This study shows that CDM1 is essential for meiotic progression and genome integrity in Arabidopsis male meiosis, independent of SPO11-induced DNA breaks.

bioRxiv · Oct 10, 2025 · PreprintPlant Biology

Sporophyte Directed Gametogenesis via the Ubiquitin Proteasome System

Prakash Sivakumar, Saurabh Pandey, A. Ramesha, Jayeshkumar Narsibhai Davda, Aparna Singh, Chandan Kumar, Hardik Gala, Veeraputhiran Subbiah, Harikrishna Adicherla, Jyotsna Dhawan, Lakshminarayanan Aravind, Imran Siddiqi

The paper shows that male gametophyte development in Arabidopsis is controlled by the sporophyte through SHUKR, a gene that represses ubiquitination genes involved in post-meiotic gametogenesis.

Nature Plants · Mar 14, 2025Peer-reviewedPlant Biology

Improved Validation of Protein Interactions usingBicistronic BiFC (Bi2FC)

Prakash Sivakumar, Vijayaraj Vaishnavi, Kothuri Gayatri, Gayathri R. Satheesh, Imran Siddiqi

The paper introduces an improved BiFC method for validating protein interactions in plants by incorporating bicistronic expression and self-cleaving peptides to better assess expression and interaction status.

Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants · Jul 1, 2024Peer-reviewedMolecular Biology

The FANCC-FANCE-FANCF complex is evolutionarily conserved and regulates meiotic recombination

Dipesh Kumar Singh, Rigel Salinas-Gamboa, Avinash Kumar Singh, Birgit Walkemeier, Jelle Van Leene, Geert De Jaeger, Imran Siddiqi, Raphaël Guérois, Wayne Crismani, Raphaël Mercier

The paper identifies FANCC as an anti-CO gene conserved from vertebrates to plants and shows it regulates meiotic recombination with FANCE and FANCF.

Nucleic Acids Research · Dec 14, 2022Peer-reviewedGenetics

An Inexpensive RT-PCR Endpoint Diagnostic Assay for SARS-CoV-2 Using Nested PCR: Direct Assessment of Detection Efficiency of RT-qPCR Tests and Suitability for Surveillance

Jayeshkumar Narsibhai Davda, Keith Frank, Sivakumar Prakash, Gunjan Purohit, Devi Prasad Vijayashankar, Dhiviya Vedagiri, Karthik Bharadwaj Tallapaka, Krishnan Harinivas Harshan, Archana Bharadwaj Siva, Rakesh K. Mishra, Jyotsna Dhawan, Imran Siddiqi

The paper develops an inexpensive RT-nPCR assay for SARS-CoV-2 that matches RT-qPCR performance and highlights low detection efficiency in real-world RT-qPCR testing.

bioRxiv · Jun 8, 2020 · PreprintMolecular Biology