沙漠研究 24-1, 5-8 (2014)
Ἃ₍◊✲ 24-1, 5 - 8 (2014)
Journal of Arid Land Studies
Journal of Arid Land Studies－ DT11 Refereed Paper －㸫DT11 Refereed Paper㸫

Indigenous and Modern Scientific Strategies for Characterization,
Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Bio-resourcesof the Indian Thar Desert
Hukam Singh GEHLOT *1), Nisha TAK 1), Harchand R. DAGLA 1) and Tim D. DAVIS 2)
Abstract: The densely populated Indian Thar Desert, which extends from India to Pakistan, is the 18th largest in the world. Diurnal
variation in temperature, erratic precipitation, poor soil texture, and saline tracts are serious constraints for the livelihood of humans.
The Indian Thar Desert also has significant natural resources that can be harnessed to mitigate constraints and to support life of its
human inhabitants. Traditional as well as modern approaches are needed to conserve and characterize biodiversity in this fragile
ecosystem. Various areas of the desert are treated as sacred places to conserve the local plants and animals. Several underutilized
plants have been used as nutritious foods and medicines and are important for the region. These plants need prioritization andutilization for sustainable development. Phytonutrients/antioxidant values of Desert fruits (Jujube, Ker, Sangri, Pilu) have beenevaluated. Biotechnological approaches have been applied to conserve endangered and rare plants through developing
micropropagation protocols. Investigations have been made to characterize diversity of below-ground microbes associated withnative legumes. Efforts are being made to evaluate genetic diversity of agriculturally useful microbes from the Desert which may
impart drought and salinity tolerance. This paper briefly reviews these efforts.
Key Words: Biodiversity conservation, Native plants, Thar Desert, Traditional strategies

1. Introduction
The importance of wildlife for sustaining and maintaining
integrity of ecosystems has been realized since time
immemorial. Flora, fauna, and microbes have been an
integral part of human societies and cultures throughout theworld. Indiscriminate use of natural resources to fulfill theneeds of increasing human population puts heavy pressure on
fragile ecosystems. Global warming and climate change havefurther aggravated risk of depletion of biodiversity worldwide.
Human society faces significant threats and challenges in theeffort to conserve biodiversity for sustenance in the future.
Therefore, society needs to reconsider the sustainable use anddevelopment of bio-resources and their conservation. Various
traditional as well as modern strategies have been adopted bysocieties in various parts of the world for the conservation andsustainable utilization of biodiversity.
Combined withmodern means of science and technology, these traditional
strategies will help mitigate crises of biodiversity conservation,
food security, global warming and climate change. In thisregard, India adopted sui generis system under its patent(second amendment) of 2002 in compliance of Trade Related
aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
* Corresponding Author: hsgehlot@gmail.com

Fig. 1. Map of the arid regions of Western Rajasthan: a part ofIndian Thar Desert.

Study of the Indian Thar Desert (Fig. 1) is important in thecurrent scenario of climate change considering the fact thatplants, animals, and microbes growing in fragile ecosystems
are continuously under biotic and abiotic stresses and therefore
possess important genetic traits to combat these stresses.
The Indian Thar Desert consists of a unique stressecosystem for study. There is a need to adopt traditional andmodern scientific approaches for characterization, conservation
㸦Received, October 10th, 2013; Accepted, February 19th, 2014㸧

BNF & Stress Biology Lab, Department of Botany, J.N.Vyas University, Jodhpur-342001, India
1) J.N.Vyas University, Jodhpur, India
2) Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture and Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas, USAand sustainable utilization of bio-resources of the Indian TharDesert as follows: 1) Traditional strategies of biodiversity
conservation; 2) Popularization of underutilized or less-usedwild plants for economic purposes; 3) Modern
biotechnological approaches for characterization andconservation of plant resources; 4) Surveys and germplasm
collection of wild native legumes and characterization of theirmicrosymbionts in arid and semi-arid regions. The purpose ofthis paper is to briefly review these approaches.

