Bajaj Abhay

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Bajaj
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Abhay
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  • Article
    Evaluating knowledge to support climate action: A framework for sustained assessment. report of an independent advisory committee on applied climate assessment.
    (American Meteorological Society, 2019-05-21) Moss, Richard H. ; Avery, Susan K. ; Baja, Kristin ; Burkett, Maxine ; Chischilly, Ann Marie ; Dell, Janet ; Fleming, P. A. ; Geil, Kerrie L. ; Jacobs, Katharine L. ; Jones, Alan H. ; Knowlton, Kim ; Koh, Jay ; Lemos, Maria Carmen ; Melillo, Jerry M. ; Pandya, Rajul ; Richmond, Terese ; Scarlett, Lynn ; Snyder, Jared ; Stults, Melissa ; Waple, Anne ; Whitehead, Jessica ; Zarrilli, Daniel ; Ayyub, Bilal M. ; Fox, James ; Ganguly, Auroop ; Joppa, Lucas ; Julius, Susan ; Kirshen, Paul ; Kreutter, Rebecca ; McGovern, Amy ; Meyer, Ryan ; Neumann, James ; Solecki, William ; Smith, Joel ; Tissot, Philippe ; Yohe, Gary ; Zimmerman, Rae
    As states, cities, tribes, and private interests cope with climate damages and seek to increase preparedness and resilience, they will need to navigate myriad choices and options available to them. Making these choices in ways that identify pathways for climate action that support their development objectives will require constructive public dialogue, community participation, and flexible and ongoing access to science- and experience-based knowledge. In 2016, a Federal Advisory Committee (FAC) was convened to recommend how to conduct a sustained National Climate Assessment (NCA) to increase the relevance and usability of assessments for informing action. The FAC was disbanded in 2017, but members and additional experts reconvened to complete the report that is presented here. A key recommendation is establishing a new nonfederal “climate assessment consortium” to increase the role of state/local/tribal government and civil society in assessments. The expanded process would 1) focus on applied problems faced by practitioners, 2) organize sustained partnerships for collaborative learning across similar projects and case studies to identify effective tested practices, and 3) assess and improve knowledge-based methods for project implementation. Specific recommendations include evaluating climate models and data using user-defined metrics; improving benefit–cost assessment and supporting decision-making under uncertainty; and accelerating application of tools and methods such as citizen science, artificial intelligence, indicators, and geospatial analysis. The recommendations are the result of broad consultation and present an ambitious agenda for federal agencies, state/local/tribal jurisdictions, universities and the research sector, professional associations, nongovernmental and community-based organizations, and private-sector firms.
  • Article
    Comparative genomic analysis reveals habitat-specific genes and regulatory hubs within the genus Novosphingobium
    (American Society for Microbiology, 2017-05-23) Kumar, Roshan ; Verma, Helianthous ; Haider, Shazia ; Bajaj, Abhay ; Sood, Utkarsh ; Ponnusamy, Kalaiarasan ; Nagar, Shekhar ; Shakarad, Mallikarjun N. ; Negi, Ram Krishan ; Singh, Yogendra ; Khurana, J. P. ; Gilbert, Jack A. ; Lal, Rup
    Species belonging to the genus Novosphingobium are found in many different habitats and have been identified as metabolically versatile. Through comparative genomic analysis, we identified habitat-specific genes and regulatory hubs that could determine habitat selection for Novosphingobium spp. Genomes from 27 Novosphingobium strains isolated from diverse habitats such as rhizosphere soil, plant surfaces, heavily contaminated soils, and marine and freshwater environments were analyzed. Genome size and coding potential were widely variable, differing significantly between habitats. Phylogenetic relationships between strains were less likely to describe functional genotype similarity than the habitat from which they were isolated. In this study, strains (19 out of 27) with a recorded habitat of isolation, and at least 3 representative strains per habitat, comprised four ecological groups—rhizosphere, contaminated soil, marine, and freshwater. Sulfur acquisition and metabolism were the only core genomic traits to differ significantly in proportion between these ecological groups; for example, alkane sulfonate (ssuABCD) assimilation was found exclusively in all of the rhizospheric isolates. When we examined osmolytic regulation in Novosphingobium spp. through ectoine biosynthesis, which was assumed to be marine habitat specific, we found that it was also present in isolates from contaminated soil, suggesting its relevance beyond the marine system. Novosphingobium strains were also found to harbor a wide variety of mono- and dioxygenases, responsible for the metabolism of several aromatic compounds, suggesting their potential to act as degraders of a variety of xenobiotic compounds. Protein-protein interaction analysis revealed β-barrel outer membrane proteins as habitat-specific hubs in each of the four habitats—freshwater (Saro_1868), marine water (PP1Y_AT17644), rhizosphere (PMI02_00367), and soil (V474_17210). These outer membrane proteins could play a key role in habitat demarcation and extend our understanding of the metabolic versatility of the Novosphingobium species.