Publications of NIPGR Scientists

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    Glycosyltransferase-like toxin of Burkholderia gladioli strain NGJ1 is a potent antifungal protein with potential for control of sheath blight disease in rice
    (The American Phytopathological Society, 2025) Pradhan, Amrita; Yadav, Sunil K.; Jha, Gopaljee
    Sheath blight disease caused by the fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani poses a significant challenge for sustainable rice cultivation. It is important to develop environmentally friendly measures for its control. Previously, a rice-associated Burkholderia gladioli strain NGJ1 was shown to exhibit mycophagous and antifungal activity on R. solani. Here, we report that a B. gladioli glycosyltransferase-like 1 (BGT1) protein with a canonical D×D (aspartic acid × aspartic acid) motif that is homologous to the glycosyltransferase toxin of different bacteria is encoded in the antibacterial type VI secretion system-encoding gene cluster of NGJ1. The recombinant BGT1 protein purified from Escherichia coli exhibits antifungal activity on R. solani, Magnaporthe oryzae, Fusarium oxysporum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Candida albicans under laboratory conditions. Using a variant of the BGT1 protein (BGT1D168L/D170L), we demonstrate that the D×D motif is important for its antifungal activity. The heterologous expression of native BGT1 but not the BGT1D168L/D170L protein prevents the growth of yeast cells. Moreover, treatment with BGT1 but not BGT1D168L/D170L significantly reduces sheath blight disease severity in rice. BGT1 treatment does not elicit adverse effects on plants. In conclusion, we emphasize that BGT1 protein-based or transgene-based biotechnological interventions can be exploited for effective control of sheath blight disease in rice.
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    Performance of novel antimicrobial protein Bg_9562 and in silico predictions on its properties with reference to its antimicrobial efficiency against Rhizoctonia solani
    (MDPI AG, 2022) Karnati, Pranathi; Gonuguntala, Rekha; Barbadikar, Kalyani M.; Mishra, Divya; Jha, Gopaljee; Prakasham, Vellaisamy; Chilumula, Priyanka; Shaik, Hajira; Pesari, Maruthi; Sundaram, Raman Meenakshi; Chinnaswami, Kannan
    Bg_9562 is a potential broad-spectrum antifungal effector protein derived from the bacteria Burkholderia gladioli strain NGJ1 and is effective against Rhizoctonia solani, the causal agent of sheath blight in rice. In the present study, in vitro antifungal assays showed that Bg_9562 was efficient at 35 °C and 45 °C and ineffective either at high acidic pH (3.0) or alkaline pH (9.5) conditions. Compatibility studies between the native bioagents Trichoderma asperellum TAIK1 and Bacillus subtilis BIK3 indicated that Bg_9562 was compatible with the bioagents. A field study using foliar spray of the Bg_9562 protein indicated the need of formulating the protein before its application. In silico analysis predicted that Bg_9562 possess 111 amino acid residues (46 hydrophobic residues, 12 positive and 8 negative residues) with the high aliphatic index of 89.92, attributing to its thermostability with a half-life of 30 h. Bg_9562 (C491H813N137O166S5) possessed a protein binding potential of 1.27 kcal/mol with a better possibility of interacting and perturbing the membrane, the main target for antimicrobial proteins. The secondary structure revealed the predominance of random coils in its structure, and the best 3D model of Bg_9562 was predicted using an ab initio method with Robetta and AlphaFold 2. The predicted binding ligands were nucleic acids and zinc with confidence scores of 0.07 and 0.05, respectively. The N-terminal region (1–14 residues) and C-terminal region (101 to 111) of Bg_9562 residues were predicted to be disordered regions. Stability and binding properties of the protein from the above studies would help to encapsulate Bg_9562 using a suitable carrier to maintain efficiency and improve delivery against Rhizoctonia solani in the most challenging rice ecosphere.