The time kinetics of deoxyhemoglobin polymerization were studied in 1.8M, 1.5 and 1 M potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.25) respectively as described by Adachi and Asakura (1979a, b) using a Cary 400 spectrophotometer equipped with a Peltier temperature controller. Deoxygenation of the hemoglobin sample was ensured by passing moist gaseous nitrogen over the sample in an airtight cuvette and by addition of sodium dithionite. The polymerization of the resultant deoxyhemoglobin samples was initiated by a temperature jump from 4 to 30 oc within 10 sec and the progress of the reaction was followed by monitoring turbidity changes at 700 nm. The delay time was calculated from the kinetic traces

The plates were kept in incubator gently and the colony formation was monitored every week. Media (500μl) was added to the plates every 4th-5th day to avoid drying. Colonies formed in soft agar photographed were taken without staining, under a microscope in light field

Agar solution was prepared in a sterile 50ml Schott Duran Bottle and boiled in microwave until fully dissolved and kept at 55°C to 65°C. Master Mix with the rest of the components of bottom agar was made in a sterile corning 50ml tube prewarmed at 55°C and agar solution was added. The solution was once vortex briefly and then added (2ml) carefully to each well avoiding air bubbles. The plates were left undisturbed in laminar flow hood until the agar set fully. Two days before final assay, the bottom agar plates were kept in tissue culture incubator for equilibration. On the day of assay the following mix was prepared for Top Agar 4 dishes 5 dishes1.media with FBS, L-glutamine and Pen-Strep 4.8 ml 6 ml 2.fetal bovine serum 1.8 ml 2.5 ml 3.sterile water 1.8 ml 2.5 ml 4.agar 1.8% (1.8 g/100mLs) 1.8 ml 2.5 ml 5. cell suspension 1.0 X 105/ dish 100 to 350 μl 100 to 350 μl 6. Total 10.2 ml 13.5 ml Top agar mix without cells was first prepared and kept at 42°C. The cells were then trypsinized and re-suspended after counting in final volume of 100μl to 200 μl. Cells were then mixed with top agar and solution was quickly poured over the bottom agar.

For soft agar assays 2x104, (A549) or 1x105 cells (E-10) were used in 1.5ml top agar. For preparing bottom agar plates (0.64% final con. of agar), a following mix was prepared for five dishes. 1.2X media with FBS, L-glutamine and Pen-Strep 10 ml 2.fetal bovine serum 5 ml 3.sterile water 1 ml 4.noble agar 1.8% (1.8 g/100mLs) 9 ml 5.Total 25 m

f. 5 μl of water was then spotted on each spot for 30 sec and removed using Whatman filter paper strips. This step was repeated once. g. 1-2 μl of SAP matrix was then applied to each spot and allowed to dry. h. The chip was then placed in the SELDI machine

a. 5 μl of 10 mM HCl was added to each spot on the chip and removed after 5 min. using Whatman filter paper strips. b. Washing was given by spotting 3 μl of water for 30 sec on each spot followed by removal using Whatman filter paper strips. This step was repeated two times. c. 10 μl of low stringency/ high stringency buffer was then added to the spot and kept in humid chamber for 5 min. followed by removal using Whatman filter paper strips. d. 3 μl of sample prepared in low stringency/ high stringency buffer was then added to the spot and incubated in humid chamber for 30 min. e. Washed the spot with 5 μl of low stringency buffer/ high stringency buffer/ buffer of pH 3.0/ pH 5.0/ pH 7.0 for 30 sec and removed using Whatman filter paper strips. This step was repeated five times.

d. 3 μl of sample prepared in low stringency buffer was added to the spot activated with low stringency buffer and incubated in humid chamber for 30 min. and removed using whatman strips. (same protocol was repeated for the samples prepared in high stringency buffer on spots activated with high stringency buffer). e. Stringent washings were given to each spot with 5 μl of low stringency buffer/ high stringency buffer/ buffer of pH 3.0/ pH 5.0/ pH7.0 for 30 sec and removed using Whatman filter paper strips. f. 1-2 μl of SAP matrix was added to each spot and allowed to dry. g. The chip was then placed in the SELDI machine

