SRF
Current Research Interest: Novel feed additives for ruminant nutrition

Tapaja Mandal
DBT-JRF
Current Research Interest: Role of Probiotics in ruminant nutrition

My lab is currently welcoming applications from motivated research scholars and postdoctoral researchers. Detailed information on all extramural grant-funded positions is available on the NIAB website.