nurturing science director’s message...m.sc. bioinformatics held at bharti vidyapeeth deemed...

Faculty Achievements

Research Publications

• Marar, T. and Sahoo, A. (2018) Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant assay and antimicrobial activ-

ity in leaf etracts of Cerbera odollam Gaertn.Pharmacogn J.10(2):285-292.

• N. Shivale, T. Marar, M. Samant, M. Harmaklar (2018). Screening of antioxidant activity of

marine bacteria isolated from marine soil obtained from north-west coastal region of India. Interna-

tional Journal of Biology, Pharmacy and Allied Sciences; 7(3), 279-288.

• Kadam, D., Shanooba P. and Lele, S.S. (2018) LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS/MS profoling and antioxidant

activity of phenolics from L. sativum cake. J. Food Sci. Tech. DOI:10.1007/s13197-017-3031-8.

• Selvaa Kumar C., Dasgupta D. and Gadewal N. (2018) Bioinformatics based understanding of

effect of mutations in the human beta tubulin outside drug binding sites and its significance in drug

resistance. The Open Bioinformatics Journal. 11:29-37.

• Kadam,D., Shah, N., Shanooba, P. and Lele,S.S. (2018) An investigation on the effect of polyphe-

nolic extracts of Nigella sativa seedcake on physiochemical properties of chitosan-based films.

Carbohydrates Polymers.192:347-355.

• Ahmad I., Jagtap, D.D., Selvaa Kumar C., Balasinor NH, Babitha Rani AM, Agarwal D., Saahran

N.(2018) Molecular characterization of inhibin-A: Structure and expression analysis in Clarius ba-

trachus. General and Comparative Endocrinology 261:104-114.

Director’s Message September 2018

Issue –3

CONTENTS

DIRECTOR’S MES-

SAGE

FACULTY ACHEIVE-

MENTS

STUDENTS’

ACHEIVEMENTS

EVENTS

EXTENSION ACTIVI-

TIES

SELECTED REEARCH

CONTRIBUTION OF

STUDENTS’

...Nurturing Science

MEAL TIME: Ocean-dwelling microbes chow down on

marine carbon sources at rates that are taxon dependent

EDWARD DELONG, DAVID KARL, NANCY HULBIRT

The School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics is pro-

gressing rapidly in all spheres of its academic and extra-

curricular activity and I am glad to see the 3rd edition of

the Scientific Newsletter titled Vigyaan Pravah@SBB

being published. The seed for Innovation has been plant-

ed and every edition of Vigyaan Pravah@SBB is proof

that the seed is growing in the desired direction. Here’s

showcasing the immense effort of the very dedicated

faculty and involved students in term of their publications

and activities in the area of science and technology. This

newsletter records the events and activities of the School

of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics in the period be-

tween March to July 2018.

• Pramodkumar G. (2018) Biological Systems and Pathway Modeling Approaches, Austin Journal of

Biotechnology and Bioengineering; 05(05) 1099.

• Priti U., Naveen P., Sunita S., Debjani D. (2018) Screening and Identification of Siderophore Pro-

ducing Marine Bacteria. Global Journal of Bio-Science and Biotechnology; 7(3), 457-461.

• Hundare A., Dhaytadak B., Kudale S., Joshi N. (2018) Growth kinetics and diosgenin estimation

from callus cultures of Costus speciosus. Natural Products Research; 32(15), 1809-1816.

• Shanoobha P.M., Deepak K., Smita L. (2018) Extraction and characterization of natural enzymes

from bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) and effect of enzyme inhibitors in extending the shelf life of

bottle gourd cut pieces. Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization 12(3).

• Sunita Jadhav, Rajshree Autade (2018) Best Practices at D. Y. Patil SBB Library. Vidyawarta: Inter-

disciplinary Multilingual Refereed Journal, 20-22.

Memberships

• Dr. Debjani Dasgupta was a member of the Expert Team of the National Board of Accreditation

(NBA). She visited the Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (Mysore) as expert for the BE

Biotechnology Program from 19th April - 22nd April, 2018.

• Dr. Arpita Gupte attended the DRC meeting of the PhD Scholars of Parul University, Vadodara, Guj-

rat on 27th April, 2018.

• Dr. Debjani Dasgupta was invited as a member of Board of Studies (Biochemistry) at SIES college

of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai. She attended the meeting on 27th June, 2018.

• Dr. Thankamani Marar was invited as a member of Board of Studies (Biotechnology) at SIES

college of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai. She attended the meeting on 27th June, 2018.

Research Publications

• Deepa G., Neha S., Mimisha N., T. Marar. V.W. Patil. (2018) Studies on the hepatic and renal status of patients with sickle cell disease

from western zone of Maharashtra, India, International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 6(4); 1224 – 1227.

