Journal of Biosciences最新文献

Nanosciences meets ecology: Evolution of stealth nanostructures in insects.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Ullasa Kodandaramaiah

{"title":"Nanosciences meets ecology: Evolution of stealth nanostructures in insects.","authors":"Ullasa Kodandaramaiah","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"It is difficult to imagine a world without vision - eyes are everywhere around us. The evolution of vision has undeniably been one of the most profound events in the history of life on earth. Animals use their visual system to find food, shelter and mates, as well as in myriad other behaviours that enhance their fitness. On the other hand, vision is also an enemy for multitudes of prey animals that are hunted by visually-guided predators. For such prey animals, avoiding being perceived by the visual system of their potential predators is just as vital as is vision for predators. The earth has witnessed billions of prey species through evolutionary time, and today, some of the most striking adaptations are those that prey animals have evolved as a response to selection by predation. 'Camouflage' is an umbrella term that includes strategies to prevent detection or recognition (Ruxton et al. 2018). For instance, many prey match the colours and patterns of the background, i.e., background matching (Endler 1978). Others have colour patterns that break up the appearance of their body, i.e., disruptive colouration (Thayer 1909). Yet others closely resemble objects that are inedible to their predators, i.e., masquerade (Cott 1940). Camouflage can also involve other sensory systems such as olfaction such that chemically camouflaged prey may escape detection (Ruxton 2009).","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143255563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Prenatal protein deficiency causes age-specific alteration in number and distribution of inhibitory neurons in the somatosensory cortex during early postnatal development.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Arti Kumari, V Rema, Neeraj Jain

{"title":"Prenatal protein deficiency causes age-specific alteration in number and distribution of inhibitory neurons in the somatosensory cortex during early postnatal development.","authors":"Arti Kumari, V Rema, Neeraj Jain","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"Prenatal protein deficiency causes behavioral and cognitive dysfunctions in children. The deficits could be caused by altered acquisition and processing of sensory information in the brain. Although GABAergic neurons are the key regulators of neuronal activity, the effect of prenatal protein deficiency on GABA neurons in the brain is largely unknown. We fed pregnant mice diets with one-third (7%) or half (10%) the normal protein requirement (20% protein). After birth, the pups were fostered with normally fed lactating females. We used transgenic mice to show that protein deficiency in pregnant dams fed a 7% protein diet affected the number and distribution of GABA neurons in the somatosensory barrel cortex and individual cortical layers during early postnatal development of pups. If the mothers were fed a 10% protein diet, the effects on GABA neurons were much less. Development of barrels was also affected in pups born to mothers fed the 7% protein diet, but not the 10% group. In addition, high protein deficiency, i.e., the 7% protein diet, affected conception, hampered gestational weight gain, induced resorption of embryos, reduced litter sizes, and increased cannibalism, which was not observed in females on 10% protein diet.","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143255477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Innate immune and endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response pathways protect Caenorhabditis elegans against chloroquine toxicity.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Rajneesh Rao, Jogender Singh

{"title":"Innate immune and endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response pathways protect Caenorhabditis elegans against chloroquine toxicity.","authors":"Rajneesh Rao, Jogender Singh","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"Chloroquine (CQ) is a 4-aminoquinoline that has historically been used as an anti-malarial drug. It has also been used to treat several autoimmune diseases, cancers, and viral infections. Most of the effects of CQ are mediated through its ability to accumulate in acidic vacuoles and increase their pH. However, at high doses, CQ is known to have various toxic effects, including ocular, retinal, neuromuscular, renal, and cardiac toxicities. The host responses involved in counteracting CQ toxicity remain poorly characterized. Here, using the Caenorhabditis elegans model, we characterize the host pathways that protect against CQ toxicity. Transcriptomics studies reveal that CQ exposure results in the upregulation of innate immune response and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) unfolded protein response (UPR) pathways. An analysis of multiple immune pathway mutants shows that different immune pathways defend against CQ toxicity. Intriguingly, some of these pathways, which converge to defend against pathogenic bacteria, operate independently to protect against CQ toxicity. Finally, we demonstrate that the ER-UPR pathways also play a crucial role in counteracting CQ toxicity.","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143648537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

C. elegans wired and wireless connectome: insights into principles of nervous system structure and function.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Keertana Venkatesh, Lidia Ripoll -Sánchez, Isabel Beets, William R Schafer

