Research

BRYOLOGY | PLANT BIODIVERSITY | SYSTEMATICS | NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS | BIOLOGICAL COMPOUNDS | OLD WORLD TROPICS

My research focuses on bryophytes including the systematics, biodiversity, and biological compounds of bryophytes, with an emphasis on the tropics. We use the herbarium specimens as well as the fresh materials to investigate and document bryophyte diversity and carry out a wide range of research activities.

Tropical Plant Biodiversity

The tropical rainforests in Southeast Asia are home to endemic species. As with many regions in the world, it is evident that the bryophyte, especially the liverwort flora remains very poorly known in comparison to the vascular flora. Many underexplored places especially in Indonesia potentially house new endemic species. Our research activities include the bryological exploration of several regions in Indonesia which have different habitats for bryophytes. This includes Sumatra, Java, and Moluccas. We will continue to explore the new places that host high bryophyte diversity.

 

Systematics, Taxonomy, and Morphological Evolution

In order to catalog the biodiversity of the planet and advance our knowledge of plant evolution, we need to improve our systematic and taxonomical concepts. The ideas of species and relationships between species are often rooted in morphological characters. For organisms thought to possess few morphological features (e.g., bryophytes), homoplasy is routinely observed as a result of the morphological reduction. Analyses based on molecular phylogenetics and/or cytological studies reveal new relationships and reveal hidden diversity as well as revise our systemic and taxonomic concepts.

Exploring New Biological Compound

Phytocemically, bryophytes, especially liverworts contain a wide variety of biological active compounds, including lipids, proteins, and steroids, as well as organic acids and phenols (polyphenols and terpenoids). It is surprise that substances derived from different species of bryophytes are commonly used as antitumors, antipyretics, insecticides, and antimicrobials. In collaboration with the Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences, we study the in silico molecular docking of Pogonatum neesii (Müll Hal.) Dozy to evaluate its cytotoxic activities. We also investigated the immunostimulant efficacy of the liverwort Marchantia paleacea Bertol. against the non-specific and specific immune response.