One set of cell extracts was prepared in low stringency buffer by mixing cell extracts and low stringency buffet in 1:1 ratio and another in high stringency buffer. b. 10 μl of low stringency/high stringency buffer was added to the spots on the chip and incubated in a humid chamber for 5 min. c. Buffer was removed using Whatman strips without touching the spot surface. This step was repeated once

b. 5 μl of ACN + TFA (25% ACN in PBS + 0.1% TFA) was added to the spot surface and removed after 30 sec. c. 5 μl of cell lysate sample was then spotted on the chip and kept in a humid chamber for 30 min. d. Stringent washes were given by spotting 5 μl water on the spot surface for 30 sec and removing using Whatman filter paper strips. This was followed with a 25% ACN wash or three washes with 25% ACN or 50% CAN or 75% ACN. e. Washing was performed by spotting 5 μl of water for 30 sec followed by removal using Whatman filter paper strips. f. Dried chip at room temperature. g. 1-2 μl of SAP matrix (5 mg of matrix + 200 μl ACN + 200 μl of 1% TFA) was then spotted on the chip surface and allowed to dry. h. The chip was then placed in the SELDI machine

5 μl of water was added to each spot on the chip and removed after 30 sec using Whatman filter paper strips. Care was taken not to touch the spot surface. This step was repeated once

5 μl of 0.1% TFA was applied to the spots on the SEND array and removed after 30 sec using Whatman paper (care was taken not to touch the spot surface). b. 5 μl of cell lysate sample was spotted on the SEND array and incubated in a humid chamber for 10 min. Removed after 30 min. c. 5 μl of 0.1% TFA was then added and removed after 30 sec. d. 2 μl of 25% ACN in 0.1% TFA was added to the spots and allowed to dry. e. The chip was then placed in the SELDI machine

Trypsinization: The decolourized bands were dried in a vacuum dryer for 1 hr until the gel pieces were completely dry. 5 μl of 0.1 μg/μl trypsin and 25 μl of 25 mM NH4HCO3 (pH 8.0) were then added to the dried gel pieces. The tubes were sealed with parafilm and kept in a water bath at 37 ̊C, overnight. Care was taken that the gel pieces in the tubes did not dry up. If the gel pieces got dried, 25 μl of NH4HCO3 was added on top. Peptide extraction: A 1:1 mixture of ACN:5% TFA in water was added (30 μl) to overnight tryptic digests and kept for 30 min. The elutant was removed in a separate low binding tube. The extraction step was repeated once more. The elutant was then dried in a vacuum dryer (1-2 hr) and reconstituted in 5 μl of 25% ACN in 0.1% TFA

Destaining of gel bands: The protein bands of differentially expressed proteins were cut out from the gel and put in low binding microfuge tubes. 150 μl of 50:50 Acetonitrile:Ammonium bi carbonate pH 8.0 (NH4HCO3) was then added and kept under shaking for 30 min. Coloured liquid was discarded and the washing step repeated until the bands decolourised

12% resolving gel (for 25 ml)Water = 8.2 ml 30% Acrylamide = 10.0 ml 1.5 mM Tris (pH 8.8) = 6.3 ml 10% SDS = 0.25 ml 10% APS = 0.25 ml TEMED = 0.01 ml 5% stacking gel (for 10 ml)Water = 6.8 ml 30% Acrylamide = 1.7 ml 1.5 mM Tris (pH 6.8) = 1.25 ml 10% SDS = 0.1 ml 10% APS = 0.1 ml TEMED = 0.01 ml

A double cylinder gradient former was used with 12% poly acrylamide gel mix in the inner cylinder and a 3% polyacrylamide gel mix in the outer cylinder that was stirred using a magnetic bead on a magnetic stirrer. A pump was connected to the flow tube and the flow rate adjusted at 5-8 to cast a 12-3% gradient gel. A 5% stacking gel was used. After the protein samples were run on the gradient gel, it was stained in instant blue over night under shaking. 3% resolving gel (for 25 ml)Water = 15.68 ml 30% Acrylamide = 2.5 ml 1.5 mM Tris (pH 8.8) = 6.3 ml 10% SDS = 0.25 ml 10% APS = 0.25 ml TEMED = 0.02 ml

1μl of the cell lysate was mixed with 200 μl of 5X Bradford reagent and 800 μl of water. O.D was measured at 595 nm. Standard curve of BSA was plotted using various dilutions of BSA protein by Bradford method. Protein estimation of the cell lysate samples was performed using the standard curve equation y=0.0695x + 0.0329 μg/μl

microfuge tubes and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and were stored at ─80 ̊C. Protein estimation was performed simultaneously with one of these aliquots

