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NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON BIOCHEMISTRY IN GENOMIC ERA : A SOCIO-ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE Organized by Prof. B.C.Guha Birth Centenary Celebration Committee Department of Biochemistry, University of Calcutta. June 07 & 08, 2004 Acknowledgements University of Calcutta University Grants Commission (UGC) Department of science and Technology (DST), Govt. of West Bengal. Foreword By Prof. M. K. Poddar Head Department of Biochemistry Editorial By A.B.Banerjee Prof B.C.Guha & the Cambridge School of Biochemistry of the 1920’s and 1930’s -Prof J.J. Ghosh The Portrait of a Master-Professor Bires Chandra Guha By I.B Chatterjee Inaugural Programme Scientific Programme Professor S.C.Roy Birth Centenary Celebration Committee Abstract of Papers

FOREWORD

Prof. Biresh Chandra Guha, the founder father of the Department of Biochemistry, University of Calcutta was born on June 07, 1904.

Today (June 07, 2004) is the centenary birthday of Prof. Guha. On this great occasion and august gathering, it’s a pleasure and privilege to announce that the Department of Biochemistry, University of Calcutta has planned to celebrate the centenary birthday of Prof. B. C. Guha in a befitting manner. Our object is to use this occasion to pay respect and honor the contribution of Prof. B. C. Guha and in many ways the personage, whose driving spirit and vision have guided the development of Biochemistry not only in Calcutta or West Bengal but also in India at large. Research and teaching in Biochemistry in the University of Calcutta, in fact, started as far back as 1936, when Late Prof. B.C. Guha joined the Department of Applied Chemistry as the Rashbehari Ghosh Professor and Head of the Department. As Head of the then Department of Applied Chemistry, Prof. Guha undertook various research projects in Biochemistry, particularly those concerned with Nutritional Problems in India. Prof. Guha had great intention and could realize in the thirties that Biochemistry will have a tremendous importance and impact with bright future possibilities. It is an established fact that the wide intellectual spectrum on dynamism of Prof. Guha profoundly influenced the advancement of biochemistry in this country. It was through his single-handed untiring effort that University of Calcutta created a separate Department of Biochemistry in the year 1956 with simultaneous appointment of Prof. J. J. Ghosh as the first lecturer of the Department. Since its inception, the Department has diversified its activities in certain emerging areas of Biochemistry- Nutritional Biochemistry, Neurobiochemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Reproductive Biology, Clinical Biochemistry, Immunology and Environmental Biology. The faculty members of the department have already acquired adequate expertise and National and International recognition in their respective fields. In the recent past, the University has given the responsibilities to the department for developing the subjects, which are internationally acceptable among the academics, time relevant and has application to the society. Presently, it is cradling (a) Prof. B.C. Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, and (b) M.Sc. programmes of (i) Microbiology and (ii) Environmental Science". In fact Prof. B. C. Guha Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology will be inaugurated shortly as a separate independent Department. In recognition of its contribution in developing research schools of International standard, the department has already received financial assistance from UGC in the form of COSIST (1985), DSA Phase I (1990), DSA Phase II (1996), DSA Phase III (2002) and FIST (under DST Programme) in the year 2003. The infrastructure facilities created in the department out of those financial assistance are not only being utilized by the department but also being utilized by other Departments of this University, other National Institutes and Universities of this state.Decades have since passed and after a glorious record of achievement we, the students, grand students and close associates of Prof. B. C. Guha have already organised a series of program during. 2003-2004 to celebrate his birth centenary year – these include many invited lectures (delivered by Internationally reputed Scholars, Scientists) for the students, endowment lecture, student’s seminar along with two major symposia namely, (a) International symposium on "Emerging Trends in Biochemical Research" & (b) National conference on "Bioinformation Technology and Business Opportunities". Today, on the occasion of his centenary birthday, we are organising a National Symposium on "BIOCHEMISTRY IN THE GENOMIC ERA; A SOCIO-ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE" as a final programme of the year-long celebration 2003-2004. In this Symposium our objective is to cover a wide array of topics dealing not only with areas of basic interest but also the application of biochemistry in ensuing strong socio-economic development for all sections of the society. We have invited speakers from scientific institutes at the national level, as well as, eminent technocrats and entrepreneurs to ensure that the program will produce requisite impact and can truly serve as a "vision promoter" for future bridging of research and industrial needs". I thank Prof. Asis Kr. Banerjee, Honorable Vice-Chancellor,University of Calcutta (President of the function), Dr. (Mrs.) Pulrenu Guha (the guest of honor), Prof. N. K. Ganguly, Director general,Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi. (the guest in chief),Shri Jawhar Sirkar, IAS, Principal Secretary, Higher Education andDepartment of Science & Technology, Govt. of West Bengal, Prof. J. J.Ghosh, former Head & Centenary Professor, Department ofBiochemistry, University of Calcutta (the special guest) and to my all colleagues, staff, research scholars and students for their interest and active participation in making our effort a grand success. Thanks are.also due to University of Calcutta, UGC (DSA) and Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of West Bengal for their financial support,which in fact help us to make the venture successful.In spite of our level best efforts, we may not have been able to communicate with every individual of the Department and the associate of Prof. B. C. Guha, I sincerely apologize for the shortcomings, if any, during the events. With these, I like to extend our warmest welcome on my behalf and on behalf of the Prof. B. C. Guha Birth Centenary Celebration Committee, Department of Biochemistry, to everybody to grace the occasion and make this august celebration a grand success.

Dated: June 07, 2004.

Prof. M. K. Poddar
Head,Department of BiochemistryUniversity of Calcutta & Convenor,Prof.B. C.Guha Birth Centenary Celebration Committee.

