‘Taming the taxanomy dragon’: Karthick Balasubramanian wins T N Khoshoo Award

Karthick Balasubramanian was honoured for describing has described 106 new species or new combination of diatoms from India and erected two new genera of diatoms

Travelling through the waterways of the world are numerous organisms invisible to the naked eye. Among these are diatoms, a type of photosynthetic algaefound in places with moisture.

This year’s TN Khoshoo Memorial Award was awarded to Dr. Karthick Balasubramanian for his work on the taxonomy and systematics of diatoms found in the freshwaters of Peninsular and Northeast India, on November 25 by Bengaluru-based environmental think tank ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment).

This year’s annual TN Khoshoo Memorial Award and Lecture theme was ‘Biodiversity: Exploration and Discoveries’.

Explaining the significance of these microorganisms, Karthick says, “For every fourth breath we take, the oxygen comes exclusively from diatoms. Around 25% of the world’s oxygen comes from these tiny organisms.”

Scientists estimate that over 2 million species of diatoms exist in the world. However, till date only 65,000 species have been discovered. 

Karthick is a researcher at the Agharkar Research Institute and is involved with the study of classification and naming of diatom species found in the freshwater bodies in Peninsular India. He has described 106 new species or new combination of diatoms from India and erected two new genera of diatoms. To commemorate his work towards naming and categorising the diatoms, a genus of freshwater diatom — Karthickia — has been named after him. 

Acknowledging the work of his predecessors, especially H. P. Gandhi, he said, “Gandhi has significantly contributed to the discovery of diatoms in India. His specimen collection is among the largest diatom collection in Southeast Asia. My work in this field has been possible due to the building blocks laid by him.”