Research Projects
Prof. Dr. Nadimpalli Siva Kumar
PhD projects to be supervised by Prof. Nadimpalli Siva Kumar can be designed in the area of protein biochemistry, glycobiology, with special emphasis on plant lectins towards understanding their physiological significance.
A:
- Two distinct sugar specific lectins have been well characterized in terms of their biochemical properties from the seeds of the Indian lablab beans (Dolichos lablab). Projects should include some of the steps shown below.
- Large scale isolation of the lectins from the seeds of Dolichos lablab, and fragmentation to obtain the glycan structures, and to characterize the glycan structure.
- Isolate the glycosidase enzymes such as the α-mannosidase from the seeds, and to also analyze the glycan component of this enzyme.
- The common localization of the lectins, glycosidases in the protein bodies, suggests a possible specific interaction among these different protein body constituents as well as with the single membrane component surrounding the protein bodies. Is there a receptor for lectins/glycosidases in the protein body membrane, is the question that needs to be addressed and solved.
B:
- Triticale, (a hybrid cereal of wheat and rye) contains an N-acetylglucosamine specific lectin that has been isolated and partially characterized in our laboratory.
- Little is known about its structure and function and projects related towards understanding its function, and physiological significance need to be prepared.
- Stratagies as shown above for the Dolichos lablab lectin, need to be employed for characterization of the triticale glycosidases and the glycan structure of the lectin.
