Anubhab Khan
+91-80-2293--2360-4201
I divide my work in three themes: science, technology and translation. Fundamentally, I am interested in understanding how small and isolated populations survive or go extinct. Most fundamental population genetics theories assume that populations are large and panmictic, and that small populations are prone to extinction. However, recent empirical observations, made accessible by large datasets, suggest majority of the populations are either small and isolated today or have been through a historic bottleneck. Thus, it becomes crucial to understand evolution in small populations and how they survive. We are not restricted to any specific model organism and work on several endangered including dolphins, monitor lizards, tigers, elephants, rhinos, birds and many others across various tropical landscapes.
Additionally, we develop or optimize methods for studying rare, elusive species. Since we primarily work with endangered species, it is important to sample them without causing disturbance. Most studies on such species globally use non-invasively collected samples like faecal material, shed hair, environmental samples, parasites, and others. These non-invasive samples are often contaminated and may yield poor quality DNA. We optimize methods and develop bioinformatic pipelines for obtaining genetic data from these samples. These technological advancements make studying endangered species more accessible.
We also try to ensure these advances in science and technology are translated to outcomes. We are actively involved in capacity building, especially across the tropics, to promote use of big data methods in conservation. We conduct workshops and participate in teaching conservation genetics in various countries, with a focus on the species rich, lower- and middle-income regions.
Science:
Khan, A., Sil, M., Thekaekara, T., Garg, K.M., Sinha, I., Khurana, R., Sukumar, R. and Ramakrishnan, U., 2024. Divergence and serial colonization shape genetic variation and define conservation units in Asian elephants. Current Biology.
Mellya, R.V., Hopcraft, J.G.C., Mwakilema, W., Eblate, E.M., Mduma, S., Mnaya, B., Chuma, I., Macha, E.S., Wambura, D., Fyumagwa, R., Kilbride, E., Mable, B.K. and Khan, A. 2023. Natural dispersal is better than translocation for reducing risks of inbreeding depression in eastern black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli). bioRxiv, pp.2023-06.
Khan, A., Patel, K., Shukla, H., Viswanathan, A., van der Valk, T., Borthakur, U., Nigam, P., Zachariah, A., Jhala, Y.V., Kardos, M. and Ramakrishnan, U., 2021. Genomic evidence for inbreeding depression and purging of deleterious genetic variation in Indian tigers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(49), p.e2023018118.
Armstrong, E.E., Khan, A., Taylor, R.W., Gouy, A., Greenbaum, G., Thiéry, A., Kang, J.T., Redondo, S.A., Prost, S., Barsh, G., Kaelin, C., Phalke, S., Chugani, A., Gilbert, M., Miquelle, D., Zachariah, A., Borthakur, U., Reddy, A., Louis, E., Ryder, O.A., Jhala, Y.V., Petrov, D., Excoffier, L., Hadly. E. and Ramakrishnan, U., 2021. Recent evolutionary history of tigers highlights contrasting roles of genetic drift and selection. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 38(6), pp.2366-2379.
Technology:
Khan, A., Carter, R., Mpamhanga, C., Masiga, D., Channumsin, M., Ciosi, M., Manangwa, O., Mramba, F., Ijaz, U., Auty, H. and Mable, B., 2024. Swatting flies: Biting insects as non-invasive samplers for mammalian population genomics. Authorea Preprints.
Khan, A., Krishna, S.M., Ramakrishnan, U. and Das, R., 2022. Recapitulating whole genome based population genetic structure for Indian wild tigers through an ancestry informative marker panel. Heredity, 128(2), pp.88-96.
Tyagi, A., Khan, A., Thatte, P. and Ramakrishnan, U., 2022. Genome‐wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers from fecal samples reveal anthropogenic impacts on connectivity: Case of a small carnivore in the central Indian landscape. Animal Conservation, 25(5), pp.648-659.
Khan, A., Patel, K., Bhattacharjee, S., Sharma, S., Chugani, A.N., Sivaraman, K., Hosawad, V., Sahu, Y.K., Reddy, G.V. and Ramakrishnan, U., 2020. Are shed hair genomes the most effective noninvasive resource for estimating relationships in the wild?. Ecology and Evolution, 10(11), pp.4583-4594.
Translation:
Khan, A., Yulianto, Y., Aninta, S.G. and Wirdateti, W., 2024. Reanalysis of sequences of alleged Javan tiger highlights the difficulties in studying big cats and the need for high throughput sequencing. bioRxiv, pp.2024-04.
Khan, A., 2023. The year of the tiger and the year of tiger genomes!. Molecular Ecology Resources, 23(2), pp.327-329.
Khan, A. and Tyagi, A., 2021. Considerations for initiating a wildlife genomics research project in South and South-East Asia. Journal of the Indian Institute of Science, 101(2), pp.243-256.