Biology subjects

Behera, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Behera, L..

8 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Euchromatin Peripheral Organization Follows Anterograde Signalling Under Anaesthetic Stress

Anterograde and retrograde signalling establish bidirectional communication between the nucleus and chloroplasts. Retrograde signals from chloroplasts regulate nuclear gene expression while anterograde signals from the nucleus coordinate chloroplast development and maintain cellular homeostasis. How this bidirectional signalling framework extends beyond locus-specific regulation to shape the global spatial organization of nuclear chromatin across tissues remains unclear. Although anaesthesia can alter chromatin organisation, the role of chloroplast dysfunction in these changes remains unclear. Here, we investigate how chloroplast dysfunction and anaesthesia influence euchromatin and heterochromatin organisation in Solanum lycopersicum seedlings across tissues with contrasting photosynthetic competence. Using confocal and super-resolution radial fluctuation (SRRF) imaging with quantitative multiparameter analysis, we identify distinct, tissue-specific chromatin responses to chloroplast disruption and anaesthesia. Notably, anaesthesia induces distinct spatial chromatin changes across tissues that are independent of chloroplast dysfunction, suggesting a direct nuclear response to anaesthesia rather than a chloroplast-mediated retrograde effect. These findings highlight chromatin topology as a potential quantitative biomarker of cellular disruption and provide a framework for investigating anterograde chloroplast-nucleus coordination and stress-responsive nuclear organisation in plants.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2026

A transition-prone brain state precedes spontaneous behavioral switching

Animals exhibit behavior in the absence of external stimuli or explicit tasks. Is the initiation of such spontaneous behavior shaped by internal brain states in a predictable manner? If so, does it engage specific brain circuits independent of behavioral form? Here, we studied the initiation of uninstructed behaviors of head-fixed mice in two contexts: a virtual burrow and a running wheel. Across both contexts, mice spent most of the time in quiet wakefulness and spontaneously initiated bouts of egress (exiting the burrow), running, or grooming. We employed functional ultrasound imaging (fUS) to record whole-brain activity and to identify whether the initiation of spontaneous behavior could be predicted from hemodynamic signals. We first identified distinct hemodynamic patterns associated with each behavior and subsequently performed time-resolved decoding to predict behavioral transitions from fUS data. We found that whole-brain hemodynamic signals could decode spontaneous egress and running around 10 seconds before their onset, a timescale that cannot be accounted for by preceding behavioral changes alone. Furthermore, we found a network of regions, including the medial septum (MS), that decreased their signal several seconds before the onset of egress and running. Mimicking this decrease by inhibiting neurons in the MS via optogenetics increased the probability of egress, running, and grooming. Through this unbiased approach, our work sheds light on a whole-brain transition-prone state that precedes uninstructed behavior transitions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Arousal elicits a brain-wide hemodynamic wave independent of locus coeruleus noradrenergic tone

Arousal fluctuations during wakefulness have a major impact on physiology and behavior, including perception and task performance. Arousal is also known to be a strong modulator of neural activity, but the brain-wide spatiotemporal structure of this modulation is not fully characterized. We used functional ultrasound imaging to record brain-wide hemodynamics - a proxy for neural activity - in head-fixed mice during spontaneous and sensory-evoked arousal fluctuations, tracked via pupil diameter. Both conditions recruited a common brain-wide hemodynamic wave that followed a subcortex-to-cortex gradient. We then tested whether noradrenaline, widely associated with arousal, was necessary or sufficient to drive this wave. Sustained bidirectional optogenetic manipulations of locus coeruleus activity affected brain wide vascular signal amplitude but, surprisingly, left arousal-linked dynamics largely intact. Together, these results identify a common spatiotemporal motif of arousal that appears independent of noradrenergic tone.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Direct Visualization of Anesthesia-induced Subcellular Dysfunction in Non-Neuronal Tissues of C. elegans

