VIGYAAN PRAVAH @SBB · informatics: Emerging research trends and applications at K. G. Somaiya...

Some of our students also work

at eminent National Research

and Academic Institutes and also

in the Industry.

The collaborations are strong

and very fruitful research out-

comes have emerged for the

learning environment.

I am sure the newsletter will help

to create a new wave of enthusi-

asm amongst the students and

faculty and will promote the

efforts towards excellence in

science and technology educa-

tion. Our task forwards is creation and

dissemination of new knowledge

and this endeavor is another

milestone in the journey.

It is indeed a very happy mo-

ment for me to launch the first

Scientific Newsletter of the

School of Biotechnology and

Bioinformatics, D. Y. Patil

Deemed to be University, Navi

Mumbai. This newsletter titled

“Vigyaan Pravah” aims to show-

case the research done by the

students in their final semes-

ter dissertations.

The newsletter will also pro-

vide information about the

various scientific activities

and achievements in the

School. The faculties at the

School encourage students to

broaden the horizon of their

minds and create a learning eco-

system conducive to excellence

in science and technology educa-

tion. It is extremely heartening

for me to note the synergy be-

tween faculty and students in

their efforts to further the bound-

aries of research capabilities.

Faculty Achievements

Mr. Naveen Padmadas acted as a resource person for

AICTE and ISTE approved short term teachers training pro-

gram on "Bioinformatics: Emerging Research Trends and

Applications" at K. J. Somaiya College of Engineering,

Mumbai. He delivered talks on the topics: (1) Bioinformatics

online databases, (2) Fundamentals of structural Bioinformat-

ics and Bioinformatics Techniques in Protein Structure Pre-

diction, (3) Bioinformatics tools in Genome analysis

Mr. Naveen Padmadas was a special invitee for Board of

Studies -Biochemistry meeting, University of Mumbai held

on 27th June, 2017

Dr Sunita Singh acted as resource person of AICTE and

ISTE approved short term teachers training program on Bio-

informatics: Emerging research trends and applications at K.

G. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai on 27th June,

2017. She delivered a talk on 'Fundamentals of Genomics'

Mr. Ashish Dabade attended the Training of " Safe and

Nutrition Food at School" organized by EU - India (Capacity

Building Initiative for Trade Development on 12th & 13th

June, 2017

CONTENTS DIRECTOR’S

MESSAGE

FACULTY

ACHEIVEMENTS

STUDENTS’

ACHEIVEMENTS

EVENTS

EXTENSION

ACTIVITIES

RESEARCH CON-

TRIBUTION OF

THE STUDENTS’

UPCOMING EVENTS

Director’s Message

July 2017

Issue -1

Science Academies’

Lecture Workshop on

‘Biotechnology for

crop improvement’:

21st & 22nd September,

2017

Technical Festival:

15th & 16th January,

2018

VIGYAAN PRAVAH @SBB ….Nurturing Science


Dr. Neelu Joshi attended a National Workshop on " Aptitude Development and Conceptualiza-

tion of Research in Chemical, Biological and Inter - disciplinary Sciences" sponsored by Indian Soci-

ety of Chemists and Biologists, Local Chapter (West Zone) Udaipur, held on 26th February, 2017

Ms. Neelima Shivale received Best poster presentation award for the topic “Marine Environ-

ment: potential source of anti oxidant producing bacteria” at National Symposium on “Frontiers in

Applied Biological & Chemical Sciences” organized by the Research Centre of Microbiology Depart-

ment of Smt. Chandibai Himathmal Mansukhani College, Ulhasnagar on 10th& 11th February, 2017

Ms. Yadnya Parvate presented a paper entitled " Effect of Colve oil on the biochemical profile

of the nervous tissue of Achatina fulica" at two days National Symposium on “Frontiers in Applied

Biological & Chemical Sciences” organized by the Research Centre of Microbiology Department of

Smt. Chandibai Himathmal Mansukhani College, Ulhasnagar on 10th & 11th February, 2017

Ms. Priti Uchgaonkar presented a paper entitled " A study on the Antimicrobial Metabolite

produced by Marine Pseudomonas" at two days National Symposium on “Frontiers in Applied Bio-

logical & Chemical Sciences” organized by the Research Centre of Microbiology Department of Smt.

