Science News @ Bose Institute

New milestone in indigenous development of gaseous detector important for mega science FAIR project in Germany
Researchers have developed an innovative technique using a radioactive source that can simplify the study of radiation effects on Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detectors, a crucial step in nuclear and particle physics experiments. Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) detector are particle detectors used as tracking devices in high-energy physics experiments that utilizes a thin, perforated foil with a high electric field to amplify particles produced by ionizing radiation, allowing for precise detection of particles like muons by significantly multiplying the initial signal generated by the particle's interaction with the gas within the detector. They are also strong candidates for diagnostic applications in medical technology because of their good position resolution. First introduced by Prof. Fabio Sauli in 1997, GEM detectors consist of a 50 μm thick Kapton foil, with 5 μm copper cladding on both sides. Despite their advantages, the inclusion of Kapton, a radiation-resistant polyimide film with excellent insulating properties, in the active volume makes these detectors sensitive to radiation-induced effects, particularly the charging-up of the dielectric medium. During operation, ionizing radiation deposits energy into the detector, initiating electron avalanche formation. Details: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2100715
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Month Year : February - 2025
Study introduces a "toxicity standard" of ultrafine aerosol (PM2.5) pollution over Kolkata megacity
A new study conducted in Kolkata shows that the toxicity value of PM2.5 experiences a sudden jump when the pollution reaches around 70 µg m-3. PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller, is a significant air pollutant posing serious health risks, including respiratory and cardiovascular problems, and is a key indicator of air quality. The Government of India has taken several initiatives and policy measures to combat air pollution and the latest is the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) launched in 2019 by the MoEFCC. The programme is focused on the reduction of particulate matter by 40 % by 2026 with respect to 2017 through strategies and action plans for 131 non-attainment cities (not attaining the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of India) in India for different states. Kolkata has been identified as one of such cities in India. Bose Institute, an autonomous research institute under Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India which has been given the responsibility to act as the Nodal Institute to work towards the mitigation of air pollution over this city and also to act as a national knowledge partner under the NCAP, studied the toxicity of atmospheric aerosols over the atmosphere of Kolkata. Prof. Abhijit Chatterjee and his former Ph.D students Dr. Abhinandan Ghosh and Dr. Monami Dutta also explored how the degree of the toxicity changes with the increase in total aerosol pollution load and have studied the oxidative potential (OP) of ultrafine aerosols (PM2.5) or the potential of forming the reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are introduced to the human lung cells via inhalation of particles. The enhanced presence of the reactive oxidative species makes the natural antioxidants of human cells incapable of counteracting, leading to oxidative stress in cells. Link: https://dst.gov.in/study-introduces-toxicity-standard-ultrafine-aerosol-pm25-pollution-over-kolkata-megacity
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Month Year : April - 2025
Towards a fungus fighting pineapple
Indian researchers have identified a gene in pineapple that can provide a powerful, homegrown line of defence to the fruit against devastating fungal attacks. The pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr.) is the most economically significant fruit of the Bromeliaceae family that provides various health benefits alongside a delicious juicy flavour, resulting in a nutritious diet including all vital components. One of the biggest threats to pineapple farming is a disease called Fusariosis, caused by the aggressive fungus Fusarium moniliforme. It warps the plant’s stem, blackens the leaves and rots the fruit from the inside out. For farmers, this means heavy losses and unreliable harvests. For years, traditional breeding techniques have struggled to keep up with the fast-evolving onslaught of such fungal foes. Scientists are now trying to find solutions within the plant that can act as a shield against diseases. Scientists from Bose Institute, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have identified the gene behind Somatic Embryogenesis Receptor Kinase (SERK) that can activate host defences against plant diseases. Focusing on the AcSERK3 gene, part of the pineapple’s genetic code, known for helping plants both reproduce and survive stress, Prof. Gaurab Gangopadhyay of Bose Institute, along with his PhD student Dr. Soumili Pal, enhanced—or "overexpressed" the gene in pineapple plants. This genetic tweak charged the plant’s natural defences, allowing it to fight off the Fusarium fungus far more effectively than ordinary varieties.
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Month Year : July - 2025
New CRISPR technology can help plants outsmart heat and disease
A smart molecular tool developed by scientists can aid plants facing rising temperatures and infections. Plants often feel stressed, especially when the weather is extreme or microbes attack. When they’re stressed, their productivity decreases. Searching for solutions that can help plants get smarter about defending themselves, researchers from Bose Institute, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), found an answer in CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). CRISPR tools usually work like scissors that cut DNA to create lasting changes. However, Prof. Pallob Kundu and his team used a modified version called dCas9. This version does not cut DNA. Instead, it acts like a switch that can turn genes on or off. The switch stays off until the plant experiences stress. To develop the tool, the scientists borrowed a clever part from the tomato’s own biology—a small piece of a natural protein called NACMTF3. This part, called the TM domain, works like a tether and keeps the dCas9 switch locked outside the control room (nucleus). But when under stress, for example, due to heat, the TM domain lets go off the tethering function. In a moment, the switch is released and moves into the control room, flipping on the genes that help the plant defend itself.
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Month Year : July - 2025
Ayurveda provide new hope for Alzheimer's Disease
A new study that provides a multipronged approach to treatment of several neurodegenerative diseases, offers hope for Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, and related diseases. Amyloid proteins and peptides play a pivotal role in various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Synthetically designed small molecules/ show promise towards inhibition of various kinds of amyloidosis. Professor Anirban Bhunia and his team at the Bose Institute in Kolkata, an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology, employed two distinct strategies. First, they utilize chemically synthesized peptides to combat amyloid beta aggregation. Second, they repurpose a drug called Lasunadya Ghrita (LG) from Ayurveda, the ancient traditional Indian medicine, which has previously shown efficacy in treating depression-related mental illnesses. The non-toxic compounds of LG and their components were characterized and repurposed for use against amyloid beta 40/42 (Aβ) aggregation. The water extract of these compounds, referred to as LGWE, not only disrupted the fibrillation process during the elongation step but also inhibited the formation of oligomers in the initial stages of the fibrillation pathway. Remarkably, these compounds demonstrated greater efficacy in breaking down of amyloid aggregates into non-toxic smaller degradable molecules compared to the chemically designed peptides, suggesting its novel role in disaggregating amyloid-prone proteins. In a recent paper published in the prestigious journal Biochemistry (ACS), Professor Bhunia from Bose Institute, along with his collaborators from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP) Kolkata and IIT-Guwahati reported that the chemically designed peptides are non-toxic, serum-stable, and effective in inhibiting as well as disaggregating amyloid proteins, particularly Aβ 40/42.
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Month Year : January - 2025
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Mathematical modelling and experiments demonstrate that mycobacteriophages can kill mycobacteria by non-lytic mechanisms. The information derived could lead to the development of new drugs for the treatment of TB




