Gupta Simran
Pre-PhD Student
+420774628043
simran.gupta@ibot.cas.cz
My research is driven by a central question: How do plants and microbial communities respond to the pressures of long-term novel climates—rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and CO₂ variability?
To explore this, I conduct a series of interconnected studies leveraging a long-term, multifactorial climate change field experiment (ClimGrass, Austria). I begin by investigating whether seeds inherit environmental “memories” that influence their responses to current climate conditions. By analyzing interactions between parental and offspring climatic conditions, I assess the role of transgenerational plasticity in germination patterns for a grassland species. Next, I aim to uncover shifts in resource allocation, stress responses, and growth strategies by examining the morpho-physiological and metabolic responses of these plants exposed to novel climates in both field and greenhouse conditions. I also aim to disentangle the contributions of (epi)genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity to these responses. Subsequently, I turn below-ground ecosystem to explore rhizosphere and root endospheric microbial communities and how they co-evolve under long-term climate change and influence plant performance and resilience.
Together, these studies aim to capture the full arc of plant adaptation under climate change, from first emergence to deep soil-biota interactions, addressing not only whether plants can adapt, but also how, when, and with whom.
Research Experience
Since 2025 (2024 unofficially): Pre-PhD student in Plant Ecology at the Department of Population Ecology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IB CAS), Průhonice, Czech Republic
2021 – 2023: Junior research fellow in Plant Evolutionary Ecology at the School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER TVM), Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
Education
2018 – 2020: Master of Science (Plant Biotechnology) at TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI SAS), Delhi, India; Thesis: Department of Botany, University of Delhi (DU), Delhi, India
2015 – 2018: Bachelor of Science (Life Sciences) at Kalindi College, University of Delhi (DU), Delhi, India