Chandibai Himathmal Mansukhani College, Ulhasnagar on 10th & 11th February, 2017

Dr. Azza Silotry Naik attended Food Safety Summit organized by Agilent Technologies at Ramada Powai Hotel and Convention Centre, Mum-

bai on 6th & 7th June, 2017

A Patent filed by Mr. Aman Zalawadia, Mr. Anuj Thapar, Mr. Ashish Dabade and Dr. Debjani Dasgupta on "Chemical Neutralizer for Denaturation of

Pesticides" was published in the official journal of patent office on 5th May, 2017. (Issue N. 18/2017)

Dr. Sunita Singh delivered a talk entitled " Unrevealing evolutionary transition among genomes using conventional barcoding pr inciples" at

5th National level conference on "Contemporary Development at Biotech-Bioinformatics Interface" on 26th March, 2017, organized by BIT Virtual

Patan Node, Department of Life Sciences, Hem. North Gujrat University, Patan

Mr. Naveen Padmadas delivered a talk entitled " Computational approaches to unveil the dynamics of Aβ-HSP60 p458 conjugate to HLA-DR-

DRB allele in Alzheimer's disease patients". He also acted as a judge for oral presentation session at 5th National level conference on "Contemporary

Development at Biotech-Bioinformatics Interface" on 26th March, 2017, organized by BIT Virtual Patan Node, Department of Life Sciences, Hem.

North Gujrat University, Patan

Ms. Sneha Dokhale acted as a r esource person and delivered a talk on ‘Advanced Bioinformatics’ for One Day Workshop on 11 th March, 2017

at Birla College, Kalyan


THE ART AND

SCIENCE OF ASK-

ING QUESTIONS IS

THE SOURCE OF

ALL KNOWLEDGE

- THOMAS BERGER

Issue No 1 July 2017

Mr. Subhash Kudale presented a paper entitled ‘Hairy root induction and estima-

tion of secondary metabolite from field grown root & hairy root of Spilanthes acmella

L.’ in the one day national conference on ‘Emerging Trends and Classicals in Life

Sciences (ETC-LS 2017)’ organized by Yashwantrao Chavan Warana Mahavidyalaya,

Warananagar (Maharashtra) on 28th January, 2017

Ms. Bhakti Mhatre presented a poster entitled " Impact of Morinda citrifolia L.

aqueous fruit extract on the oxidative stress induced by methotrexate on renal & gas-

trointestinal tissue - in vivo studies on rat models" and was awarded 2nd prize in the

one day National Level Research Meet in Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Environmen-

tal Sciences, Microbiology & Phytochemicals organized by Konark Group in Associa-

tion with VES college, Chembur, Mumbai on 18th January, 2017

Ms. Yadnya Parvate presented a poster entitled " Toxicity of clove oil to the pes-

tiferous land snail Achatina fulica" in the one day National Level Research Meet in

Life Sciences, Biotechnology, Environmental Sciences, Microbiology & Phytochemi-

cals organized by Konark Group in Association with VES college, Chembur, Mumbai

on 18th January, 2017

Ms. Priti Uchgaonkar presented a poster entitled " Bioprospecting of Bioactive

compounds from marine bacteria" in the one day National Level Research Meet in Life

Sciences, Biotechnology, Environmental Sciences, Microbiology & Phytochemicals

organized by Konark Group in Association with VES college, Chembur, Mumbai on

18th January, 2017

Dr. Manish Bhat acted as a Judge for Avishkar - Research Convention of the Uni-

versity of Mumbai held on 19th December, 2016 at SIES College of Commerce and

Economics, Nerul, Navi Mumbai

Dr. Mala Parab acted as a Rappor teur for poster session dur ing a National Con-

ference on Innovative and Current Advances in Agriculture and Allied Sciences

(ICAAAS-2016) organized by Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural Univer-

sity, Rajendranager, Hyderabad (Telangana) on 10th & 11thDecember, 2016

Dr. Mala Parab received an Award for “Excellence in Teaching”, by Astha Foun-

dation and Society for Scientific Development in Agriculture & Technology, during a