2. Traditional Strategies of Biodiversity Conservation
There are several informal protected areas in India in theform of Seenves (boundaries between cultivated lands andopen fields), Bani (small but protected forests by communities),Orans (sacred groves) and Beehads (comparatively larger areasand protected forests) which harbor rich floral, faunal andmicrobial diversity. These protected areas are maintained by
local inhabitants of the regions. Oran in the Indian Thar
Desert is a protected land held by the local communities inhonor of local deity, that maintain endangered, rare andthreatened plants such as Prosopis cineraria, Capparis decidua,
Ziziphus nummularia, Haloxylon salicornicum, Leptadenia
pyrotechnica, Crotalaria burhia, Glossonema varians,
Blepharis sindica, Lasiurus sindicus, Caralluma edulis,
Brachiaria ramosa, Cymbopogon jwarancusa and Cenchrussp., as well as animal species of the region.
Due to faith and sanctity, Orans are free fromencroachment and indiscriminate exploitation. Hunting,felling of trees and agricultural practices are taboo in suchlands. Orans are oasises in the desert that help to maintain thefragile ecosystem of the Indian Thar Desert (Dagla et al., 2007).
Traditional practices of biodiversity conservation andsustainable utilization adopted by the local communities mustbe taken into consideration during policy making in particularareas. The species which are better adapted to stress anddifficult environments, where they are maintaining diversity ina fragile ecosystem, should be conserved for future prospects.
Most commonly these species are maintained by poor farming
communities in fragile ecosystems, including the areas ofsalinization and desertification (GFAR meeting May, 1999).
The sustainable conservation of these species can also beachieved through heightened public awareness of thenutritional and medicinal values of these species.
Poverty, limited employment opportunity, and life
threatening challenges, such as deficient availability ofdrinking water, poor sanitation and recurrence of famine, causesignificant hardship for the people.
This increases
dependence on indigenous methods to preserve food, fodder,and homeopathic and herbal medicines. Some importantnative plants such as Capparis, Calligonum, Salvadora, andLasiurus, are unique systems in the area that are claimed toharbor important genetic traits and are sources of potentially
useful gene pools to be utilized by biotechnological approaches
in the future. In the context of climate change, such plants
can be utilized in areas where annual precipitation isdecreasing with a rise in average temperature. Local landraces need protection and conservation for important genetic
traits (e.g. local Chadi land race of pearl millet which is highly
drought tolerant and may be useful in the improvement of
Pennisetum glaucum, locally known as bajra). Therefore,
native plant local landraces need protection throughcombinations of indigenous methods and modern
biotechnological approaches for conservation and sustainableutilization.

3. Popularization of Underutilized or Less-used Wild
Plants for Economic Purposes
Indian Thar Desert is a reservoir of wild plant species
which are important sources of medicine, food additives, fueland fodder (Dagla et al., 2006; Fig. 2a; Table 1). There is aneed to promote propagation and sustainable use of theseunderutilized plants species in low input agricultural andmarginal lands. For example, Indian jujube (Ziziphus sp.) is
an important plant of the Indian Thar Desert that is drought andsalt tolerant, and bears edible fruits that are regarded as “apple”
for the poor (Sankhla et al., 2006; Poonar et al., 2008). Fruitsof Capparis decidua and Salvadora oleoides are edible but less
known and need characterization for health promoting
constituents. Genetic diversity of wild relatives of Ziziphus
species is underway. Calligonum polygonoides is anotherplant of the Thar Desert that needs attention. It binds sands,can be used as fodder, and produces edible flower buds
(Shekhawat et al., 2012). Plants of desert areas often containhigh amounts of phenolic compounds that possess highantioxidant activity and are potential sources for maintaining
better human health.

Fig. 2. (a) Tanot Rai Oran near Ajasar village (Jaisalmer), India.
(b) In vitro culture of Haloxylon salicornicum, a potentiallyvaluable plant of the region.



Table 1. List of underutilized plants of Indian Thar Desert.
No
1

Plant
Acacia senegal

FamilyMimosaceae

Local name
KumbatEconomic importance2

Blepharis sindica

Acanthaceae

Bhangari

Seeds are a source of tonic and plants are used as a fodder

3

Capparis decidua

Capparidaceae

Ker

Source of timber, unripe fruits as a vegetable and ripe fruits (paka) are also edible

4

Calligonum polygonoides

Polygonaceae

Phog

Source of fodder, fuel and vegetable

5

Caralluma edulis

Asclepiadaceae

Pemba

Fleshy stems eaten raw

6

Cenchrus sp.

