Research
Molecular mechanism of protein-nucleic acid interactions
The main theme of the group is to understand the molecular mechanism of interactions between protein and nucleic acids that exhibit a wide spectrum of sequence and shape specificity. Understanding the molecular mechanism of the interaction by highly conserved and abundant RRM proteins will help formulate a general code of nucleic acid interaction. This is likely to help in understanding how different set of information is decoded from a limited repertoire of genetic code. Nascent mRNAs, the information carriers in eukaryotes, often called the primary transcripts, undergo extensive chemical modification to produce mature mRNAs before they are directed for protein synthesis.
These modifications are performed by a class of proteins called RNA binding proteins. Although the canonical structure of the well-studied RNA-binding domains is generally quite well conserved and restricted, this domain can readily have subtle structural adaptations and is able to recognize a wide spectrum of different RNA and DNA sequences and shapes. The group effectively uses liquid-state NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, and other biophysical tools to decipher the molecular mechanism of different protein-nucleic acid interactions. Many RNA recognition motifs (RRMs) are known to unfold and assemble incorrectly, leading to protein aggregates that cause diseases. In this context, we study the unfolding and aggregation behavior of RRMs using solution- and solid-state NMR spectroscopy, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy.

Metabolomics for Biomarker Discovery
We use liquid-state NMR for metabolomics analyses. Among the techniques used for studying metabolites, high-resolution solution-state NMR spectroscopy has the advantages of being non-destructive, quantitative, robust, and highly reproducible. It is a non-equilibrium perturbing technique that provides detailed information on solution-state molecular structures based on atom-centered nuclear interactions and properties. It can also be used to explore metabolite molecular dynamics and mobility. It allows the simultaneous detection of a wide range of structurally diverse metabolites, providing a metabolic ‘snapshot’ at a particular time point. Metabolite concentrations down to the micromolar range are readily detectable in biofluids (urine, serum, plasma, saliva) and cell or tissue extracts. We have recently identified metabolic dysregulation in Trauma and viral disease (Dengue, Chikungunya, HIV, and HEV) patients and deciphered the metabolic pathways in fungi and plants.

Contact
Email: neelsb @icgeb.res.in
Office: +91 11 26741358/1361/2357/2360 ext 163