The Portrait of a Master-Professor Bires Chandra Guha

It was a memorable day in my life when I met Professor Bires Chandra Guha on the 20th day of November 1953. At the very first sight my intuition told me that he was "The master" whom I had been searching so long. I was very lucky to be in close association with him for long eight years, 1953-1961. Prof. Guha, an illustrious teacher of Calcutta University, the doyen of the Indian Biochemists and a renowned son of the soil, was born on June 7, 1904 in Mymensingh, now in Bangladesh. As a nephew of Late Aswini Kumar Datta, the stubborn freedom fighter, and as a student of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Prof. Guha was a rare example of outstanding personality and dynamism. An extraordinary range of remarkable accomplishments marked his career.After a uniformly brilliant academic career, Prof. Guha went to England and did his Ph.D and D.Sc. of London University under the able guidance of Prof. J.C. Drummond. Thereafter, he did his postdoctoral research at Cambridge under Prof. F.G. Hopkins, the father of British Biochemistry. In 1936 at the age of 32, Prof. Guha was appointed the Ghosh Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Chemistry of Calcutta University, the post which he held till the last day of his life. Prof Gutha’s life, an integrated summation of many objectives, ideals, aspirations and revolutionary thoughts and functions, was fully dedicated to the active and vigorous pursuit of both fundamental science and advanced technology. He built up an active and efflorescent school of biochemistry at Calcutta University, which put India on the scientific map of the world. As a man of vision, Prof. Guha could foresee that researches on biochemistry would shape the future of global science and he fought with a missionary spirit for the development of biochemistry in India. He was not only the founder of the Department of Biochemistry of Calcutta University, but also as a Chairman of the UGC Review Committee, he was instrumental for opening postgraduate teaching and research in biochemistry in many other Universities and Institutions all over India. Accordingly, Prof. Guha is considered to be the father of modern biochemistry in India. In framing scientific policy of India, Prof. Guha always insisted that special opportunities should be given for the development of the most original and vigorous minds among the students. Creative ability of high order is rare. So it is necessary to attract and foster this ability. The scientific developments of the colleges and Universities should have annual adequate block grants, so that the teachers engaged in research may concentrate on their work without worrying about research expenses and without begging for funds from sundry organizations. Nothing is more depressing than this constant anxiety for funds for research, particularly for the newly recruited young faculties.Prof. Guha visualized that fundamental researches would be pursued inIndia with great momentum, but the applied side should not be neglected. Most biochemical preparations of commerce are imported. Here is a great field, which should be ploughed by scientists even in the Universities and other institutions, as private industry is rather shy in this county and does not like to take risks. Similarly instrumentation should receive special attention in India. I feel extremely happy that his students, associates and admirers have remembered Prof. Guha with deep affection and respect The Department of Biochemistry, Calcutta University, has taken this privilege to pay tribute and honour to Prof. Guha by arranging a symposium on "Biochemistry in Genomic Era: A Socio-economic Perspective" on his birth centenary date. On this occasion, we are grateful to Dr. (Mrs.) Phulrenu Guha, the illustrious wife of Late Prof Guha, who has kindly agreed to grace this occasion and give her blessings. This will undoubtedly be a stimulation and guiding force for our future advancement. Thanks are also due to Professor N.K.Ganguly, Director General of ICMR, Government of India and Shri Jawhar Sircar, Principal Secretary, Higher Education & Department of Science & Technology, Government of West Bengal, for their presence in the inaugural session as the Guest-in- Chief and Guest of Honour, respectively.

I.B.Chatterjee,President,Prof. B. C. Guha Birth Centenary Celebration Committee

EDITORIAL

The Birth Centenary of Prof. B.C. Guha is landmark year for our Department. During the year long celebration of this important event,we remember with reverence our founder. We remember what he has done for initiating research and teaching in Biochemistry in this country. We remember with great admiration how he had produced so many qualified students who have subsequently made quality contributions in all branches of this subject. He was an Institution by himself. Since the untimely death of Prof. Guha in 1962, the subject Biochemistry has undergone a large metamorphosis. The first curriculum of M.Sc. course, which was started here in 1956, was largely constituted of classical enzymology, intermediary metabolism and nutritional biochemistry. The paper of Monod on rapid turnover RNA was published in 1961, i.e., one year before Prof. Guha’s demise. This was followed emergence and rapid development of the subject of molecular biology. This and subsequent events molded the subject biochemistry into a new shape. It now includes, apart from other things, molecular biology, and molecular genetics including genetic engineering. Virology, molecular immunology, genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics. Prof. Guha with his prophetic vision could foresee these future events and was preparing the Department to accept these changes when death suddenly snatched him away from us. After the severe jolt and turmoil created by the sudden death of its mentor, the Department recovered subsequently during last two decades. The spirit and the teaching of Prof. Guha guided us firmly to keep us on correct path. The syllabi of the M.Sc. course here are kept flexible. The courses were structured and restructured several timesduring this period to keep the students abreast with every major newdevelopment in the subject. Now, apart from teaching biochemistry inits modern form, the Department is coordinating 3 more M.Sc.Programmes viz., in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (TheUniversity has created a center for this branch and named after Prof.B.C.Guha in 1991), in Microbiology and in Environmental Sciences. Itshould be mentioned here that as early as in 1950’s Prof. Guha hadcreated strong bases for the teaching and research in MicrobialBiotechnology here, and equipped the Department with theinstrumental facilities to take up protein and nucleic acid researchbefore his death..11The developmental activities of the recent years has received supportfrom the University, the University Grants Commission, identified theDepartment for Special Assistance under DSA programme which isrunning in its 3 rd phase now, and granted prestigious COSIST support.The Department has received FIST support from DST recently. TheDepartment is receiving grants from different other funding agenciestoo. However, to cater the needs of the M.Sc. student strength of 120per session and research teams of 18 teachers, the Department has tomaintain itself in shoestring budget. The modern biochemistryresearch is highly dependent on very sophisticated and costlyanalytical instruments; facilities available here are definitely poor if itis compared with that available in neighbouring research institutions.During last four decades the policy makers focused their attentionmere on the research institutions for basic research and trainingmanpower (in many of these institution one of the major activities isproduction of Ph.D’s) for the science manpower development in thecountry. The University Laboratories were ignored. We strongly believethat this was a wrong policy and if Prof. Guha was alive he would nothave allowed it to occur. He always believed that the Universities arecorrect place where the science and scientist could be properlynurtured. Fortunately the Government of India could realize this pointafter 55 years of independence. In 89 th session of the Indian ScienceCongress in 2002, the then Prime Minister, Sri Atal Behari Vajpayeconceded, "that R & D in our University system is not receiving asmuch attention as in specialized agencies and laboratories. CreativeUniversities are bedrock of every developed nation’s S & T strategy. Itis a matter of concern that science development in India’s vastuniversity system have suffered greatly due to lack of investments,both material and in terms of faculty". The ‘Science and TechnologyPolicy 2003’ document released by him in the next session of theIndian Science Congress held at Bangalore promised to correct theimbalance between Universities and other science institutions. So ittook more than forty years for GOI to take the correct path envisagedby Prof. Guha.Prof. Guha was a zealous patriot. He taught us that the science cannotbe and should not be dissociated from the society. His students shouldnot remain oblivious of the sufferings of the mass due to poverty, lackof education and lack of adequate health care. His works on nutritionand dietectics during great Bengal famine and on remediation ofprotein shortage in the diet of the population immediately after theindependence should be remembered by the Department again andagain. He believed in developing indigenous technologies and.12emphasized on Applied Biochemistry research in the Department asearly as in 1940’s to break the shackles of foreign exploiters and thebecome truly independent. Now we realize, under the duress of so-calledglobalization of economy and changes in international patentsystem, how prophetic his ideas were. The Department should takeserious note of this and give sufficient emphasis on applied researchand contribute towards giving nutritional, medical and environmentalsecurity to the country.In this centenary year of our Master. We reaffirm our faith on histeaching. Whatever progress we could make so far is all due to hisblessings. He has shown us ways of progress. He lived with us in ourmind, in our faith vision and spirit, and in all of our activities. We hopeand pray that his immortal soul inspire this Department, which is hisown creation, all along in the next century and in centuries to come.

