Publications of NIPGR Scientists

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Author: search.filters.author.Thakur, Jitendra K.Has files: No

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    Role of C4 photosynthetic enzyme isoforms in C3 plants and their potential applications in improving agronomic traits in crops
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2022) Singh, Jitender; Garai, Sampurna; Das, Shubhashis; Thakur, Jitendra K.; Tripathy, Baishnab Charan
    As compared to C3, C4 plants have higher photosynthetic rates and better tolerance to high temperature and drought. These traits are highly beneficial in the current scenario of global warming. Interestingly, all the genes of the C4 photosynthetic pathway are present in C3 plants, although they are involved in diverse non-photosynthetic functions. Non-photosynthetic isoforms of carbonic anhydrase (CA), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), the decarboxylating enzymes NAD/NADP-malic enzyme (NAD/NADP-ME), and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK), and finally pyruvate orthophosphate dikinase (PPDK) catalyze reactions that are essential for major plant metabolism pathways, such as the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, maintenance of cellular pH, uptake of nutrients and their assimilation. Consistent with this view differential expression pattern of these non-photosynthetic C3 isoforms has been observed in different tissues across the plant developmental stages, such as germination, grain filling, and leaf senescence. Also abundance of these C3 isoforms is increased considerably in response to environmental fluctuations particularly during abiotic stress. Here we review the vital roles played by C3 isoforms of C4 enzymes and the probable mechanisms by which they help plants in acclimation to adverse growth conditions. Further, their potential applications to increase the agronomic trait value of C3 crops is discussed.
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    Zinc2+ ion inhibits SARS-CoV-2 main protease and viral replication in vitro
    (Royal Society of Chemistry, 2021) Panchariya, Love; Khan, Wajahat Ali; Kuila, Shobhan; Sonkar, Kirtishila; Sahoo, Sibasis; Ghoshal, Archita; Kumar, Ankit; Verma, Dileep Kumar; Hasan, Abdul; Khan, Mohd Azeem; Jain, Niyati; Mohapatra, Amit Kumar; Das, Shubhashis; Thakur, Jitendra K.; Maiti, Souvik; Nanda, Ranjan Kumar; Halder, Rajkumar; Sunil, Sujatha; Arockiasamy, Arulandu
    Zinc deficiency is linked to poor prognosis in COVID-19 patients while clinical trials with zinc demonstrate better clinical outcomes. The molecular targets and mechanistic details of the anti-coronaviral activity of zinc remain obscure. We show that zinc not only inhibits the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) with nanomolar affinity, but also viral replication. We present the first crystal structure of the Mpro–Zn2+ complex at 1.9 Å and provide the structural basis of viral replication inhibition. We show that Zn2+ coordinates with the catalytic dyad at the enzyme active site along with two previously unknown water molecules in a tetrahedral geometry to form a stable inhibited Mpro–Zn2+ complex. Further, the natural ionophore quercetin increases the anti-viral potency of Zn2+. As the catalytic dyad is highly conserved across SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and all variants of SARS-CoV-2, Zn2+ mediated inhibition of Mpro may have wider implications.
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    GC-MS-based analysis of methanol: chloroform-extracted fatty acids from plant tissues
    (Bio-protocol LLC., 2018) Patel, Manish Kumar; Das, Shubhashis; Thakur, Jitendra K.
    Fatty acids (FAs) are carboxylic acids with long aliphatic chains that may be straight, branched and saturated or unsaturated. Most of the naturally occurring plant FAs contains an even number of carbon (C4-C24). FAs are used in food and pharmacological industries due to their nutritional importance. In addition, FAs are considered as a promising alternative for the production of biodiesel from terrestrial plant biomass. To establish commercial applications, more reliable analytical methods are needed for the identification, quantification, and composition determination of FAs. Here, we describe a relatively rapid and sensitive method for the extraction, identification, and quantification of FAs from a small quantity of plant tissue. The method includes steps of lipid extraction, conversion of lipid to fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) by transmethylation, identification and quantification of FAMEs using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In this protocol, an internal standard is added prior to GC-MS analysis. The amount of each FA is calculated from its peak area relative to the peak area of the internal standard.
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    Role of plant mediator complex in stress response
    (Springer, 2015) Samanta, Subhasis; Thakur, Jitendra K.
    Class II gene loci of eukaryotes are transcribed by RNA Polymerase II, which functions in coordination with several other proteins like transcription factors, general transcription factors, and cofactors. Recently, Mediator complex, a multi-subunit, megadalton size protein complex has gained lots of attention as an important component of RNA pol II transcriptional machinery because of its essentiality in the regulation of most of the class II genes. Like yeast and other metazoans, plants also possess the Mediator complex across the kingdom, and its isolation and subunit analyses have been reported from the model plant, Arabidopsis. Recent times have experienced a flurry of scientific papers containing the functional information of individual Mediator subunits in plants, although many were reported earlier without consideration of their association with the Mediator complex. Among its diverse functional aspects, several reports have established the Mediator complex as an important integrative hub of different biotic and abiotic stress signaling pathways, which have been discussed in this chapter from the functional genomics perspectives. Although reports are emerging in support of its inclusion as a component of the basic transcriptional machinery, the gene selective roles of the individual Mediator subunits are proven and indisputably accepted.