Draft:Subhash Rajpurohit
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Subhash Rajpurohit
Born 1977 Age 48 Alma Mater Maharshi Dayanand University Known for Interdisciplinary work on how insects respond to heat and drought.
Scientific career
Fields Ecological and Evolutionary physiology Institutions Institute of Evolution, Haifa University, Israel
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, USA
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
Subhash Rajpurohit (born 1977) is an accomplished ecological and evolutionary physiologist based in Ahmedabad, India with his international recognition on how insects respond to climate stressors (heat and drought) and focuses on ‘species, climate warming, and evolution’. He heads thermal biology lab at the Ahmedabad University. He bridges ecology, evolution, physiology, and molecular biology, contribution significantly both to scientific knowledge and science outreach.
Background & Academic Career 1. Currently an Associate Professor in the Biological & Life Sciences division at the School of Arts and Sciences, Ahmedabad University, and a Ramanujan Fellow (~2018–2023) awarded by India's DSTSERB.
2. He earned his M.Sc. in Zoology from Mohan Lal Sukhadia University (Udaipur), completed his Ph.D. in Bioscience at Maharshi Dayanand University (Rohtak), and pursued postdoctoral research in the U.S. at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas, USA and the University of Pennsylvania-Philadelphia, USA.
Research Focus & Lab
1. Founder of the Thermal Biology Lab at Ahmedabad University, dedicated to exploring insect stress physiology through an approach that spans ecological contexts down to molecular mechanisms. 2. Research themes include rapid adaptation, metabolic ecology, thermal and desiccation challenges, insect pigmentation, cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), and climate-change responses in natural and experimental fruit fly populations.
Professional Recognition & Collaborations
1. Joined the editorial board of Current Opinion in Insect Science (an Elsevier CO+RE journal) in 2022, and previously served on the editorial board of the Journal of Evolutionary Biology since 2017. He is also on Editorial boards of several other journals (Scientific Data, BMC Ecology & Evolution, PLOS Climate, and Journal of Thermal Biology). 2. Selected in 2023 to serve on the Equal Opportunities Initiative Committee of the European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB), advocating for enhanced representation in evolutionary biology. 3. In 2022, awarded an EMBO Research Fellowship that launched IndiaEurope collaborations, including research with Professor David Hosken’s group at Exeter University, focusing on lipid molecules and stress adaptation mechanisms.
Selected Contributions & Publications
He has published extensively on topics such as desiccation tolerance, pigmentation trade-offs, and adaptive dynamics in insect physiology, including major works in Science, Molecular Ecology, PLOS One, and Ecology & Evolution.
Teaching & Outreach 1. He teaches Evolutionary Biology at Ahmedabad University. 2. Frequently invited to deliver talks at national and international venues, addressing topics from insect pigmentation and thermal plasticity to climate adaptation in Dipteran species.
Major scientific contributions 1. Melanization and Desiccation Resistance in Drosophila In a pivotal 2008 study, Rajpurohit demonstrated that darker-pigmented Drosophila melanogaster populations show enhanced desiccation tolerance, due to reduced water loss—linking body melanization mechanistically with stress resistance in natural and lab populations across altitudinal clines in India. 2. Genomic and Seasonal Dynamics of Desiccation Tolerance In a 2018 Molecular Ecology paper, his team studied genome-wide associations and mesocosm experiments to track how desiccation tolerance evolves over space and season in D. melanogaster, showing that tolerance varies predictably with latitude and responds rapidly to seasonal changes in natural populations. 3. Plasticity in Cuticular Hydrocarbon Profiles A 2020 study in Ecology & Evolution revealed that post-eclosion temperature exposure profoundly alters the cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles of adult flies—shifts that correlate with desiccation resistance and vary by population and sex. 4. Indian Drosophila Clines Resource Rajpurohit led the creation of a comprehensive database and web resource detailing latitudinal and altitudinal phenotypic clines in Indian drosophilids—covering traits like pigmentation, desiccation tolerance, and thermal preference. Published in Scientific Data in 2017, this resource serves as a foundation for future ecological- genetic studies. 5. Demonstrating Rapid, RealTime Evolution In a highprofile Science study (2014 field mesocosm experiment), Rajpurohit and collaborators directly observed adaptive tracking and phenotypic/genomic evolution in fruit fly populations over a single season—challenging the traditional view that evolution is slow. The study showed evolutionary change within months in response to natural seasonal shifts.
