Oral biofilm or dental plaque is a yellowish sticky layer that grows on the tooth surface. It is a complex microbial biofilm community with over 700 different microbes and a major cause of multiple infections, including infective endocarditis. Its growth begins when certain bacteria called primary colonizers attach to oral tissues and undergo coaggregation. Primary […]

Myosins are proteins essential for fundamental cellular functions such as in cell division, transport and migration. A unique set of myosin proteins are expressed by our skeletal muscle, which form part of the contractile network helping movement and posture maintenance. One such myosin is myosin heavy chain-embryonic (MyHC-embryonic), encoded by the Myh3 gene, which is […]

Our skeletal muscle is made up of large, elongated cells with multiple nuclei, known as myofibers. Myofibers arise by a process known as differentiation, where stem cells become specified to the muscle specific fate, fuse with each other and assemble the contractile protein machinery required for muscle contraction. One such crucial muscle contractile protein is […]

  Xylan O-acetylation is critical for stable interaction with cellulose and other polymers in the cell wall. Its alteration improves cellulose as well as xylan digestibility. Xylan acetyl pool is regulated by Golgi and membrane localized esterase but they are not well characterized in plants. In this study, we have identified and characterized first plasma membrane […]

Stromal Interaction Molecule1 (STIM1) is an endoplasmic reticulum calcium (Ca2+) sensor. Several disease states and enhanced biological phenomena are associated with increased STIM1 levels and activity. However, molecular mechanisms driving STIM1 expression remain largely unappreciated. Here using melanocytes as a model system, we demonstrate that Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF) is a critical regulator of STIM1 […]