• S. Dokhale, Y. Shah, Naveen P. (2018) Combined gene expression analysis in HIV Associated Dementia, Alzeimer's disease and Park-

inson's disease - An on-silico approach, International Journal for Computational Biology; 7(1); 52-59.

• Tom T., Sagar N. , Samiksha G., (2018) The role of PFEMP1 DBL3X in placental malaria, RJCBPCS 2018 4(3): 1 – 28.

• Patil S., Panda P., Fatemeh G., Kourosh B., Balaji S. (2018) Structural discordance in HIV - 1 Vpu from brain isolate alarms amyloid

fibril forming behavior - a computational perspective, Journal of Theoretical Biology; 35-45.

• P. Gupta (2018) Biological Systems and Pathways Modeling Approaches. Austin Journal of Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 5(3):

1099.

• S. Ghaisas, Shine D. (2018) A review of the predictive aspects of breast cancer among women. International Journal of Bioinformatics

and Biological Sciences, 6(1); 01 – 10.


“SCIENCE IS A BEAUTI-

FUL GIFT TO HUMANI-

TY; WE SHOULD NOT

DISTORT IT”

- A. P. J. ABDUL KALAM


3D print protein model

https://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Print-a-Protein-

Modeling-a-Molecular-Machine/

Issue No 3 September 2018

Memberships

• Dr. Thankamani Marar and Dr. Manish Bhat were invited as a member of Board of Studies

(Biotechnology) meeting at Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil College, Vashi held on 12th July, 2018.

• Dr. Namita Mukherjee was invited as a member of Board of Studies (Zoology) at R. J. Col-

lege of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mumbai.

• Dr. Arpita Gupte was invited as a member of Board of Studies (Biotechnology) meeting at R.

J. College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Mumbai held on 14th July, 2018.

Workshops/Seminars/ Conference/Refresher course attended

• Dr. Rozy Waghmare attended 'Magnetic Maharashtra 2018' held at BKC Mumbai on 20th Feb,

2018. The title of the program was 'Employment Intensive Industries-Food Processing/Textiles.

• Nidhi Sharma attended 'Magnetic Maharashtra 2018' held at BKC Mumbai on 20th Feb, 2018.

The title of the program was 'MSME-The next gen wealth creators’.

• Dr. Mala Parab attended the basic mass spectrometry workshop on "Protein Identification" on

Mass Spectrometry Facility at IIT Bombay held from 23rd to 28th February, 2018.

• Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta participated in the Preconference of IPSCON 2017 on Future

Healthcare: "Sensing Disease and Role of IoT in Health Care" held on 14th February, 2018 at

SVKM's NMIMS, Mumbai.

• Ms. Sunita Jadhav, Librarian, participated and presented 'Best Practices' at one day Seminar-

cum-panel discussion on 'Best practices of Library and Information Centres' organized on 10th

March, 2018 by Knowledge Resources and Relay Centre , D.Y. Patil University.

• Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta participated in organizing the "International Conference on Recent

Advances in Biosciences and Bioengineering (ICRABB-18)" held at Parul Univeristy, Vadodara,

on 8th to 10th March 2018. He was also a member of the National Advisory committee of the

Conference.

• Mr. Mustansir Bhori completed the Basic Training of MACS Technology and Products at

Miltenyi Biotech Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Singapore on 23rd to 25th April, 2018.

• Mr. Mustansir Bhori successfully completed MACSQuant Instrument Training at Miltenyi

Biotech Asia Pacific Pvt Ltd., Singapore on 26th to 27th April, 2018.

• Ms. Simran Lilwani and Ms. Nilima Shivale participated in National Level Train the Trainer

Workshop on Flipped Learning organized at K J Somaiya College of Science and Commerce,

Mumbai on 23rd to 26th April, 2018.

“YOU HAVE TO DREAM

BEFORE YOUR DREAMS

CAN COME TRUE.”



https://www.epo.org/news-issues/issues/biotechnology-

patents.html

http://lifeofplant.blogspot.com/2011/02/plant-

biotechnology.html

Workshops/Seminars/ Conference/Refresher course attended • Dr. Manish Bhat, Assistant Professor & Training & Placement Officer was invited to a workshop on 'Ranking Master Class' conducted

by CL Educate in collaboration with QS, Singapore on 17th May, 2018 Venue: Hotel Orchid, Mumbai.

• Ms. Sunita Jadhav, Librarian attended the, One day National Conference on Emerging Trends and Technologies in Libraries: An Inno-

vative Space on 28th March 2018 at Sonopant Dandekar Arts, V.S. Apte Commerce & M. H. Mehta Science College, Palghar.

• Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta co-authored a paper titled, "5-naphtylidene-2, 4-thiazolidinediones: In silico studies, synthesis and primary

cytotoxicity evaluation in lukemic cell lines" presented at 10th World Congress on Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Design held at Barce-

lona, Spain on 14th - 15th June, 2018.

• Mr. Pamodkumar Gupta presented a paper at 2nd International Online Conference on Biological Sciences (IOCBS 2018) on 22nd July,

2018.


“TO SUCCEED IN YOUR

MISSION, YOU MUST

HAVE SINGLE-MINDED

DEVOTION TO YOUR

GOAL.”


• Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta was the co-author for a poster entitled 'SAR & QSAR Analysis of

Comptothecin (CPT) as Topoisomerase 1 Inhibiitors using Molecular Modelling Techniques' pre-

sented at 2nd International Online Conference on Biological Sciences (IOCBS 2018) held on 22nd

July, 2018.

• Dr. Pramodkumar Gupta, attended the National Seminar on "Predatory Journals: A Growing

Menace to Science" organized by ICMR-NIRRH, Mumbai held on 8th June, 2018.

Judges/Examiners • Dr. Debjani Dasgupta was invited as an external examiner for Ph.D. thesis at Manipal University,

Manipal.

• Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta attended the meeting of paper setters in the subject Systems Biology for

M.Sc. Bioinformatics held at Bharti Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune on 8th February, 2018.

• Dr. Manish Bhat was the examiner for M.Sc. Microbiology Practical Examination held at K. J. So-

maiya College, Mumbai on 2nd to 4th April, 2018.

• Dr. Arpita Gupte was the examiner for BE Biotech practical’s and Project Dissertations held on 23rd

and 24th April, 2018 at Thadomal Sahani Engineering College, Bandra, Mumbai.

• Dr. Sunita Singh was the examiner for practical examination of M.Sc. Medical Biotechnology at

MGM Medical College, Kamothe held on 21st June, 2018.

• Dr. Debjani Dasgupta was the examiner for the Ph. D. (Biotechnology) thesis entitled

‘Understanding the Role of Ring-finger E3 Ubiquitin Ligases in AKT Signaling’ submitted to

Savitaribai Phule Pune University, Pune.

• Dr. Selvaa Kumar C. was the examiner for practical examination of M.Sc. Medical Biotechnology

at MGM Medical College, Kamothe held on 22nd and 27th June, 2018.

• Dr. V. Suresh Gupta was the examiner for practical examination of M.Sc. Medical Biotechnology at

MGM Medical College, Kamothe held on 25th June, 2018.


Multiphoton fluorescence image of HeLa cells stained

with the actin binding toxin phalloidin (red), microtubules

(cyan) and cell nuclei (blue). NIH-funded work at the

National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research .

Credit: Tom Deerinck


Judges/Examiners • Dr. Arpita Gupte was invited as an external referee for final evaluation of Project/dissertation of M.Sc. and B. Tech program at

Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Mumbai, on 6th June, 2018.

Reviewers • Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta reviewed a manuscript submitted to the journal "Computational Toxicology".

• Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta received a Certificate of Reviewing in recognition of the review made for the journal "GENE".

• Mr. Pramodkumar Gupta reviewed an article submitted to the Journal Advancement in Medicinal Plant Research.

• Dr. Manish Bhat reviewed a manuscript submitted to Journal of Applied Life Sciences in July 2018 and received a certificate of

'Excellence in Reviewing.'

“EXCELLENCE IS A CON-

TINUOUS PROCESS AND

NOT AN ACCIDENT.”



Students Achievements

Ms. Snehal Ganjave of

M. Tech Biotechnology quali-

fied GATE 2017, CSIR NET

(LS) 2017 and was awarded

DBT INSPIRE Fellowship for

pursuing Ph.D. at IIT - Bombay

Mr. Ramiz of M. Tech Bio-

technology qualified CSIR -

NET (LS) 2017

• Mr. Saurav Raj Singh (B. Tech Biotechnology- 2017)

presented a poster titled “Synthesis, Characterization

and biocompatibility studies of CZDs from ginger

honey” at the International Conference on Advanced

Research in Life Sciences-2018 held at Sadguru Gad-

age Maharaj College, Karad on 27th and 28th March,

2018.

Events

“SMALL AIM IS A CRIME;

HAVE GREAT AIM.”


• A workshop was organized on “Virtual

labs development” on 28th March, 2018 by the

Virtual labs development committee for the

internal faculty of the School. The session

was conducted by Dr Naveen P and Ms

Shreedevi Kulkarni. The workshop included

briefing the need for virtual labs, its objec-

tives as put forward by MHRD and IIT Bom-

bay, and the challenges in developing the vir-

tual lab sessions. Detail about the effective

ways to shortlist the objectives of new lab and

experiments, framing the learning objectives

and cognitive levels were discussed.