Mycobacteriophages infect and grow in mycobacterium species, several of which happen to be dangerous pathogens – the best known example being Mycobacterium tuberculosis that causes the deadly disease tuberculosis. Eliminating tuberculosis through prevailing antibiotic-based strategies has had restricted success, due to the rise of drug-resistant strains. Phage therapy for tuberculosis is an interesting possibility. Sujoy Das Gupta (Microbiology) and Soumen Roy (Physics) are currently investigating the mechanism by which these phages interact with their mycobacterial hosts, thereby killing them. Using D29, as a model mycobacteriophage, they have found that in addition to lysis, this phage can induce cell death through an alternative mechanism involving production of superoxide radicals. By obtaining more insight into this intriguing phenomenon, they eventually hope to unravel novel metabolic pathways that can be targeted for drug development against tuberculosis. This work was also selected by the editors of AEM spotlight. 

Reference: Samaddar S et al, Dynamics of mycobacteriophage-mycobacterial host interaction: Evidence for secondary mechanisms for host Lethality. Applied and Environmental Microbiology [ASM],  82, 124-133 (2016) 

A new approach towards information retrieval from dynamic multidimensional images using complex networks developed. The method can be used for non-invasive diagnosis of dry eye disease




Soumen Roy presented a fresh and broad yet simple method of information retrieval from videos by converting them to time series and thence to networks. His lab used thermal imaging videos collected by collaborators at Calcutta University from patients at Calcutta Medical College. The mean pixel intensities from every frame of the imaged videos were collated into time series, which were then converted into networks. Using network measures they could successfully distinguish between dry eye patients and healthy individuals. 

This approach is completely new in medical diagnostics, particularly in eye research. The findings are important because their technique is fast and non-invasive (requires no physical contact with affected organs). They also showed that their approach compares well to sophisticated image processing algorithms, which are much harder to implement at the level of real-time electronic devices. The technique can be applied to many other videos and might help in designing smart devices. A patent has also been filed by TIFAC (DST). 

Reference: Banerjee SJ et al, Using complex networks towards information retrieval and diagnostics in multidimensional imaging. Scientific Reports [Nature],  5, 17271 (2015) 

Mechanism of ganglioside GM2 mediated migration of tumor cells - a pivotal role of the integrin receptor




The definitive role of ganglioside GM2 in mediating tumor-induced growth and progression is still unknown. Kaushik Biswas recently reported a novel role of ganglioside GM2 in mediating tumor cell migration and uncovered its mechanism. They established the functional role of ganglioside GM2 by a multidirectional approach, using either silencing or over-expression of GM2-synthase, the key enzyme that controls GM2 biosynthesis. The mechanism of GM2-mediated tumor cell migration was elucidated using gene expression profiling as well as conventional biochemical techniques, which confirmed a role of integrin signaling and its downstream partners in the process. Finally, confocal microscopy suggested co-localization while co-immunoprecipitation and surface plasmon resonance confirmed direct interaction of membrane bound GM2 with the integrin receptor. Thus over-expression of select gangliosides (GM2) in tumors result in enhanced interaction with membrane bound integrin-1 causing activation of the downstream signaling leading to rearrangement of the actin cytoskeleton resulting in enhanced migration in tumor cells.

