Publications of NIPGR Scientists

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    Differential regulation of nitric oxide mediated by phytoglobin1 plays a role in resistance during Botrytis cinerea infection in Arabidopsis thaliana
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2026) Jaiswal, Rekha; Saini, Deepak; Swain, Jagannath; Gupta, Kapuganti Jagadis
    Botrytis cinerea is a prominent necrotrophic pathogen responsible for gray mold disease, affecting a wide range of plant species, including economically vital crops such as tomatoes, grapes, strawberries, etc. Nitric oxide (NO) is considered as a crucial player in plant responses to biotic stress. NO homeostasis is regulated by phytoglobin (Pgb1), a potential scavenger of NO. However, the role of the Pgb1-NO cycle in regulating defense response against B. cinerea remains largely unknown. In the current study, we investigated the defense response of Arabidopsis thaliana against B. cinerea infection using antisense (Pgb1 AS) and overexpression (Pgb1 OE) lines, which produce differential levels of NO. The Pgb1 AS line accumulated higher NO levels and conferred resistance against B. cinerea infection, with reduced ROS levels, reduced cell death, and increased stomatal closure. Conversely, Pgb1 OE showed reduced NO levels accompanied by increased susceptibility. The elevated NO level in Pgb1 AS was associated with increased nitrate reductase (NR) activity and upregulation of NIA1 and NIA2 gene expression. Interestingly, ethylene-mediated defense pathway genes such as ERF1, ACS2, and ACS6 were upregulated while pathogen-related genes such as PR1, PR2, PR5, and NPR1 were downregulated in Pgb1 AS line. The elevated expression of ethylene genes corresponded with the higher ethylene levels in Pgb1 AS. Overall, our results confirmed the crucial role of phytoglobin-modulated NO in defense against B. cinerea infection by activating the ethylene-mediated defense pathway.
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    Method for the measurement of ethylene during hypoxia in rice plants
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2025) Jaiswal, Rekha; Gupta, Kapuganti Jagadis; Praveen, Afsana
    Ethylene is a versatile phytohormone that is involved in the regulation of both growth and development such as senescence, and also it can act as a signaling hormone during hypoxia. Ethylene acts alone or in interaction with different phytohormones and proteins to regulate numerous cellular processes. Accumulating evidence suggest that endogenous ethylene production and emission into atmosphere are modulated by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Since it is a gaseous hormone, a precise detection, particularly under low-oxygen (hypoxic) conditions, is important for understanding its role in regulatory processes and stress signaling pathways. Currently, measurement practices such as gas chromatography, electrochemical sensing, and optical sensing are widely employed to detect ethylene. These methods are distinct from each other in terms of sensitivity, time response, selectivity, and cost. However, each method has its own advantages and limitations. Gas chromatography (GC) is one of the best techniques that is applied for the separation and measurement of ethylene due to its volatile and supersensitive nature. In this chapter, we describe a detailed GC-based procedure specifically optimized for measuring ethylene levels during hypoxic stress application in (Oryza sativa) rice plants.
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    Method for the measurement of ethylene during pathogen infection in arabidopsis
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2025) Jaiswal, Rekha; Gupta, Kapuganti Jagadis; Praveen, Afsana
    Ethylene is a gaseous phytohormone that plays an important role as a signaling molecule during pathogen attack, influencing disease resistance and defense responses in plants. A precise measurement of ethylene production upon pathogen challenge is essential to elucidate its role in plant–pathogen interactions. Gas chromatography (GC) is among the most accurate and sensitive techniques for detecting and quantifying ethylene emissions due to its selectivity and effectiveness with gaseous molecules. In this chapter, we provide a detailed procedure employing GC specifically adapted for measuring ethylene levels during pathogen infection (Botrytis cinerea) in Arabidopsis leaflets. Arabidopsis leaflets infected by the necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea exhibit increased ethylene emission, facilitating the activation of defense pathways and secondary metabolites such as camalexin. The present GC method captures ethylene dynamics at early infection stages, ensuring precise quantification critical for dissecting the molecular mechanisms of plant immunity.
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    Ethylene-mediated regulation of a ripening-specific N-glycan-processing enzyme β-D-N-Acetylhexosaminidase
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2025) Irfan, Mohammad; Kumar, Pankaj; Datta, Asis
    N-glycoproteins in plants play a critical role in various biological processes such as plant stress response, seed development, and fruit ripening. Further, N-glycans and N-glycan-processing enzymes have been identified as critical regulators of fruit ripening in various fruit crop including tomato. Fruit ripening, a multifaceted process influenced by diverse factors is controlled by the upregulation of cell wall degradation enzymes. Among these, N-glycan-processing enzymes, specifically β-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase (β-Hex), are involved in ripening-associated fruit softening, and its suppression enhances fruit shelf life and firmness in both climacteric and non-climacteric fruits. Ethylene is among the various factors that regulates the ripening-specific expression of β-Hex. Notably, ethylene response factor 6 (SlERF6), also known as SlERF.E4, has been identified as a potential transcriptional regulator of β-Hex expression. However, in order to get deeper insights, a thorough understanding of the specific ethylene-mediated control of β-Hex during ripening is crucial. Thus, we present a protocol for investigating the ethylene-mediated regulation of this crucial ripening-related enzyme β-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase.
