1. Covers studies on various biotic communities and abiotic components of the soil of the terrestrial habitats with much focus on cold habitats 2. Discusses various omic approaches viz. metagenomics, and meta-transcriptomics 3. Enlists adaptation strategies adopted by cold-adapted microbes 4. Discusses various biotechnological and industrially important biomolecules produced by cold-adapted microbes 5. Explores role of microbial biofilm in the degradation of microplastics in cold habitats

It highlights the synthesis, classification, biological function, medicinal applications, and an overview of the recent advancements for the enhanced production of novel secondary metabolites in plants. It overviewed the role of induced mutation, salinity stress, Brassinosteroids impact to increase the secondary metabolic contents in plants and suggests increase in enzymatic activity in plants could be due to various point mutations which in turn could play a role at transcriptome levels. It discussed the significant role of endophytes to enhance the contents of plant secondary metabolites. Alternatively, it also suggests urgent need to set up the standard operating procedures using hydroponics system of cultivation for significant enhancement of secondary metabolite contents. It enlists various in vitro techniques to enhance plant secondary metabolites contents using plant tissue culture approaches. It systematically overviewed the state of art in biotechnological tools viz. CRISPER Cas9, and RNAi to enhance the plant secondary metabolite contents and recommend CRISPER Cas9 technology over the RNAi, ZFNs and TALENs because of its relatively simple and high precision method with easily programmable tool by changing the guide sequence of the sgRNA to any DNA sequence of interest with its capacity to recognize multiple targeted genes with very low off-target effects due to reduced CpG methylation.

Studies on Otter's ecology have been largely inspired by a decline in their populations all over their range of distribution and a perception that it is a 'keystone species' in the wetland ecosystem. Deficiency of baseline data on its distribution and ecology is a major constraint that species' conservation is facing in India. Thus to ascertain the conservation status and habitat use pattern of Smooth coated Otter in Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary, north India the study was conducted in the year of 2010. The occurrence of Otters along Boodhi Ganga is attributed to habitat features such as deep waters forming pools, prey availability, presence of shoreline vegetation and gentle bank slopes. Otter occurrence was found to be associated with deep pools that provided good foraging grounds. Shoreline vegetation is important in providing suitable terrestrial habitats for Otters and also serves as escape cover. Gentle bank slopes are favored by Otters as it reduces energy expenditure while foraging or grooming activities. The findings of the survey append the new locality record in the distribution range of Smooth coated Otter in north India.

Plastic is one of the widely used polymers around the globe since its discovery. It is highly impossible to think the ease of life without the aid of plastic. Every year billion tons of plastic waste gets accumulated in the environment and leads to death of both marine and terrestrial animals. Plastic is very durable and needs around 1000 years to degrade under the natural environment. The present book illustrates the importance and significance of the bioremediation to tackle the problem of plastic waste. Previously, we have reported elite rhizobacterial isolates (Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain VASB14/WL and Bacillus cereus strain VASB1/TS) of Avicennia marina Vierh (Forsk.) from the West Coast of India with the potential to degrade plastic (polythene). The present book attempted to address the bioremediation scenario of plastic waste (including micro plastic) using microbes with bacteria in particular. Various strategies used to tackle with the plastic waste were highlighted with case studies of plastic waste management, including in vitro, in situ and ex situ with a special reference to biodegradation technology. After the biodegradation of the plastic using microbes, the generated plastic (polythene) degradation products (PE-DPs) were also documented using GC-MS technique followed by their deleterious effect on both animal and plant systems. The book also enhances the awareness of the plastic-free society and also suggests some alternative materials to be used instead of plastic. Lastly, the book suggests/recommends the strategies to be followed by the lawmakers in the government organizations/non-government organizations/social organizations to frame the regulations and guidelines to implement at mass level to reduce the generation of plastic waste.

Plastic is one of the widely used polymers around the globe since its discovery. It is highly impossible to think the ease of life without the aid of plastic. Every year billion tons of plastic waste gets accumulated in the environment and leads to death of both marine and terrestrial animals. Plastic is very durable and needs around 1000 years to degrade under the natural environment. The present book illustrates the importance and significance of the bioremediation to tackle the problem of plastic waste. Previously, we have reported elite rhizobacterial isolates (Lysinibacillus fusiformis strain VASB14/WL and Bacillus cereus strain VASB1/TS) of Avicennia marina Vierh (Forsk.) from the West Coast of India with the potential to degrade plastic (polythene). The present book attempted to address the bioremediation scenario of plastic waste (including micro plastic) using microbes with bacteria in particular. Various strategies used to tackle with the plastic waste were highlighted with case studies of plastic waste management, including in vitro, in situ and ex situ with a special reference to biodegradation technology. After the biodegradation of the plastic using microbes, the generated plastic (polythene) degradation products (PE-DPs) were also documented using GC-MS technique followed by their deleterious effect on both animal and plant systems. The book also enhances the awareness of the plastic-free society and also suggests some alternative materials to be used instead of plastic. Lastly, the book suggests/recommends the strategies to be followed by the lawmakers in the government organizations/non-government organizations/social organizations to frame the regulations and guidelines to implement at mass level to reduce the generation of plastic waste.