A.B.Banerjee.

 

Professor B.C.Guha and the Cambridge School of Biochemistry of the 1920’s and 1930’s ByProf. J.J. Ghosh

Today is the memorable day for the Department of Biochemistry ofCalcutta University. We are commemorating today the birth centenaryof Professor B.C.Guha, the father of this department. Professor Guha isalso the key person responsible for the opening of Post-graduateBiochemistry teaching programme in all Indian Universities later on.Professor Guha had a life, crowded with many glorious achievements.Apart from being a staunch nationalist, a great fighter for the rightsand privileges of scientific workers, he was a staunch supporter and astrong mouthpiece for the development of science and technology inpost-independent India.The turning point in Professor Guha’s Scientific career came by hiscontact with two eminent personsToday on this occasion of paying my heartfelt tribute and respect tothis great personality, I shall focus mainly on one aspect of his brilliantleadership in the development of biochemistry teaching and researchin India which was greatly influenced by his coming in contact with twoeminent personalities in the scientific world. One of these personalitieswas Sir P.C. Ray, the father of Indian Chemistry at the Department ofChemistry, Calcutta University (1925-26), and the other one wasProfessor Sir F.G. Hopkins, the father of British Biochemistry,Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, England (1929-31). With Acharya P.C. Ray, Guha himself said on later occasion " Ihad learnt the most precious lesson of my scientific career – theessential requirement of a discipline, determined and devoted mind forresearch". From Professor Hopkins, Guha inherited a board, biologicalvision about biochemistry, which helped him in shaping thedevelopment of the new discipline of biochemistry in CalcuttaUniversity and in other Universities in India.The Cambridge Biochemical Laboratory with Professor Hopkinsas its leader was at the peak of its glory when Guha joined in1930Besides, Professor Hopkins’ own extra-ordinary charm and inspiringleadership, another thing which had a great impact on the young mindof Guha was his association with a galaxy of bright visiting scientists.14from different parts of England, Europe, USA, China, Japan, India andother places. Hopkins emphasized more on the individual enterprisesof research workers and encouraged each to develop his or heroriginality. Among all the colleagues and collaborators, Prof. Szent-Györgyi,Joseph Needham and F.G. Young’s influences were the mostabiding on Prof. Guha. On the otherhand, J.B.S. Haldane’s personalitypattern and his unpretending role as the ‘working encyclopoedia’ ofany research references for all the research scientists in the laboratory– impressed Professor Guha so much that he used to recall theseincidences with great enjoyment to us, whenever he has in a relaxedmood in the laboratory.Names of a few collaborators and colleagues of Professor Guhaat the Cambridge Laboratory (1929-35)Guha’s interest in vitamin C Biosynthesis work originated fromhis memorable discussions with Prof. Szent-Györgyi while bothof them were at CambridgeIn 1927, Prof. Szent Györgyi came from Hungary as a visiting Scientistto Hopkin’s Laboratory for the Chemical characterization of theunknown substance, already purified and crystallized from plant juices,paprika and adrenal gland extracts. It was a high reducing,‘carbohydrate-like material’ (C6H8O6). Szent-Györgyi originally toughtthat this unknown compound was involved in biological oxidations. Henever thought that this unknown compound might turn up to be aVitamin!1. Albert Szent-Györgyi(Nobel Laureate, Discoverer of Vitamin C)2. C.G. King (Nutrition)3. C.A. Elvehjem (")4. L.W. Mapson (")5. Leslie J. Harris (")6. A.C. Chibnall (")7. F.G. Young (Hormone Physiology)8. Joseph Needham (Embryology)9. Norman Pirie (Plant Biochemistry)10.Malcolm Dixon (Enzyme Biochemistry)11.Robin Hill (Plant Biochemistry)12.E. Baldwin (Comparative Biochemistry)13.Marjorie Stevenson (Microbiology)14.J.B.S.; Haldane (Genetics, Enzymology).15In collaboration with Prof. Haworth at Birmingham, (arranged byHopkins) the complete structure became known without knowing itsprecise function till then.At this stage Prof. Szent-Györgyi was keep to carry out bio-assayexperiments and had discussions with Dr.Guha who already was doinga plenty of bioassay experiments for his Vitamin B1 and B2 studies.During the bioassay trial, it was found to have anti-scorbutic propertyand was named L-ascorbic acid.The comradeship spirit of the Cambridge BiochemistryLaboratory and the participation of the stalwarts in the BrighterBiochemistry – A comical journal from the Laboratory: Guhafondly recalled on many occasions later on:The unique spirit of comradeship existing among the research workers,where every one had a free and frank exchange of thoughts and ideas,without any inhibition or secrecy and above all the family-likerelationship with the head of the laboratory (unlike the other famouslaboratories in Germany and other places in Europe) which wasevident from the publication of a comical journal Brighter Biochemistrycontaining Rhymes, Cartoons, humorous comments etc. The BrighterBiochemistry used to publish a regular feature entitled ‘Confessions’ inwhich people like Hopkins, Haldane, Needham, Szent-Györgyi andeven some times Guha were asked about their personal comments onsome awkward questions by the editors. Very often there wereamusing remarks made by these personalities.By early 1930’s the deteriorating political situations in Europeand the ‘Kapitsa Affair’ Affected the Cambridge LaboratoryAtmosphere and also Guha’s political outlook.With the growing threat of Nazism, Fascism and of War, the politicalclimate was deteriorating in the 1930’s. Added to this there was anunhappy incident known as ‘Kapitsa Affair’, which gave rise to apolitical turmoil like situation among the Cambridge Universityacademic community that were split into Pro-Soviet and anti-SovientCamps.Peter Kaptitsa, the Sovient physicist, came to work with ProfessorRutherford as early as 1920’s. The trouble started when Kapitsa visitedSovient Union for a short time home visit and during; his return theSovient Authorities did not permit him to leave the country. In spite of.16the intervention of Rutherford, the Sovient authorities were adamant.The academic communities were divided into leftist group supportingthe Soviet Government and the rightist group protesting the action ofthe Soviet Government. Professor Hopkins, being at that time, thePresident of the Royal Society, London, could not keep himself aloof!Professor J.D. Bernal, Haldane, Needham, Waddington Pirie, Guha andmany others were all sympathizers of the Leftist movement in Englandat that time.Guha built up the School of Biochemistry Research at theUniversity of Calcutta by following the tradition of Hopkins.After joining the Calcutta University in 1936, as Sir Rashbehari GhoshProfessor in Applied Chemistry, Guha got the opportunity for buildingup an active School of Research in different areas of biochemistry,Besides his own specialized field of interest in Vitamin’s and Nutrition,Guha also helped to initiate and develop research programme inapplied biochemical problems, microbiology, fermentation etc. A shortlist of the different research programme, undertaken by Prof. Guha atdifferent periods, are given below.1. Integrated programme of Nutrition surveys with specialreference to the Vitamin and mineral contents of common Indianfoods.2. The use of Leaf proteins in human nutrition.3. Nutritive values of different Indian fishes.4. Nutritional availability of Iron from different Indian foods.5. Nutritional studies on Hydrogenated fats.6. Nutritional studies on Indian Tea.7. Biosynthesis Mechanism of Vitamin C.8. Isolation and characterization of Ascorbigen and Niacinogen.9. Fermentative studies on Citric Acid, Acetone and Butanolproduction.10.Microbial Jute Retting.11.Microbial Spoilage of Stored Cereal grains.