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    The confluence of TOR signaling and plant growth regulators in development and stress responses
    (Oxford University Press, 2026) Saksena, Harshita B; Kumar, Mukesh; Samtani, Harsha; Sharma, Aishwarye; Rawat, Sanjay Singh; Awasthi, Prakhar; Botta, Halidev Krishna; Sandhya, Shital; Pande, Anjali; Naaz, Sheeba; Kushwah, Sunita; Shukla, Brihaspati N; Laxmi, Ashverya
    The Target of Rapamycin (TOR) is an evolutionarily conserved protein kinase that serves as a crucial signaling hub, seamlessly integrating a wide range of internal and external signals to meticulously regulate cellular and organismal physiology. TOR is crucial in regulating the different phases of lifecycle in plants including embryogenesis, seed germination, meristem activation, root and leaf development, flowering and senescence. Beyond its central role in growth and development, emerging research has revealed its significant involvement in the response to environmental stresses. Even though plant growth regulators such as auxin, cytokinin (CK), brassinosteroid (BR), gibberellin (GA), abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene (ET), salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and nitric oxide (NO) function as pivotal signaling molecules in modulating plant development and stress responses, how they coordinate with the energy status still remains obscure. Here we summarize the current findings on the dynamic interconnection between TOR and these discrete phytoregulators and their potential role in executing diverse biological processes in plants.
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    Dissecting chickpea genomic loci associated with the root penetration responsive traits in compacted soil
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2024) Donde, Ravindra; Kohli, Pawandeep Singh; Pandey, Mandavi; Sirohi, Ujjwal; Singh, Bhagat; Giri, Jitender
    Soil compaction is a major concern for modern agriculture, as it constrains plant root growth, leading to reduced resource acquisition. Phenotypic variation for root system architecture (RSA) traits in compacted soils is present for various crops; however, studies on genetic associations with these traits are lacking. Therefore, we investigated RSA traits in diferent soil compaction levels and identifed signifcant genomic associations in chickpea. We conducted a Genome-Wide Association Study (GWAS) of 210 chickpea accessions for 13 RSA traits under three bulk densities (BD) (1.1BD, 1.6BD, and 1.8BD). Soil compaction decreases root exploration by reducing 12 RSA traits, except average diameter (AD). Further, AD is negatively correlated with lateral root traits, and this correlation increases in 1.8BD, suggesting the negative efect of AD on lateral root traits. Interestingly, we identifed probable candidate genes such as GLP3 and LRX for lateral root traits and CRF1-like for total length (TL) in 1.6BD soil. In heavy soil compaction, DGK2 is associated with lateral root traits. Reduction in laterals during soil compaction is mainly due to delayed seedling establishment, thus making lateral root number a critical trait. Interestingly, we also found a higher contribution of the GxE component of the number of root tips (Tips) to the total variation than the other lateral traits. We also identifed a pectin esterase, PPE8B, associated with Tips in high soil compaction and a signifcantly associated SNP with the relative change in Tips depicting a trade-of between Tips and AD. Identifed genes and loci would help develop soil-compaction-resistant chickpea varieties.
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    Fruit ripening specific expression of β-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase (β-Hex) gene in tomato is transcriptionally regulated by Ethylene Response Factor SlERF.E4
    (Elsevier B.V., 2022) Irfan, Mohammad; Kumar, Pankaj; Kumar, Vinay; Datta, Asis
    N-glycans and N-glycan processing enzymes are key players in regulating the ripening of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits, a model for fleshy fruit ripening. β-D-N-acetylhexosaminidase (β-Hex) is a N-glycan processing enzyme involved in fruit ripening. The suppression of β-Hex results in enhanced fruit shelf life and firmness in both climacteric and non-climacteric fruits. Previously, we have shown that ripening specific expression of β-Hex is regulated by RIPENING INHIBITOR (RIN), ABSCISIC ACID STRESS RIPENING 1 (SlASR1) and ethylene. However, the precise mechanism of ethylene-mediated regulation of β-Hex remains elusive. To gain insights into this, we have performed 5’ deletion mapping of tomato β-Hex promoter and a shorter promoter fragment (pD-200, 200 bp upstream to translational start site) is identified, which was found critical for spatio-temporal transcriptional regulation of β-Hex. Further, site specific mutagenesis in RIN and ASR1 binding sites in pD-200 provides key insights into ripening specific promoter activity. Furthermore, induction of GUS activity by ethylene, yeast one hybrid assay and EMSA identify Ethylene Response Factor SlERF.E4 as a positive regulator of β-Hex. Taken together, our study suggest that SlERF.E4 together with RIN and SlASR1 transcriptionally regulates β-Hex and all these three proteins are essential for fruit ripening specific expression of β-Hex in tomato.
