A group of researchers at Catholicate College has discovered a new species of green algae from the Western Ghats in Kerala.

The algae, the first-ever reported discovery of the genus Interfilum from India, has been named Interfilum shuklaii in honour of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, Indian Air Force test pilot and astronaut. Details of the discovery, made from soil samples collected from the Kumbhavurutty forests in Kollam district, have been published in the international journal Vegetos: An International Journal of Plant Research and Biotechnology, by Springer Nature.

Earlier, the same team had reported another new algal species, Oedocladium sahyadricum, from the same region. According to the researchers, the back-to-back discoveries highlight the rich, yet underexplored, microalgal diversity of the Western Ghats region.

The newly described species belongs to the family Klebsormidiaceae, under the order Klebsormidiales. It is distinguished by features such as a non-striated mucilage envelope and mother cell wall remnants forming a dome-shaped cap.

According to Binoy T. Thomas, who guided the research team, the discovery underlines the need for more detailed taxonomic and ecological studies on microalgae from forest ecosystems in Kerala. He also pointed out that Interfilum has emerging significance in biotechnology, carbon sequestration, biofertilizer development, and future space life-support systems due to its stress tolerance and efficient biomass production.

The research team also comprised Merin Grace Jiji and Thomas V.P.