National Conference on Innovative and Current Advances in Agriculture and Allied

Sciences (ICAAAS-2016) organized by Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultur-

al University, Rajendranager, Hyderabad (Telangana) on 10th & 11thDecember, 2016

Dr. Manish Bhat delivered a Vir tual Lecture on the topic " Lactic Acid Bacter ia

and Bacteriocin" organized by Microbiologist Society, India on 5th December, 2016

Dr. Debjani Dasgupta, Director has been nominated as a member of Board of

Studies (Biochemistry) at St. Xavier's College, Mumbai (2016-2017 and 2017-2018)

Dr. Arpita Gupte has been nominated as Doctoral Review Committee member for

the doctoral students admitted in the year 2016 - 17 at Parul University, Vadodara,

Gujarat


THE SCIENCE OF

TODAY IS THE

TECHNOLOGY OF

TOMORROW

- EDWARD TELLER

Students’ Achievements

Ms. Neha Satam, Ph. D. Student, won scientific poster presentation award at 6th Annual Meeting

of Indian Academy of Biomedical Sciences (IABS - 2017) held on 6th -8th January, 2017

Ms. Parmi Thakkar, B. Tech Biotechnology Program has been appointed as " Campus Ambassa-

dor of Transform Maharashtra" an initiative led by Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri. Devendra

Fadnavis

Mr. Jason Baby, M. Tech Integrated (2015 batch) has been awarded with prestigious Marine Curie

ITN Scholarship for a joint Ph. D. program at UC Louvain, Belgium and University of Cambridge, U.K.


Mr. Vinay Iyer of M. Tech. Integrated program has been selected for the Yes Foundation Media for Social Change

Fellowship 2017, in Association with Indian School of Design and Innovation - WPP School of Communication and Support-

ed by Yes Bank

Samruddhi Award - The award was given to a project entitled “Enhancing Quality Attributes and reducing oil absorp-

tion in Indian Traditional fermented fried food”. This is a collaborative project between School of Biotechnology and Bioin-

formatics and KIT’s College of Engineering. Mr. Ashish Dabade, faculty of SBB had supervised this research work

Mr. Pratyush Tandale was a par t of Mobile Division Team for development of GET Application for Reliance in-

dustries in iOS environment June 2017

Students of the School qualified CSIR - NET examination in Life Sciences

Pawar SS, Dasgupta D (2016) Quantification Phenolic content from stembark and root of Hugonia mystax Linn using

RP-HPLC. Journal of King Saud University-Science. Doi.org/10.1016/j.jksus.2016.09.002

Solanki, C. Selvaa Kumar, F. Sheth, N. Radhakrishnan, M. Kalara, B. Vundinti (2017). Characterization of two novel

FANCG mutations in Indian Fanconi anemia patients. Leukemia Research, 53. 50-56.

Bhakti M., Gupta P., Marar T. (2017) Evaluation of drug candidature of some anthraquinones from Morinda

citrifolia L. as inhibitor of human dihydrofolate reductase enzyme: Molecular docking and in silico studies, Computa-

tional Toxicology 1, 33 - 38.

N. Patel, K. Anchalkar, M. Varunjikar, M. Parab, S. Singh (2017) Effect of Salinity on Antioxidant, Proline and Ion

Content in Luffa acutangula. Trends in Biosciences, 10(6), 1426 - 1430.

* Parekh, A. Khanvilkar, A. Nailk (2017) Barley-wheat brewers' spent grain: A potential source of antioxidant rich lipids, Journal of Food Processing Preservation, 1 - 8. https://doi. org/10.1111/jfpp.13244.

P. Gupta, S. Singh, P. Panda, D. Jasnik, S. Chhajed, V. Bastikar (2017) Screening and Indentification of Struc-

tural Analogs of GW9662 and T0070907 Potent Antagonists of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma: In-Silico Drug-Designing Approach, Journal of Proteomics & Bioinformatics, 10(3), 85-93.