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    Novel microRNAs regulating ripening-associated processes in banana fruit
    (Springer Nature Publishing AG, 2020) Lakhwani, Deepika; Sanchita; Pandey, Ashutosh; Sharma, Deepika; Asif, Mehar H.; Trivedi, Prabodh K.
    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) modulate gene expression and regulate various physiological and developmental processes in plants. During fruit ripening phase, several physiological and biochemical variations take place resulting changes in colour and texture, softening and production of aroma volatiles. A number of pathways leading to cell wall hydrolysis, ethylene signaling, biosynthesis of fatty acids, esters and a number of secondary plant products play important role during fruit ripening. However, detailed analysis of various processes regulated by miRNAs has not been studied in detailed in a number of fruits. In this study, we sequenced small RNA libraries from ripe and un-ripe fruit of Banana (Musa acuminata), an important and staple food crop, to identify miRNAs regulating fruit ripening. Our analysis identifed a number of novel miRNAs which are diferentially expressed during fruit ripening. These novel miRNAs were analyzed for their precursors, chromosome localization and targets. Some of these miRNAs were identifed to target genes involved in miRNA biogenesis, fruit softening and aroma biosynthesis. This study advances our knowledges in the area of fruit ripening process regulated by miRNAs.
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    Petal abscission in roses is associated with the activation of a truncated version of the animal PDCD4 homologue, RbPCD1
    (Elsevier B.V., 2019) Singh, Priya; Singh, Amar Pal; Tripathi, Siddharth Kaushal; Kumar, Vinod; Sane, Aniruddha P.
    Abscission is a developmental process that leads to shedding of organs not needed by the plant. Apart from wallhydrolysis, the cells of the abscission zone (AZ) are also believed to undergo programmed cell death (PCD). Weshow that ethylene-induced petal abscission inRosa bourbonianais accompanied with the activation ofRbPCD1(PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH LIKE 1) encoding a protein of 78 amino acids. Its expression increases duringnatural and ethylene-induced petal abscission. Its transcription in most tissues is up-regulated by ethylene.RbPCD1 shows similarity to the N-terminal domain of animal PDCD4 (PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH PROTEIN 4)proteins that are activated during apoptosis and function as transcriptional and translational repressors. RbPCD1resides in the nucleus and cytoplasm and acts as a transcriptional repressor. Constitutive expression ofRbPCD1intransgenic Arabidopsis is seedling lethal. Heat-induced expression ofRbPCD1under the soybean heat-shockpromoter affects leaf function, inflorescence development, silique formation, seed yield and reduces survival.Nuclear localization of RbPCD1 is necessary for manifestation of its effects. RbPCD1 may be necessary to mediatesome of the ethylene-induced changes during abscission and senescence in specific tissues.
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    Genome-wide identification and interactome analysis of members of two-component system in Banana
    (BioMed Central Ltd, 2019) Dhar, Yogeshwar V.; Lakhwani, Deepika; Pandey, Ashutosh; Singh, Shikha; Trivedi, Prabodh K.; Asif, Mehar H.
    BACKGROUND: Ethylene signal transduction in plants is conducted by the two-component system (TCS) which consists of histidine kinase (HK), histidine phosphotransferase (HPT) and response regulators (RRs). This system plays an important role in signal transduction during various cellular processes, including fruit ripening and response to multiple environmental cues. Though members of TCS have been identified in a few plants, no detailed analysis has been carried out in banana. RESULTS: Through genome-wide analysis, we identified a total of 80 (25 HK, 10 HPT and 45 RR) and 72 (25 HK, 5 HPT and 42 RR) TCS genes in Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana respectively. The analysis of identified genes revealed that most of the genes are highly conserved however; there are subtle divergences among various members. Comparative expression analysis revealed an involvement of a set of TCS members during banana fruit ripening. Co-expression network analysis identified a working TCS module with direct interactions of HK-HPT and RR members. The molecular dynamics analysis of TCS module showed a significant change in structural trajectories of TCS proteins in the presence of ethylene. Analysis suggests possible interactions between the HK-HPTs and RRs as well as other members leading to banana fruit ripening. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we identified and compared the members of TCS gene family in two banana species and showed their diversity, within groups on the basis of whole-genome duplication events. Our analysis showed that during banana fruit ripening TCS module plays a crucial role. We also demonstrated a possible interaction mechanism of TCS proteins in the presence and absence of ethylene by molecular dynamics simulations. These findings will help in understanding the functional mechanism of TCS proteins in plants in different conditions.