Department of Bioscience & Bioengineering

&ldquo;IIT Jodhpur is committed to impart quality education to facilitate the creation of qualified, competent and responsible human resources to meet the emerging technological challenges of the world. It is working towards creating an equitable learning platform that is positive, accessible and effective in the face of the modern societal and scientific advancements.

Flexibility in curriculum, in all its academic programs, encompassing elements of teaching, research, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship is the most unique feature of IIT Jodhpur. The Department of Science and Technology (DST), under the National Mission on Cyber Physical Systems, has identified IIT Jodhpur as a Technology &amp; Innovation Hub in the area of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. The institute has also been nominated as the coordinator for the Jodhpur City and Knowledge Cluster by the Office of Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India.

The sprawling 852-acre IIT Jodhpur campus is a majestic tribute to the deep-rooted diverse cultural heritage of the region. The campus is an architectural masterpiece, which is slated to become an international exemplar of sustainability with net-zero energy, and advanced water and waste management strategies.&rdquo;

IIT Jodhpur

A multiarm nanomedicine template has been designed following bottom-up approach, which target neuropilin-1 (Nrp-1) receptor of cancer cells. Through this venture, we discovered that cucurbit [6] uril (CB [6]) binds with tubulin close to binding pocket of vinblastine site and perturbs tubulin polymerization. To increase the specificity of gold nanoparticle (GNP) toward Nrp-1-rich cancer cells, we further modified this GNP with Nrp-1 receptor-specific short peptide (CGNKRTR). Remarkably, we found an interesting self-assembly process upon addition of curcumin into the CB [6] and peptide-functionalized GNP, leading to the formation of a spherical nanocapsule (CGNP·Cur). It can deliver and release significantly higher amounts of anticancer drug curcumin in Nrp-1-rich cancer cells. It causes microtubule depolymerization and significant tumor regression in Nrp-1 overexpressed mice melanoma model. These interesting findings show that nanocapsule has high potential to develop a powerful anticancer nanomedicine and help in its preclinical validation. © 2019 American Chemical Society.

World University root node

Molecular Pharmaceutics

Dual-Arm Nanocapsule Targets Neuropilin-1 Receptor and Microtubule: A Potential Nanomedicine Platform

Repairing of brain damage is a challenging task due to the limited regenerative potential of complex network of neurons interspersed with glial cells. To address this issue, a number of approaches are in progress. Here we discuss a fascinating approach in which reactive astrocytes generated during any brain injury can be transformed into functional neurons using a mixture of small molecules or "chemical cocktail". This "chemical cocktail" leads to the conversion of reactive astrocytes into neurons by targeting two very important transcription factors, NeuroD1 and NeuroG2. This chemical approach opens up a new direction in development of regenerative medicine. © 2018 American Chemical Society.

Fulltext

ACS Chemical Neuroscience

Glial-Neuron Transformation by "chemical Cocktail"

The industrial revolution, population explosion, urbanization, and the use of advanced technological instruments have accelerated the consumption of fossil fuels leading to changes in the gaseous composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. The combustion of fossil fuel acts as a principal source of carbon dioxide (CO2) and is still contributing to its continuous rise in the atmosphere. The levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have significantly increased since the preindustrial era and future projections predict that its concentration will be doubled in the next 50 years, which will cause a significant impact on global weather patterns, including temperature increases by an average of 0.5°C per decade. As per future projections regarding greenhouse gases made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the projected levels of CO2 will range from 500 to 1000 ppm by the end of the 21st century. Currently, crop plants are exposed to CO2 levels that have not been experienced from the time of the preindustrial era, and agriculture is facing a future of uncertain consequences of global climate change. An understanding of the influence of climate change on future crop production requires an appreciation of the general responses of a range of crop types to elevated CO2 contents and the ways in which those affects interact with other factors. Rising CO2 is considered an important aspect of global climate change as it has the potential to enhance crop productivity, which will be required to feed the increasing population across the globe. The objective of this chapter is to present an overview of the responses of plants to high CO2 and the fundamental mechanisms behind those responses. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Climate Change and Agricultural Ecosystems: Current Challenges and Adaptation

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and plant responses: Current and future consequences