INAUGURAL PROGRAMME

June 07, 2004

10:00 A.M. Registration

11:00 A.M. Invocation

11:05 A.M. Welcome Address:Prof. M.K. Poddar Head,Dept. of Biochemistry,C.U. & Convenor,Prof. B.C. Guha Birth Centenary Celebration

11:15 A.M. Address by Guest of Honour:Dr.(Mrs.) Phulrenu Guha

11:25 A.M. Address by Guest of Honour:Shri Jawhar Sircar,Principal Secretary, HigherEducation and Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of West Bengal.

11:35 A.M. Address by Special Guest:Prof. J.J. Ghosh,Former Centenary Professor,Department of Biochemistry,C.U.

11:45 A.M. Address by the President of the Celebration Committee:Prof. I.B. Chatterjee Former Professor,Department of Biochemistry,C.U.

11:55 A.M. Address by Guest-in-Chief:Prof. N.K. Ganguly,Director General,Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi.

12:05 P.M. Address by:Students, Friends & Associates of Prof. B.C. Guha

12:20 P.M. Address by the President:Prof. Asis Kr. Banerjee Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor University of Calcutta.

12:30 P.M. Vote of Thanks:Prof. D.J. Chattopadhyay Department of Biochemistry, C.U.

Tea Break

12:50 P.M. Key Note Address:Speaker: Prof. N.K. Ganguly,Director-General, Indian CouncilOf Medical Research, New Delhi.
Title: Tackling the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues of Genomics and Improving Health Status in India".

SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME

Scientific Programme

7 th June, 2004

2:30 P.M. – 3:10 P.M. CHAIRPERSON : Prof. B. B. Biswas Ex-Director, Bose Institute, Kolkata 700 009

Speaker:Dr. Hemanta Majumdar Director Grade Scientist, IICB,Kolkata 700 032
Title: DNA TOPOISOMERASE II OF KINETOPLASTID HEMOFLAGELLATE Leishmania donovani

3:10 P.M. – 3:50 P.M. Speakers :

Prof. M.S. Siddiqui Director, Bose Institute,Kolkata 700 009
Title: Biotechnology as an Instrument for Socio-Economic Development in India

3:50 P.M. - 4:30 P.M. Prof. Maharani Chakraborti INSA Senior Scientist, NICED,Kolkata 700 010
Title: Proteomics of Bacteriophage MB78 in Genomic Era

4:30 P.M. – 4:35 P.M. Vote of Thanks:Dr. Krishanu Chakraborti.