Reference: Kundu M et al, Mechanism of ganglioside GM2 mediated migration of tumor cells - a pivotal role of the integrin receptor. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Cell Research [Elsevier], 1863, 1472-89 (2016)

Key molecular regulators of early blight disease response in tomato have been revealed




In plants, for a steady, specific and sturdy response against an invading pathogen reprogramming in gene expression cascade is essential. This reprogramming initiates from transcriptional regulation of gene expression. However, the abundance of a transcript is also dependent on regulatory microRNAs that are targeting a specific mRNA. Thus, to gain insight into the response regulators in tomato plants infected with early blight disease pathogen Alternaria solani the whole transcriptome analysis was performed. The differentially expressed mRNAs, miRNAs,  and the miRNA-mRNA interacting pairs were identified and in-depth bioinformatic analyses suggested that genes of plant-pathogen interaction, plant hormone signal transduction pathways and secondary metabolite biosynthesis were mostly affected by the regulated miRNAs. These analyses in the lab of Pallob Kundu have uncovered key regulators of Alternaria-stress response in tomato and would help in designing strategies for imparting resistance against the economically important pathogen. 
Reference: Sarkar D et al, Integrated miRNA and mRNA expression profiling reveals the response regulators of a susceptible tomato cultivar to early blight disease. DNA Research [Oxford] dsx003 (2017) 
delta factor of Bacillus subtilis is not a subunit of RNAP, but functions as a transcriptional factor



delta, a small protein found in most Gram-positive bacteria was, for a long time, thought to be a subunit of RNA polymerase and was shown to be involved in recycling of RNA polymerase at the end of each round of transcription. However, how delta participates in both up-regulation and down-regulation of genes in vivo remains unclear. Jayanta Mukhopadhyay has shown that in addition to the recycling of RNAP, Bacillus subtilis delta functions as a transcriptional activator by binding to an A-rich sequence located immediately upstream of the -35 element, consequently facilitating the open complex formation. 
His group further showed that delta could also function as a transcriptional repressor in which the protein binds to an A-rich sequence located near the -35 element of the promoters and inhibits the open complex formation due to steric clash with sigma region 4.2. Thus, the results explain the mechanism of up-regulation and down-regulation of genes by the protein. 
Reference: Prajapati RK et al, Bacillus subtilis delta factor functions as a transcriptional regulator by facilitating the open complex formation.  Journal of  Biological Chemistry [ASBMB], 291, 1064-75 (2016)
Newly designed  mASAL, a lectin like Protein conferring sheath blight resistance in transgenic rice 



Allium sativum leaf agglutinin (ASAL), a dimeric mannose binding lectin has been established earlier as potent insecticidal protein. Using site directed mutagenesis,  a beta-turn was incorporated between 11th and 12th beta-strands of ASAL subunits, resulting in a stable monomeric variant,  mASAL. Instead of being insecticidal, mASAL exhibits significant antifungal activity against Rhizoctonial solani, causes devastating sheath blight disease in rice.  As per WHO/FAO recommendation, Pepsin digestion, thermal stability assay, targeted sera screening test and sensitization of Balb/c mice with mASAL established it as a biologically safe protein for biotechnological application. Transgenic indica rice expressing mASAL demonstrated significant tolerance to sheath blight. Studies conducted by Sampa Das’s group opens up the possibility of engineering important plants with mASAL for sustainable pathogen resistance.
Reference: Ghosh P et al, Monitoring the efficacy of mutated Allium sativum leaf lectin in transgenic rice against Rhizoctonial solani,  BMC  Biotechnology [BMC], 16, 24 (2016) 
Critical roles of Hsp90 in CRAF kinase stabilization and actin dependent translocation to the plasma membrane during MAPK signaling



RAF isoforms are commonly regulated by several molecular events and scaffold proteins. Being a strong chaperone client, CRAF is always assisted by Hsp90. In this paper, we provide the explanation for the stringent assemblage between CRAF and Hsp90 that differs for both newly made and folded CRAF kinase. Atin Mandal observed that Hsp90 promotes CRAF denovo maturation, essential for CRAF stability and activity. However, after folding the stability of CRAF does not depend on Hsp90 anymore, although the association between Hsp90 and CRAF still remains intact. The post-folding interaction between Hsp90 and CRAF regulates actin-dependent translocation of the kinase during MAPK signaling. Thus, Hsp90 keeps CRAF kinase maturation and its intracellular translocation in balance to sustain accurate cellular growth and proliferation.
Reference: Mitra S et al, Bipartite Role of Heat Shock Protein (Hsp90) Keeps CRAF Kinase Poised for Activation. Journal of Biological Chemistry [ABSMB], 291, 24579-24593 (2016)