Simardeep Kaur - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Simardeep Kaur

Genes

Recurrent occurrence of drought stress in varying intensity has become a common phenomenon in the... more Recurrent occurrence of drought stress in varying intensity has become a common phenomenon in the present era of global climate change, which not only causes severe yield losses but also challenges the cultivation of rice. This raises serious concerns for sustainable food production and global food security. The root of a plant is primarily responsible to perceive drought stress and acquire sufficient water for the survival/optimal growth of the plant under extreme climatic conditions. Earlier studies reported the involvement/important roles of microRNAs (miRNAs) in plants’ responses to environmental/abiotic stresses. A number (738) of miRNAs is known to be expressed in different tissues under varying environmental conditions in rice, but our understanding of the role, mode of action, and target genes of the miRNAs are still elusive. Using contrasting rice [IR-64 (reproductive-stage drought sensitive) and N-22 (drought-tolerant)] cultivars, imposed with terminal (reproductive-stage)...

Frontiers in Immunology

Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is a dsDNA virus, belonging to Poxviridae family. The outbreak of monkeypo... more Monkeypox virus (MPXV) is a dsDNA virus, belonging to Poxviridae family. The outbreak of monkeypox disease in humans is critical in European and Western countries, owing to its origin in African regions. The highest number of cases of the disease were found in the United States, followed by Spain and Brazil. Understanding the complete infection mechanism of diverse MPXV strains and their interaction with humans is important for therapeutic drug development, and to avoid any future epidemics. Using computational systems biology, we deciphered the genome-wide protein-protein interactions (PPIs) between 22 MPXV strains and human proteome. Based on phylogenomics and disease severity, 3 different strains of MPXV: Zaire-96-I-16, MPXV-UK_P2, and MPXV_USA_2022_MA001 were selected for comparative functional analysis of the proteins involved in the interactions. On an average, we predicted around 92,880 non-redundant PPIs between human and MPXV proteomes, involving 8014 host and 116 pathogen ...

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Drought stress severely affects the growth and development of rice, especially at the reproductiv... more Drought stress severely affects the growth and development of rice, especially at the reproductive stage, which results in disturbed metabolic processes, reduced seed-set/grain filling, deteriorated grain quality, declined productivity, and lower yield. Despite the recent advances in understanding the responses of rice to drought stress, there is a need to comprehensively integrate the morpho-physio-biochemical studies with the molecular responses/differential expression of genes and decipher the underlying pathways that regulate the adaptability of rice at various drought-sensitive growth stages. Our comparative analysis of immature panicle from a drought-tolerant (Nagina 22) and a drought-sensitive (IR 64) rice cultivar grown under control (well-watered) and water-deficit/drought stress (treatment, imposed at the reproductive stage) conditions unraveled some novel stress-responsive genes/pathways responsible for reproductive-stage drought stress tolerance. The results revealed a m...

Functional & Integrative Genomics

Indian Journal of Agricultural Biochemistry

Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology

The genome of a eukaryotic organism is comprised of a supra-molecular complex of chromatin fibers... more The genome of a eukaryotic organism is comprised of a supra-molecular complex of chromatin fibers and intricately folded three-dimensional (3D) structures. Chromosomal interactions and topological changes in response to the developmental and/or environmental stimuli affect gene expression. Chromatin architecture plays important roles in DNA replication, gene expression, and genome integrity. Higher-order chromatin organizations like chromosome territories (CTs), A/B compartments, topologically associating domains (TADs), and chromatin loops vary among cells, tissues, and species depending on the developmental stage and/or environmental conditions (4D genomics). Every chromosome occupies a separate territory in the interphase nucleus and forms the top layer of hierarchical structure (CTs) in most of the eukaryotes. While the A and B compartments are associated with active (euchromatic) and inactive (heterochromatic) chromatin, respectively, having well-defined genomic/epigenomic feat...

The Pharma Innovation, 2021

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19 (... more Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease), which was initially noticed in the seafood market at Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Since then this deadly virus has outspread like wildfire across the globe and has put all the healthcare services at red alert. The outburst of COVID-19 has already taken the shape of the pandemic, affecting more than 200 countries in just a few months. A global response to prepare our health systems is very much imperative and the whole world is desperate to find ways to tackle this pandemic by developing effective treatments. Unfortunately, no reliable therapeutic interventions are available currently for critically affected ill COVID-19 patients. Treatment of COVID-19 patients is mainly based on symptomatic management. Emerging clinical trials and research data representing the structural and functional aspects of SARS-CoV-2 suggests testing of the repurposed drugs ranging from flu treatments to failed ebola drugs, to anti-malarial drugs that were first developed decades ago. The review focuses on the various already adopted and ongoing trials to date for developing effective therapeutic strategies to combat this viral outbreak. We hope that the accumulated information about various repositioning trials will help the international research community to lead potential clinical practices and to find solutions for COVID-19 treatment in this need of the hour.

Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 2022

In agro-ecosystem, plant pathogens hamper food quality, crop yield, and global food security. Man... more In agro-ecosystem, plant pathogens hamper food quality, crop yield, and global food security. Manipulation of naturally occurring defense mechanisms in host plants is an effective and sustainable approach for plant disease management. Various natural compounds, ranging from cell wall components to metabolic enzymes have been reported to protect plants from infection by pathogens and hence provide specific resistance to hosts against pathogens, termed as induced resistance. It involves various biochemical components, that play an important role in molecular and cellular signaling events occurring either before (elicitation) or after pathogen infection. The induction of reactive oxygen species, activation of defensive machinery of plants comprising of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidative components, secondary metabolites, pathogenesis-related protein expression (e.g. chitinases and glucanases), phytoalexin production, modification in cell wall composition, melatonin production, c...

Future Foods, 2021

Perturbations associated with hungry gut microbiome and postbiotic perspectives to strengthen the... more Perturbations associated with hungry gut microbiome and postbiotic perspectives to strengthen the microbiome health, Future Foods (2021), doi:

International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 2020

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 2021

Spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is a major foliar disease of barley affecting its pro... more Spot blotch caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is a major foliar disease of barley affecting its productivity worldwide. The barley cultivar with complete resistance to this pathogen is not yet identified. In the present study, leaves of six barley genotypes namely PL 807, BH 946, DWRUB 52, BL 1338, BL 1369 and PL 426 inoculated with Bipolaris sorokiniana were evaluated for levels of H 2 O 2 , malondialdehyde, antioxidative enzymes, non-enzymatic antioxidants, pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins and β-glucan. The disease score was assessed at flag leaf (F) and one leaf lower to the flag leaf (F1) at two growth stages, i.e. GS 55 and GS 87. The genotype BL 1369 showed moderately resistant nature, PL 807, DWRUB 52 and BL 1338 moderately susceptible whereas other genotypes remained susceptible in response to this pathogen. During GS 87 stage, maximum increase of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities along with concomitant decrease of H 2 O 2 content in the infected F1 leaves of BL 1369 may contribute towards its moderately resistant character. However, downregulation of APX and GR enzymes in PL 426, BH 946 and DWRUB 52 may be responsible for their sensitivity towards this pathogen. Although on fungal inoculation, chitinase activity increased in all the genotypes except DWRUB 52 and BL 1338 but maximum increase was reported in BL 1369. β-glucanase activity also increased significantly in both the leaf tissues of BL 1369. It showed positive correlation with chitinase in the flag leaf at 1% level of significance. The β-glucan content decreased in DWRUB 52 and PL 426 upon fungal infection while it increased in BL 1338 and BL 1369 which further pointed out towards resistant character of BL 1369 as the cell wall is a physical barrier which constitutes the first line defence against pathogen attack.

Integrative Food, Nutrition and Metabolism, 2020

Human health is significantly affected by dietary patten, nutritional habits, quality of food, an... more Human health is significantly affected by dietary patten, nutritional habits, quality of food, and lifestyle. The diets enriched with bioactive food components like polyphenols, vitamins, minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids, butyrate, and other dietary fibers are generally associated with a lesser incidence of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disorders, and obesity. Apart from being antioxidants, some of these bioactive dietary components have the potential to regulate several cellular signaling pathways, modulate gene expression, affect transcription factors, and alter the microRNAs profile. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a non-coding-RNA that regulates the expression of its target gene(s) through its catalytic/regulatory functions. The miRNA is generally synthesized endogenously but it can also be obtained through dietary components that can change the expression of other genes. miRNA targets the specific mRNA, modulates expression of the gene(s) via binding to its complementary regions; thus, down-regulates the expression of the genes. Dietary food components impact cellular differentiation processes, proliferatory pathways, and pathophysiological conditions; thus, have the potential to affect the activity of genes associated with chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity by modulating the associated signaling pathways. This review discusses the role of dietary food components like polyphenols (quercetin, resveratrol, curcumin, α-mangosteen, and epigallocatechin gallate), vitamins (A, D, and folic acid), Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, butyrate, and minerals (selenium, zinc) in modulating miRNA expression and their potential in causing chronic diseases.