http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66344 Sat, 10 Oct 2026 22:21:24 GMT 2026-10-10T22:21:24Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66354 Title: Differences in D-amino acid metabolism mediated by D-amino acid dehydrogenase in autotrophic and heterotrophic cultures of the Sulfur-Oxidizing Bacterium Starkeya novella Authors: Tanigawa, Minoru; Usui, Hitomi; Koike, Miya; Tokuhisa, Mayumi; Hirato, Yuki; Matsushita, Shoko; Suzuki, Yusuke; Ukiya, Motohiko; Nishimura, Katsushi Abstract: The sulfur-oxidizing bacterium Starkeya novella (S. novella) is a facultative chemoautotroph. D-Amino acid dehydrogenase (DAD) is a membrane-bound flavoenzyme that dehydrogenates D-amino acids to produce 2-oxoacids, ammonia, and hydrogen to generate electrons. In Helicobacter pylori, these electrons are transferred to cytochromes in the respiratory chain. This study aimed to assess electron transfer from DAD to cytochromes in S. novella. Under heterotrophic conditions, when D-amino acids were used as substrates, the cytochrome system was reduced by the electrons produced by DAD, and oxygen consumption was observed. This suggests that D-amino acids are used as respiratory substrates and are involved in ATP synthesis. Under autotrophic conditions, NAD+ was reduced by electrons dehydrogenated by DAD. This suggests that NAD+ is used for carbonic acid fixation. These results suggest that the DAD of S. novella may play different roles under autotrophic and heterotrophic conditions. Page(s): 955-960 Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66354 2025-09-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66353 Title: Marker and CKX2 gene expression-based selection of high yielding tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) germplasms Authors: Mishra, Gaurav; Kumar, Deepesh; Yadav, Kalpana; Singh, Abhay Vikram; Tripathi, Harshit; Pandey, Pratyksh; Kumar, Raj; Singh, PK; Kumar, Sanjay; Jayaswall, Kuldip; Jayaswal, Deepanshu Abstract: Tomatoes are an important agricultural crop grown for food, industrial, and pharmaceutical needs. Identification of high-yielding tomato germplasms is crucial to achieving the goal of doubling farmer's income. Our study aimed to select the germplasm with a smaller number of fruits and high weight so that, in a single harvest, maximum yield could be achieved. In the present study, tomato germplasms were evaluated based on agro-morphological traits, molecular markers and Cytokinin Oxidase/Dehydrogenase 2 (CKX2) gene expression. Inter simple sequence repeat markers (ISSRs) harbouring multiple allelic variations were used to study the genetic diversity. Among the markers used, UBC 820 exhibited the highest polymorphism, with eight alleles, an amplicon size range of 650–1800 bp and a polymorphic information content (PIC) value of 0.3001. Based on morphological observation and CKX2 gene expression analysis by qRTPCR, the genotype KS-8105 was found to be the best performer. The mean number of fruits/plants was 79, while the mean weight of fruits/plants was 3.2 kg/plant in the tomato germplasm KS-8105. In future, introgression of desirable traits like weight of fruits/plants may be introgressed from KS-8105 to the elite cultivars with the help of molecular markers. Page(s): 961-968 Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66353 2025-09-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66352 Title: Assessing the HMG-CoA reductase inhibitory potential of five fatty acids Authors: Ediriweera, Meran Keshawa; Anandappa, Joshua Miguel; Zhang, Baohua Abstract: Fatty acids play a key role as building blocks of lipids. Their lipid-lowering properties have been proven in early biochemical investigations. This investigation focuses on assessing the effects of five fatty acids—including oleic acid, linoleic acid, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), 5,8,11,14-eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA), and butyric acid—on the direct inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR), the rate-limiting enzyme involved in cholesterol biosynthesis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the inhibitory effects of these fatty acids on direct HMGCR activity have been investigated. The fatty acids tested displayed varying levels of HMGCR inhibitory potential, with oleic acid exhibiting the highest efficacy, followed by linoleic acid, DHA, ETYA, and butyric acid. In silico analysis discovered that these fatty acids make hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds with the catalytic domain of HMGCR. This preliminary investigation provides a foundational basis for evaluating the detailed effects of fatty acids as potential treatment options in combination with cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins. Page(s): 969-977 Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66352 2025-09-01T00:00:00Z http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66351 Title: Virtual screening study to identify GSK-3β inhibitors: A combined ligand-based and structure-based drug discovery approach Authors: Mishra, Anuj Kumar; Singh, Ravi; Ganeshpurkar, Ankit; Singh, Gireesh Kumar; Agrawal, Pankaj; Singh, Sushil Kumar; Singh, Ravi Bhushan Abstract: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder affecting millions worldwide. While its aetiology is complex, a central role is attributed to the dysregulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) protein homeostasis. Emerging evidence supports the involvement of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) in AD pathogenesis through its influence on Aβ production and accumulation. Inhibiting GSK-3β is considered a promising therapeutic strategy to mitigate Aβ-related neurotoxicity. This study employed ligand-based drug design and computational modelling to identify novel GSK-3β inhibitors. Leveraging the pharmacophore of the known inhibitor CX-4945, a virtual screening campaign was conducted against the Molport database. The resulting hits were subjected to rigorous filtering based on drug-likeness and PAINS criteria. Subsequent docking and molecular dynamics simulations identified MolPort-002-524-637 and MolPort-006-387- 505 as promising candidates. These compounds exhibited superior binding affinities compared to CX-4945 and displayed favourable in silico ADME/Tox properties. Page(s): 978-989 Mon, 01 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT http://nopr.niscpr.res.in/handle/123456789/66351 2025-09-01T00:00:00Z