Prabu Gajjeraman

Snakebite and Its Socio-Economic Impact on the Rural Population of Tamil Nadu, India

Background Snakebite represents a significant health issue worldwide, affecting several million people each year with as many as 95,000 deaths. India is considered to be the country most affected, but much remains unknown about snakebite incidence in this country, its socio-economic impact and how snakebite management could be improved. Methods/Principal Findings We conducted a study within rural villages in Tamil Nadu, India, which combines a household survey (28,494 people) of snakebite incidence with a more detailed survey of victims in order to understand the health and socio-economic effects of the bite, the treatments obtained and their views about future improvements. Our survey suggests that snakebite incidence is higher than previously reported. 3.9% of those surveyed had suffered from snakebite and the number of deaths corresponds to 0.45% of the population. The socio-economic impact of this is very considerable in terms of the treatment costs and the long-term effects on the health and ability of survivors to work. To reduce this, the victims recommended improvements to the accessibility and affordability of antivenom treatment. Conclusions Snakebite has a considerable and disproportionate impact on rural populations, particularly in South Asia. This study provides an incentive for researchers and the public to work together to reduce the incidence and improve the outcomes for snake bite victims and their families.

Identification of differentially expressed genes in dormant (banjhi) bud of tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) using subtractive hybridization approach.

Growth regulation associated with dormancy is an essential element in plants life cycle that leads to changes in expression of large number of genes. Forward and reverse suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) libraries were developed to identify and characterize the genes associated with bud (banjhi) dormancy in tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze). Efficiency of subtraction was confirmed by comparing the abundance of β-actin gene. A total of 17 and 45 unique sequences were obtained from forward and reverse SSH library respectively. Many of the differentially regulated genes have unknown (41.1% and 26.7%) or hypothetical functions (11.7% and 2.2%) in forward and reverse SSH library respectively, while others have a role in cell growth and metabolism. Further, semi-quantitative RT-PCR was carried out for selected genes to validate the quality of ESTs from SSH library. Gene Ontology analysis identified a greater association of these ESTs in cellular metabolic pathways and their relevance to bud dormancy. Based on the EST data, the putative role of identified genes from tea is discussed in relation to dormancy, which includes various metabolic and signalling pathways. We demonstrated that SSH is an efficient tool for enriching up- and down-regulated genes related to bud dormancy in tea. This study represents an attempt to investigate banjhi dormancy in tea under field conditions, and the findings indicate that there is a potential to develop new approaches to modulate dormancy in this species.

Molecular Diversity Analysis of Pretty Interesting Potyviridae ORF (PIPO) Coding Region in Indian Isolates of Sugarcane streak mosaic virus

Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) is a distinct member of Poacevirus in Potyviridae family causing mosaic disease in sugarcane. In this study, we computationally predicted potyvirus specific overlapping ORF, PIPO (~139 amino acid) in P3 cistron of known SCSMV genome in +1 reading frame using MLOGD. The nucleotide variations in P3 and the predicted PIPO were experimentally validated using SCSMV isolates from India. Phylogenetic relatedness of identified sequences (P3, PIPO) reflects strong selection and at least three subpopulations within the strains of SCSMV in India. These finding considerably broaden future investigation of the SCSMV pathogenesis in sugarcane.

A Simple Precipitation Approach for Isolation and Enrichment of Sugarcane Streak Mosaic Virus

Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) is a more prevalent sugarcane infecting virus reducing the total sugar production of the world which necessitates rapid screening and detailed studies on SCSMV pathogenicity. A simple reliable, user friendly approach for purification and enrichment of SCSMV from infected sugarcane leaf tissue was developed as alternative to ultracentrifugation approach. The quality and fold enrichment of viral particle was confirmed by RT-PCR and sequence analysis of SCSMV coat protein region. This approach offers 20.03-fold increase in sensitivity for their detection and high viral: host genome ratio of 102 and 103 in infected leaf tissue and purified viral fraction, respectively.