CLONING, CHARACTERIZATION AND SUBCELLULAR LOCALIZATION OF THE N (NUCLEOCAPSID) AND P (PHOSPHOPROTEIN) PROTEIN OF THE SYDV (POTATO YELLOW DWARF VIRUS SANGUINOLENTA STRAIN)

Potato yellow dwarf virus (PYDV) is the type member of the genus Nucleorhabdovirus. The virus replicates in the nuclei of infected cells and mature virions accumulate in the perinuclear space after viral cores bud through the inner nuclear membrane. The virus was first described as an extremely destructive pathogen of potato (Solanum tuberosum) and other members of family Solanaceae. There are two different strains of PYDV based on their insect-vector specificity, namely SYDV (sanguinolenta strain) and CYDV (constricta strain). PYDV is considered a model system to study virus-vector relationship, particularly for agriculturally harmful rhabdoviruses. However, very little is known about the molecular aspects and cell biology of PYDV. Preliminary studies showed that infection of transgenic Nicotiana benthamiana plants that constitutively express GFP targeted to endomembranes with SYDV and SYNV (Sonchus yellow net virus, another member of genus Nucleorhabdovirus) results in increased accumulation of GFP and membrane within the infected nuclei, though the pattern of GFP accumulation is completely different for the two viruses. GFP accumulation was found mainly in the external and internal loci of the nucleus in SYDV-infected cells, where as, in the case of SYNV infection, the GFP accumulation was scattered throughout the nucleus of the infected cell. Molecular characterization of SYDV was undertaken to better understand the cellular difference between these two members of Nucleorhabdoviruses. This dissertation describes the determination of the complete nucleotide and ORF (open reading frame) sequences of N (nucleocapsid) and P (Phosphoprotein) gene of SYDV from cDNA clones of both viral genomic and messenger RNAs. Analyses of sequence showed that SYDV-N mRNA contains an 11 nucleotide (nt) untranslated region followed by a 1416 nt ORF encoding a 472 amino acid (aa) protein and P-mRNA contains an 18 nt 5 untranslated region followed by 840 nt ORF encoding a 280 aa protein. Characterization of SYDV-N and P protein using bioinformatic algorithms predict basic hydrophilic and coiled coil regions that may posses the putative nuclear localization signal and protein-protein interaction domain, respectively. Comparison of the SYDV-N ORF with orthologous regions from other plant and animal rhabdoviruses showed statistically significant identity. Phylogenetic analysis based on consensus N-ORFs placed SYDV into the same group with other Nucleorhabdoviruses. Localization studies of SYDV-N and P protein as autofluorescent protein fusions revealed that both proteins are exclusively nuclear localized. Taken together, this dissertation reports a detailed analysis of the biology of SYDV-N and P protein at the molecular and cellular level for the first time towards the long term goal to characterize the entire SYDV genome and to better understand SYDV-host interactio

Texture zeros of low-energy Majorana neutrino mass matrix in 3+1 scheme

In this work we revisit the zero textures in low energy Majorana neutrino mass matrix when the active neutrino sector is extended by a light sterile neutrino in the eV scale i.e., the 3+1 scheme. In 3+1 scenario, the low energy neutrino mass matrix ($m_\nu$) has ten independent elements. Thus in principle one can have minimum one-zero texture to maximum ten-zero texture. We summarize the previous results of one, two, three and four-zero textures which already exist in the literature and present our new results on five-zero textures. In our analysis we find that among six possible five-zero textures, only one is allowed by the present data. We discuss possible theoretical model which can explain the origin of the allowed five-zero texture and discuss other possible implications of such a scenario. Our results also concludes that in 3+1 scheme, one can not have more than five-zeros in $m_\nu$.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. Version published in PR

Why are Women’s Self-help Groups on the Periphery of Adivasi Movements in India? Insights from Practitioners