• The School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, D Y. Patil University, Navi Mum-

bai conducted a Food Safety Certification programme for Basic Catering (Level 1) as

an authorized training partner of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

(FSSAI)) on 18th May 2018. This School is an authorized training partner of Food

Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for Food Safety Certification. It is

the mandate of the government to provide Food Safety Training to all food business

operators/handlers and at least 1 in 25 employees needs to be trained in Food Safety

Standards. The School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics is participating in this

national endeavour. The training program comprised of sessions on safety measures

and precautions to be maintained by food handlers to meet hygiene requirements.

• An awareness programme on Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS) and its activities was

conducted on 17th July, 2018 by Mr. Lenin Maxwell Scientist B, Mumbai Branch,

where he explained the role of BIS and its various activities Standards Formulation,

Certification (System, Product, articles, registration, hallmarking), Laboratory Test-

ing, Inter-National Relations, Consumer Affairs, Training, sales etc through videos

and talks.

Awareness programme on Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS)


Virtual Labs Development Workshop

Mr. Lenin Maxwell, Scientist B, BIS, Mumbai

Branch

Virtual Labs Development Workshop


“IF FOUR THINGS ARE FOL-

LOWED - HAVING A GREAT

AIM, ACQUIRING

KNOWLEDGE, HARD WORK,

AND PERSEVERANCE - THEN

ANYTHING CAN BE

ACHIEVED.”


Events

• A training on "Food Safety Supervision, Level 2 Advance Manufacturing" was conducted on

26th July, 2018 at Pratap Snacks Ltd., Indore, MP. FSSAI approved trainer Ms. Trupti Bhat

was the resource person for the training.

• A guest lecturer was organized on 19th July, 2018 titled “Modified starches and their applica-

tion". The talk was delivered by Mr. Shiva Prasad, Head of Food Business - India, Ingredion

India Pvt., Ltd. and Mr. Brijesh Desai, Technical Lead for India and Bangladesh.

The lectures threw light on basic concepts and overview of starches and their changes with

respect to procession including gelatinization, pasting etc. Various methods of modifications

of starches and their changes occurring there with were also discussed.

Alumni Speaks

• Ms. Snehal Ganjave (M. Tech 2016 - DBT Inspire Fellowship for PhD, GATE & NET quali-

fied) delivered a talk to UG and PG students on 4th July, 2018. She shared her success story

with students and motivated them. The talk was highlighted on various competitive examina-

tions and methods for its preparations.

• Ms. Madhura Paranjape (M.Tech-2017), PhD - Biological Sciences, University of Illinois,

US & Ms. Prachi Tandale (2017), PhD - Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Con-

necticut, US delivered a talk on 'Preparation for GRE and TOFFEL' for securing admission

in foreign universities.

• Harsh Patel (B.Tech Biotechnology- 2017). MS European Masters in Food Science studies

delivered a talk on the procedure to obtain admission in European Masters in Food Science

Studies at 5 Universities of Europe.

• Mr. Kushal Roy (B.Tech Biotechnology- 2016), MS in Big Data Analytics at Milan Univer-

sity, Italy delivered a talk on procedure to secure admission in Big Data Analytics at Ita-

ly. He also talked on Sales as career Choice, its pros and cons.

• Mr. Pramod Kumar Gupta participated in Career Fair-2018 at Wisdom International School

and Junior College, Nashik on 13th April, 2018 representing School of Biotechnology and

Bioinformatics. Mr. Gupta conducted the awareness activity presenting to the public the edu-

cational programs and career opportunities at the School of Biotechnology and Bioinformat-

ics.

• Signed a MoU with Nutripure Supercritical Extracts Pvt., Ltd., Kerala. (NPSEPL).

The MoU falls for Collaborative Research and Consultancy Services.

MOU’s

Extension Activity

Career Fair-2018 at Wisdom International

https://www.foodsafetymagazine.com

Research Contributions of the Post-Graduate / Graduate Students

Analysis of Harbor Water Near Port Area

Vispute Namrata Kiron Prema, B. Tech. Biotechnology

Coastal and marine environment are considered as the planets dominant feature and hosts to richest ecological diversity. Coastal ecosystem is

under constant pressure from anthropogenic impacts mainly pollution. Many of the contaminants threaten the marine system, brought to the

oceans by contaminated fresh water runoff, industrial or solid waste dumping and by atmospheric transport. Ports are integrated within cities

or towns, and their influence is unavoidable. Regardless of their size, their environmental impact depends on their physical characteristics and

commercial activities. The quality of aquatic systems in port areas is a consequence of their use and the activities conducted in these environ-

ments. Marine water quality monitoring is a major step to prevent the deterioration of water quality due to human activities by helping in eval-

uating the nature and extent of pollution control required. The present study has two parts, first part focuses on the assessment of physico-

chemical parameter of the marine water around Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP) and second part deals with the assessment of water quality of the

area by using a Water Quality Index (WQI). The results of various physico-chemical analysis indicate that there is not much variation between

station as the stations were located close to each other. Further the Water Quality Index (WQI) reveal that the overall water quality surround-

ing the port area is good and the port activities do not have a measurable impact on the surrounding water quality of the region.