8 th June, 2004

Session I CHAIRPERSON: Prof. K. L. Mukherjee Dept of Biochemistry,Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences Kolkata

11:00 A.M.–11:30 A.M. Speaker: Prof. Sudhamay Ghosh IIT BREF BIOTEK
Title: Prof. B. C. Guha, nutrition and health of the Indian People, and Applied biotechnology

11:35 A.M.–12:05 P.M. Dr. Pranab Sarkar INSA Senior Scientist, IICB,Kolkata 700 032
Title: Neurofilaments and Oxidative Stress on neurodegeneration

12:05 P.M.–12:30 P.M. Tea

Session II CHAIRPERSON: Prof. I. B. Chatterjee Joint Co-ordinator Dr. B. C. Guha Centre For Genetic Engineering And Biotechnology Calcutta University Kolkata 700 019

12:30 P.M.-1:00 P.M. Dr. Partha Pratim Majumdar Prof. and Head Anthropology and Human Genetics Unit Indian Statistical Institute Kolkata 700 108
Title: Genes, Populations and Diseases

1:00 P.M. – 1:30 P.M. Prof. Chanchal Dasgupta Prof. Dept. of Biophysics, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Calcutta University Kolkata 700 009
Title: Protein Folding by Ribosomal RNA

1:30 P.M.–2:30 P.M. Lunch

Session III CHAIRPERSON Prof. J. J. Ghosh Former Centenary Professor Dept. of Biochemistry Calcutta University
Kolkata 700 019

2:30 P.M.-3:00 P.M. Speaker:Dr. Anil C. Ghosh Chemgen Pharma International Salt Lake City Kolkata 700 091
Title: NEW DRUG DISCOVERY IN POST GENOMIC ERA

3:00 P.M.- 3:30 P.M. Dr. Amitava Saha Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres, ICAR, Barrackpore- 700 120,
West Bengal.
Title: Role of Jute in Socia-economic Development & Environment Protection

3:30 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Tea Break

Session IV CHAIRPERSON:Prof. R. K. Mandal

4:00 P.M. – 4:30 P.M. Speaker:Dr. S. Nath Senior Manager Research and Development ALBERT DAVID LIMITED Kolkata 700050
Title: ‘ SYNTHETIC SWEETENER’

4:30 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. Dr. Aloke Sen Sun Biotechnology Limited, Kolkata
Title: Application of Modern Biology in the Development of Industrial Enzymes

5:00 P.M. – 5:05 P.M. Vote of Thanks:Prof. A. K. Bhattacharyya

 

PROFESSOR B.C.GUHA BIRTH CENTENARY CELEBRATION COMMITTEE

Patron

Prof. Asish K. Banerjee
Vice Chancellor, University of Calcutta

Dr. (Mrs.) Phulrenu.Guha
Kolkata

Advisory Members

Prof. S. Bhattacharyya
Director, IICB, Kolkata
Prof. M. Siddiqi
Director, Bose Institute, Kolkata
Dr. S. Bhattacharya
Director, NICED, Kolkata
Dr. Indira Chakraborty
Director, CNCI, Kolkata
Prof. D. Mukherjee
Director, IACS, Kolkata
Prof. B. Sinha
Director, SINP, Kolkata
Dr. V. K. Kashyap
Director, CFSL. Kolkata
Dr. K. B.Sinha
Director, ISI, Kolkata.23
Prof. A Datta, New Delhi
Prof.(Mrs) K. Datta, New Delhi
Dr. S. Kr. Basu, New Delhi
Prof. J. J. Ghosh, Kolkata
Prof. S K. Bose, Kolkata
Prof. G. C. Chatterjee, Kolkata
Dr. P. K Sarkar, Kolkata
Dr. B. R. Roy, Kolkata
Prof. Manju Mukherjee, Kolkata
Dr. S. Maitra, Kolkata
Prof. S. K. Majumder, Kolkata
Prof. M. M. Chakraborty, Kolkata
Prof. S. K. Mukherjee, Kolkata
Dr. S. C. Pakrashi, Kolkata
Prof. D. P. Burma, Kolkata
Prof. Sudhamoy Ghosh, Kolkata
Dr. Dolly Ghosh, Kolkata
Prof. Sukumar Aditya, Kolkata
Dr. Subrata Ganguli, Kolkata

Organising Committee

President: Prof I. B. Chatterjee
Vice President: Prof. D. J. Chattopadhyay
Convenor: Prof. M. K. Poddar,
Head, Dept. of Biochemistry.
Treasurer. Prof. A.K.Bhattacharyya

Members:

Prof. A Mondal, Biochem.Dept.
Prof. A. B. Banerjee, Biochem.Dept.
Prof. C. K. Ghosh, Biochem. Dept.
Prof. S. K. Banerjee, Biochem.Dept.
Dr. A. Dasgupta, Biochem.Dept.
Dr. K. Chakraborty, Biochem.Dept.
Dr. (Mrs) M. Bhattacharyya, Biochem.Dept.
Dr. (Mrs) M. Dasgupta, Biochem.Dept.
Dr. P. Kr. Bag, Biochem.Dept.
Dr. S. Ghosh, Biochem.Dept.

ABSTRACT OF PAPERS

DNA TOPOISOMERASE II OF KINETOPLASTID EMOFLAGELLATELeishmania donovani

Dr. Hemanta K. MajumderDirector Grade ScientistIndian Institute of Chemical BiologyJadavpur, Kolkata

