The Indian Lichenological Society (ILS), Lucknow, successfully organized its second national conference from 27 to 28 January, 2018 with the title “Current Developments and Next Generation Lichenology”. A preconference workshop on “Molecular Systematics of Lichens” was also held on 26 January 2018. In addition, a special session on Biological Diversity Act - 2002 and its relevance was also conducted during the conference. The event was organized at the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, a premier plant science research institute located in Lucknow. The conference date coincided with the 60th Birthday of Dr. D.K. Upreti, a well-known and highly accomplished Indian lichenologist.
India has made significant contributions in lichenological research over the last six decades, and at present more than 100 researchers are engaged in lichenological studies throughout the country. Much of the research has traditionally focused on taxonomy, floristic or revisionary studies of lichens; more recently, research on biodeterioration, biomonitoring, climate change and bioprospection aspects of lichens has been initiated. Lichenological research in India still, however, has a strong basis in classical taxonomy, and still follows traditional techniques. At the same time, it is on the verge of transforming into modern lichenology, incorporating several advanced methods. This conference reviewed the current developments in Indian lichenology while exploring new frontiers. 150 participants were in attendance, mostly from different parts of India, but also a few from Thailand and Nepal. A total of 126 abstracts were received.
Workshop: The preconference workshop on molecular systematics of lichens was conducted by Dr. H. Thorsten Lumbsch, Vice President, Science and Education, The Field Museum, Chicago, U.S.A, and Dr. Pradeep Kumar Divakar, Professor, Departamento de Biología Vegetal II, Facultad de Farmacia, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain, who are well-known, prolific lichenologists of worldwide repute. A total of 50 candidates who are already engaged in lichen research participated in the workshop. The participants were given hands-on training in molecular techniques such as DNA extraction, PCR amplification, DNA sequencing, sequence editing and alignment, as well as various phylogenetic approaches such as maximum likelihood, maximum parsimony and Bayesian analysis.
Inauguration: The two-day national conference was inaugurated on the morning of 27 January with Dr. D.K. Upreti (President, ILS) delivering the welcome address, followed by Dr. Sanjeeva Nayaka (Secretary, ILS) highlighting events that were key to the origin of the society and the conference. The coveted D.D. Awasthi Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred upon Dr. K. P. Singh (NASI Senior Scientist, Botanical Survey of India, Allahabad) by the Guest of Honor, Dr. S. K. Jain, who, expressed his views about the conference and motivated the participants. This was followed by the release of a special volume of Cryptogam Biodiversity and Assessment, published by the society in commemoration of Dr. D. K. Upreti’s 60th birthday. It was released by Dr. H. Thorsten Lumbsch (Chief Guest), who also felicitated Dr. Upreti along with other guests on the stage. In his address, Dr. Lumbsch emphasized the importance of molecular systematics in lichenology. He expressed how happy and thankful he was to participate in the conference, and wished good luck to all the participants. Another Guest of Honor–Prof. C. Manoharachary (NASI Senior Scientist, Osmania University, Telangana)– emphasized the need for more lichen research in India, because it has been neglected for so long.
Technical sessions: The inauguration was followed by the D.D. Awasthi Memorial Lifetime Award lecture by Dr. K.P. Singh, entitled “Role of Botanical Survey of India in the Development of Lichen Taxonomy in India”. Mentioning the contributions of different researchers of BSI who have played a pivotal role in lichenological explorations in the country, he highlighted the monumental collection of over 45,000 specimens that BSI has to its credit in its different centers. He also pointed out some of his notable contributions to the subject, which includes his collection of more than 30,000 specimens.
The first keynote address was by Prof. C. Manoharachary, entitled “Some Aspects and Prospects of Lichens”. In his talk, he gave basic information of lichens including their growth forms, morphology, habits, identification, etc. He also shared some information on the uses and applications of lichens. The second keynote address was delivered by Dr. H. Thorsten Lumbsch and was entitled “Progress in Understanding the Evolution of Lichen-forming Fungi”; in his talk, Thorsten described the diversification dynamics and evolution of lichenized fungi. He emphasized that even though traditional lichenological studies assume lichens evolved early in evolutionary history, recent molecular data suggest lichens have evolved relatively recently. He also opined that major diversifications of taxa occurred during the Miocene and Pliocene periods, which he illustrated using the examples of Cladia aggregata and Oropogon spp. (diversified during Oligocene and Miocene) as well as Xanthoparmelia spp. (diversified during Pleiocene).
In continuation of the above presentations, a special lecture entitled “Parmeliaceae: from Classic Systematics to Phylogenomics” was delivered by Dr. P.K. Divakar. According to him, this family is one of the largest families of lichenized Ascomycetes, one that has attracted many researchers from across the globe, and also has one of the most robust molecular phylogenetic frameworks for any lichenized fungi so far. He also opined that this family evolved in the mid-Cretaceous, with its major lineages diversifying between the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene periods.
The technical session on the first day also included ten invited lectures by researchers working on lichens from different institutions. Simultaneously, poster sessions were conducted wherein the presenters were split into delegates and students competing for the Dr. Ajay Singh Award for best poster presentation in each category. A total of 50 posters were presented in this session.
