Unravelling the involvement of protein disorder in cyanobacterial stress responses.

This study has explored the involvement of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (IDPs) in cyanobacterial stress response. IDPs possess distinct physicochemical properties, which allow them to execute diverse functions. Anabaena PCC 7120, the model photosynthetic, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium encodes 688 proteins (11 % of the total proteome) with at least one intrinsically disordered region (IDR).

Modulation of oxidative stress machinery determines the contrasting ability of cyanobacteria to adapt to Se(VI) or Se(IV).

Excess of selenium (Se) in aquatic ecosystems has necessitated thorough investigations into the effects/consequences of this metalloid on the autochthonous organisms exposed to it. The molecular details of Se-mediated adaptive response remain unknown in cyanobacteria. This study aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms driving the divergent physiological responses of cyanobacteria on exposure to selenate [Se(VI)] or selenite [Se(IV)], the two major water-soluble oxyanions of Se.

Novel silver nanoparticle-antibiotic combinations as promising antibacterial and anti-biofilm candidates against multiple-antibiotic resistant ESKAPE microorganisms.

Hypothesis: The emergence of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) in ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) pathogens is a global challenge to public health. The inherent antimicrobial nature of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) makes them promising antimicrobial candidates against antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

MapperPlus: Agnostic clustering of high-dimension data for precision medicine.

One of the goals of precision medicine is to classify patients into subgroups that differ in their susceptibility and response to a disease, thereby enabling tailored treatments for each subgroup. Therefore, there is a great need to identify distinctive clusters of patients from patient data. There are three key challenges to three key challenges of patient stratification: 1) the unknown number of clusters, 2) the need for assessing cluster validity, and 3) the clinical interpretability.

Small extracellular vesicle-loaded bevacizumab reduces the frequency of intravitreal injection required for diabetic retinopathy.

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is associated with retinal neovascularization, hard exudates, inflammation, oxidative stress and cell death, leading to vision loss. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (Anti-VEGF) therapy through repeated intravitreal injections is an established treatment for reducing VEGF levels in the retina for inhibiting neovascularization and leakage of hard exudates to prevent vision loss. Although anti-VEGF therapy has several clinical benefits, its monthly injection potentially causes devastating ocular complications, including trauma, intraocular hemorrhage, retinal detachment, endophthalmitis, etc.

Voyage of selenium from environment to life: Beneficial or toxic?

Selenium (Se), a naturally occurring metalloid, is an essential micronutrient for life as it is incorporated as selenocysteine in proteins. Although beneficial at low doses, Se is hazardous at high concentrations and poses a serious threat to various ecosystems. Due to this contrasting 'dual' nature, Se has garnered the attention of researchers wishing to unravel its puzzling properties.

Loss of 2-Cys-Prx affects cellular ultrastructure, disturbs redox poise and impairs photosynthesis in cyanobacteria.

In a striking similarity to plant chloroplasts, the cyanobacterium Anabaena displays very low catalase activity, but expresses several peroxiredoxins (Prxs), including the typical 2-Cys-Prx (annotated as Alr4641), that detoxify H O . Due to the presence of multiple Prxs, the precise contribution of Alr4641 to the oxidative stress response of Anabaena is not well-defined. To unambiguously assess its in vivo function, the Alr4641 protein was knocked down using the CRISPRi approach in Anabaena PCC 7120.

Unique functional insights into the antioxidant response of the cyanobacterial Mn-catalase (KatB).

KatB, a hexameric Mn-catalase, plays a vital role in overcoming oxidative and salinity stress in the ecologically important, N-fixing cyanobacterium, Anabaena. The 5 N-terminal residues of KatB, which show a high degree of conservation in cyanobacteria, form an antiparallel β-strand at the subunit interface of the KatB hexamer. In this study, the contribution of these N-terminal non-active site residues, towards the maintenance of the structure, biochemical properties, and redox balance was evaluated.

Functional and mechanistic insights into the differential effect of the toxicant 'Se(IV)' in the cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120.

Selenium, an essential trace element for animals, poses a threat to all forms of life above a threshold concentration. The ubiquitously present cyanobacteria, a major photosynthetic biotic component of aquatic and other ecosystems, are excellent systems to study the effects of environmental toxicants. The molecular changes that led to beneficial or detrimental effects in response to different doses of selenium oxyanion Se(IV) were analyzed in the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120.

Construction of Antisense RNA-mediated Gene Knock-downStrains in the Cyanobacterium sp. PCC 7120.

sp. PCC 7120 (hereafter ) is a model cyanobacterium to study nitrogen fixation, cellular differentiation and several other key biological functions that are analogous in plants. As with any other organism, many genes in encode an essential life function and hence cannot be deleted, causing a bottleneck in the elucidation of its genomic function.

Super Bright Red Upconversion in NaErF:0.5%Tm@NaYF:20%Yb Nanoparticles for Anti-counterfeit and Bioimaging Applications.

Nanocrystals having single-band red emission under near-infrared (NIR) excitation through the upconversion process offer great advantages in terms of enhanced cellular imaging in and experiments in the biological window (600-900 nm), as a security ink, in photothermal therapy (PTT), in photodynamic therapy (PDT), and so forth but are challenging for materials scientists. In this work, we report for the first time the preparation of a super bright red emitter at 655 nm from monodispersed NaErF:0.5%Tm@NaYF:20%Yb nanocrystals (core@active shell).

