Dr. Mathimaran Natarajan
About
Research Area
Dr. Mathimaran Natarajan obtained his Ph.D in Natural Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich, Switzerland and did his Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Subsequently he worked as a Research Associate at the University of Basel and as a Senior Scientist at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Switzerland.
During his career in Switzerland as a Postdoctoral Fellow, Senior Scientist and Co-Principal Investigator of Indo-Swiss projects on sustainable agriculture, he was representing the Indo-Swiss research network as a guest speaker in Indo-Swiss forums/events on Research, Development, Education and Business, particularly organized by Indian Embassy in Berne. As part of his research and field trips he had visited several countries especially in Europe and in Africa. After about 18 years of his stay in Switzerland, Dr. Mathimaran returned to India to join as a Principal Scientist and Head at MS Swaminathan Research Foundationโs Biocentre in Puducherry. Since December 2021, he is working as an Associate Professor at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, India and undertaking teaching in Natural Resource Management, Microbial Ecology, Climate Change, Sustainable Development.
Dr. Mathimaran Natarajan research areas/interests include Ecophysiology, Agroecology, Agroforestry, Rhizosphere Ecology, Coastal and Marine Ecology, Environmental Microbiology, Molecular Ecology, Plant & Soil Microbiome, Animal-Microbe Interactions, Natural Resource Management, Sustainable Development, Climate Change. He is keen on research collaboration that involves basic and applied research, especially using nature-based and/or other sustainable and climate-smart technologies.
Currently he is the lead Indian Principal Investigator and coordinator of a multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary Indo-Swiss research project on sustainable agriculture and microbial ecophysiology in collaboration with University of Basel, MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. He is also team member of an international project (URGENT Research Framework) co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
Notable Publications
Rate of hyphal spread of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi from pigeon pea to finger millet and their contribution to plant growth and nutrient uptake in experimental microcosms. Schutz, L., K. Saharan, P. Mader, T. Boller and N. Mathimaran. (2022). Applied Soil Ecology 169. (IF: 4.046; NAAS: 9.45)
Deciphering the Role of Trehalose in Tripartite Symbiosis Among Rhizobia, Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi, and Legumes for Enhancing Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Crop Plants. Sharma MP, Grover M, Chourasiya D, Bharti A, Agnihotri R, Maheshwari HS, Pareek A, Buyer JS, Sharma SK, Schuฬtz L, Mathimaran N, Singla-Pareek SL, Grossman JM and Bagyaraj DJ (2020). Front. Microbiol. 11:509919. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.509919. (IF: 4.235; NAAS: 10.26)
Deep-rooted pigeon pea promotes the water relations and survival of shallow-rooted finger millet during droughtโDespite strong competitive interactions at ambient water availability. Devesh Singh, Natarajan Mathimaran, Thomas Boller and Ansgar Kahmen. PLoS ONE. 2020. e0228993. (IF: 2.77; NAAS: 8.77).
Bioirrigation: A common mycorrhizal network facilitates water transfer from pigeon pea to finger millet under drought. Devesh Singh, Natarajan Mathimaran, Thomas Boller and Ansgar Kahmen. Plant and Soil. 2019. Volume 440, 1โ2, 277โ292. (IF: 3.25; NAAS: 9.31)
Improving Crop Yield and Nutrient Use Efficiency via BiofertilizationโA Global Meta-analysis. Schรผtz L, Gattinger A, Meier M, Mรผller A, Boller T, Mรคder P and Mathimaran N. Frontiers in Plant Sciences. 2018. 8. Article 2204. (IF: 4.30; NAAS: 10.30)