{"title":"C. elegans wired and wireless connectome: insights into principles of nervous system structure and function.","authors":"Keertana Venkatesh, Lidia Ripoll -Sánchez, Isabel Beets, William R Schafer","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"Caenorhabditis elegans is one of the primary model organisms for neuroscience research due to its well annotated and compact nervous system. Being the first organism with a mapped connectome, published nearly 40 years ago, it holds a critical place in the field of neuroscience. Over the past decades, exhaustive mapping of the C. elegans nervous system at the molecular and cellular level, along with the development of tools to probe neural dynamics, have given invaluable insights on neuronal communication at the cellular, circuit, and systems level. In this review, we discuss key features of the C. elegans connectome, the wired (synaptic) as well as the wireless (extrasynaptic) network, and their role in executing complex behaviours. We delve into recent advances in C. elegans neuroscience, highlighting how in vivo and in silico studies have elucidated functional principles that govern sensory integration and the importance of assessing behavioural features at a systems level. With emerging connectomes of other, more complex organisms, this field offers a robust framework for testable hypotheses and comparative connectomics.","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143709856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Exploring mitochondrial dynamics and localization under cellular stress: A comprehensive insight.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Saloni Agarwal, Kavikumar Angamuthu Karuppusamy, Abhishek K Gupta

引用次数: 0

Fatty acid composition, oil yield, and oil content of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) across different pollination treatments.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Kasim Roba Jilo, Mohammed Abu Edeo, Tedale Alemu Hunde, Birhanu Mengistu Aboye

{"title":"Fatty acid composition, oil yield, and oil content of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) across different pollination treatments.","authors":"Kasim Roba Jilo, Mohammed Abu Edeo, Tedale Alemu Hunde, Birhanu Mengistu Aboye","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"Sunflower oil, widely used in daily human nutrition and in various industrial applications, is economically important. Sunflower seeds are a rich source of healthy unsaturated fats. Fatty acid composition, particularly the ratio of unsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids, plays a crucial role in determining the nutritional value of oils. Saturated fatty acids include stearic and palmitic acids, while oleic acid and linoleic acids are the predominant unsaturated fatty acids found in sunflower seeds. The quality of sunflower oil is closely related to the concentration of oleic and linoleic acids. In this study,we investigated the fatty acid compositions, oil content, and oil yield of the Helianthus annuus L. variety 'Adadi-1' under different pollination treatments. Using treatments replicated thrice by the randomized complete block design, we analyzed fatty acids from sunflower seeds after oil extraction using gas chromatography-mass spectrophotometry. Our findings revealed that unsaturated fatty acids predominate over saturated ones in sunflower oil. Notably, sunflowers pollinated by honeybees show significantly higher oil content and oil yield compared with self-pollinated ones. Although specific fatty acids (linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid) show no significant differences in area percentage and retention time, overall oil yield and oil content vary across pollination treatments. Generally, pollinating sunflowers with honeybees appears to be the optimal approach for achieving high oil yield and oil content for both human consumption and industrial purposes. Further research is needed to explore the effects of bee pollination, self-pollination, and open treatments on fatty acid composition in different agroecological settings.","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143811349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Sensory modulation of neuropeptide signaling by CASY-1 gates cholinergic transmission at Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Navneet Shahi, Shruti Thapliyal, Kavita Babu

{"title":"Sensory modulation of neuropeptide signaling by CASY-1 gates cholinergic transmission at Caenorhabditis elegans neuromuscular junction.","authors":"Navneet Shahi, Shruti Thapliyal, Kavita Babu","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is crucial for understanding the fundamentals of synaptic transmission and activity. Various modulators operate within neuronal circuits, from sensory to motor neurons, to influence synaptic transmission at the NMJ. This study sheds light on the regulation of sensory-evoked cholinergic neurotransmission at motor neurons orchestrated by CASY-1, the mammalian calsyntenin orthologue. We report that the increased excitation-inhibition (E-I) ratio at the NMJ in casy-1 mutants is likely due to its interactions with neuromodulators in sensory neurons. We explored the intricate genetic interactions of CASY- 1 with the neuropeptide FLP-21 and its receptor, NPR-1, both of which display simultaneous alterations in cholinergic signaling at the NMJ. Through genetic, pharmacological, and bioimaging-based experiments, we proposed a mechanism by which CASY-1 potentially interacts with the neuropeptide-carrying vesicles to regulate synaptic transmission. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans serves as an ideal model system for this study, enabling detailed insights into neuromodulatory mechanisms in the neuronal circuit.","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7617471/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143255570","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Immune responses in the skin: Not so skinny at all.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Dipankar Nandi, Nikita S Ramteke