P. Chandrani, K. Prabhash, A. Choughule, R. Prasad, V. Sethunath, M. Rajan, P. Iyer, J. Aich, H. Dhamne, D. Iyer, P.

Upadhyay, B. Mohanty, P. Chandana, R. Kumar, A. Joshi, V. Noronha, V. Patil, A. Ramaswamy, A. Karpe, R. Thorat,

P. Chaudhari, A. Ingle, A. Dutt (2017) Drug-sensitive FGFR3 mutations in lung adenocarcinoma, Annals of Oncolo-gy, 28(3)597-603.

R. Pol., A. Khandavalli (2017) Cerium Oxide Nanopar ticles: Synthesis, Character ization and Study of Antimi-

crobial Activity, Journal of Nanomaterials & Molecular Nanotechnology, 6:3.

R. Badi. M. Bhat (2017) Isolation studies of Bacteriocin producing Lactic Acid, World Journal of Microbiology, 4(1),

093-099.

D. Garg, N. Mohanan (2017) Evaluation of Phytochemical, Antioxidative and Antimicrobial Effect of Magnif-

era indica, Leaf Extracts on Oral Dental Pathogens, International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research,

8(4), 1689 - 1693.

R. Negi, A. Naik (2017) Non-prolamine fraction from brewer's spent grain: a novel plant-based emulsifier, Food

Measure. doi:10.1007/s11694-016-9460-7

S. Kulkarni, P. Gupta, P. Andhe (2017) Investigation of Enzymes Binding to " Voglibose - an Antidiabetic Drug"

and the Choice of Enzyme to be used for Biosensing, British Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 14(3): 1 - 10.

Book Chapter: P. Gupta (2017) Translational Bioinformatics and Drug Discovery (Springer) (Print) 978-94-024-1043-

3(Online) 978-94-024-1045-7

Asma Ashraf Khan, Adil Gani, FA Masoodi, Umar Mushtaq, Azza Silotry Naik. Structural, rheological, antioxidant,

and functional properties of β–glucan extracted from edible mushrooms Agaricus bisporus, Pleurotus ostreatus and Coprinus attrimentarius https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcdf.2017.07.006

Extension Activities

SBB-DYPU signed a MoU with NCL Pune to collaborate on a project entitled "Molecular

Modelling Studies to Understand GPCR - ligand Interactions."

SBB-DYPU signed a MoU with KIT college of Engineering, Kolhapur for academic and re-

search collaborations.

Collaborations established with TERI for spread of Environmental Consciousness and

Awareness in Sustainable Development in Navi Mumbai area.


Publications

SUCCESS IS A

SCIENCE; IF YOU

HAVE THE CON-

DITIONS, YOU

GET THE RESULT.

- OSCAR WILDE

A Laboratory Staff Program was organized from 3rd - 7th March 2017. The teaching faculty at

SBB were resource persons for the training. All Laboratory Assistants participated in the said

program which included different modules of Life Sciences

A Lecture on "Future of Genomics and Promising Career Opportunities in Genome Informatics"

was delivered by Mr. Hitesh Goswami, Co Founder of Bionivid Technology (P) Limited, Benga-

luru, India at the School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics on 16th February, 2017. The talk

focused on Next Generation Sequencing and its Applications

Industry Academia Meet was held on Saturday, 4th February, 2017 at School of Biotechnology

and Bioinformatics. The theme of the event was “Perspectives on Industry - Preparedness of Stu-

dents”


Events

The School's teaching faculty were trained to access and use the Virtual

Labs, IITB. A demonstration on the right way of using the feedback portal

was also carried out. The program was conducted on 1st and 2nd of May

2017 by Mr. Naveen P and Ms. Sreedevi Kulkarni

A lecture on "Encapsulation for Targeted Delivery" by Dr. Aadil Gani,

Assistant Professor, Department of Food Sciences, University of Kashmir

was held on 12th April, 2017. The speaker highlighted the research findings

of his projects viz. Microencapsulation of probiotics using resistant starch

and B-glucan, Biodegradable packaging material from rice starch, Simulat-

ed gastrointestinal conditions for targeted delivery of probiotics, etc

A demonstration of Molecular Device ‘Microspectrophotometer’ was orga-

nized by Dr Ravi Kishore on 1st April, 2017 for the Faculty. Dr. Mosami

Galvankar and Mr. Akash Vishwanathan, Product Specialist from Spinco

Biotech Pvt Ltd. elaborated on the specifications of the instrument with a

presentation which was followed by the demonstration of the instrument

A Virtual Lecture on "Recent Trends in Biotechnology" was delivered by Dr.

