Annual Report 2004-2005

Scientific Research

Life Sciences

Animal Sciences

The Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) on Animal Sciences actively promoted basic research in organismal biology. Projects were sanctioned covering a wide range of subjects such as, management of root-knot nematodes by application of fly ash; ecological study of tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) as indicator for biodiversity monitoring in Shivalik Landscape; antifertility plants of Uttranchal region to be used for the control of fertility in male and female Wistar rats: Correlative histological, histochemical and biochemical studies; preliminary assessment of heat shock protein (HSP) status during oxidative stress in estuarine grey mullets (Mughil cephalus) ; taxonomic studies on coccoids of agricultural and horticultural crops of economic importance; biodiversity of medicinal plant pests and their management; investigations on the mechanisms of success of Mytilopsis sallei (Recluz) in managing toxic load arising out of biodeterioration control measures; thyroid hormone-induced oxygen metabolism in rat liver mitochondria and its modulation by various factors; membrane lipid phase behaviour and cellular functions during adaptational processes: a comparative study between poikilothermic and homeothermic organisms; evaluation of scorpion venom as an anticancer agent; potential of entomopathogenic nematodes for the management of pest complex in rice eco-system; genetic analysis of x-chromosomal glue protein genes in Drosophila nasuta nasuta, DN albomicans and their hybrids; ecological and genetic basis of chemical defence in ladybird beetles of biocontrol ability; detection of latent fingerprints; studies on Longidorid nematode species and their interaction with viruses in strawberries.

Some of the ongoing and completed projects monitored during the year include , study of male reproductive systems with special reference to vas deferens in the lizard, Mabuya carinata; gene expression of arginine vasotocin and its receptors in the brain and shell gland in relation to reproduction/ egg laying; isolation, purification and characterization of eyestalk peptide hormones from commercially important crustaceans; faunal Survey and population dynamics assessment of north east Indian amphibians; spacial and Micro-Distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate community in tropical mountain streams of Garhwal Region; studies on bioenergetics of lepidopteran pests of cole crops in Himachal Pradesh; vermiculture technique for the remediation of agricultural soil contaminated by tannery - industrial effluent - near Ranipet industrial town, Vellore District, Tamilnadu; hatchery production and mass culture of ‘spiral babylon’ Babylonia spirata Neogastropoda: Buccinidae); molecular genetic variability of cyst nematode Heterodera cajani; taxonomic studies on nematodes of the superfamily Dorylamoidea from North-Eastern states of India; Taxonomy of fresh water nematodes of Aligarh and adjoining areas; induced resistance to root-knot nematodes by phyto-chemicals on plants with special reference to suppression on nematode reproduction; biochemical taxonomy of closely related species of fresh water monogeneans.

Plant Sciences

In the area of Plant Sciences, projects supported during the year include basic research and some application oriented R&D. Some of the projects funded during the year were: Synergistic control of Post Harvest Diseases with Biological, Physical and Chemical Elicitors; Development of technology for sugarcane transformation for á-endotoxin mediated stalk borer resistance; Investigations on Bacterial Canker of Tomato in Karnataka; Application of Mycorrhizal Biotechnology for Regeneration of Multipurpose species of High Altitude conifers; Use of bioprotectant against fungal deterioration of rubber wood; Researches on natural decay resistance of juvenile timers like poplars; Studies of Endophytic Fungi from Medicinal plants and their Metabolites; Assessment of genetic variability of Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) germplasm using morphological traits and molecular markers; Evaluation of Regeneration Status and Behaviour of a few Rare/Endangered Tree Species in Tropical Rain Forests in and around Arunachal Pradesh; Molecular basis of unique developmental biology of Podostemads; Development of cryopreservation protocols in banana and ginger; Ultra structural and molecular basis of male sterility in Brassica juncea treated with some chemical hybridizing agents; Investigating the molecular mechanism of auxin dependent stress tolerance in plants using an Arachis hypogea cell suspension culture; Bioprospection of wild flora of Western Ghats for search of Potential aromatic crops; Pollen based selection for Wilt resistance in Chickpea and its Validation with Molecular Markers etc.

Some important results in ongoing projects were as follows:

In the project “Molecular Analysis and characterization of Phototropic Mutants of Tomato” the first genetic evidence for the function of a negative regulator in the transduction of phototropic signals has been reported and was published in the Plant Physiology, (134: 790-800), which was recommended by “Faculty of 1000”( a group of eminent biologist ) as new finding in the area of plant sciences.