A comparison of autotrophic (AD) and heterotrophic (HD) cathodic denitrification in a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) was made in this study. Denitrifying microbial consortia were developed from cow manure and soil and acclimatized under AD and HD conditions. The AD MFC supported the power output of 4.45 W m−3 while removing nitrate nitrogen (NO3 --N) at the rate of 0.118 kg NO3 --N m−3 d−1. Significant power output (3.02 W m−3) and nitrate removal rate (2.06 kg NO3 --N m−3 d−1) were achieved in HD MFC. Further, 16S rDNA based community analysis revealed higher diversity in HDMFC. The genus Thauera and Pseudomonas were predominant in ADMFC while genus Klebsiella and Alkaliphilus were abundant in HDMFC. The abundance of the denitrifying genes namely narG, nirS, and nosZ were assessed with the help of quantitative PCR and presence of all the genes in both the conditions ensured the necessary molecular requirements for complete denitrification. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Bioresource Technology

Microbial community modulates electrochemical performance and denitrification rate in a biocathodic autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrifying microbial fuel cell

This study assesses the potential for the lipid production by the oleaginous yeast Cystobasidium oligophagum JRC1 using dairy industry waste cheese whey as a substrate. Cheese whey was used either untreated (UCW) or deproteinized (DCW) at different concentrations (25–100%) to serve as the carbon and energy source. Both UCW and DCW supported high biomass and lipid productivities. The biomass productivity of 0.076 ± 0.0004 and 0.124 ± 0.0021 g/L h, lipid productivity of 0.0335 ± 0.0004 and 0.0272 ± 0.0008 g/L h, and the lipid content of 44.12 ± 0.84 and 21.79 ± 1.00% were achieved for 100% DCW and UCW, respectively. The soluble chemical oxygen demand (sCOD) removal rate was 8.049 ± 0.198 and 10.61 ± 0.0165 g/L day (84.91 ± 0.155 and 86.82 ± 0.067% removal) for 100% DCW and UCW, respectively. Fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) composition obtained using GC-FID studies revealed the presence of C16 and C18 fatty acid in the lipid extract and the biodiesel properties were found to be in accordance with ASTM and EN standards. The study presents a method for the valorization of cheese whey waste into a feasible feedstock for biodiesel. © 2019, King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

3 Biotech

Assessing oil accumulation in the oleaginous yeast Cystobasidium oligophagum JRC1 using dairy waste cheese whey as a substrate

Huntington's diseases (HD) is a very devastating disease caused by r(CAG) expansion in HTT gene, encoding the huntingtin protein. r(CAG) expansion causes disease via multiple pathways including, 1) loss of normal protein function like sequestration of RNA binding protein such as Muscleblind-like (MBNL) and nucleolin, 2) Gain of function for mutant proteins and 3) repeat-associated non-ATG (RAN) translation; in which expanded r(CAG) translates into toxic poly glu, poly ser, or poly ala without the use of any canonical start codon. Herein, we have rationally designed and synthesized a unique class of pyridocoumarin derivatives that target the r(CAG) exp involved in HD and spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) pathogenesis. Notably, compounds 3 and 15 showed higher affinity (nanomolar K d ) and selectivity for diseased r(CAG) exp RNA compared to regular duplex AU-paired RNA. Interestingly, both scaffolds are cell permeable, exhibit low toxicity to healthy fibroblast cells and are also capable of reducing the level of poly Q aggregation in cellular models. Indeed, our current study offers promising facet for selectively targeting repeats containing RNAs that cause severe diseases like HD and SCAs. © 2019 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM)

Biochimie

Rationally designed small molecules targeting toxic CAG repeat RNA that causes Huntington's disease (HD) and spinocerebellar ataxia (SCAs)

Helminthic parasitic infection is grossly prevalent across the globe and is considered a significant factor in human cancer occurrence induced by biological agents. Although only three helminths (Schistosoma haematobium, Clonorchis sinensis, and Opisthorchis viverrini) so far have been directly associated with carcinogenesis; there are evidence suggesting the involvement of other species too. Broadly, human helminthiasis can cause chronic inflammation, genetic instability, and host immune modulation by affecting inter- and intracellular communications, disruption of proliferation–anti-proliferation pathways, and stimulation of malignant stem cell progeny. These changes ultimately lead to tumor development through the secretion of soluble factors that interact with host cells. However, the detailed mechanisms by which helminths introduce and promote malignant transformation of host cells are still not clear. Here, we reviewed the current understanding of immune-pathogenesis of helminth parasites, which have been associated with carcinogenesis, and how these infections initiate carcinogenesis in the host. © Copyright © 2019 Arora, Kaur, Anjum, Tripathi, Mishra, Kumar and Prasad.