The strains were grown to stationary phase in 500 ml LB supplemented with ampicillin (100 μg/ml) overnight. Cells were pelleted at 2100g for 30 min at 4 ̊C and dissolved in 5 ml of 1X PBS with 2X protease inhibitor and 3 mM DTT. Cells were lysed using French Press at 1500 psi for three cycles. The lysed cells were pelleted at 20,000g for 45 min at 4 ̊C. Clear supernatant was collected in sterile 2 ml

These experiments were undertaken in the laboratories of Dr. Sylvie Rimsky and Dr. Malcolm Buckle at the Ecole Normale Superioure, Cachan, Paris (France)

Methods for SELDI (Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization)

A single plaque of λ contains approximately 105-106 pfu/ml. The method of propagation of λ from a single plaque was as follows. The contents of a single isolated plaque were drawn into a 1-ml pipette tip and dispensed into 0.2 ml of LB broth. After addition of a drop of chloroform, the contents were vortexed and centrifuged. The clear supernatant was mixed with 50 μl of λ-sensitive cells and incubated for 20 min at room temperature for adsorption. 10 ml of Z-broth supplemented with 5 mM MgSO4 was then added to the infection mixture, and incubated at 37°C with shaking until lysis. The lysate thus obtained usually contained 109pfu/ml

The method used was essentially the same as that described for preparation of P1 lysate, except that the λ-sensitive C600 cells used for infection were grown in LB broth containing 0.4% maltose and 10 mM MgSO4. The lysate thus prepared was checked for supE+revertants by plaquing on both supE (C600) and supE+strains (MG1655) using various dilutions of the lysate. To be used for experimental purposes, a phage titre of the order of 1010 to 1011 on the supE strain and around four orders of magnitude lower on the supE+strain, indicating very less frequency of supE+ revertants in the lysate is ideal

cellswere collected and washed with chilled sterile water.1 OD600cells were resuspendedin 20 μl chilled10%TCA solution containing 8 mM EDTA (pH 8.0) and incubated at room temperature for 15-20 min.Followingincubation, cellsuspension was centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 5 minat 4 ̊Cand supernatant was transferred to a fresh 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tube. 10 μl of this supernatant fraction was diluted 75-foldwith ATPassay mix dilution buffer provided with the kit. 50 μl of diluted suspension was added to anequal volume of ATPassay mix (Sigma # FLAAM) which containedfirefly luciferase and luciferin with MgSO4, EDTA, DTT and BSA inTricine buffer.Luminescence was measured inluminometer (Varioskan flash-3001,Thermo Scientific). Total ATP was quantified usingpurified ATP as the standardand expressed in moles/OD cells

ATPconcentrationin yeast cells was measuredby luminometricluciferase-luciferinbased assayusingATPbioluminescent kit(Sigma # FLAA).Briefly, log-phase yeast

Estimation of total glycogen in cells was performed asdescribed previously (Parrou et al., 1997) with slightmodifications.Briefly, YPD medium-grown C. glabratacells were harvested, washed once with 1 ml ice-cold waterandresuspendedin 250 μl sodium carbonate(0.25 M)solution. After incubation at95 ̊C for 4 hin water bath with occasional stirring, cell suspension was cooled and pH of the suspension was adjusted to 5.2 by adding 150 μl 1 M acetic acid. Tothis suspension,600 μl 0.2M sodium acetatewas added and cell suspension was incubated with 1-2 U/ml of α-amyloglucosidase from A.niger(Sigma #A7420)at 57 ̊C for overnight with constant agitation.Resultant glucose liberated by α-amyloglucosidase digestion was collected in the supernatant fraction and quantifiedby phenol-sulphuric acid methodof carbohydratedetermination.For quantification, commercially available purified glucose was used as a standard and total glycogen incells was expressed as μg/2 x 107cells tonormalizeagainstcell density

Trehalose from C. glabratacells was extracted by trichloro acetic acid (TCA)solutionas described previously (Lillie et al.,1980). Cells grown in YPDmediumwere collected at different time pointsof growth and washed thrice with ice-cold sterile water. Cells were immediatelystored at-20 ̊Ctill further use.For trehalose isolation, 10-20 OD600cells were thawed in 500 μl TCA (0.5 M) solutionon ice and incubated at room temperaturefor 1 h.Supernatant fraction was collected by sedimenting cells at 14,000 rpm for 5 minat 4 ̊C.TCA extractionwas repeated withcells once more and the resultingsupernatant was mixed with the earlier fraction.Extractedtrehalose was measuredby phenol-sulphuric acid methodof carbohydratedeterminationwithcommercially available purified trehalose(Becton, Dickinson and Co.) as a standard.Total trehalosecontent was normalized to the cell densityand expressed as μg/2 x 107cells