‘Adivasi’ is an identity of protest against the oppressive practices of displacement and dispossession faced by tribal communities across India. As the social and political scenario of the vast Central Indian Plateau (CIP), the homeland of many such communities, is shaped by the social dynamics of oppression and resistance, any social or political organisation working in this region for justice and equity has to not only understand this adivasi consciousness of resistance against the concentration of capital and accumulation of surplus through a process of dispossession but also evolve their strategy in the context of adivasi consciousness. The authors have many years of experience of working with women’s group in the CIP. In this reflective piece they critique their own action as failing to assimilate the important socio-political dynamics of the adivasi consciousness. As a result the women’s groups promoted by them have remained peripheral in the struggle against dispossession. Non-inclusion of women in traditionally male dominated forums in adivasi society is a hindering factor for the women to take leading part in the adivasi movements. The authors conclude that it is important to work with both men and women to fight against dispossession which will also change the culture of male dominated committees within the Adivasi society

Bidirectional motion of filaments: Role of motor proteins and passive cross linkers

In eukaryotic cells, motor proteins (MP) bind to cytoskeletal filaments and move along them in a directed manner generating active stresses. During cell division a spindle structure of overlapping antiparallel microtubules (MT) form whose stability and dynamics under the influence of MPs has been studied extensively. Although passive cross linkers (PCL) were known to provide structural stability to filamentous network, consequences of the interplay between ATP dependent active forces of MPs and passive entropic forces of PCLs on MT overlap remains largely unexplored. Here, we formulate and characterize a model to study this, using linear stability analysis and numerical integration. In presence of PCLs, we find dynamic phase transitions with changing activity exhibiting regimes of stable partial overlap with or without oscillations, instability towards complete overlap, and stable limit cycle oscillations that emerge via a supercritical Hopf bifurcation characterized by an oscillation frequency determined by the MP and PCL parameters. We show that the overlap dynamics and stability depend crucially on whether both the MTs of overlapping pair are movable or one is immobilized, having potential implications for in vivo and in vitro studies.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

CURRY LEAVES AS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE IN HEAVY METAL INDUCED OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS

Workers in different industries are regularly exposed to heavy metals. Those metals enter their body through several routes (inhalation, food contamination etc.,) and accumulate in the tissues and induce generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leading to oxidative damages. Chronic, regular exposures result in health hazards. Certain physiological, biochemical and behavioural dysfunctions cumulate to pathological conditions. Many of the symptoms complained by those industry workers are hardly recognized to be related to occupational exposure to heavy metals, often unidentified as occupational health hazards with a story of metal induced oxidative stress beneath their etiology. Most of the synthetic conventional drugs which are extensively prescribed by clinicians for treatments of these diseases have adverse side effects and potent cytotoxicity. Herbal remedy can be a safe substitute. The heavy metals induce generation of ROS and the phyto-components have the potential to scavenge those and boost the body's endogenous antioxidant system. They have no reported cytotoxic or adverse side effects, if not over consumed. Some specific or a perfect blend of potent phyto-constituent(s) from curry leaves can be suggested for or adapted as alternative medicine or integrative medicine for preventing or treating or curing or protecting against heavy metal-induced occupational health hazards

Mass and Scalar Cross-sections for Neutralino Dark Matter in Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetry Breaking Model

We have considered neutralino to be the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) in the framework of minimal Anomaly Mediated Supersymmetric (mAMSB) model. We have studied variation of neutralino mass with the supersymmetric parameters. Considering these neutralinos to be the candidates for weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP) or cold dark matter (CDM), we have calculated the neutralino nucleon scalar cross-sections and compared them with DAMA-NaI neutralino direct detection search results. From this study we observe that the mAMSB model results cannot explain the allowed region in WIMP mass and WIMP-nucleon scalar cross-section space obtained from annual modulation signature in DAMA-NaI experiment.Comment: 7 Pages LaTeX, 4 figures, J. Phys. G., to appea