Malda: Scientists at Raiganj University have discovered a new bacterial species and named it Micromonospora shyamaprasadii sp. nov. in honour of Syama Prasad Mookerjee on his 125th birth anniversary.The bacterium, isolated from the mulberry rhizosphere — the active soil zone around mulberry roots — has been officially registered with SeqCode, the global Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes Described from Sequence Data.The discovery was made by a multidisciplinary team led by Amit Kumar Mandal, associate professor in the department of sericulture and head of the university’s Chemical Biology Laboratory.The team included Pankaj Mandal, Rittick Mondal, Shubhajit Shaw, Dipanjan Das, Rohini Thapa and Sagnick Guha, with contributions from Debnirmalya Gangopadhyay, Abdul Sadat, Tanmay Chowdhury and Pradeep Kumar Das Mohapatra.According to the university, the decision to dedicate the discovery to Mookerjee was guided by vice-chancellor Arnab Sen as a tribute on his 125th birth anniversary.Researchers said the mulberry rhizosphere was chosen not only for its scientific value but also for its symbolic association with Bengal, where Mookerjee spent much of his public life.The genus Micromonospora is known for producing bioactive compounds, including antibiotics and industrially important enzymes. Researchers believe the newly identified species could open new avenues for chemical biology and biotechnology research at the university.With its registration in the global SeqCode registry, Micromonospora shyamaprasadii sp. nov. has become part of the international scientific record, marking a significant milestone for Raiganj University’s microbiology research.
