@article {158507, title = {Conserved biochemical activity and function of phosphatidylinositol 5 phosphate 4 kinase regulates growth \& development}, year = {2025}, abstract = {

Co-ordination of function between multiple cells, mediated by hormones or growth factors, is a critical requirement for multi-cellularity. Phosphoinositides, generated by lipid kinase activity, are second messengers that mediate such signalling. Phosphatidylinositol 5 phosphate 4-kinase (PIP4K) is a lipid kinase that phosphorylates phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate (PI5P) to generate phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P2]. A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis of the tree of life, revealed that PIP4K is a metazoan-specific enzyme, but with homologs in choanoflagellates. We find that PIP4K from the sponge\ Amphimedon queenslandica\ (AqPIP4K), regarded as the earliest evolved metazoan, shows biochemical activity highly conserved with human PIP4K. Further, AqPIP4K was able to rescue the reduced cell size, growth and development of a\ Drosophila\ PIP4K mutant. These phenotypes are regulated through activity of the insulin receptor, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family, that is unique to metazoans. Overall, our work defines PIP4K as part of a signal transduction motif required to regulate receptor tyrosine kinase signalling for intercellular communication in the earliest forms of metazoans.

}, keywords = {Amphimedon queenslandica, Drosophila melanogaster, Growth and development, Insulin signalling, Lipid kinase}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.263881}, url = {https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article-abstract/doi/10.1242/jcs.263881/368299/Conserved-biochemical-activity-and-function-of?redirectedFrom=PDF}, author = {Krishnan, H and Muzaffar, S and Sharma, S and Ramya, V and Ghosh, A and Sowdhamini, R and Padinjat, R} } @article {78173, title = {Are shed hair genomes the most effective noninvasive resource for estimating relationships in the wild?}, journal = {Ecol Evol}, volume = {10}, year = {2020}, month = {05/2020}, pages = {4583-4594}, abstract = {

Knowledge of relationships in wild populations is critical for better understanding mating systems and inbreeding scenarios to inform conservation strategies for endangered species. To delineate pedigrees in wild populations, study genetic connectivity, study genotype-phenotype associations, trace individuals, or track wildlife trade, many identified individuals need to be genotyped at thousands of loci, mostly from noninvasive samples. This requires us to (a) identify the most common noninvasive sample available from identified individuals, (b) assess the ability to acquire genome-wide data from such samples, and (c) evaluate the quality of such genome-wide data, and its ability to reconstruct relationships between animals within a population.We followed identified individuals from a wild endangered tiger population and found that shed hair samples were the most common compared to scat samples, opportunistically found carcasses, and opportunistic invasive samples. We extracted DNA from these samples, prepared whole genome sequencing libraries, and sequenced genomes from these.Whole genome sequencing methods resulted in between 25\%-98\% of the genome sequenced for five such samples. Exploratory population genetic analyses revealed that these data were free of holistic biases and could recover expected population structure and relatedness. Mitochondrial genomes recovered matrilineages in accordance with long-term monitoring data. Even with just five samples, we were able to uncover the matrilineage for three individuals with unknown ancestry.In summary, we demonstrated that noninvasive shed hair samples yield adequate quality and quantity of DNA in conjunction with sensitive library preparation methods, and provide reliable data from hundreds of thousands of SNPs across the genome. This makes shed hair an ideal noninvasive resource for studying individual-based genetics of elusive endangered species in the wild.Knowledge of relationships in wild populations is critical for better understanding mating systems and inbreeding scenarios to inform conservation strategies for endangered species. To delineate pedigrees in wild populations, study genetic connectivity, study genotype-phenotype associations, trace individuals, or track wildlife trade, many identified individuals need to be genotyped at thousands of loci, mostly from noninvasive samples. This requires us to (a) identify the most common noninvasive sample available from identified individuals, (b) assess the ability to acquire genome-wide data from such samples, and (c) evaluate the quality of such genome-wide data, and its ability to reconstruct relationships between animals within a population.We followed identified individuals from a wild endangered tiger population and found that shed hair samples were the most common compared to scat samples, opportunistically found carcasses, and opportunistic invasive samples. We extracted DNA from these samples, prepared whole genome sequencing libraries, and sequenced genomes from these.Whole genome sequencing methods resulted in between 25\%-98\% of the genome sequenced for five such samples. Exploratory population genetic analyses revealed that these data were free of holistic biases and could recover expected population structure and relatedness. Mitochondrial genomes recovered matrilineages in accordance with long-term monitoring data. Even with just five samples, we were able to uncover the matrilineage for three individuals with unknown ancestry.In summary, we demonstrated that noninvasive shed hair samples yield adequate quality and quantity of DNA in conjunction with sensitive library preparation methods, and provide reliable data from hundreds of thousands of SNPs across the genome. This makes shed hair an ideal noninvasive resource for studying individual-based genetics of elusive endangered species in the wild.