Session on Biological Diversity Act - 2002: On the second day, a special session on the Biological Diversity Act - 2002 (India) was conducted. Dr. R.S. Rana (Chairman, Bio-Links & Former member, NBA) in his opening presentation entitled “Regulation of Access to Genetic Resources and Benefit Sharing in India”, discussed the different sections of the Act which regulate access to genetic resources in nature (along with the associated traditional knowledge) as well as the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their uses by various stakeholders. He emphasized the fact that all researchers from any university/institute have to strictly adhere to the protocols of the Act, and reminded participants that they can only share samples with researchers outside of India if they have prior approval of the NBA. Dr. Rana interacted with the participants of the conference both during and after the session.
The second invited speaker for this session–Dr. R.L.S. Sikarwar (Arogyadham, Deendayal Research Institute, Chitrakoot, Satna, M.P.)–gave a comprehensive presentation on the different aspects of biodiversity in India, and also listed out the different sections of the BDA, in his lecture entitled “Biodiversity of India and Implementation of Biodiversity Act-2002 for Conservation of Biodiversity”. This was followed by a lecture by Dr. K.N. Nair (Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow), who elaborated the role of Indian botanical institutions in achieving the identified goals of the National Biodiversity Action Plan, the National Biodiversity Targets, and the Sustainable Development Goals and Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC 2011-2020). His lecture was entitled “Role of Botanical Institutions in Implementing National Biodiversity Targets”.
This special session was followed by a technical session of invited lectures wherein nine delegates delivered presentations on a range of subjects. After this session, two parallel sessions were conducted; one included oral presentations by post docs and higher-ranking academics, while the other consisted of oral presentations by students (including masters and research scholars). In both of these sessions, the presenters were judged by the chair and co-chair for the Dr. P.G. Patwardhan award for best presentation in each category.
Valedictory: The conference was concluded on the evening of January 28 with a valedictory session wherein participants gave feedback about their experience of the events. The Organizing Secretary summarized the highlights of the molecular workshop and the conference, and listed the key outcomes from the many brainstorming discussions that had happened during the two days of presentations. The Chief Guest–Dr. Lumbsch and Special Guest–Dr. Divakar–also presented their views, sharing their warm feelings about the conference. In addition, Dr. D.K. Upreti (President, ILS) thanked the participants for their support and active participation in the workshop and conference, and congratulated the organizers for a very successful conference. Dr. Lumbsch gave away the Dr. P.G. Patwardhan Award for best oral presentation to Dr. Anand Pandey, Allahabad University (delegate category) and Ms. Akanksha Singh, CSIR-NBRI (student category), while Dr. Ajay Singh awards for best poster were presented to Dr. Roshni Khare, Agarkar Research Institute (delegate category) and Ms. Sakshi Upadhyay, Kumaun University (student category). ILS also gave a best paper award for an article in volume 2 of its journal Cryptogam Biodiversity and Assessment to Dr. Namita Gupta of Dr. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow. The conference was concluded by an expression of deep thanks by Dr. Nayaka.
During the conference the students and well-wishers of Dr. D.K. Upreti recommended that he be honoured with the title “Father of Modern Lichenology in India”. The recommendation was welcomed by all members of the ILS and participants of the conference. The dignitaries of the conference also released a book entitled “Taxonomic Revision of the Lichen Genus Opegrapha sensu lato (Roccellaceae) in India”, authored by Siljo Joseph, G.P. Sinha and V.S. Ramachandran; it has been published as Indian Journal of Forestry Additional Series VI by Bishen Singh and Mahendrapal Singh, Dehradun (ISBN: 978-81-211-0967-3).
Recommendations: The experts and participants proposed several recommendations. First and foremost, participants were extolled to continue organizing ILS conferences to popularize our much-neglected branch of botany, lichenology. It was also suggested that the conference should be organized in different geographic regions of the India, instead of solely in Lucknow. Further, the frequency of the conference should be alternate years. In addition, it was recommended that, apart from the conference, ILS should organize frequent workshops, and a popular lecture series on various aspects of lichenology. The participants felt that lichen research in India should be prioritized towards molecular systematics, quantitative ecology and biomonitoring climate change. Bioprospecting of lichens which have biotechnological potential in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, health, nutraceuticals and other, similar areas should also be encouraged. Participants also agreed that lichen research centers throughout India should be facilitated with state-of-the-art infrastructure; and, finally, that the various Indian funding agencies need to be convinced to award more grants for lichens research.
Acknowledgements: ILS is indebted to Prof. S.K. Barik, Chief Patron of the conference and Director, CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow for his support to this special conference on lichens. ILS thanks the National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai; the Science and Engineering Research Board, New Delhi; the Council of Science and Industrial Research, New Delhi; and the State Bank of India, Lucknow for financial assistance in organizing this year’s conference. In addition, ILS is grateful to Prof. Prof. C. Manoharachary, Drs. H. Thorsten Lumbsch, P.K. Divakar, S.K. Jain, R. Raina, R.LS. Sikarwar and K.N. Nair for being our special guests and speakers. ILS is also thankful to Ms. Sridevi Natesan, the members of the organizing committee, and everyone who contributed to the success of the conference.
Sanjeeva Nayaka
Organizing Secretary
Indian Lichenological Society
Email: nayaka.sanjeeva@gmail.com