A. M. Deshmukh, President, Microbiological Society, India on 3rd January,

2017. The speaker explained advanced trends of Biotechnology in very lucid

and interesting way

A Virtual Lecture on "Development of Biosensors" by Dr. Trupti Gokhale,

Associate Professor, Head - BITS, Dubai Campus was conducted on 16th Janu-

ary, 2017. Speaker explained basic principle and components of Biosensor

SCIENCE IS THE

GREAT ANTIDOTE

TO THE POISON OF

ENTHUSIASM AND

SUPERSTITION

- ADAM SMITH

Augmented Effect Of Plastic Degrading Consortia (Pdc) For Bioremediation Of Waste Plastic Samples Using Fuller-

ene Nanoparticle And Its Formulization

Benu George Mary - M. Tech Biotechnology

Waste plastic accumulating in the environment is posing an ever increasing ecological threat. Plastics that are biodegradable

can be considered environment friendly, they have an increasing potential application and are well driven by the growing use

of plastics in packaging industry. In this study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa MCC 2935 (ST1), Pseudomonas putida MCC 2989

(ST2) and Microbacterium sp. MCC 3061 (ST1) microbes degradation on various types of waste plastic samples i.e. black

color plastic bag (B), plastic cup (C), plastic milk cover (MC), plastic bottle (PB) were studied. Significantly ST1 could de-

grade plastic bag upto 10%, ST2 could degrade plastic bag and milk cover upto 24% and 6.66% respectively. Whereas ST3

could degrade plastic bag upto 13% only. Consortia prepared from mixture of above three microbes resulted in 33%, 21%,

19% and 19% of degradation for plastic milk cover, plastic bag, plastic cup and plastic bottle respectively. Augmented effect

of 37%, 28% and 22% was observed for plastic milk cover, plastic bag and plastic bottle respectively, when samples were

subjected to degradation with 0.01% of Fullerene-60 nanoparticle. In view of formulization study when consortia was immo-

bilized with activated charcoal plastic milk cover, plastic bag and plastic bottle degraded upto 35%, 17% and 17% respective-

ly.

Isothermal DNA amplification on paper substrate for Tuberculosis detection

Priyanka S. Naik M. Tech Biotechnology

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) which primarily affects the lungs.

The current diagnosis relies upon bacterial culture using the patient samples and DNA amplification using PCR. However,

bacterial culture is time-consuming and requires frequent user-intervention and PCR utilizes expensive instrumentation

which is scarcely available in low-resource settings. There is, hence, a need to develop alternatives which will resolve afore

mentioned issues. A step towards addressing the current pitfalls is to bring the solution based amplification to a paper plat-

form so as to enable seamless integration into a Point-of-Care (POC) device. Helicase Dependant Amplification (HDA), an

isothermal amplification method, has shown similar efficiency in amplification when compared with PCR. This will serve to

reduce the time to diagnosis and cost of operation. HDA has been employed in this study in order to achieve amplification of

MTB genomic DNA at a single temperature of 65°C. The solution to paper transition occurred fluently when the PCR ampli-

fied 84bp fragment was provided as a template for HDA. Under optimal reaction parameters of HDA, MTB genomic DNA

has been successfully amplified in solution. However, transposition of the same to paper is challenging because of changed

parameters from a free flowing liquid to a fibrous substrate. In this study, these challenges were overcome and artificial spu-

tum which mimics the viscous nature of clinical samples was used to successfully validate the amplification protocol. Addi-

tionally, lysis efficiency at a constant temperature of 65°C has been studied and complete lysis of Mycobacteria has been

reported in this study. These results can be viewed as first step towards safe handling of TB samples in a non-clinical envi-

ronment during diagnosis; without compromising on the time required for diagnosis. The scope of this study could be extend-

ed to devising a point-of-care device for TB diagnosis which is as easy to use as a pregnancy kit.