}, doi = {10.1002/ece3.6157}, author = {Khan, A and Patel, K and Bhattacharjee, S and Sharma, S and Chugani, AN and Sivaraman, K and Hosawad, V and Sahu,YK and Reddy, GV and Ramakrishnan, U} } @article {77997, title = {Opportunities for prioritizing and expanding conservation enterprise in India using a guild of carnivores as flagships}, journal = {ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS}, volume = {15}, year = {2020}, month = {06/2020}, abstract = {

Conservation interventions in developing countries are frequently thwarted by socio-economic agendas, severely limiting the scope and rigor of biodiversity and habitat conservation. Very few ecological assessments incorporate human interests in conservation prioritization, creating asynchrony between planning and implementation. For conservation actions to be logistically feasible, multiple criteria including ecological, social, economic and administrative aspects must be considered. Understanding how these different dimensions interact spatially is also important for gauging the potential for conservation success. Here, we use a guild of select mammalian carnivores (wild canids and hyenas) in India to (i) generate distribution maps at the spatial scale of administrative sub-districts, that are relevant to management, (ii) examine ecological, social and biogeographic factors associated with their distribution, assess key threats, and identify areas important for their conservation, (iii) use prioritization tools for balancing habitat conservation, human needs and economic growth, and (iv) evaluate the spatial congruence between areas with high conservation potential, and areas currently in focus for protection efforts, conservation investments, and infrastructure development. We find that the current Protected Area system does not adequately cover or represent diverse habitats, that there is immense potential for States to increase financial investments towards alternative conservation strategies, and, most infrastructure projects may be potentially jeopardizing important carnivore habitats where the two overlap. Our framework allowed for identifying locations where conservation investments would lead to the highest benefits for carnivores as flagships, which also benefit other species across habitats. We make a case for re-evaluating how large-scale prioritization assessments are made, and for broadening the purview of conservation policies in India and other developing countries.

}, doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/ab7e50}, author = {Srivathsa, A and Majgaonkar, I and Sharma, S and Singh, P and Punjabi, GA and Chawla, MM and Banerjee, A} } @article {60331, title = {C{\textendash}H Arylation of N-Heteroarenes under Metal-Free Conditions and its Application towards the Synthesis of Pentabromo- and Pentachloropseudilins}, journal = {EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY}, volume = {2019}, year = {2019}, month = {06/2019}, pages = {3591-3598}, abstract = {

Herein, we have developed a metal-free and mild condition for the synthesis of 2-arylated heteroarenes. The complex forming property and charge transfer property of phenothiazine expanded its application towards catalysis The optimized condition has been successfully employed for the synthesis important marine natural product namely pentabromo/chloropseudilins (PBP/PCP). The synthesized Pentachloropseudilin (PCP) has been shown to phenocopy the effect of Myosin1c depletion which provides a strong justification for the use of PCP as a specific probe for Myosin 1 function in cells.

}, doi = {10.1002/ejoc.201900353}, author = {Kumar, M and Sharma, S and Sil, P and Kushwaha, M and Mayor, S and Vishwakarma, RA and Singh, PP} }