Browsing by Author "Kumar, Sunil"

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Dehydration-induced alterations in chloroplast proteome and reprogramming of cellular metabolism in developing chickpea delineate interrelated adaptive responses
(Elsevier B.V., 2020) Lande, Nilesh Vikam; Barua, Pragya; Gayen, Dipak; Kumar, Sunil; Varshney, Swati; Sengupta, Shantanu; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
Chloroplast, the energy organelle unique to photosynthetic eukaryotes, executes several crucial functions including photosynthesis. While chloroplast development and function are controlled by the nucleus, environmental stress modulated alterations perceived by the chloroplasts are communicated to the nucleus via retrograde signaling. Notably, coordination of chloroplast and nuclear gene expression is synchronized by anterograde and retrograde signaling. The chloroplast proteome holds significance for stress responses and adaptation. We unraveled dehydration-induced alterations in the chloroplast proteome of a grain legume, chickpea and identified an array of dehydration-responsive proteins (DRPs) primarily involved in photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism and stress response. Notably, 12 DRPs were encoded by chloroplast genome, while the rest were nuclear-encoded. We observed a coordinated expression of different multi-subunit protein complexes viz., RuBisCo, photosystem II and cytochrome b6f, encoded by both chloroplast and nuclear genome. Comparison with previously reported stress-responsive chloroplast proteomes showed unique and overlapping components. Transcript abundance of several previously reported markers of retrograde signaling revealed relay of dehydration-elicited signaling events between chloroplasts and nucleus. Additionally, dehydration-triggered metabolic adjustments demonstrated alterations in carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. This study offers a panoramic catalogue of dehydration-responsive signatures of chloroplast proteome and associated retrograde signaling events, and cellular metabolic reprograming.
Dehydration-responsive chickpea chloroplast protein, CaPDZ1, confers dehydration tolerance by improving photosynthesis
(John Wiley & Sons, 2022) Lande, Nilesh Vikram; Barua, Pragya; Gayen, Dipak; Wardhan, Vijay; Jeevaraj, Theboral; Kumar, Sunil; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
The screening of a dehydration-responsive chloroplast proteome of chickpea led us to identify and investigate the functional importance of an uncharacterized protein, designated CaPDZ1. In all, we identified 14 CaPDZs, and phylogenetic analysis revealed that these belong to photosynthetic eukaryotes. Sequence analyses of CaPDZs indicated that CaPDZ1 is a unique member, which harbours a TPR domain besides a PDZ domain. The global expression analysis showed that CaPDZs are intimately associated with various stresses such as dehydration and oxidative stress along with certain phytohormone responses. The CaPDZ1-overexpressing chickpea seedlings exhibited distinct phenotypic and molecular responses, particularly increased photosystem (PS) efficiency, ETR and qP that validated its participation in PSII complex assembly and/or repair. The investigation of CaPDZ1 interacting proteins through Y2H library screening and co-IP analysis revealed the interacting partners to be PSII associated CP43, CP47, D1, D2 and STN8. These findings supported the earlier hypothesis regarding the role of direct or indirect involvement of PDZ proteins in PS assembly or repair. Moreover, the GUS-promoter analysis demonstrated the preferential expression of CaPDZ1 specifically in photosynthetic tissues. We classified CaPDZ1 as a dehydration-responsive chloroplast intrinsic protein with multi-fold abundance under dehydration stress, which may participate synergistically with other chloroplast proteins in the maintenance of the photosystem.
Dehydration-responsive cytoskeleton proteome of rice reveals reprograming of key molecular pathways to mediate metabolic adaptation and cell survival
(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Kumar, Sunil; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
The plant cytoskeletal proteins play a key role that control cytoskeleton dynamics, contributing to crucial biological processes such as cell wall morphogenesis, stomatal conductance and abscisic acid accumulation in repercussion to water-deficit stress or dehydration. Yet, it is still completely unknown which specific biochemical processes and regulatory mechanisms the cytoskeleton uses to drive dehydration tolerance. To better understand the role of cytoskeleton, we developed the dehydration-responsive cytoskeletal proteome map of a resilient rice cultivar. Initially, four-week-old rice plants were exposed to progressive dehydration, and the magnitude of dehydration-induced compensatory physiological responses was monitored in terms of physicochemical indices. The organelle fractionation in conjunction with label-free quantitative proteome analysis led to the identification of 955 dehydration-responsive cytoskeletal proteins (DRCPs). To our knowledge, this is the first report of a stress-responsive plant cytoskeletal proteome, representing the largest inventory of cytoskeleton and cytoskeleton-associated proteins. The DRCPs were apparently involved in a wide array of intra-cellular molecules transportation, organelles positioning, cytoskeleton organization followed by different metabolic processes including amino acid metabolism. These findings presented open a unique view on global regulation of plant cytoskeletal proteome is intimately linked to cellular metabolic rewiring of adaptive responses, and potentially confer dehydration tolerance, especially in rice, and other crop species, in general.