Why These Contributions Matter 1. Integration of ecological genetics and physiology: His work connects physical traits (like pigmentation and CHCs) to physiological function and molecular mechanisms. 2. Modeling climate change responses: Using fruit flies as proxies, he sheds light on how insects may adapt (or fail to) under warming and drying conditions. 3. Bridging basic and applied research: The cline datasets and empirical experiments provide tools for evolutionary modeling, pest ecology, conservation biology, and more.
Summary Table
| Contribution Area | Key Insight |
|---|---|
| Melanization & water balance | Darker pigmentation enhances desiccation tolerance across clines |
| Temporal adaptation & genomics | Desiccation traits evolve fast with season; SNPs identified via GWAS |
| Adult plasticity in CHCs | Temperature experienced post-eclosion affects CHC profile and stress survival |
| Clinal resource development | Rich data tool on Indian Drosophila variation across environments |
| Real-time evolutionary tracking | Field evidence for adaptive change within a single seasonal cycle |
Media coverage While Professor Rajpurohit isn’t a household name like some science communicators or TV personalities, he actively bridges science and public knowledge through media stories, educational commentary, and editorial leadership. His work on insect evolution under climate stress has drawn attention in mainstream journalistic coverage, reaching broader audiences beyond academia.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/heat-lack-of-food-evolution-fast-forwarded/articleshow/91058952.cms?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://indiabioscience.org/newsletters/educators-february-2024.email?utm_source=chatgpt.com https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/evolution-can-happen-at-shorter-timescales-a-fruit-fly-study-shows/article65281474.ece
Selected bibliography Abhishek Nair, Harshad Vijay Mayekar, Manmohan D Sharma, Divita Garg, Christopher Mitchell, David J Hosken, Subhash Rajpurohit, High altitude favours long-chained cuticular hydrocarbons in Drosophila, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, Volume 38, Issue 5, May 2025, Pages 606–617, https://doi.org/10.1093/jeb/voaf029.
Mayekar H, Rajpurohit S. 2024. No single rescue recipe: genome complexities modulate insect response to climate change. Current Opinion in Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2024.101220.
Rudman SM, Greenblum SI, Rajpurohit S., Betancourt NJ, Hanna J, Tilk S, Yokoyama T,Petrov DA, Schmidt P. 2022. Direct observation of adaptive tracking on ecological timescales in Drosophila. Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.abj7484.
Arya H, Toltesi R, Eng M, Garg D, Merritt TJS, Rajpurohit S. 2021. No water, no mating:connecting dots from behaviour to pathways. PLOS One 16(6): e0252920. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252920.
Rajpurohit S, Vrkoslav V, Vrkoslav V, Hanus R, Gibbs AG, Cvacka J, Schmidt PS. 2021. Post-eclosion temperature effects on insect cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, Ecology & Evolution 11:352-364. https://doi.org/10.1002/eee3.7050.
Rajpurohit S, Gefen S, Bergland AO, Petrov D, Gibbs AG, Schmidt PS. 2018. Spatiotemporal dynamics and genome-wide association analysis of desiccation tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster. Molecular Ecology, 27: 3525-3540.
Rajpurohit S, Zhao X., and Schmidt PS. 2017. A resource on latitudinal and altitudinal clines of ecologically relevant phenotypes of the Indian Drosophila. Scientific Data, 4:170066. DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2017.66.
Rajpurohit S, Hanus R, Vrkoslav V, Behrman EL, Bergland A, Dmitri P, Cvacka J, and Schmidt PS. 2017. Adaptive dynamics of cuticular hydrocarbon profiles in Drosophila. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 30: 66-80.
Rajpurohit S, Richardson R, Dean J, Vazquez R, Wong G, and Schmidt PS. 2016. Pigmentation and trade-off through the lens of artificial selection. Biology Letters, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0625.
Rajpurohit S and Schmidt, P.S. 2016. Measuring thermal behavior in smaller insects: a case study in Drosophila melanogaster demonstrate effects of sex, geographic origin, and rearing temperature on adult behavior. Fly, 10: 149-161.
Rajpurohit S. and Nedved, O. 2013. Clinal variation in fitness related traits in tropical drosophilids of the Indian subcontinent. Journal of Thermal Biology, 38:345-354.
Rajpurohit S, de Oliveira, C. C., Etges, W.J. and Gibbs, A.G. 2013. Functional genomic and phenotypic responses to desiccation in natural populations of desert drosophilid. Molecular Ecology, 22:2698-2715.
Rajpurohit S, Nedved O. and Gibbs AG. 2013. Meta-analysis of geographical clines in desiccation tolerance of Indian drosophilids. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 164:391-398.