{"title":"Immune responses in the skin: Not so skinny at all.","authors":"Dipankar Nandi, Nikita S Ramteke","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"The immune system is our defence network and primarily geared to protect us from pathogens and tumors. This aspect is evident in people who lack or possess a compromised immune system and are, therefore, highly susceptible to infections and development of cancer, as in AIDS patients (Nandi et al. 2020). However, healthy humans possess commensals in the gut and have developed a symbiotic relationship with these microbes. Indeed, we benefit from gut microbes that reside within us due to the production of microbial products such as vitamins, short-chain fatty acids, and other metabolites. As the gut flora changes with disease, information on the changed microbiome can be highly reflective of our health status (Shreiner et al. 2015). Recently, efforts have been directed towards better understanding of host responses towards commensals. While it is true that most of these efforts have focused on the gut, other organs have also been studied such as the respiratory tract and oral cavities. Two new studies have shed light on immune responses in the skin (Bousbaine et al. 2024; Gribonika et al. 2024). Why the skin? In fact, the skin is the largest and most well-exposed organ harboring immune capabilities to deal with several commensals (Belkaid and Segre 2014; Honda et al. 2019; Zhang et al. 2022). Most importantly, bacteria obtained from the skin in healthy humans are coated with antibodies, demonstrating host-directed immune responses (Metze et al. 1991); also, immunodeficient people are susceptible to skin infections (Lehman 2014). However, a detailed understanding of the players involved, and the extent of skin-directed immune responses in dealing with various microbes are lacking. Two recent papers have shed new light on immune responses in the skin utilizing high end flow cytometry, several strains of mutant mice and RNA seq (Bousbaine et al. 2024; Gribonika et al. 2024).","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143811350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Contrasting sequence polymorphism and structural basis patterns of Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich proteins 2/3 in Cameroon and India.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Loick Pradel Kojom Foko, Joseph Hawadak, Soumyananda Chakraborti, Veena Pande, Vineeta Singh

{"title":"Contrasting sequence polymorphism and structural basis patterns of Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich proteins 2/3 in Cameroon and India.","authors":"Loick Pradel Kojom Foko, Joseph Hawadak, Soumyananda Chakraborti, Veena Pande, Vineeta Singh","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"The bulk of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) target Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2 (PfHRP2), but several reports have shown that sequence variations in this protein are associated with falsenegative RDT results. The polymorphism of PfHRP2/3 was analyzed from Cameroonian and Indian P. falciparum isolates. Cameroon and India are two of eleven countries with the highest malaria burden. Exon 2 of pfhrp 2/3 genes were PCR-amplified, and the amplicons were purified and sequenced. A total of 25 PfHRP2 and 12 PfHRP3 novel repeat type variants were found. The nature and organization of PfHRP3 sequences were quite similar between Cameroon and India. Some structurally unique PfHRP2/3 sequences, characterized by a high proportion of proline (5.8-10.3%) for PfHRP2, and two non-repeat regions for PfHRP3, were found in both countries. Most of the Cameroonian isolates belonged to group B (66.7%), while the Indian isolates belonged to group C (69.2%) (p=0.03). Three epitope motifs (AHHAHHA, HATDAHH, and YAHHAHHA) were found in all Cameroonian and Indian PfHRP2 sequences. Mutations observed in unique sequences were mainly associated with alterations of helical structures in the PfHRP2 C-terminal region. The high genetic diversity, epitope availability, and structural basis patterns found here could help develop the next generation of RDTs with improved quality.","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143255556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Kinome-wide RNAi screening in Caenorhabditis elegans reveals new modulators of insulin signaling and longevity.

IF 2.1 4区生物学

Journal of Biosciences Pub Date : 2025-01-01

Manish Chamoli, Anna Foulger, Prachi Singh, Gordon Lithgow, Arnab Mukhopadhyay

{"title":"Kinome-wide RNAi screening in Caenorhabditis elegans reveals new modulators of insulin signaling and longevity.","authors":"Manish Chamoli, Anna Foulger, Prachi Singh, Gordon Lithgow, Arnab Mukhopadhyay","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"The insulin/IGF-I-like signaling (IIS) pathway is a highly conserved signaling cascade that plays a crucial role in regulating longevity across species. Given its significance in aging, identifying novel kinases interacting with the IIS pathway can provide deeper insights into the mechanisms governing longevity. In this study, we performed a targeted RNAi screening of the Caenorhabditis elegans kinome, using dauer formation as a phenotypic readout. We identified several known and novel kinase modulators of the IIS pathway. These hits were enriched with both previously documented and undocumented lifespan regulators. Thermotolerance assays revealed mixed trends, with some kinase inhibitions increasing while others decreasing protection against thermal stress. We observed a positive correlation between thermotolerance and lifespan extension, as well as between dauer formation and lifespan extension, with thermotolerance proving to be a better predictor of longevity. Our findings offer a valuable resource for researchers exploring the IIS pathway and highlight novel, unannotated kinases as potential new therapeutic targets for aging interventions.","PeriodicalId":15171,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biosciences","volume":"50 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2025-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143811388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0