Poaceae

BhuratSource of fodder and minor millet

7

Commiphora wightii

Burseraceae

GuggalGum-resin used as an incense

8

Cymbopogon

PoaceaeOil grass

Stems as brooms and essential oil as a perfume

9

Haloxylon recurvum

Chenopodiaceae

Khar

Source of sajji-khar or barilla (crude sodium carbonate) for making papad or bhujia(traditional Indian foods)

10Haloxylon salicornicum

Chenopodiaceae

Lana

Source of fuel, seeds are used to make the special dish dhokla

11

Leptadenia pyrotechnica

Asclepiadaceae

KheempUnripe fruit used as a vegetable; slender stems as a source of rope, cordage andthatching material

12

Prosopis cineraria

Mimosaceae

Khejari

Source of vegetable, leaves used as fodder and plant enriches soil fertility

13

Salvadora oleoides

Salvadoraceae

JalFruits (Pilu) are edible

14

Tribulus terrestris

Zygophyllaceae

Kanti

Unripe fruits are edible, whole plants used as a fodder15Ziziphus nummularia

Rhamnaceae

Bordi

Fruits are edible and leaves used as a fodder

jwarancusa

Seeds are used as a vegetable

4. Modern
BiotechnologicalApproaches
forCharacterization and Conservation of Plant Resources
Modern scientific approaches such as plant biotechnology
are viewed as a potential means of characterization,
propagation and conservation of economically important plant
species (Fig. 2b). Protocols of micropropagation for various
plant species of Indian Thar Desert that are sources of food,
fodder, forestry and medicines have been developed(Shekhawat et al., 2012). A state of the art facility for
micropropagation of plants and their hardening was developedwith the help of the Department of Biotechnology,
Government of India. Genetic diversity in Desert plants has
also been assessed using molecular markers (Shekhawat et al.,2012).

5. Surveys and Germplasm Collection of Wild Native
Legumes and Characterization of Their
Microsymbionts of Arid and Semi Arid Regions
Root nodules have been found as home for both nodulating
and non-nodulating bacteria. Many non-nodulating bacteria
found in the rhizosphere or colonizing roots of wild legumes
posses plant growth promoting activity such as production ofphytohormones, solubilizing inorganic phosphate in soil, andproduction of ammonia. These microbes can potentially beuseful in making a consortium of agriculturally importantmicrobes. Efforts have been made to study genetic diversityof legume nodulating bacteria (LNB) of the Thar Desert andcharacterize them at the molecular level to define them asnovel species.
DNA fingerprinting using ARDRA(Amplified Ribosomal DNA Restriction Analysis) and RAPD
(Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA) profiles have beenFig. 3. Nodulated Native Legumes of the Indian Thar Desert: (a)Field view of wild species of Indigofera, (b) Prosopis cineraria
a multipurpose tree legume, (c) localization of GUS marked
microsymbiont, (d) GFP marked microsymbiont and (e)branched indeterminate nodules.

completed to investigate genetic diversity (Gehlot et al., 2012
and 2013).
Legumes are pioneer plants growing in soils with low
quantities of nitrogen and therefore are dominating the arid andsemi-arid regions of the Indian Thar Desert.
Thesewild/native legumes are sources of food, fodder, shelter andmedicines for the local inhabitants. The native legumes ofarid regions are mostly in the form of annual herbs, growing
under shrubs and trees. A survey was conducted during
monsoon and post monsoon periods in the districts of Barmer,Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur and Jodhpur in 2007-2012 (Fig. 3aand b). Various types of nodules have been isolated
possessing bark on their surfaces as unique characteristics ofthe desert (Fig. 3e). These studies showed that nodulation
occurs in desert soil with an adaptation to have bark-likestructures for protection. These legumes may harbor below
ground genetically diverse microsymbiont colonizing roots and