- Cyanobacteria (blue green algae) were investigated for their potential as a source of Restriction endonucleases. Several isolates were screened by the ăDNA digestion analysis and Oscillatoria foreaui isolated from rice fields of Kerala was taken up for a detailed study. O. foreaui contained a restriction enzyme OfoI which was reported as the first report from India on cyanobacterial restriction enzymes (Saravanan et al., 2003). The enzyme was purified by phosphocellulose column chromatography followed by heparin sepharose column chromatography. The enzyme can be an alternate for AvaI because the purification procedure is simpler and the enzyme is active up to 60oC .(Figure 2.5).

In another project, biodiversity and functional ecology of tropical dry evergreen forests of Coromandal coast of India were investigated. Tree diversity of ten studied forests totaled 77 species (range 19-35 species/ha), density 2,207 stems/ha and basal area 21.9 m2/ha. Bio-monitoring of permanent plots yielded mean growth rate of 4 mm/yr, increased recruitment than mortality and high annual litter production (13.4 t/ha) and also fruit production (0.76 t/ha) (Figure 2.6). These data have potential application in conservation of these under-studied and related forests.

- The mechanism of cell wall modification by means of cell wall cross linking of hydroxyproline rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) has been shown for the first time in India in the project “Induction of Hydroxyproline rich glycoprotein in pearl millet for protection against downy mildew disease” (Figure 2.7). These HRGPs can be used to manage plant disease by either over-expression in transgenic plants or by inducing their accumulation in existing crop plants by novel elicitor molecules.

- In a project on molecular characterization of stress genes of rice plant at University of Delhi, South Campus, New Delhi, for the first time, rice hsp100 gene (accession number AJ316025) has been cloned and sequenced. Importantly, the study has shown that introduction and expression of rice hsp100 cDNA in .hsp100 yeast cells complement the thermo tolerance defect in yeast cells (Figure 2.8). The ongoing work shows that rice hsp100 gene may be critical for governing high temperature tolerance in plants.

Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Microbiology

The program on Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology continued to be successfully implemented. A number of new projects were initiated in the broad area of biochemistry, protein structure and function, protein design, computational biology, cell structure and signal transduction, microbial chemistry, genes, cloning and their regulatory mechanisms, etc.

Some of the projects sanctioned under the programme are “Assembly studies on the virus like particles formed by deletion and substitution mutants of the coat proteins of ssRNA plant viruses”, “Regulation and mechanism of initiation of protein synthesis in Escherichia coli: Role of the three consecutive G, C.base pairs in the anticodon stem of the initiator tRNAs”,“Chaperone assisted Folding study of Escherichia coli Maltodextrin Glucosidase (MalZ)”, “Structural basis of specific operator recognition and engineering for novel specificity”, “Obtaining Highly active enzyme preparations for Nonaqueous enzymology” “ Development of orientation and frequency selectivity in visual cortex” “Intermolecular Interactions in Crystals and Biomolecules”, “molecular characterisation of genes causing primary open angle glaucoma”, “Genome scale identication and functional characterisation of genes in zinc ion homeostasis in Mycobacterium smegmatis”, “Development of human pancreatic ribonuclease as a cytoxin”,“A high throughput genetic screen and characterization of tumor suppressors/negative regulators of growth in Drosphila”, “Microbial Transformation of Lignocellulose and its Potential applications”, “X-ray Crystallographic and other structural studies on Plant lectins.”

Some of the results reported from the ongoing projects were as follows:

- During the studies of the folding nature and the conformational features of synthetic peptides, it has been found that these peptides self assemble to form either supramolecular helical or sheet structure. Upon further aggregation, in most of the cases these helices/sheets form fibrillar structures which show resemblance with neurodegenerative disease causing amyloid fibrils. These peptides can be used as model peptides for amyloid like fibrillation study in detail.

- In a project on molecular analysis of human hyaluronic acid binding protein(HABP1) that has multifunctional activity, structure-function relationship of HABP1 and importance of juxtaposition of some key residues in the three dimentional structure of HABP1 which might be necessary for its HA binding, has been established.

- In a project on “Biochemical markers of Cataract of eye lens” a fluorophore namely xanthurenic acid 8-O-B-d-glucoside (XAOG) that accumulates in the lens has been identified and isolated. Chemical structure and possible pathway of its formation in the lens has been elucidated. It has also been demonstrated that XAOG oxidizes proteins when irradiated thereby causing damage to the protein. Its accumulation in the ageing human lens can thus add to the oxidative burden. XAOG thus appears to be the endogenous chromophore in the lens which can act as a cataractogenic agent.

- Two new genes required for cardiovascular development in mammals have been identified and extensively characterized by using mouse embryonic stem cells and mouse chimeras. They have been named as asrij and rudhira to indicate their involvement in blood vessel formation and tumor angiogenesis.