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.

Genome-wide analysis of rice and Arabidopsis identifies two glyoxalase genes that are highly expressed in abiotic stresses

Abstract: Glyoxalase pathway, ubiquitously found in all organisms from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, consists of glyoxalase I (GLY I) and glyoxalase II (GLY II) enzymes, which detoxify a cytotoxic molecule, methylglyoxal (MG). Increase in MG has been correlated with various diseases in humans and different abiotic stresses in plants. We have previously shown that overproduction of GLY I and/or GLY II enzymes in transgenic plants provide tolerance towards salinity and heavy metal stresses. We have identified nineteen potential GLY I and four GLY II proteins in rice and twenty two GLY I and nine GLY II proteins in Arabidopsis. An analysis of complete set of genes coding for the glyoxalase proteins in these two genomes is presented, including classification and chromosomal distribution. Expression profiling of these genes has been performed in response to multiple abiotic stresses, in different tissues and during various stages of vegetative and reproductive development using publicly available databases (massively parallel signature sequencing and microarray). AtGLYI8, OsGLYI3, and OsGLYI10 expresses constitutively high in seeds while AtGLYI4, AtGLYI7, OsGLYI6, and OsGLYI11 are highly stress inducible. To complement this analyses, qRT-PCR is performed in two contrasting rice genotypes, i.e., IR64 and Pokkali where OsGLYI6 and OsGLYI11 are found to be highly stress inducible.

Brain Iron Homeostasis: From Molecular Mechanisms To Clinical Significance and Therapeutic Opportunities

Abstract: Iron has emerged as a significant cause of neurotoxicity in several neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), and others. In some cases, the underlying cause of iron mis-metabolism is known, while in others, our understanding is, at best, incomplete. Recent evidence implicating key proteins involved in the pathogenesis of AD, PD, and sCJD in cellular iron metabolism suggests that imbalance of brain iron homeostasis associated with these disorders is a direct consequence of disease pathogenesis. A complete understanding of the molecular events leading to this phenotype is lacking partly because of the complex regulation of iron homeostasis within the brain. Since systemic organs and the brain share several iron regulatory mechanisms and iron-modulating proteins, dysfunction of a specific pathway or selective absence of iron-modulating protein(s) in systemic organs has provided important insights into the m...

Geochemistry and Petrogenesis of Amphibolites, Kolar Schist Belt, South India: Evidence for Komatiitic Magma Derived by Low Percentages of Melting of the Mantle

Abstract: The Kolar Schist Belt of the Dharwar Craton of South India is an Archean greenstone belt dominated by metavolcanic rocks. The mafic metavolcanic rocks occur as komatiitic and tholeiitic amphibolites. The komatiitic amphibolites occur along the margins of the N-S trending, synformal belt. They are much less abundant than the tholeiitic amphibolites and have 14 to 21-3 wt. per cent MgO. The komatiitic amphibolites from the west/central part of the belt have two distinctive REE patterns: (1) those enriched in the middle to light REE but depleted in Ce relative to Nd; and (2) those with patterns that are convex up, i.e. depleted in both light and heavy REE, although more depleted in the light REE. Associated tholeiites have light REE depleted to flat REE patterns. Komatiitic and tholeiitic amphibolites from the eastern part of the belt have enriched light REE patterns. The tholeiitic amphibolites from the Kolar Schist Belt are similar to the TH I and TH II types of Archean tholeiites of Condie (1981). The komatiitic amphibolites are similar to komatiites and komatiitic basalts of Barberton Mountainland, but have higher FeO and TiO 2 abundances and lower Yb/Gd ratios. The petrogenetic interpretations for these rocks are based primarily on a modification of the MgO-FeO diagram of Hanson & Langmuir (1978), and modelling of Zr, Ni and REE. All of the rocks have undergone some fractionation. While the modelling does not give accurate temperatures, pressures, compositions and extents of melting of the mantle sources for the various amphibolites, it does present an approach which can be used for estimating these parameters. For example, the komatiitic amphibolites appear to be derived from melts generated by 10 to 25 per cent melting of the mantle over a range of depths and temperatures greater than 80 km and 1575°C. The variation in the P-T conditions of magma generation is possibly due to adiabatic melting in mantle diapirs with a range of FeO/MgO ratios. If the tholeiitic amphibolites are derived from similar mantle sources (it is not clear that they are), their parent melts may have been generated by similar extents of melting, but at depths of less than 80 km. The komatiitic amphibolites from the west central part of the belt were generated from light REE depleted mantle, whereas those from the eastern part of the belt appear to have been generated from light REE enriched mantle. The sources for the komatiitic amphibolites in both areas were significantly enriched in FeO relative to pyrolite. Thus, a light REE depleted and a light REE enriched source appear to have provided mafic volcanics with similar major element chemistry to this belt during its evolution.

Hypsometric Integral Estimation Methods and its Relevance on Erosion Status of North-Western Lesser Himalayan Watersheds

Abstract: Assessment of erosion status of a watershed is an essential prerequisite of integrated watershed management This not only assists in chalking out suitable soil and water conservation measures to arrest erosion and conserve water but also helps in devising best management practices to enhance biomass production in watersheds The geologic stages of development and erosion proneness of the watersheds are quantified by hypsometric integral The estimation of hypsometric integral is carried out from the graphical plot of the measured contour elevation and encompassed area and by using empirical formulae In this study, efforts were made to estimate the hypsometric integral values of the Sainj and Tirthan watersheds and their sub watersheds in the Lesser Himalayas using four different techniques, and to compare the procedural techniques of its estimation and relevance on erosion status It was revealed that the hypsometric integral calculated by elevation–relief ratio method was accurate, less cumbersome and easy to calculate within GIS environment Also comparison of these hypsometric integral values revealed that the Sainj watershed (051) was more prone to erosion than the Tirthan watershed (041) Further, the validation of these results with the recorded sediment yield data of 24 years (1981–2004) corroborated that the average annual sediment yield during this period for Sainj watershed (053 Mt) was more than that of the Tirthan watershed (03 Mt) Thus, the hypsometric integral value can be used as an estimator of erosion status of watersheds leading to watershed prioritization for taking up soil and water conservation measures in watershed systems