David Kothamasi

About

I am a Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Delhi and a former Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Strathclyde, UK. My interdisciplinary research focuses on the digitalization, governance, and industrial application of biological resources. By integrating High-Throughput Sequencing (HTS) and Nanopore technologies, I investigate how complex microbial systems-specifically the AMF-microbe holobiont-respond to abiotic stress and facilitate the degradation of organic pollutants.

My research serves a dual strategic purpose:
1. Environmental Resilience: Developing microbial-based frameworks for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and industrial remediation.
2. Digital Innovation: Mapping microbial chemical crosstalk as a frontier for identifying novel bio-active precursors and high-value bio-derived materials.

Uniquely, I also conduct legal research into Intellectual Property Rights and the governance of Digital Sequence Information (DSI) to bridge the gap between genomic discovery and global policy. My work is supported by EU Horizon 2020, BELSPO, and India's DST.

Employment

• University of Strathclyde Academic Visitor
  2023 - 2024
• University of Strathclyde Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Fellow
  2021 - 2023
• Belgian Nuclear Research Centre Scientific Researcher
  2014 - 2015
• Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Scientific Researcher
  2006 - 2006
• University of Delhi Professor
  2003 - Present

Education

• University of Delhi LL.B.
  2007 - 2010
• University of Delhi Ph.D.
  1995 - 2000
• University of Delhi M.Sc.
  1991 - 1993
• University of Delhi B.Sc. Honours
  1988 - 1991

Projects & Funding

Projects & funding information is unavailable.

Publications (31)

• Much ado about communicating: plant-AMF chemical crosstalk and structuring of the rhizospheric microbiome
  Applied Soil Ecology 2026 DOI: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106759
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• Invasive Prosopis juliflora harbours arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities distinct from its native congener P. cineraria
  Botany 2025 DOI: 10.1139/cjb-2025-0088
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• Open letter: A global call to strengthen national soil biodiversity action through coordination and harmonization
  PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET 2025 DOI: 10.1002/ppp3.70121
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• Hunting dog behaviour is a key driver impacting harvest quantity and quality of truffles
  Scientific Reports 2025 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-93116-z
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• Recycling steel slag as fertiliser proxy in agriculture is good circular economy but disrupts plant microbial symbioses in the soil
  Science of The Total Environment 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176750
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• Municipal wastewater treatment plant showing a potential reservoir for clinically relevant MDR bacterial strains co-occurrence of ESBL genes and integron-integrase genes
  Journal of Environmental Management 2024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119938
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• Are ecological processes that select beneficial traits in agricultural microbes nature's intellectual property rights?
  Nature Biotechnology 2023 DOI: 10.1038/s41587-023-01966-7
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• Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and climate smart agriculture – prospects and challenges
  Global Climate Change and Plant Stress Management 2023 DOI: 10.1002/9781119858553.ch14
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• Arbuscular mycorrhizas amplify the risk of heavy metal transfer to human food chain from fly ash ameliorated agricultural soils
  Environmental Pollution 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121733
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• Arbuscular mycorrhizas accelerate the degradation of colour containing organic pollutants present in distillery spent wash leachates
  Journal of Hazardous Materials 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131291
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