Fungal senescence induced by the Neurospora sen mutation and mitochondrial plasmids - the contributions of Ramesh Maheshwari

This article describes some of the research contributions made by Prof. Ramesh Maheshwari and his colleagues at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. These include (1) the understanding of the Neurospora life cycle in agricultural (sugarcane) fields, (2) identification of Neurospora mutants that trigger vegetative spore development via microcycle conidiation, and (3) isolation of wild Neurospora strains in which the essential immortality of the fungal mycelia is subverted.

Identification of FourEntamoeba histolyticaOrganellar DNA Polymerases of the Family B and Cellular Localization of theEhodp1Gene and EhODP1 Protein

We report the identification of a family of four active genes (Ehodp1,Ehodp2,Ehodp3,andEhodp4) encoding putative DNA polymerases inEntamoeba histolytica, the protozoan parasite responsible of human amoebiasis. The fourEhodpgenes show similarity to DNA polymerases encoded in fungi and plant mitochondrial plasmids. EhODP polypeptides conserve the3′-5′exonuclease II and5′-3′polymerization domains, and they have the I, II, and III conserved boxes that characterize them as DNA polymerases of family B. Furthermore, we found in EhODP polymerases two novel A and B boxes, present also in DNA polymerases encoded in fungi mitochondrial plasmids. By in situ PCR,Ehodp1gene was located in nuclei and in DNA-containing cytoplasmic structures. Additionally, using polyclonal antibodies against a recombinant rEhODP1-168 polypeptide, and confocal microscopy, EhODP1 was located in cytoplasmic DNA-containing structures.