Volatile anaesthetics such as isoflurane, halothane, and sevoflurane are extensively utilized for their reversible induction of unconsciousness, exhibiting well-defined impacts on neural networks. However, their influence on non-neuronal and developing tissues is inadequately comprehended, generating concerns for vulnerable categories, including children and individuals receiving extended anesthesia. To rectify this deficiency, we examined the subcellular impacts of anaesthetics utilizing HEK 293T and HepG2 cell lines, alongside with Caenorhabditis elegans as a comprehensive organismal model. In vitro treatment to lidocaine and isoflurane resulted in mitochondrial depolarization, lysosomal aggregation, and buildup of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In vivo, 8% isoflurane induced mitochondrial fragmentation, loss of branching, and disruption of tubular lysosomes, indicating compromised energy metabolism and autophagic stress. We detected selective transcriptional inhibition of neuron- and immune-related promoters, although RNA Pol I remained active, indicating energy-conservation strategies. Systemic oxidative stress was validated by TIR-1::GFP aggregation and lipofuscin accumulation. Our research is one of the initial investigations that defines anaesthesia-induced subcellular dysfunction beyond the nervous system, providing novel insights for safer anaesthetic protocols and informing long-term health evaluations, especially in individuals who are developing or chronically exposed. Significance statementWhile volatile anaesthetics are widely used for inducing unconsciousness, their effects beyond neurons remain poorly understood. This study reveals that clinically used anaesthetics such as isoflurane and lidocaine cause profound subcellular dysfunction in non-neuronal systems, including mitochondrial depolarization, lysosomal disruption, transcriptional repression, and systemic oxidative stress. Using both human cell lines and Caenorhabditis elegans, we uncover conserved patterns of organellar damage and stress responses. These findings have critical implications for pediatric, intensive care, and long-term anaesthesia cases, urging the need to reassess anaesthetic safety profiles and develop biomarkers for systemic toxicity. Our work opens new avenues for designing cell-type-specific protective strategies under anaesthetic exposure.

pharmacology and toxicology↗

bioRxiv2025

A Hierarchical Cascade of Organellar Silencing and their Regeneration under Anaesthetic Stress in Plants

Anaesthetics are pharmacological drugs that temporarily inhibit neural activity by acting on voltage-gated sodium channels and GABA receptors. Although their neurological mechanisms are well-defined, their wider cellular effects, especially in non-neuronal systems, are inadequately understood d. This study utilized Solanum lycopersicum plants root apex cells as a transparent model to examine anaesthetic-induced subcellular alterations via live-cell fluorescence imaging, immunostaining, and super-resolution microscopy. Our findings, first of its kind, demonstrate the initial comprehensive model of sequential causal structure and hierarchical cascade of organelle collapse of different but important organelles such as mitochondria, lysosome, vesicles trafficking and nuclear architectures under anaesthesia in plants. The nucleus is identified as the most important controller of recovery potential and cellular fate. In a time dependent experiment, we found that plant cells exposed to lidocaine for up to four hours could still recover mitochondrial potential, lysosomal function, and nuclear integrity when anaesthesia is removed. However, beyond four hours, the damage, especially to the nucleus, was irreversible, and cells proceeded to programmed cell death. Our data further demonstrate that organelle functions can recover after brief exposure to anaesthetic stress. However, prolonged exposure prevents recovery, resulting in the irreversible degradation of the nucleus leading to complete cell death. The results present novel targets for preventative therapies, such as mitochondrial antioxidants, lysosomal stabilizers, and nuclear structural protectants that could mitigate anaesthetic-induced damage.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2024

Synchronized Chromatin Organization Serves as Potent Biomarker in Anaesthesia-based Plant Consciousness

Anaesthesia has been used for centuries for medical purposes. With the application of anaesthesia, organisms lose their conscious awareness. It provides a temporary loss of sensation, which enables painless performance during surgery. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying the effects of anaesthesia are not clearly understood. It has been proposed that plant root function is analogous to the human brain. Here, using super-resolution imaging technique, we explored an organelle-level understanding of the effect of anaesthesia on plant roots and the stem connecting to the root. Our results showed that the nuclei organized themselves in an orchestrated manner upon treatment with both local and general anaesthesia without damaging their structure. Euchromatin within the nucleus was found to be reorganized in the nuclear periphery, and this process was found to be independent of ATP. In contrast, mitochondria, microtubules, endocytic vesicles, and chloroplasts, which are other important organelles in plant cells, were highly altered or damaged under the same experimental conditions. Eventually, the cellular homeostasis again maintained and process is reversible upon the removal of anaesthesia. Our results suggest that such orchestrated chromatin organization without disturbing the overall structure of the nucleus could be used as a potent biomarker for conscious awareness in plants. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=184 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/615456v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (52K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@18e5582org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1900826org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1073002org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e100f7_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Identification of QTLs for high grain yield and component traits in New Plant Types of rice

