The two wolf populations found in India are believed to be two sub-species of Canis lupus, viz., Himalayan wolf (HW) from upper Trans-Himalayan region as C. lupus chanco, and Indian Gray wolf (GW) from the peninsular India as C. lupus pallipes. We undertook molecular genetic analysis of these endangered mammals to understand their genetic structure and taxonomic status relative to other wolf-like canids. Mitochondrial DNA polymorphism studies on a large number of HW and representative samples of GW, jackal and wild dog of India followed by comparative genomics with information available for worldwide wolf populations. more ....
Olive ridley an important pelagic turtle species is the most abundant marine turtles in Indian waters. Few sites of the world where mass nesting (arribada) takes place exist on the East coast of India. We have shown earlier that the ridleys along the East coast of India represent one large population with almost non-significant population sub-structuring. In the present study, we analyzed samples from all along the Indian coast (mainland and islands) for mitochondrail d-loop haplotypic diversity/nuclear microsatellite polymorphisms to understand their phylogeographic status with respect to the world populations.
An evaluation of the endemism of the amphibian assemblages from the Western Ghats using molecular techniques.
The amphibian fauna of the Western Ghats shows high levels of endemism. This study was undertaken to help refine the systematics, evaluate the species richness and distribution of the Rhacophoridae of the Western Ghats using molecular genetic characterization.
Molecular and epidemiological characterization of Acanthamoeba keratitis. In vitro pathogenicity, molecular characterization and molecular diagnosis of Acanthamoeba infections.
Detection of quinolone resistance genes in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas keratitis
Ciprofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone is a potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent having activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. However, ciprofloxacin resistance of Pseudomonas has emerged as a real problem in the management of ocular bacterial keratitis. We analyzed a number of resistant Pseudomonas keratitis isolates for mutations in genes involved in DNA replication (gyrA), efflux systems (parC, mexR and nfxB) to understand the possible molecular basis of acquired resistance. The analysis revealed few new SNP mutations in one of the efflux system gene that showed strong correlation to the in-vitro drug susceptibility results. The data establish that specific domains on the genes are more prone to changes for developing resistance. We are developing a project to extend the study further.