Development of technetium-99m labeled ultrafine gold nanobioconjugates for targeted imaging of folate receptor positive cancers.

Introduction: Strategic design and synthesis of nanoparticle based preparations could improve diagnostic screening of several cancer types, thereby facilitating better clinical management of the disease. Towards this, the present work aims to develop and evaluate a radioactive technetium-99m (Tc) labeled gold nanoparticle (NP) preparation modified with folic acid, so as to diagnose folate receptor positive cancers viz. ovarian, breast, etc.

Novel molecular aspects of the CRISPR backbone protein 'Cas7' from cyanobacteria.

The cyanobacterium Anabaena PCC 7120 shows the presence of Type I-D CRISPR system that can potentially confer adaptive immunity. The Cas7 protein (Alr1562), which forms the backbone of the type I-D surveillance complex, was characterized from Anabaena. Alr1562, showed the presence of the non-canonical RNA recognition motif and two intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs).

Sparse Epistatic Patterns in the Evolution of Terpene Synthases.

We explore sequence determinants of enzyme activity and specificity in a major enzyme family of terpene synthases. Most enzymes in this family catalyze reactions that produce cyclic terpenes-complex hydrocarbons widely used by plants and insects in diverse biological processes such as defense, communication, and symbiosis. To analyze the molecular mechanisms of emergence of terpene cyclization, we have carried out in-depth examination of mutational space around (E)-β-farnesene synthase, an Artemisia annua enzyme which catalyzes production of a linear hydrocarbon chain.

SPR responsive xylenol orange functionalized gold nanoparticles- optical sensor for estimation of Al in water.

Xylenol orange functionalized gold nanoparticles (XO-AuNPs), prepared by reducing HAuCl in presence of xylenol orange were found to be selective and sensitive for optical sensing of Al in water. XO-AuNPs nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS); the nanoparticles formed were of spherical shape and of uniform size of 3-12 nm. The interaction between Al and XO-AuNPs at pH ~3 was studied by XPS analysis.

Facile generation of a biotechnologically-relevant catalase showcases the efficacy of a blue-green algal biomass as a suitable bioresource for protein overproduction.

Here, we show the utility of a cyanobacterial biomass for overproduction and easy downstream processing of the thermostable protein KatB (a Mn-catalase). The nitrogen-fixing blue-green alga, Anabaena, was bioengineered to overexpress the KatB protein (An-KatB). Interestingly, pure An-KatB could be isolated from Anabaena by a simple physical process, obviating the need of expensive resins or chromatographic steps.

First detection and genetic characterization of peste des petits ruminants virus from dorcas gazelles "Gazella dorcas" in the Sudan, 2016-2017.

In May 2017, many free-ranging dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas) with suspected signs of peste des petits ruminants (PPR) were reported in Dinder National Park, South-Eastern Sudan. Peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) antigen and nucleic acid were detected in specimens from these gazelles using an immunocapture ELISA and a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays. PPRV was also detected in four healthy semi-captive dorcas gazelles from two areas of Khartoum State.

Novel molecular insights into the anti-oxidative stress response and structure-function of a salt-inducible cyanobacterial Mn-catalase.

KatB, a salt-inducible Mn-catalase, protects the cyanobacterium Anabaena from salinity/oxidative stress. In this report, we provide distinctive insights into the biological-biochemical function of KatB at the molecular level. Anabaena overexpressing the wild-type KatB protein (KatBWT) detoxified H O efficiently, showing reduced burden of reactive oxygen species compared with the strain overproducing KatBF2V (wherein F-2 is replaced by V).

C-terminal residues of rice translin are essential for octamer formation and nucleic acid binding.

Translin is a DNA/RNA binding protein involved in DNA repair and RNA metabolism. Previously, we had shown that rice translin (221 amino acids) exhibits biochemical activities similar to that of the human translin protein. Here we report the role of the C-terminal random coil in rice translin function by analyzing truncation (after 215 residue, Tra - 215) and substitution mutant proteins (Ser216Ala, Lys217Ala, Gln218Ala, Glu219Ala).

Superparamagnetic graphene oxide-magnetite nanoparticle composites for uptake of actinide ions from mildly acidic feeds.

Super paramagnetic graphene oxide (GO) - FeO nanoparticle composites were prepared and characterized by conventional techniques such as XRD, SEM, EDX, FT-IR, Raman, XPS, DLS and zeta potential, etc. TEM studies have confirmed nanoparticle nature of the composites. The GO-magnetic nanoparticle composites can be dispersed in mildly acidic aqueous solutions and get concentrated in a small volume under application of an external magnetic field.

Molecular basis of function and the unusual antioxidant activity of a cyanobacterial cysteine desulfurase.

Cysteine desulfurases, which supply sulfur for iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis, are broadly distributed in all phyla including cyanobacteria, the progenitors of plant chloroplasts. The SUF (sulfur utilization factor) system is responsible for Fe-S cluster biosynthesis under stress. The operon from cyanobacterium PCC 7120 showed the presence of a cysteine desulfurase, (), but not the accessory sulfur-accepting protein (SufE).