Our programme on Lichen Ecology and Bioprospecting aims at prospecting the ecological and economic potentials of lichens within the biodiversity rich regions of Western Ghats and coastal mangrove ecosystem. The selection of potential lichen species for Bioprospecting novel biomolecules, and for mining genes with novel properties is based on large-scale ecological data on the lichen diversity and distribution pattern. This data is also used in devising species-specific culture protocols to produce secondary compounds, biomass and also to note the ontogenetic developmental stages of the target species in vivo. So far the group has successfully established culture protocols for fifteen lichen species. This group has already isolated through the new extraction approaches for two novel molecules with wide spectrum antimicrobial properties and also showed activity against the cotton pest Helicoverpa armigera. The novelty, structure and genotoxicity of the isolated molecules have been established. Molecular characterization of the lichen species and identification and isolation of novel genes from the lichens are also being undertaken.

The ecological potentials of lichen diversity as the indicators of air pollution and ecosystem continuity have been studied in great details. Studies based on the large-scale quantitative ecological data on lichen diversity and their distribution pattern in Siruvani Hills of Western Ghats indicated the habitat conditions and disturbances within the ecosystem as well as extent of pollution and its visible impact to the lichen diversity. This has resulted in a database of the lichen diversity and their ecological preferences as well as rich lichen reference collection of about 3500 specimens. A Software - Lifkey-Lichens has also been developed for accurate species identification of the lichen species.