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 study focuses on various aspects of nutrigenomics and ruminant nutrition. Primarily, we are investigating the rumen microbial profiles of indigenous cows using a “Multi-omic’s” approach. This work emphasizes the critical role of these microbial communities in breaking down plant material and regulating various aspects of ruminant health and production. Our objective in investigating the makeup and function of these microbial communities is to gain insight into their role in metabolic diseases and enhance livestock management strategies, particularly in India’s indigenous dairy breeds. In addition, we are also investigating alternate feed sources for ruminant nutrition, evaluating their influence on ruminant productivity and greenhouse gas emissions. This includes assessing non-traditional feed sources such as yeast/microbial-derived proteins and aquatic weeds and their potential to improve digestibility and reduce enteric methane emissions. By understanding how these alternative feeds influence the rumen environment, we aim to develop strategies that not only support livestock productivity but also align with environmental goals, such as mitigating methane emissions, a key contributor to greenhouse gases.

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-JRF
Current Research Interest: Enteric methane emission reduction

Tapan Khatua
UGC-JRF
Current Research Interest: Novel feed additives for 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.