Jawaharlal Nehru University

About: Jawaharlal Nehru University is a education organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Politics. The organization has 6082 authors who have published 13455 publications receiving 245407 citations. The organization is also known as: JNU.

GABAergic neurons in prepositus hypoglossi regulate REM sleep by its action on locus coeruleus in freely moving rats

Abstract: GABA in locus coeruleus modulates REM sleep. Apart from the presence of interneurons, locus coeruleus also receives GABAergic inputs from prepositus hypoglossi in the medulla, where the presence of REM-ON-like neurons have been reported. Therefore, it was hypothesized that GABAergic projections from prepositus hypoglossi to locus coeruleus may modulate REM sleep. The experiments were conducted on chronic rats prepared for recording EEG, EOG, and EMG in freely moving conditions. Bipolar stimulating electrodes were implanted in prepositus hypoglossi bilaterally, while chemitrodes were implanted bilaterally in locus coeruleus. The prepositus hypoglossi were bilaterally stimulated (3 Hz, 250 μsec, 100 μA) for 8 h in the presence and absence of picrotoxin (0.25 μg/250 nl) microinjection bilaterally in locus coeruleus, followed by poststimulation recording for 4 h. It was observed that stimulation of prepositus hypoglossi alone significantly increased REM sleep primarily by increasing the REM sleep duration per episode. However, when it was stimulated in the presence of picrotoxin in LC, REM sleep decreased, predominantly due to decreased REM sleep duration per episode. The results of this study suggest that GABAergic inputs from prepositus hypoglossi act on locus coeruleus and regulate REM sleep, possibly by inhibition of REM-OFF neurons. Synapse 42:141–150, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Investigating the degradation process of kraft lignin by β-proteobacterium, Pandoraea sp. ISTKB

Abstract: The present study investigates the kraft lignin (KL) degrading potential of novel alkalotolerant Pandoraea sp. ISTKB utilizing KL as sole carbon source. The results displayed 50.2 % reduction in chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 41.1 % decolorization after bacterial treatment. The maximum lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (MnP) activity detected was 2.73 and 4.33 U ml(-1), respectively, on day 3. The maximum extracellular and intracellular laccase activities observed were 1.32 U ml(-1) on day 5 and 4.53 U ml(-1) on day 4, respectively. The decolorization and degradation was maximum on day 2. Further, it registered an increase with the production of extracellular laccase. This unusual trend of decolorization and degradation was studied using various aromatic compounds and dyes. SEM and FTIR results indicated significant change in surface morphology and functional group composition during the course of degradation. Gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis confirmed KL degradation by emergence of new peaks and the identification of low molecular weight aromatic intermediates in treated sample. The degradation of KL progressed through the generation of phenolic intermediates. The identified intermediates implied the degradation of hydroxyphenyl, ferulic acid, guaiacyl, syringyl, phenylcoumarane, and pinoresinol components commonly found in lignin. The degradation, decolorization, and GC-MS analysis indicated potential application of the isolate Pandoraea sp. ISTKB in treatment of lignin-containing pollutants and KL valorization.

Comparative Analysis of Fruit Metabolites and Pungency Candidate Genes Expression between Bhut Jolokia and Other Capsicum Species.

Abstract: Bhut jolokia, commonly known as Ghost chili, a native Capsicum species found in North East India was recorded as the naturally occurring hottest chili in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006. Although few studies have reported variation in pungency content of this particular species, no study till date has reported detailed expression analysis of candidate genes involved in capsaicinoids (pungency) biosynthesis pathway and other fruit metabolites. Therefore, the present study was designed to evaluate the diversity of fruit morphology, fruiting habit, capsaicinoids and other metabolite contents in 136 different genotypes mainly collected from North East India. Significant intra and inter-specific variations for fruit morphological traits, fruiting habits and 65 fruit metabolites were observed in the collected Capsicum germplasm belonging to three Capsicum species i.e., Capsicum chinense (Bhut jolokia, 63 accessions), C. frutescens (17 accessions) and C. annuum (56 accessions). The pungency level, measured in Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) and antioxidant activity measured by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assay showed maximum levels in C. chinense accessions followed by C. frutescens accessions, while C. annuum accessions showed the lowest value for both the traits. The number of different fruit metabolites detected did not vary significantly among the different species but the metabolite such as benzoic acid hydroxyl esters identified in large percentage in majority of C. annuum genotypes was totally absent in the C. chinense genotypes and sparingly present in few genotypes of C. frutescens. Significant correlations were observed between fruit metabolites capsaicin, dihydrocapsaicin, hexadecanoic acid, cyclopentane, α-tocopherol and antioxidant activity. Furthermore, comparative expression analysis (through qRT-PCR) of candidate genes involved in capsaicinoid biosynthesis pathway revealed many fold higher expression of majority of the genes in C. chinense compared to C. frutescens and C. annuum suggesting that the possible reason for extremely high pungency might be due to the higher level of candidate gene(s) expression although nucleotide variation in pungency related genes may also be involved in imparting variations in level of pungency.