Research Contributions of the Students

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less. ― Marie Curie


Local indigenous fruit derived juices as alternate source of acidity regulators

Cassandra D’souza, Rosaline Fernandes – MSc Food Science and Technology Acidity regulators are food additives that alter and control acidity of a food product. They play a significant role in food pro-

cessing, safety and sensory perception. The objective of this study was to explore local indigenous fruits as source of natural

acidity regulators. Acidic juice extracted from fruits of Garcinia indica (kokum), Embilica officinalis (amla) and Tamarindus

indica (raw tamarind) was used as acidulant. Coconut milk with a higher pH was used as medium for acidification. The buff-

ering capacity (β) was measured and expressed in mM H+ pH-1 L-1 of medium. The acid composition of fruit was estimated

by HPLC while the antioxidant activity was assessed by DPPH radical scavenging method. Shelf-life study of the acidified

media stored at 4°C was carried out for a week. Potentiometric titration showed kokum to possess remarkably high buffering

capacity of 211.10 ± 3.21 mM H+ pH-1 L-1 in comparison to raw tamarind (60.14 ± 1.53 mM H+ pH-1 L-1) and amla (51.48 ±

0.88 mM H+ pH-1 L-1). Tamarind had tartaric acid (4.84 mg/g) as its principle acid along with traces of citric acid (0.07 mg/g).

Kokum showed high level of citric acid (22.75 mg/g) in addition to some tartaric acid (0.58 mg/g). Amla had citric acid (2.73

mg/g) and ascorbic acid (2.69 mg/g) at significantly higher concentration as compared to tartaric acid (0.41 mg/g). The

DPPH scavenging activity determined was high for amla (91.28%) and tamarind (90.98%) as compared to kokum (31.88%).

Shelf life study showed total plate count to be within the prescribed limits (1.0 × 104 cfu/g) upto a week for both amla and

kokum acidified media. The present investigation confirmed the suitability of indigenous fruit juices as alternatives to exist-

ing acidity regulators. This study will help in formulation of shelf stable and functional vegetable-fruit beverages.

Optimization Of Gamma Radiation Dose For Lipid Accumulation In Chlorella Species Kmn3

Sharanya Unnikrishnan - B. Tech Biotechnology

Oil-accumulating microalgae have the potential to enable large-scale biodiesel production without competing for arable land

or biodiverse natural landscapes. Like plants, microalgae utilize daylight to produce oils and they do so much more profi-

ciently than crop plants. Oil productivity of numerous microalgae incredibly surpasses the oil efficiency of the best delivering

oil crops. High lipid productivity of rapidly developing algae is a noteworthy essential for commercial production of microal-

gal oil-derived biodiesel. In this study, Chlorella sorokinana KMN3 that was previously isolated from Nisargruna Biogas

Plant effluent was used. Gamma radiation was used as a stressor which may modify lipid biosynthesis pathway of the micro-

algae influencing the lipid production. Early stationary phase of chlorella species KMN3 was utilized for stress treatment

(Gamma radiation). Gamma radiation at different dosages ranging from 100 Gy to 1100 Gy was given to determine lipid ac-

cumulation. Lipid extraction was performed for quantification of lipid following 24, 48 and 72 hours. The lipid produced was

considerably higher than the control tests. In case of the lower doses of gamma radiation the lipid produced was less when

contrasted with the measure of lipid produced at higher dosages of gamma radiation. In the meantime to decipher the lipid

generation qualitatively Nile red staining was done to check the accumulation of lipid bodies inside the cell. The oil bodies in

the microalgal cells when stained with Nile red dye indicated yellow fluorescence when observed utilizing fluorescence mi-

croscope. The lipid produced was more in treated samples when contrasted with un-irradiated control samples.

Molecular Characterization of Midgut microbiota of Aedes aegypti larvae from different regions of Mumbai. Chanakya L. Jethwa - B. Tech Biotechnology

The composition and structure of microbial communities that inhabiting the midgut of mosquito larvae are poorly understood

despite their well-documented potential in the host-parasite interaction and pathogen survival is thought to be an outcome of

this interaction. The present study determined bacterial community in the midgut of wild-caught Aedes larvae in Mumbai

region. Gut microbiota of larvae collected from different locations were screened by biochemical tests. Bacterial species de-

termination was achieved by sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes. Overall we found a low diversity in bacterial species

from larvae collected from different sites except few. Our findings set the foundation for further studies to determine the in-

fluence of these microbiota on vector susceptibility to pathogens.