Quinoa Bran Protein Isolates and Its Functional Characterization

Ayusha raj Nandankumar Anupama Kumar, B. Tech. Biotechnology

Quinoa is a nutritionally rich pseudocereal with commendable nutritional properties. This Andean food has attracted worldwide as a functional

food. Because of its stress tolerant properties, it is regarded as the 21st-century crop to offer food security. The current study was based on the

optimum conditions for preparing quinoa bran protein isolates and investigates the functional characterization of the quinoa bran protein in

food applications. The protein isolate was obtained by solubilizing the protein at alkaline pH, followed by isoelectric precipitation at an acidic

pH-4.5. Quinoa bran protein isolate containing 78% protein was prepared from saponin extracted powder. The actual extractability of protein

was 10.68% (R.T) and 11.33% for 37ºC respectively. Nitrogen solubility of quinoa protein isolate (R.T) were 3.62%, 7.23%, 4.516% and

5.5% at pH-7.0, 7.5, 8.0, 8.5 and at 37ºC were 2.59%, 4.53%, 6.28% and 7.7% respectively. Nitrogen solubility increased in 37ºC as the pI

increased. But, the nitrogen solubility of 1% ratio (bran: water) increased the yield of protein from 0.177mg to 12.5 mg for pH-7.5. SDS

PAGE showed protein bands at 55 kDa corresponding to globulin, bands at 30 kDa show high expression in all the pH corresponding to che-

nopodin and bands at 20 kDa were found in all pH but are expressed high in pH 8.5. The protein isolate was studied for its effect on the hepa-

tocellular carcinoma cells Hep3B and results showed considerable growth inhibition. The current study is preliminary effort to isolate the pro-

tein from quinoa bran and to study their biological properties. This study has given insight into the presence of beneficial health proteins in the

quinoa bran. A detailed study may be necessary for its application in functional foods.


http://www.kelisema.it/kelipro-quinoa/



Smart Plasmonic Hydrogel For Highly Controlled Drug Delivery

Poojari Deeksha Krishna Shakunthala, B. Tech. Biotechnology

Cancer has always been major issue in medical history. There is no specific treatment for the cancer which targets only the tumor cells without

affecting the normal healthy cells. Localized treatment of tumor is a major setback for the medical industry. Although there are few treatments

available which targets only tumor cells but the chances of relapse is very high. Au-PLGA nanoshells are special kind of nanopaticles which

consists of PLGA dielectric core coated with gold nanoshells. These nanoshells have a special property which can be tuned to adjust to absorb

light at (Near Infrared region) NIR region thus increasing the temperature of surrounding region. These nanoshells are embedded in the inject-

able hydrogel to develop photo thermal modulated drug delivery system. In this hydrogel, poly (N-vinylcaprolactam) (PNVCL) a thermo re-

sponsive polymer is used which shrinks when the temperature exceeds its lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and will relax when the

temperature decreases. This property of the hydrogel along with nanoparticles makes very suitable for the localized and controlled drug deliv-

ery system.

Evaluation of Osmoregulators in Luffa Acutangula Under Salinity Stress Using Proteomics Tchniquees

Malankar Piyush Upendra Archana, M. Tech (Integrated)

Plants are exposed to enumerable environmental stresses; some plants have the ability to tolerate such stresses more effectively than others

while some of the plants are more sensitive. Salinity stress caused by sodium chloride is one of the most common and rapidly spreading stress

that has a detrimental effect on plant productivity. The aim of the present research is to study the stress induced changes in proteins and enzy-

matic antioxidants. The LC-MS/MS analysis of the extracted proteome helped in positive identification of 20 proteins majority of which were

down regulated. The concentration of Proline increased with increasing salt concentration in Variety 1 and decreased in Variety 2; concentra-

tion of trehalose increased with increasing salt concentration in both varieties. The activity of POD decreased with increasing salt concentra-

tion in both varieties while the activity of SOD increased in Variety 2 and decreased in Variety 1 with increasing salt concentrations.