The kinetoplastid protozoan parasite Leishmania causes aspectrum of disease termed as leishmaniasis manifesting pathologiesfrom mild to disfiguring to fatal. This protozoan diverged early in theeukaryotic evolution, near the base of the evolutionary tree before theemergence of several protozoan lineages and well before theseparation of the crown metazoan lineages that comprise plants,animals and fungi. Work on DNA topoisomerases from kinetoplastidprotozoan parasite has been a major focus of interest, since theseenzymes are believed to play an important role in the replication of theunusual kinetoplast DNA (kDNA) harboured in the mitochondrion ofthese parasites. Type II DNA topoisomerases have been isolated fromseveral kinetoplastid protozoans and the genes encoding theseenzymes have been cloned and sequenced in Trypanosoma brucei,Trypanosoma cruzi and Crithidia fasciculata. We have previouslyreported topoisomerase activity from the cell extracts of L. donovaniand the gene encoding the type II DNA topoisomerase was isolated.DNA sequence analysis revealed an ORF of 3711bp with no introns andencoding a protein of 1236 amino acids. This was shown to be an ATP-dependentenzyme whose activity was inhibited by etoposide, aneukaryotic topoisomerase II inhibitor.The amino acid sequences of the C-terminal domain of the typeII DNA topoisomerases are divergent and species specific as comparedto the highly conserved N-terminal and central domains. A set ofcarboxy terminal deletion mutants of Leishmania donovanitopoisomerase II was constructed. Removal of more than 178 aminoacids, out of 1236 amino acid residues from the C-terminus inactivatesthe enzyme, where as removal of 118 amino acids or less has noapparent effect on the ability of the parasite enzyme to complement atemperature sensitive mutation of the Saccharomyces cerevisiaetopoisomerase II gene. Deletion analysis revealed a potent nuclearlocalization signal (NLS) within the amino acid residues 998-1058.Immunomicroscopy results suggest that the removal of an NLS in thecarboxy-terminal domain is likely to contribute to the physiologicaldysfunction of these proteins. Modeling of the LdTOP2 based on the.35crystal structure of the yeast type II DNA topoisomerase showed thatthe parasite protein assumes a structure similar to its yeastcounterpart harboring all the conserved residues in structurally similarposition. However, a marked difference in electrostatic potential wasfound in a span of 60 amino acid residues (998-1058), which also donot have any homology with topoisomerase II sequences. Suchsignificant differences can be exploited by the structure-based designof selective inhibitors using the structure of the Leishmania enzyme asa template.

Biotechnology as an Instrument for Socio-Economicdevelopment in India
Prof. M.S. SiddiquiDirector,Bose Institute,Kolkata 700 009.37

Proteomics of bacteriophage MB78 in the genomic era
Dr. Maharani ChakravortyINSA Senior Scientist,National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases (NICED)P-33, C.I.T Road, Scheme XM, BeleghataCalcutta- 700010

Bacteriophage MB78 isolated in our laboratory is one of the virulentphages of Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium. A genomic libraryof the phage was made in M13mp11. A detailed physical map of 42 kbphage genome has been constructed. To identify different phage genesand study regulation of their expression different genomic fragmentshave been cloned, expressed and studied extensively. A number ofpromoter containing fragments have been cloned and two strongpromoters have been studied in detail. Phage MB78 uses variousmethods for regulation of its gene expression. Two late proteins areexpressed from the same gene by ribosomal frame shifting. Presenceof multiple copy of this gene (through plasmid) in a permissive hostinterferes with phage morphogenesis. Messages are mostlymonocistronic but some proteins are expressed from polycistronicmessage without any intercistronic gap. Four proteins are expressedfrom a polycistronic operon having four overlapping ORFs where stopand start codons overlap and rare initiation codons are used. One ofthe two proteins expressed from a 0.9 kb Sal I-Hind III fragment has57% similarity with a structural protein of mycobacteriophage. Usuallystructural protein genes of bacteriophages are clustered. In MB78,however, location of the structural protein genes are scattered overthe genome. A minor structural gene involved in phage morphogenesiscould be identified and studied in detail. Presence of restriction-.38modification system makes the phage unique. The phage is not onlyinteresting to study regulation of gene expression but also bears socio-economicimportance.

Prof. B. C. Guha, nutrition and health of the Indian People, andApplied biotechnology
Dr. Sudhamoy Ghosh and Dr. Dolly Ghosh BREF- Biotek,Indian Institute of Technology,Kharagpur

B.C.Guha was an outstanding versatile scientist of India and hiscontribution to nutritional science, particularly in the area of ascorbicacid (vitamin C), is quite well known. However, his scientific endeavorin the field of designing anti-vitamins (anti-folic acid compounds) andnucleic acid base analogues for their potential application inchemotherapy of cancer is much less known. We were very fortunateto be inspired by him that led us to chemically synthesize a variety ofthese types of anti-metabolites to investigate their potential use inneoplastic diseases. It has been possible to make some headway inthis area because we used a very simple system of biological assay ofthe synthetic compounds i.e., inhibition of microbial growth in testtubes that is dependent on folic acid or pyrimidine / purinemetabolites.We also noticed B.C.Guha’s endeavor to tackle widespread vitamindeficiency in Indian population when he compelled our Government toenforce supplementation of fat soluble vitamin A in widely usedhydrogenated vegetable oil known as Vanaspati. Hydrogenation of oilnot only destroys accessory nutritional factors, but also generatestrans- fatty acids in Vanaspati, which is quite harmful for health.In the late eighties of the last century, when we became familiar withmodern biotechnology, we thought of improving quality of Indianedible oils by the application of genetic engineering. It simply meansthat fatty acid composition of an oil from an oil seed plant (such asrape or mustard) be altered to mimic fatty acid composition ofVanaspati ( high content of saturated fatty acid).This needsidentification of the critical gene that controls fatty acid compositionof an oil, particularly from an oilseed plant that produce high.39palmitate or high stearate oil. We have been able to identify an oilseed plant ( Brassica campestris cv Agrani ) which would be an idealhost for introduction of this critical gene to alter fatty acid compositionof its oil. The gene identified by us belongs to the plant known asMadhuca butyraceae and it determines an enzyme palmitoyl/oleoylspecific acyl–ACP thioesterase that is responsible for generating high-palmitateoil in its seeds. Thus, genetically modified B. campestris cvAgrani may yield a fat with higher content of saturated fatty acid likeVanaspati but without any trans-fatty acid and with all its accessorynutritional factors in tact.