root nodules for biological nitrogen fixation. More than 35
native legumes have been surveyed to identify occurrence ofnodulation and the associated microsymbiont(s) have been
subjected to molecular characterization (Sprent and Gehlot,
2011; Gehlot et al., 2012 and 2013). Several of these N
fixing microbes have been found to be tolerant to hightemperature (>45 °C) as well as low and high soil pH. The
majority of isolated microsymbionts were found aspromiscuous strains nodulating native legumes other than theirprimary host as well as crop legumes. Therefore themicrosymbionts isolated from wild legumes may also be
important for crop legumes.
Sequencing of housekeeping genes including 16S rRNA,atpD, recA, glnII and dnaK have been done. Symbiotic nod
and nif genes have also been sequenced to identify
evolutionary symbiotic traits in native rhizobia. The firstwhole genome draft of rhizobia (Ensifer sp. TW10) native to
the Thar Desert has been recently sequenced and released (Taket al., 2013). The characterized microsymbionts exhibit closesequence similarity with old world rhizobial species such as E.
saheli, E. kostiense and E. terangae but were phylogeneticallydifferent, suggesting occurrence of novel species.
Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of nodA genes shows anovel variant of existing nodA genes. Localization of a
symbiont in root nodules of host legumes has been tested bytagging rhizobia with gfp and other (mCherry and GUS)
reporter genes (Fig. 3c and d). These new biotechnologicalapproaches will help in better understanding the microbial
diversity and characterization of indigenous microbes of arid
regions. These indigenous microbes can be used to increasesoil fertility and as inoculants for reforestation programs in thearid regions. Overall such studies are needed for the desert
region where plant microbes can be used for improving soilfertility; conservation as well as propagation of endangered andmedicinal plants; and sustainable use of underutilized nativeplants for the local inhabitants.
Acknowledgment
This paper is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Narendra
Sankhla, a champion for research and education related todesert plants. He was a highly esteemed friend, mentor, andcolleague who is sorely missed. We also acknowledge theDepartment of Biotechnology, Govt. of India (BT/PR11461/AGR/21/270/2008) and Special Assistance programme,
University Grant Commission, New Delhi, India(UGC-SAPII-CAS-I) for funding of the research projects.

References
Dagla H.R., Shekhawat N.S. (2006): Little known uses ofHaloxylon spp. in traditional food. Natural ProductRadiance (NISCAIR), 5: 131-132.
Dagla H.R., Paliwal A., Shekhawat N.S. (2007): Oran: Asacred way for biodiversity conservation in Indian TharDesert. Current Science, 93: 279.
Gehlot H.S., Panwar D., Tak N., Tak A., Sankhla I.S., PoonarN., Parihar R., Shekhawat N.S., Kumar M., Tiwari R.P.,
Ardley J., James E.K., Sprent J.I. (2012): Nodulation oflegumes from the Thar Desert of India and molecularcharacterization of their rhizobia. Plant and Soil, 357:
227-243.
Gehlot H.S., Tak N., Kaushik M., Mitra S., Chen W.M.,
Poweleit N., Panwar D., Poonar N., Parihar R., Tak A.,
Sankhla I.S., Ojha A., Rao S.R., Simon M.F., dos Reis
Junior F.B., Perigolo N., Tripathi A.K., Sprent J.I., YoungJ.P.W., James E.K., Gyaneshwar P. (2013): An invasive
Mimosa in India does not adopt the symbionts of its native
relatives. Annals of Botany, 112(1): 179-196.
Poonar N., Gehlot H.S., Khanna S., Yadav B.S. (2008):
Estimation of biochemicals in ber fruits at different
developmental stages: A comparative account. Haryana
Journal of Horticultural Sciences, 37 (3&4): 225-226.
Sankhla N., Agarwal P., Mackay W.A., Gehlot H.S. (2006):Ber (Ziziphus) Fruits: Apple of arid regions of Indian Thar
Desert. In Purvis A. et al. eds., Proc. IVth on MQUIC, Acta
Horticulturae, 712: 449-452.
Shekhawat N.S., Phulwaria M., Harish, Rai M.K., Kataria V.,
Shekhawat S., Gupta A.K., Rathore N.S., Vyas M., Jb V.,
Choudhary S.K., Patel A.K., Lodha D., Modhi R. (2012):
Bioresearches of Fragile Ecosystem/Desert. Proceedings ofthe National Academy of Sciences, India, Section B:
Biological Sciences, 82(S2): 319-334.
Sprent J.I., Gehlot H.S. (2011): Nodulated legumes in arid andsemi-arid environments: are they important? Plant Ecology
and Diversity, 3(3): 211-219.
Tak N., Gehlot H.S., Kaushik M., Choudhary S., Tiwari R.,
Tian R., Hill Y., Brau L., Goodwin L., Han J., et al., (2013):
Genome sequence of Ensifer sp. TW10; a Tephrosia
wallichii (Biyani) microsymbiont native to Indian TharDesert. Stand. Genomic Sci., 9: 304-314.