Draft Genome Characterization of Bacterian With Potential for Production of Biodegradable Polymer

Haldar Tania Chandan Tina, M. Tech (Integrated)

The worldwide concern for plastic wastes of synthetic origin has necessitated the search for biodegradable plastic. Among these, Polyhydroxy-

alkanoates (PHA’s) are reserve food material accumulated by different species of bacteria which have properties similar to that of synthetic

plastic and provide added advantage of biodegradability. In the present study, different bacterial isolates were screened for their potential for

PHA accumulation. From plate assay, Bacillus licheniformis and Serratia marcescens demonstrated ability for producing PHA. Extraction

method was optimized for maximum recovery of PHA from bacterial biomass, which was found to be polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). In silico

studies using whole genome sequence of B. licheniformis confirmed the presence of genes for two enzymes in PHB synthesis pathway i.e.

phaA (3-ketoacyl CoA thiolase) enzyme and phaB (acetoacetyl CoA reductase) enzyme while gene for phaA (3-ketoacyl CoA thiolase) en-

zyme was annotated in the genome of S. marcescens. Optimization of different fermentation conditions for high accumulation of the polymer

was carried out. Of the different media used, Medium IV resulted in highest PHB production by B. licheniformis i.e. 0.51% while in the case

of S. marcescens highest amount of PHB was accumulated in Medium III i.e. 0.49%. Among the two isolates, B. licheniformis was found to

accumulate higher concentration of PHB with 9.89% PHB accumulation (on dry cell weight basis) at C/N ratio of 30 in comparison to 5%

PHB accumulation in case of S. marcescens at C/N ratio of 30. The study demonstrated the ability of two strains in producing PHB which

could find application as substitute for synthetic plastics.


Repurposing Mefloquine an Antimalarial Drug as an Adjuvant in Cisplatin Mediated Anticancer Activity : an

In- Vitro Study

Vichare Shrikant Pradeep Arati, M. Tech (Integrated)

Cancer is one of the deadliest disease that has been the major cause of deaths for the last few decades, second in line with Cardiac disorders.

With increasing incidences of resistance to chemotherapy it is difficult to come up with novel anticancer drugs. One approach to combat this

resistance is drug repurposing. Mefloquine, one of the most potent quinine analogue was selected as a candidate to evaluate its anticancer

properties and potential use in combination therapy along with Cisplatin, a well characterised clinically accepted anticancer drug. In-vitro

cytotoxicity assays were used to determine the anticancer activity of both drugs, individually and in combination in Cervical cancer cell line

HeLa and Breast cancer cell line MCF-7. The IC50 of Cisplatin and Mefloquine was found to be 7.824 µM and 5.495 µM in case of HeLa

and 7.745 µM and 1.514 µM in case of MCF-7 cell line. After obtaining their IC50 values the Combination Index (CI), Dose-reduction in-

dex (DRI) and Isobolograms were obtained using CompuSyn 1.0, in order to establish synergistic, antagonistic or additive effects produced

by these drugs. The combinations M3C7 (IC30 of Mefloquine and IC70 of Cisplatin) and M8C2 (IC80 of Mefloquine and IC20 of Cisplatin)

were slightly synergistic and strongly synergistic respectively in case of HeLa cells, while M1C4 (IC10 of Mefloquine and IC40 of Cispla-

tin) was found to be slightly synergistic in case of MCF-7, all the rest of the combinations displayed antagonistic effect. We can thus consid-

er the above non-synergistic combinations for reducing the toxicity of Cisplatin chemotherapy.

Modeling Pharmacokinetics parameters

Bhojani Mohammedmazahir Mohsin Tahera, B. Tech Bioinformatics

Systems biology is based on the understanding that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It is a holistic approach to understand the

complexity of biological systems. It helps to understand the networks that form the whole of living organisms. Mathematical modelling is

important because studying structural properties such as binding energy of protein - protein interaction or protein - ligand interaction using

various Docking software’s is not sufficient to understand the evolution of intermediates in the cascade such as phosphorylation and the ef-

fect of inhibitor over a period of time. So, our work supports studying kinetic parameters of wild type EGFR and its mutantsin presence of

tyrosine kinase inhibitors. For this purpose, we have developed and replicated three pathways including 1) Michaelis Menten constant (Km)

and Inhibition constant (Ki) dependent time course simulation study of EGFR and its mutant in presence of inhibitors, 2) Sensitivity of phos-

phorylation in MAPK cascade and the role of negative feedback loop and 3) Comparative study of Afatinib a tyrosine kinase inhibitor on

phosphorylation of EGFR, complex formation between EGFR and Inhibitor and the product generated at the end of time course in ATK

pathway. To implement our strategy described above we have imported models from Biomodel database and replicated them in Copasi soft-

ware and made the strategic modification as per the cited data sources. For the purpose of analysis, we have used time course simulation data

and steady state concentration as the basis to compare the results. It was observed that for EGFR mutation (L858R) Erlotinib is more sensi-

tive towards target Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) then Afatinib and forms complex just within 15 seconds with concentration of

5.0 mmol/L. In MAPK Cascade Phosphorylation it is observed that Erk activate at very low dose concentration of 63.97 nmol/L then Raf at

98.88 nmol/l and then finally Mek at 291.66 nmol/L thus proving ultra-sensitivity in the Cascade. Our third model represents ATK pathway,

it is observed that Afatinib which is a RTK inhibitor efficiently interacts and decreases the level of phosphorylation of EGFR, as compared

with normal level of phosphorylation in ATK pathway i.e. from 7508.61 nmol/L reduced to 2837.62 nmol/L.