ROLE OF THYROID HORMONES IN NEUROFILAMENT GENEEXPRESSION, OXIDATIVE STRESS AND NEURODEGENERATION
Dr. P.K. Sarkar INSA Senior Scientist, Division of Neurobiology,Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB),Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032

Thyroid hormones(TH) plays an important role in promotingmammalian brain development. During the last decade, investigationson the molecular mechanism of TH action revealed that in thedeveloping brain, TH facilitates neural differentiation by regulatingthe expression and assembly of tubulin, actin and vimentin. Currentinvestigations are focused on the role of TH on the expression andintracellular distribution of neurofilament(NF) proteins, oxidativestress and neurodegeneration in the developing brain.Comparison of the steady state levels of NF mRNAs in normaland hypothyroid developing rat brain by Northern blot analysis andtheir corresponding proteins by Western blot analysis revealed thathypothyroidism declined the expression of all three NF chains by 50-80% compared to that in the normal cerebra. Progressivehypothyroidism also led to an aberrant accumulation of NF in thehillock region of the neurons thus interfering with the vital axonaltransport. TH-deficiency in the developing brain is shown to beassociated with marked oxidative stress leading to a significant declinein GSH and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase, increase in SOD,catalase and OH radical production along with enhanced protein.40oxidation and lipid peroxidation .This enhanced oxidative stress ispotentially capable nitration or other post-translational modification ofNF proteins leading to their aberrant accumulation in the hillockregion and neurodegeneration .Downregulation of NF gene expression , their abnormalintraneuronal accumulation and the associated oxidative stress, asseen here in the hyppothyroid developing brain , represent some ofthe most characteristic features in some of the most commonneurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’sdisease and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Genes, Populations and Diseases Dr. Partha P. Majumder Prof. and Head Anthropology and Human Genetics UnitIndian Statistical InstituteKolkata 700 108

In complex disease research, the "common-disease, common-variant"paradigm is being pursued globally. In the context of this paradigm,population-based genetic investigations play a crucial role. I shallbegin with an exposition of this paradigm, and explain why populationisolates are thought to be useful in this research. I shall then providean analysis of DNA polymorphism data in and around the genes codingfor ICAM1 and TNF, which play functional and correlated roles ininflammatory processes and immune cell responses, from 12 diverseethnic groups of India. I shall highlight the implications of the findingsof our analyses on complex disease research. Finally, I shall examinerelative roles of demographic history and natural selection in shapingthe observed patterns of variation and show that while populationexpansion may be a reasonable explanation to explain the pattern ofgenetic variation at the TNF locus, balancing selection appears to be amore reasonable explanation at the ICAM1 locus. These inferences areconsistent with the known modes of action of these genes.(Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Department ofBiotechnology and the Indian Statistical Institute. I thank many of mycollaborators who made these studies possible, in particularSanghamitra Sengupta, Shabana Farheen and Neelanjana Mukherjee.).

Protein Folding by Ribosomal RNA
Dr. Chanchal DasguptaProfessorDept. of Biophysics,Molecular Biology and Genetics,Calcutta UniversityKolkata 700 009

The general protein folding activity past its synthesis lies within thelarge ribosomal subunit in any cell. The active component is thepeptidyl transferase centre of the large RNA of this subunit (domainVof the 23S rRNA of 50S subunit in case of bacteria). The newlysynthesised protein binds to this RNA, undergoes conformationalchange and is finally released in a folding competent state that slowlyattains the native form. The large circle of domainV (RNA1) is the siteof folding and the rest of the domain (RNA2) is needed to release thefolding competent protein. The protein binds to RNA1 with high affinityand would not dissociate in absence of RNA2 region. Using a numberof unfolded proteins having widely varying conformations, we havedone the following experiment to show that they bind to the same setof sites on RNA1. We UV-crosslinked the bound protein to RNA1.Suitable P32-end labelled complementary oligodeoxyribonucleotideprimers were annealed to this RNA at different places and extendedwith reverse transcriptase. The extension products stopped at siteswhere proteins were crosslinked to RNA1. These products were runnext to sequencing gel to identify the nucleotides which bound toRNA1. RNA2 could be interacting with the bound protein to reduce itsaffinity for RNA1. To check this, RNA2 was added to RNA1-proteincrosslink. While binding of RNA2 here was specific, it could notdissociate the protein and itself remained bound to the complex. Itwas crosslinked to the complex by UV again and roadblocks on RNA2were found as before. All proteins bound to RNA2 also at specificnucleotides. So we had a static view of the protein interacting withspecific nucleotides in domainV (RNA 1 + RNA2). Since folding proteinquickly dissociates from domainV, to get a dynamic picture of proteininteracting with and being released from various nucleotides indomainV, we reduced the folding temperature to OC at which theprotein took about 5-minutes to be released. So we could do quick UV-crosslinkingat various time intervals. The road block experiments gavea dynamic view of the nucleotides bound and released by the refoldingprotein with time..42Protein folding by 23S rRNA I domainV is sensitive to antibiotics whichinhibit protein synthesis by binding to 23S rRNA but insensitive toantibiotics inhibiting protein synthesis by interacting with 30S subunitetc. So, we induced beta-galactosidase in E.coli and added each ofthese antibiotics after 30 minutes to stop protein synthesis. Eachantibiotic stopped protein synthesis instantly. The activity of beta-galactosidasehowever, kept rising and reached plateau after 7 I 8minutes for streptomycin and kasugamycin which bind to 30S, but didnot rise for chloramphenicol and lincomycin which bind to domainV of23S rRNA. The rising trend of activity was immediately halted ifchloramphenicol or lincomycin was added to samples where proteinsynthesis was stopped by streptomycin I kasugamycin. So thedomainV of 23S rRNA is responsible for folding nascent proteins invivo. It interacted with fully synthesised proteins for sufficient lengthof time to fold them to native state.In vitro, we found that the 70S ribosome dissociated into 50S and 30Ssubunits when unfolded proteins interacted with it. This dissociationand protein folding were inhibited by prior binding of t-RNA to P and E-siteson ribosome. It appears then that the ribosome cannot fold theprotein as long as peptidyl-t-RNA remains bound to it. Only after totalrelease through the exit tunnel in the 50s, the newly formedpolypeptide chain can get back to domainV and fold itself. It is quiteplausible, because the newly formed yet to fold protein has extremelyhigh affinity for the domainV region and before the C-terminus ofprotein can get out of the exit tunnel (which can hold about 30 aminoacid chain), the N-terminus can easily bind to domainV (like anintramolecular reaction) for folding..

