University of Hyderabad granted patent on new method for extracting pest-curbing plant inhibitors
The Hindu
UoH has been granted a patent on a tech to produce farmer-friendly plant proteins. The technology, developed by two research scientists from the School of Life Sciences, reduces time for separation and purification of the inhibitors from 10 days to
The University of Hyderabad (UoH) has been granted a patent for a technology that can facilitate large-scale production of two “farmer-friendly” plant proteins.
The technology, labelled ‘Method for separation and purification of multifunctional Bowman-Birk and Kunitz inhibitors’, was developed in the laboratories of two research scientists from the School of Life Sciences — K. Padmasree from the department of biotechnology and bioinformatics and M.K. Arunasree from the department of animal biology. Mariyamma Gujjarlapudi and Bharti Kotarya took part in performing experiments under their guidance, according to an official release on Saturday.
The patented technology has two distinct features. The first is the separation of plant proteins Bowman-Birk and Kunitz inhibitors, which are generally inseparable, using conventional purification methods and the second is reducing the time required for their independent purification from approximately 10 days to < 24 hours.
Prof. Padmasree said both Bowman-Birk and Kunitz inhibitors present in plants have several biological functions, including defensive roles against invading pests and pathogens. These inhibitors are farmer-friendly as they are effective in the management of pests such as Helicoverpa armigera (a pod borer) and Achaea janata (a castor semilooper) which devastate important crops such as cotton, tobacco, groundnut, brinjal, tomato, bendi, capsicum and castor.
Dr. Arunasree said many proteases involved in the development of cancer and microbial growth act as targets for Bowman-Birk and Kunitz inhibitors. Therefore, the technology developed in the current invention is helpful to both the agriculture sector and pharma companies to produce these inhibitors in large quantities in a limited time using minimal resources and manpower.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.