New Delhi :
Indian scientists have discovered extraordinary molecules literally from the cold.
Recent findings include anti-cancer molecules from organisms in the Antarctica and life-saving anti-freeze molecules from the Arctic environments. All frigid environments where life’s boundaries are pushed to the fullest just to survive.
A new effort has also been launched by the Ministry of Earth Sciences to look for similar new molecules but from the high altitude Himalayan region.
Life needs special adaptation mechanisms to survive the extreme cold polar environments where the temperatures for most parts of the year can remain well below zero degrees Celsius and ice and snow remain a reality all the time. Yet even in these hostile environments microorganisms thrive and survive but evolution has provided them with special protective covers that help them tide over the freezing cold and frigid conditions.
Indian expeditions to the Antarctica and the setting up of a specialised institution the National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research (NCAOR) in Goa have started yielding some results.
Shiv Mohan Singh, a scientist at the NCAOR, has reported the finding of a new molecule called ‘thelebolan’ that has anti-cancer properties. The molecule was extracted from a fungus ‘Thelebolus microsporus’ which was collected from the Larseman Hills not far from the Indian permanent station in the Antarctica.
The ‘thelebolan’ molecule has been characterised and it helps stop the multiplication of cancer cells. Along with scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur the team is working to understand the full spectrum of the benefits that ‘thelebolan’ could offer.
Finding novel drugs from plants is not new, this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to a Chinese researcher Tu Youyou who discovered an anti-malaria compound ‘artemisinin’ from a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine. The Chinese researcher investigated more than 2,000 plants before hitting on a blockbuster anti-malarial drug, which has helped save millions of lives. This Nobel Prize has boosted the morale of boffins like Singh.
According to Singh, ‘thelobolan’ also helps boost immunity and could help people suffering from HIV/AIDS. The fungus when grown can be used as a ‘nutraceutical’ to boost wellness says Singh, adding that IIT-Kharagpur has made biscuits where the extracts are used and they are being tested in the laboratory. Full-scale exploitation is still far away as clinical trials still need to be undertaken.
Another important discovery from the NCAOR includes the identification of eight new bacterial strains that have anti-freeze properties. This discovery was made from the glaciers in the Arctic region where India has recently set up a field station. The anti-freeze molecules provide the ability to the organisms to survive the extreme cold temperatures where water would freeze killing the bacteria.
The special protective proteins work by either helping to lower the freezing point of water or sometimes help in avoiding the formation of ice crystals. Once ice crystals are formed it usually leads to death. The anti-freeze compounds have potentially important applications, like in increasing the shelf life of human organs or helping to store blood for longer durations.
Once an organ is harvested from a brain dead person, there is always a scramble to try to get it across soonest from the donor to the recipient. One often hears of green signal free corridors being designated in cities for the transport of a harvested heart to clear way for an ambulance speeding across town from one hospital to another. As it is, in India organ donors are few and far between, so if the shelf life of the donated organs can be increased it could prove to be a boon for many who wait on long waiting lists like for finding suitable matching kidneys.
Singh says the anti-freeze compounds identified by his team in collaboration with the Japanese could prove to be a big boon. Singh collected a broth of bacteria that were growing in very tiny pools of water found on the tops of glaciers in the Arctic region. Harvested from there these bacteria were then grown in the laboratory on a special medium and the anti-freeze proteins were then isolated from these cell cultures.
The small protein has now been sequenced and Singh and his team hopes to clone it into a fast growing yeast so that in the laboratory pilot scale quantities of the special protein can be extracted. Singh finds that this protein provides that special protective cover that are needed to make the bacteria survive the extreme cold environment.
Singh says commercial exploitation of discoveries from the bio-resources of the Arctic region has its own challenges as special laws governing the exploitation of global commons are stringent and could hinder in easy commercialisation.
(Written by Pallava Bagla)