NEW DRUG DISCOVERY IN POST GENOMIC ERA
Dr. Anil C. GhoshChemgen Pharma InternationalSalt Lake CityKolkata 700 091

In the post genomic era, synthesis of biology, chemistry, informationtechnology and genetics is providing unprecedented opportunities inour understanding of the life processes and in our ability to modifythem.Today the role for chemistry to impact on genetics and genomics areunlimited. This area represents the major growth opportunity fororganic chemistry in the immediate future. For example, the OxfordUniversity Group, led by Professor Stephen G. Davies, haveestablished highly innovative projects in the areas of volume –sensitive chloride channels for treatment of heart diseases, arylamine–N–acetyl transferases for treatment of tuberculosis and cancer as wellas transcriptional upregulation of utrophin for treatment of DuchenneMascular dystrophy. The success of this approach has been primarilydue to close collaboration amongst academic and industrial scientists.The marriage of business and science within the proteomics, structuralgenomics, functional genomics, protein expression profiling,bioinformatics and chemoinformatics are leading to major shift inpharmaceutical R&D from genes to proteins and the development oftechnology for personalized medicine. This has lead to morefundamental approaches to chemical genomics and the generation ofnovel drug discovery paradigms..

Role of Jute in Socia-economic Development & EnvironmentProtection
Amitava Saha 1 and H. S. Sen 2 Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibres,ICAR, Barrackpore- 700 120, West Bengal

.Jute occupies only 0.5% of the total cropped area of the country. But itis contributing significantly in socio-economic development andsupporting livelihood of about 10 million families when farming,industrial and trade segments are taken together. It holds promise ofplaying more significant role if the full potentiality of the crop isexploited.Four million farm families are involved in jute farming and a greatmajority belong to small and marginal categories. Cultivation of thiscrop generate paid employment of more than 10 million man-days perseason. Industrial operations of 73 jute mills of the country are thevital segment of the national economy. About 0.25 million workersearn their bread from these mills. In addition, about 0.5 million peopleare involved in raw jute and finished goods trading and ancillaryactivities.India with more than one billion population has a large demand ofpackaging material forstorage and transportation of food grains and various marketablecommodities. Such demand was 1421 thousand tones per year (NinthFive Year Plan average). After saturating such a huge demand, ourcountry exported 192.5 thousand tones of jute goods and earned674.8 crores of rupees per year on an average.The issue of new applications of jute has become vital for future of thejute sector because of the gradual erosion of market for traditionalpackaging materials in national and international arena. Costcompetitiveness of man-made fibre is the main hurdle in the process.Technologists have made successful attempts to diversify the use ofjute and a large number of products are already in the market, whichis finding favour of the users. In terms of volume, such productsconsume 12-15% of the marketed fibre at present. Export earnings.45from such products is around 20% when conventional and diversifiedproducts are taken together.Unexploited potential of jute deserves attention in the background ofincreased global concem of environmental aspects. Jute can be usedas a raw material for pulp and paper and thereby can reducedenudation of forest cover substantially. Annual renewability is themain advantage of this lingo-cellulosic material. Jute fibrecan be processed for making semi-rigid sheet and rigid board byincorporating adhesive chemicals. Packing boxes from semi-rigid sheetand furnitures and other products from rigid board can be produced.These boards are comparable substitutes of wood.1 Head, DIvision of Crop Improvement, CRIJAF and 2. Director,CRIJAFJute and mesta seeds are very rich source of oil and we have probablyoverlooked this commercial aspect of this crop. Fatty-acid componentsand other characteristics of jute and mesta seed oil have already beenworked out. This oil after bleaching and refining may find application invarious industries.Jute and its wild relatives are rich source of various pharmacodynamiccompounds like strophanthidin, helveticosite, â -sitosterol, erysimosoletc. These compounds, are used in formulation of various life savingdrugs but are obtained from different sources at present.Jute waste from the mills constitutes 4-6% of total Jute consumptionby a mill, which amounts to 80 thousand tones per year approximatelythat can liberate 260997 x 10 6 kilo calorie of energy. This volume ofjute waste is equivalent to 23677.5 tons of mineral oil or 45533.6tones of coal if compared as energy source.Foregoing paragraphs amply indicate that jute along with their wildrelatives are potential candidates for research to davelop variousproducts other than those attempted so long. Task ahead is to putemphasis on these areas and initiate research and developmentactivities. Active collaborations with appropriate agencies need to bedeveloped to harness the full potential of the crop and bring economicprosperity in the society..

SYNTHETIC SWEETENER Dr. SWADHIN NATH Senior ManagerResearch and Development,ALBERT DAVID LIMITED,5/11 D.Gupta Lane, Kolkata- 700050

Recent triumph of Biochemistry & Biotechnology has expandedhimself in a wide canvas starting from virus war to life savingmedicine. Techniques are available for development of vaccine usingantigen produced through genetic engineering.The cloning of the gene for major surface protein of Plasmodiumfalciparum may produce an effective antimalarial vaccine. Like wiseprotein sweetener development is one of the highest success of thescientist, which became a blessing for all diabetic patient and healthconscious people.Our present discussion will mainly be focused on the topic‘ SYNTHETIC SWEETENER’..

Application of Modern Biology in the Development of IndustrialEnzymes
Dr. Alok SenSun Biotechnology Limited, Kolkata.

Enzymes have been significant industrial inputs for more than acentury and the range of potential application is increasing rapidly.With the advent of recombinant DNA technology, it has becomepossible to make formerly rare enzymes in large quantities at reducedcost. Availability of many enzyme preparations, cost and energyefficiency of enzymatic transformation and environment friendliness ofraw materials, products and process wastes are the main factorencouraging large scale adoption of enzymatic processes. If wecompare a purely chemical process and it’s enzymatic equivalent, thechemical process is more likely to require higher temperature orpressure, more complicated process equipment and more rigorousprocess control than the enzymatic process. Hence, the enzymaticprocesses almost always involve less infrastructure investment andoperational cost.Technological advances have facilitated the use of enzymesover an increasing broad range of process conditions. Enzymes fromorganisms that grow in unusual environments like deep oean, saltlakes and hot springs are increasingly available for study and potentialuse. With the development of site directed mutagenesis, novelenzymes with exceptional stability and high salt, tecemperature, pHtolerances are developed, which freed us from our sole dependence onnatural enzymes.