A panel of 60 genotypes consisting of New Plant Types (NPTs) along with indica, tropical and temperate japonica genotypes were phenotypically evaluated for four seasons in irrigated situation for grain yield per se and component traits. Twenty NPT genotypes were found to be promising with an average grain yield of 5.45 to 8.8 t/ha. A total of 85 SSR markers were used in the study to identify QTLs associated with grain yield per se and related traits. Sixty-six (77.65%) markers were found to be polymorphic. The PIC values varied from 0.516 to 0.92 with an average of 0.704. A moderate level of genetic diversity (0.39) was detected among genotypes. Variation to the tune of 8% within genotypes, 68% among the genotypes within the population and 24% among the populations were observed (AMOVA). The association analysis using GLM and MLM models led to the identification of 30 and 10 SSR markers were associated with 70 and 16 QTLs, respectively. Thirty novel QTLs linked with 16 SSRs were identified to be associated with eleven traits, namely, tiller number (qTL-6.1, qTL-11.1, qTL-4.1), panicle length (qPL-1.1, qPL-5.1, qPL-7.1, qPL-8.1), flag leaf length (qFLL-8.1, qFLL-9.1), flag leaf width (qFLW-6.2, qFLW-5.1, qFLW-8.1, qFLW-7.1), total no. of grains (qTG-2.2, qTG-a7.1), thousand-grain weight (qTGW-a1.1, qTGW-a9.2, qTGW-5.1, qTGW-8.1), fertile grains (qFG-7.1), seed length-breadth ratio (qSlb-3.1), plant height (qPHT-6.1, qPHT-9.1), days to 50% flowering (qFD-1.1) and grain yield per se (qYLD-5.1, qYLD-6.1a, qYLD-11.1). This information could be useful for identification of highly potential parents for development of transgressive segregants. Moreover, super rice genotypes could be developed through pyramiding of these QTLS for important yield traits for prospective increment in yield potentiality and breaking yield ceiling.

plant biology↗

bioRxiv2019

De novo assembly and characterization of transcriptome towards understanding molecular mechanism associated with MYMIV-resistance in Vigna mungo - A computational study

The fast climate change affects yield in Vigna mungo via enhancing both biotic and abiotic stresses. Out of all factors, the yellow mosaic disease has the most damaging effect. However, due to lack of reference genome of Vigna mungo, the complete mechanism associated with MYMIV (Mungbean Yellow Mosaic Indian Virus) resistance in Vigna mungo remain elusive to date. Considering this, the authors made an attempt to release new transcriptome and its annotation by employing computational approaches. Quality assessment of the generated transcriptomes reveals that it successfully aligned with 99.03% of the raw reads and hence can be employed for future research. Functional annotation of the transcriptome reveals that 31% and [~]14% of the total transcripts encode lncRNAs and protein-coding sequences, respectively. Further, analysis reveals that, out of total transcripts, only 4536 and 78808 are significantly down and up-regulated during MYMIV infection in Vigna mungo, respectively. These significant transcripts are mainly associated with ribosome, spliceosome, glycolysis /gluconeogenesis, RNA transport, oxidative phosphorylation, protein processing in the endoplasmic reticulum, MAPK signaling pathway - plant, methionine and cysteine metabolism, purine metabolism and RNA degradation. Unlike the previous study, this is for the first time, the present study identified these pathways may play key role in MYMIV resistance in Vigna mungo. Thus, information and transcriptomes data available in the present study make a significant contribution to understanding the genomic structure of Vigna mungo, enabling future analyses as well as downstream applications of gene expression, sequence evolution, and genome annotation.

bioinformatics↗