An experiment is a question which science poses to Nature, and a measurement is the recording of Nature’s answer - Max Planck

Modultion Of Factors Effecting Expression Of Leaf Shape Controlling Microrna In Cardamine Hirsuta

Aanchal Verma - B. Tech Biotechnology

Botanists’ favourite model organism Arabidopsis thaliana is a Eurasian weed. Being a plant used to growing in temperate

conditions, maintaining it in colleges and research centers of tropic countries might not be economical and feasible. Instead, a

close relative, Cardamine hirsute proves to be a better model system than Arabidopsis. Not only can Cardamine grow in trop-

ic conditions, with minimum requirements of soil, sunlight and ample moisture, it also possesses special characteristic of

having compound (dissected) leaves, which is not present in simple leaved Arabidopsis. Adding on to this, Cardamine shows

heterophylly, the leaves show different characteristics in juvenile, adult and reproductive phase. We have compiled a list of

genes whose function is to form a compound leaf. Nuclear proteins RCO, KNOX, STM and CUC are transcriptional factors

which play an important role in compound leaf development. These transcription factors are finely regulated by microRNA

mediated inhibition. In this study, ethylene and sucrose were used to reduce the expression of miRNA 164 and 156, respec-

tively. Reduction in miRNA leads to less repression of CUC, which directly increases dissection of the leaf. When the plants

were exposed to ethylene and sucrose for 2hrs, a distinct leaf shape change was observed. To validate the role of CUC in leaf

morphology, expression of gene CUC was analysed by gene expression profiling. Understanding molecular basis of biologi-

cal process using the easily available Arabidopsis relative will be convenient and preferred.

Combined effect of chemical preservative and irradiation on green onions to increase shelf life

Nagma Memon, Adnya Talathi– MSc Food Science and Technology

Irradiation and chemical preservative and a combination of both methods were used to increase the shelf life of fresh-cut

green onions and to study their effect on its quality. The effect of sodium benzoate (0.1% solution) and gamma Irradiation (1

kGY , 1.5 kGy) alone and in combination on fresh-cut green onions was studied for 16 days at 5 °C However, sodium benzo-

ate treatment along with irradiation was better than irradiation alone. Results showed that, chemical and irradiation 1 kGy

treatment on fresh-cut green onions kept at 5°C helped to improve the color, and to maintain firmness and reduced microbial

count. It increased the chlorophyll content and carotenoid content and reduced the moisture content. Leakage of water was

observed in samples with 1.5 kGy after 16 days of storage. Hence, use of chemical and irradiation 1 kGy treatment on fresh-

cut green onions has been shown to be effective in extending shelf life of fresh-cut green onions up to 16 days at 5°C

Evolvability Vs. Robustness In Feed-Forward Regulatory Networks

Sherin Ann Eapen - B. Tech Bioinformatics

Transcription networks are made up of recurring wiring patterns known as network motifs. These motifs include feed-

forward loops, feed-back loops, and simple regulation patterns amongst many others. The feed-forward loop is one of the

most significant and ubiquitous network motif that is found in abundance across many living systems. It has been observed

that the occurrence of feed-forward loops is not merely random. It has survived over successive evolutionary generations

against mutations and its structure and function have remained robust to changes. Since these feed-forward loops are over

represented, it implies that living forms do like this structure. In this structure that living forms do like and accept, what is the

relationship shared between evolvability and robustness? The aim of this project is to answer this question by using Boolean

algebra to analyze the steady states of transcription factors and the genes they regulate with the help of cis-regulatory input

functions, like AND logic and OR logic, for all the possible structural types of feed-forward loops incorporated with feed-

back loops. Our project also focuses on understanding the function and kinetics shown by feed-forward loops. Analysis of

this strategy is done mathematically by solving a system of differential equations in MATLAB using the ode function. Re-

sults obtained from this study shows the relationship between evolvability and robustness that is observed in feed-forward

loops. Furthermore, the kinetics of expression of target genes followed by feed-forward loops is also explained in this project.