Protein Structure and Modelling

Singh Ananya Anant Kumar Upasana, B. Tech Bioinformatics

Mucins are a group of protein of high sub-atomic weight. They are vigorously glycosylated proteins (glycoconjugates) which are created by

epithelial tissues in many creatures including human. It prevents the epithelium of the body from contamination or any type of damage and are

also involved in the pathogenesis of benign and malignant diseases. The molecular weight of mucin lies between 0.2 to 10 million Dalton and

always has a highly glycosylated domains. The number of repeats varies between different individuals which signifies that the size of the mu-

cin may also vary among different people. The complete 3D structure of mucin has been unknown for decades because of the strong glycosyl-

ation. In this present work we have implemented different methods to obtain the structure of Mucin 6 from homo sapiens was 2439 amino acid

long including 2D modelling using GOR and SOPMA and 3D structure prediction using CPHModels, Phyre2 and I-tasser. MODELLER was

used to generate the multiple template final model before running the simulation and analysis on GROMACS. The models generated after the

fragmentation of the mucin 6 from I-tasser were impressive enough to carry out the modelling using Modeller and the simulation and final

analysis of the model using GROMACS.

Encapsulation of Beet Colour and Food Application

Jaiswar Sangeeta Rajendra Asha, M.Sc. FST

The aim of this study was stabilization of nanoencapsulated beet colourant emulsion. Beetroot has number of biological properties, including

antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, anti-carcinogenic, neuro and hepatoprotective activites. This stability of betalain pigment was studied by the

estimation method. In this work, nanoencapsulation of beet concentrate was carried out by using conjugate(protein-polysaccharide) as the car-

rier material, coconut oil as the lipid layer and tween 80 as surfactant. Double layer (W/O/W) emulsification technique was used to prepare the

nanoemulsion by high energy homogenization and ultrasonication. The effect of beet colourant concentration, lipid and surfactant concentra-

tion and the amount of conjugate for the optimization on stability of nanoencapsulated beet emulsion was studied. After optimization by sever-

al characteristics i.e. above mentioned, the stabilized nanoemulsion was studied. The emulsion was further characterized by particle size anal-

ysis, Zeta potential, Polydispersity index, Colour measurement and colour estimation for encapsulation efficiency. Protein-polysaccharides

cross linking was demonstrated using an electrophoretic method. The results indicate that cross linking between protein and polysaccharide

has formed. The optimized stable nanoencapsulated emulsion of sample No.4 was found to be 214.6 nm, zeta potential as -41.1 mV and the

encapsulation efficiency was found to be 99.03%.

High Protein, High Fibre Cheese Spread Made from Concentrated Yogurt.

Gaikwad Pranit Satish Indumati, M.Sc. FST

Strained yogurt or Labneh, most commonly consumed in Arabian countries, is produced by straining set yogurt in cloth bag until total solids

of the product is 23-25 g/100g. The objectives of this study were to formulate high protein and high fibre content cheese spread by optimiza-

tion with different kinds of proteins and fibres by sensory and textural analytical techniques. Yogurt, proteins and fibres are commercially

procured. Three proteins were fortified and most acceptable was chosen for further optimization of fibres, where one among the three fibres is

selected. The moisture, fat, protein, ash, fibre contents were determined and viscosity is measured by using viscometer, which indirectly gives

spread ability characteristics of the product. 12 trained panellists used preferential analysis to evaluate 11 attributes using 9 point Hedonic

scale, to select the desirable protein and fibre. Whey protein and oat fibre combination was preferred for the final product. Cumin, Garlic and

bay leaf essential oils were used for preservation purpose.

