Sitindra S. Dirghangi

Bio: Sitindra S. Dirghangi is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata. The author has contributed to research in topics: Lipid biosynthesis & Soil carbon. The author has an hindex of 6, co-authored 6 publications receiving 200 citations. Previous affiliations of Sitindra S. Dirghangi include Yale University.

Deuterium- and Tritium-Labelled Compounds: Applications in the Life Sciences

Abstract: Hydrogen isotopes are unique tools for identifying and understanding biological and chemical processes. Hydrogen isotope labelling allows for the traceless and direct incorporation of an additional mass or radioactive tag into an organic molecule with almost no changes in its chemical structure, physical properties, or biological activity. Using deuterium-labelled isotopologues to study the unique mass-spectrometric patterns generated from mixtures of biologically relevant molecules drastically simplifies analysis. Such methods are now providing unprecedented levels of insight in a wide and continuously growing range of applications in the life sciences and beyond. Tritium (3 H), in particular, has seen an increase in utilization, especially in pharmaceutical drug discovery. The efforts and costs associated with the synthesis of labelled compounds are more than compensated for by the enhanced molecular sensitivity during analysis and the high reliability of the data obtained. In this Review, advances in the application of hydrogen isotopes in the life sciences are described.

Leaf-wax n-alkanes record the plant–water environment at leaf flush

Abstract: Leaf-wax n-alkanes 2H/1H ratios are widely used as a proxy in climate reconstruction. Although the broad nature of the relationship between n-alkanes δ2H values and climate is appreciated, the quantitative details of the proxy remain elusive. To examine these details under natural environmental conditions, we studied a riparian broadleaf angiosperm species, Populus angustifolia, growing on water with a constant δ2H value and monitored the δ2H values of leaf-wax n-alkanes and of stem, leaf, stream, and atmospheric waters throughout the entire growing season. Here we found the δ2H values of leaf-wax n-alkanes recorded only a 2-wk period during leaf flush and did not vary for the 19 weeks thereafter when leaves remained active. We found δ2H values of leaf-wax n-alkanes of P. angustifolia record conditions earlier in the season rather than fully integrating the entire growing season. Using these data, we modeled precipitation δ2H values during the time of wax synthesis. We observed that the isotope ratios of this precipitation generally were 2H-enriched compared with mean annual precipitation. This model provides a mechanistic basis of the often-observed 2H-enrichment from the expected fractionation values in studies of broadleaf angiosperm leaf-wax δ2H. In addition, these findings may have implications for the spatial and temporal uses of n-alkane δ2H values in paleoapplications; when both plant community and growth form are known, this study allows the isolation of the precipitation dynamics of individual periods of the growing season.