Isolation of cytoskeleton and cytoskeleton-bound polysome, and identification of cytoskeletal proteins from a grain legume
(Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2026) Kumar, Sunil; Chakraborty, Sohela; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
The plant cytoskeleton is an essential component of cellular architecture, enabling various critical metabolic processes, including cell division, differentiation, expansion and intracellular transport. It consists primarily of three distinct filamentous structures: microtubules, microfilaments and intermediate filaments. These structures are not static; they undergo continuous remodeling in response to environmental signals and developmental cues, which allow plants to adapt to changing conditions. The microtubules and actin filaments have previously been successfully isolated from various plant tissues, contributing to our understanding of their functions. Among the diverse plant families, legumes (Fabaceae) stand out as the third largest, encompassing approximately 20,000 species. They hold significant agricultural importance, ranking second to cereals in global crop production. To fully grasp the developmental and adaptive processes in legumes, it is essential to identify and understand their regulatory components. This chapter focuses on the isolation of cytoskeletal proteins from chickpea, a prominent grain legume, facilitating biochemical and proteomic analyses that may uncover new insights into the functioning of the cytoskeleton in legumes.
OsDUF2488 acts synergistically with OsPrx1.1, regulates ROS metabolism and promotes dehydration tolerance in rice
(John Wiley & Sons, 2025) Gayen, Dipak; Kumar, Sunil; Barua, Pragya; Lande, Nilesh Vikram; Karmakar, Subhasis; Dey, Amit K.; Gayali, Saurabh; Maiti, Tushar Kanti; Molla, Kutubuddin Ali; Murumkar, Snehal; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
Stress-mediated regulation of energy metabolism and its relation to plant adaptation remain largely unknown. Mitochondrial redox potential is greatly influenced by stress-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS); therefore, we mapped the dehydration-induced alterations in the mitochondrial proteome of a resilient rice cultivar, Rasi, generating a proteome map representing the largest inventory of dehydration-responsive mitochondrial proteins from any plant species. Quantitative proteomic analysis led to the identification of an array of dehydration-responsive proteins (DRPs), associated with various cellular functions, conceivably impinging on the molecular mechanism of adaptation. One DRP identified in the mitochondrial proteome was yeast cadmium factor 54 (YCF54-like), also known as DUF (domain of unknown function) and hereafter referred to as OsDUF2488. We demonstrated that OsDUF2488 localises to mitochondria and preferentially interacts with peroxiredoxin, OsPrx1.1. Overexpression of OsDUF2488 in rice caused enhanced tolerance to dehydration and oxidative stress, while CRISPR/Cas9 knockout mutants of OsDUF2488 showed hypersensitivity to dehydration. Upon exposure to dehydration, OsDUF2488 could rescue mitochondrial dysfunction, contributing to increased ATP production in OsDUF2488-overexpressing rice. Coexpression of OsDUF2488 and OsPrx1.1 in yeast demonstrated a mutual effect on enhanced ROS catabolism, suggesting a cross-kingdom adaptive response of OsDUF2488. Our findings suggest that OsDUF2488 acts synergistically with OsPrx1.1 to regulate redox homeostasis and promote stress tolerance in rice.