Selected Research Contributions of the Post-Graduate / Graduate Students

Gluten Free Mathri

Koli Juilee Kiran Rekha, M.Sc. FST

The present study was based on the development of gluten-free mathri enriched with flaxseeds (Linum usitatissimum). Flaxseed is a minor

oilseed with unique nutritional properties. The purpose of the study was proper utilization of flaxseeds to supplement various food products to

enhance nutritional content. Different test samples of mathri were prepared by incorporating flaxseed powder at 10, 20, 30 and 40 percent lev-

els with chickpea flour and control mathri was prepared by using 100% chickpea flour. Sensory evaluation of mathri was done by a panel of

fifteen judges using 9 point hedonic scale. Among all the test samples, the mathri incorporated with 10% and 20% flaxseed powder were

found to be highly acceptable having overall acceptability scores of 7.49 and 7.32 respectively. The protein, fat, fiber, ash and energy content

of all test samples incorporated with flaxseed powder were significantly higher as compared to the control samples. The calcium, iron and

phosphorous content of developed mathri samples ranged from 400-601 mg/100 gm, 2.34-6.36 mg/100 gm and 245.34-814.51 mg/100 gm

respectively. The moisture content decreased with increase in level of flaxseed powder.The developed products were packed in metalized zip-

lock bags and stored for 60 days at room temperature to ascertain the changes in chemical and mineral composition and to check quality of

mathri samples during storage. From the results it was concluded that the mineral content, phenolic content and anti-oxidant activity decreased

slightly with the increase in the storage period.Maximum peroxide value was found in mathri i.e. 8.72 meq/kg.In general, with the incorpora-

tion of flaxseed powder, all the chemical parameters increased whereas, with the advancement of storage period decreased.

Molecular Characterization Beta Globin Gene Exon 2 Region of Indian Sickle Cell Disease Patient

Bhattacharjee Pallavi Snehashish Suparna, M.Sc.BT

The clinical genomics with respect to sickle cell disease (SCD) is missing and ineffectively comprehended in India. Due to the grievous and

adverse financial conditions encompassing the groups tormented with this disease, next to nothing has been done to treat and comprehend the

disease with reference to therapeutic development in India. The presence of higher level of HbF in the Arab-Indian haplotype has likewise

prompted a milder sign of indications commonly observed around the World. Keeping in mind the end goal to assist the comprehension of

SCD, the primary aim of this research was to complete the molecular characterization of exon 2 and its flanking regions of the HBB gene. In

brief, After biochemical and molecular diagnosis of homozygous SCD, primers were designed to amplify exon 2 along with its flanking 5’ and

3’ introns. Human genomic DNA after extraction was standardized for exon 2 region amplification by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Final

standardized product was sequenced by Sanger’s DNA sequencing method. After initial bioinformatics studies including DNA sequence

cleaning final dataset were used to establish one SNP in the intron region. An exon 2 region protein sequence was subjected to protein struc-

ture prediction by SWISS Model using online platform. Final data of exon 2 along with upstream and downstream introns were submitted to

NCBI protein and nucleotide database, which was accepted and will be published with Genebank accession number MH133464. SCD patho-

genesis varies from patient to patient, making urge of genomics approach to assess pathogenesis severity in Indian SCD cases. Main idea be-

hind this brief attempt is to establish DNA sequence of homozygous Indian SCD patient in public domain to initiate clinical genomics. Genet-

ic modifiers alters course of SCD pathogenesis and most of the recent studies in Western World is focused on personalized genomics. As com-

paratively Indian SCD patients are less severe than their African origin counterpart, cis acting elements and trans acting protein needs to ex-

plore more as a genetic modifiers which modulates expression of fetal hemoglobin. This project may prove significant step in exploring clini-

cal genomics as a part of academic research in future.


https://stanfordbloodcenter.org/sickle-cell-disease/


Selected Research Contributions of the Post-Graduate / Graduate Students

Characterization of IncRNA in Zebrafish

Jagdeo Maninder Singh Jaspal Singh Rajinderkaur, M.Sc.GE

Non coding RNAs (ncRNAs) were considered to be transcriptional junk over the past several years, but recent studies have revealed that these

ncRNAs which were considered as junk have various important functions. A number of ncRNAs have been classified according to their func-

tions, localization and length out of which one such ncRNA is lnc-FOXA2, a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA). Lnc-FOXA2 also termed as

LINC00261 or lnc DEANR1 is found to be in close proximity to a gene known as FOXA2, which codes for endoderm formation. Not much is

known about lnc-FOXA2 except that it is conserved, regulates FOXA2 and is involved in tumor suppressing activities. This study aims at

characterization and identification of the functions of lnc-FOXA2 using zebrafish as a model organism, in vivo. The expression of lnc-FOXA2

was established in zebrafish and was found to be gut specific. Even morpholino based knockdown and CRISPR mutant formation were per-

formed to understand the functions and characteristics of lnc-FOXA2 where in the morphant knockdowns lnc-FOXA2 showed to have some

role in the formation of endoderm and endoderm derived organs and CRISPR mutants showed some defects when crossed but these defects

are yet to be studied further in future.

Faculty at School of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics

nurturing science director’s message...m.sc. bioinformatics held at bharti vidyapeeth deemed...

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