Nothing has such power to broaden the mind as the ability to investigate systematically and truly all that comes under thy observation in life. —Marcus Aurelius


Cloning and Expression analysis of Phosphatase gene from Sphingobium RSMS Strain

Gayatri Chandrashekhar Yadav - B. Tech Bioinformatics

Tributyl phosphate (TBP) is an organophosphorus compound, which is used for the extraction of Uranium and Plutonium.

TBP is an ester of phosphoric acid and butanol. TBP undergoes chemical/radiolytic degradation, which makes it inefficient

for further cycles of the extraction process and therefore should be treated and discarded as waste material. Chemical destruc-

tion, incineration and alkaline hydrolysis are some of the methods which are employed for the treatment of TBP waste. Alka-

line treatment of TBP at high temperatures results in the formation of dibutyl phosphate and butanol. Since physicochemical

methods produce a high amount of secondary waste, management of which is difficult, bioremediation has always been con-

sidered an alternative for organic waste management. An eco-friendly process which could facilitate complete degradation of

TBP is highly desirable. A novel strain of Sphingobium sp. was isolated from radioactive solid waste management site

(RSMS), which could degrade and efficiently use TBP as a sole source of carbon and phosphorous. Biochemical pathway for

the TBP degradation was elucidated, in which dibutylphopshate (DBP), monobutyl phosphate (MBP), butanol and inorganic

phosphate were found to be the intermediates and products of TBP degradation. A mutant, incapable of degrading TBP, DBP

or MBP was isolated. The protein profile studies indicated the absence of phosphoesterases from mutant in comparison to the

wild type RSMS strain. An efficient monobutyl phosphate degrading clone was isolated from the genomic DNA library of

the RSMS strain. The phosphatase clone found to contain a putative Acid phosphates gene in its genomic insert. The current

study aimed at cloning of such acid phosphatase gene in suitable vector and further to carry out expression analysis using

appropriate biochemical assays.

Cloning, Overexpression, Purification And Biophysical Characterisation Of A Cyanobacterial Lectin

Ms. Jinal Thakkar - B. Tech Bioinformatics

Cyanovirin-N (CV-N) is an ~ 11 kDa lectin isolated from cyanobacterium Nostoc ellipsosporum. Native CVN protein shows

potent neutralizing activity against Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). It binds with high affinity to HIV envelope gly-

coprotein-120 and inhibits the entry of the virus. However, inspite of being an effective anti-viral agent, the large scale pro-

duction of this protein has been a challenge. Hence, in the present study an alternate expression platform has been tried to

increase the production of this protein. The strategy employed is to clone the synthetic construct of CV-N (with additional

adding Hexa Histidine tag at C terminal) in E. coli using vector pET23b and overexpress it in SHuffle Express strain of E.

coli. Overexpression was performed at 30 °C and 16 °C by adding IPTG. However, the amount of CVN accumulating in in-

clusion bodies was much higher at 30 °C than at 16 °C. Hence 16 °C was considered as optimum temperature for expression

of CVN as it gave more protein in soluble fraction. The presence of soluble protein was first confirmed with SDS-PAGE

analysis and then the protein was purified with Ni-NTA affinity Chromatography technique, by using increasing concentra-

tion of imidazole for elution of bound protein. Presence of purified protein was re-analysed with SDS-PAGE electrophoresis.

Purified CV-N protein in good amounts along with histidine tag was of 107 amino acids with ~12 kDa molecular weight.

Biophysical Characterisation of protein was carried out using Dynamic Light Scattering and Circular Dichroism Spectrosco-

py. The results revealed that the highly purified CVN protein has a size of 5 nm (either a monomer or a dimer) and predomi-

nantly a β-sheet structure. General modelling docking studies of CV-N and gp120 protein were also carried out using compu-

tational methodologies. We were able to purify 120 mg/l E. coli of CVN, which is the highest reported yield of this protein in

soluble form for E. coli based expression platform.

A fact acquires its true and full value only through the idea which is developed from it - Justus von Liebig



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VIGYAAN PRAVAH @SBB · informatics: Emerging research trends and applications at K. G. Somaiya...

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