The plant cytoskeleton takes center stage in abiotic stress responses and resilience
(John Wiley & Sons, 2023) Kumar, Sunil; Jeevaraj, Theboral; Yunus, Mohd Hadi; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
Stress resilience behaviours in plants are defensive mechanisms that develop under adverse environmental conditions to promote growth, development and yield. Over the past decades, improving stress resilience, especially in crop species, has been a focus of intense research for global food security and economic growth. Plants have evolved specific mechanisms to sense external stress and transmit information to the cell interior and generate appropriate responses. Plant cytoskeleton, comprising microtubules and actin filaments, takes a center stage in stress-induced signalling pathways, either as a direct target or as a signal transducer. In the past few years, it has become apparent that the function of the plant cytoskeleton and other associated proteins are not merely limited to elementary processes of cell growth and proliferation, but they also function in stress response and resilience. This review summarizes recent advances on the role of plant cytoskeleton and associated proteins in abiotic stress management. We provide a thorough overview of the mechanisms that plant cells employ to withstand different abiotic stimuli such as hypersalinity, dehydration, high temperature and cold, among others. We also discuss the crucial role of the plant cytoskeleton in organellar positioning under the influence of high light intensity.
Proteomic dissection of rice cytoskeleton reveals the dominance of microtubule and microfilament proteins, and novel components in the cytoskeleton-bound polysome
(Elsevier B.V., 2022) Kumar, Sunil; Lande, Nilesh Vikram; Barua, Pragya; Pareek, Akanksha; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
The plant cytoskeleton persistently undergoes remodeling to achieve its roles in supporting cell division, differentiation, cell expansion and organelle transport. However, the links between cell metabolism and cytoskeletal networks, particularly how the proteinaceous components execute such processes remain poorly understood. We investigated the cytoskeletal proteome landscape of rice to gain better understanding of such events. Proteins were extracted from highly enriched cytoskeletal fraction of four-week-old rice seedlings, and the purity of the fraction was stringently monitored. A total of 2577 non-redundant proteins were identified using both gel-based and gel-free approaches, which constitutes the most comprehensive dataset, thus far, for plant cytoskeleton. The data set includes both microtubule and microfilament-associated proteins and their binding proteins comprising hypothetical as well as novel cytoskeletal proteins. Further, various in-silico analyses were performed, and the proteins were functionally classified on the basis of their gene ontology. The catalogued proteins were validated through their sequence analysis. Extensive comparative analysis of our dataset with the non-redundant set of cytoskeletal proteins across plant species affirms unique as well as overlapping candidates. Together, these findings unveil new insights of how cytoskeletons undergo dynamic remodeling in rice to drive seedling development processes in rapidly changing in planta environment.
Proteomic dissection of the chloroplast: Moving beyond photosynthesis
(Elsevier B.V., 2020) Lande, Nilesh Vikram; Barua, Pragya; Gayen, Dipak; Kumar, Sunil; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
Chloroplast, the photosynthetic machinery, converts photoenergy to ATP and NADPH, which powers the production of carbohydrates from atmospheric CO2 and H2O. It also serves as a major production site of multivariate pro-defense molecules, and coordinate with other organelles for cell defense. Chloroplast harbors 30–50% of total cellular proteins, out of which 80% are membrane residents and are difficult to solubilize. While proteome profiling has illuminated vast areas of biological protein space, a great deal of effort must be invested to understand the proteomic landscape of the chloroplast, which plays central role in photosynthesis, energy metabolism and stress-adaptation. Therefore, characterization of chloroplast proteome would not only provide the foundation for future investigation of expression and function of chloroplast proteins, but would open up new avenues for modulation of plant productivity through synchronizing chloroplastic key components. In this review, we summarize the progress that has been made to build new understanding of the chloroplast proteome and implications of chloroplast dynamicsing generate metabolic energy and modulating stress adaptation.
Quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis of legume using TiO2-based enrichment coupled with isobaric labeling
(Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2020) Barua, Pragya; Lande, Nilesh Vikram; Kumar, Sunil; Chakraborty, Subhra; Chakraborty, Niranjan
Phosphorylation of proteins is the most dynamic protein modification, and its analysis aids in determining the functional and regulatory principles of important cellular pathways. The legumes constitute the third largest family of higher plants, Fabaceae, comprising about 20,000 species and are second to cereals in agricultural importance on the basis of global production. Therefore, an understanding of the developmental and adaptive processes of legumes demands identification of their regulatory components. The most crucial signature of the legume family is the symbiotic nitrogen fixation, which makes this fascinating and interesting to investigate phosphorylation events. The research on protein phosphorylation in legumes has been focused primarily on two model species, Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus. The development of reciprocal research in other species, particularly the crops, is lagging behind which has limited its beneficial uses in agricultural productivity. In this chapter, we outline the titanium dioxide-based enrichment of phosphopeptides for nuclear proteome analysis of a grain legume, chickpea.