Biographical note

Ravindra Soni is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, I.G.K.V., Raipur, CG, India. He holds a PhD in Microbiology from the G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India and has 12+ years of experience in teaching and research. His current fields of interest include agricultural microbiology, microbial ecology, molecular biology and biotechnology, especially regarding higher altitudes. He has published several research articles and chapters in international journals and books, edited 5 volumes in his fields of expertise, and co-author a patent on the screening of diazotrophic bacteria at low-temperature conditions.

Deep Chandra Suyal is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Science, Vidyadayini Institute of Science, Management and Technology, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. He holds a PhD in Microbiology, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, India, where he studied the molecular diversity of cold-adapted diazotrophs from India Kumaun Himalayan agro-ecosystem. His areas of interest include agricultural microbiology, biotechnology, metagenomics and proteomics, and microbial ecology.  Dr Suyal has published 30+ international articles and book chapters and has co-authored 3 patents on the isolation of cold-adapted bacterial species, e-waste biodegradation and screening of diazotrophic bacteria at low-temperature conditions.

Lourdes Morales Oyervides is a Professor at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, Mexico. She holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cork, Ireland, where she studied fungal pigment production by Penicillium purpurogenum GH2, and in the past, she worked as a researcher in the R&D department of Nanoingredientes Bioactivos (Mexico), as a postdoctoral researcher at the Dairy Processing Technology Centre in Limerick (Ireland) and as an intern at the Applied Microbiology Centre, GreenCorp Biorganiks (Mexico). Her research areas include bioprocess and biochemical engineering, and she has been devoting her attention to the bioproduction of colourants, including fungal pigments.