QIAGEN QIAquick Gel extraction kit containing required buffers, spin columns and collection tubes was used to extract and purify DNA from agarose gels. Digested DNA sample was resolved on 1-1.2% agarose gel and gel piece containing desired fragment was cut ona UV-transilluminator. DNA fragment was purified as per the kit manufacturer’s instructions

To prepareelectrocompetent cells, a single colony of E. coli BW23473 strain from a freshly-streaked LB agar plate was inoculated in 50 ml LB liquid medium. Culture was incubated at 37°C for 14 h with continuous shaking at 200 rpm. 25 mlovernight-grown E. coliBW23473 culture was transferred to 500 ml LB liquid medium and incubated at 37°C till the OD600 reached to 0.4. Post incubation, cultures were transferredto ice and centrifuged at 1,000g for 15 minat 4°C. Cells were washed twice with 500 ml ice-cold sterile water, three times with 250 ml ice-cold 10% glycerol solution and resuspended in 1 ml 10% glycerol solution. After absorbance measurement, cell suspension was normalized to final cell density of 3X1010cells/ml and dispensed in 50 μl aliquots to sterile ice-cold 1.5 ml microcentrifuge tubes. Aliquots were snap frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at -70ºC

Secretory alkaline phosphatase (SEAP) assay: For SEAP assay, the culture supernatant was analyzed for SEAP activity essentially as per the Clontech kit protocol (Palo Alto, CA). Briefly, cells were transiently co-transfected with Lipofectamine 2000 transfection reagent, 0.5 μg of required plasmid DNA(s) with the protein of interest or empty vector, 0.5 μg of reporter plasmid containing NF-κB binding site cloned upstream of heat-stable SEAP (designated asNF-κB-SEAP)and 0.5 μg of green fluorescence protein (GFP) expression plasmid (Clonetech) in Opti-MEM media.After 6 h of transfection, cells were washed and cultured for 12 h in complete media, followed by treatment with different inducers. GFP positive cells were then counted to ensure similar transfection efficiency. At the end of treatment, cell culture-conditioned medium was harvested and 25 μl of medium was mixed with 20 μl of 5X buffer (0.5 M Tris, pH 9 and 0.5% bovine serum albumin) in a total volume of 100 μl in a 96-well plate followed by incubation at 65°C for 30 min. The plate was chilled on ice for 2 min and 50 μl of 1 mM 4-methylumbelliferylphosphate (MUP, substrate) was added to each well and incubated at 37 °C for 2 h. The activity of SEAP was assayed on a 96-well fluorescent plate reader (Fluoroscan, Lab Systems, MA) with excitation set at 360 nm and emission at 460 nm. The average number (± SD) of relative fluorescent light units for each transfection was then determined and reported as fold activation with respect to empty SEAP-transfected cells.Luciferase (Luc) assay:The cell pellet was lysed and extract was analysed as per Promega kit protocol.Briefly, cells wereco-transfected with Lipofectamine with 0.5 μg of reporter plasmid containing p53 binding site cloned upstream of luciferase (designated as p53-luciferase) and 0.5 μg of GFP constructs. After 6 h of transfection, cells were washed and cultured for 12 h, followed by treatment with different inducers of apoptosis. GFP positive cells were then counted.Cellswere pelleted down and lysed using the lysis buffer. The samples were freeze-thawed twice by storing them at -70oC to ensure total lysis. The supernatant,obtained by centrifuging the same at 11,000 rpm for 2 min was transferred to a fresh tube. About 100 μl of the substrate (Firefly luciferin, Promega) was added to the supernatant and light emission wasmeasured in luminometer by using a delay time of 2 sec andread time of 10 sec.The values were calculated as fold of activation over vector-transfected value

apparatus.Membranes were neutralised in 2X SSC, and denatured plasmids were cross-linked to Hybond-N+membranes usingaUV cross linker at 2000 J/inch square energy for 2 min

+610),end 5’ETS (+611 to +952),25S (+5270 to +5630) and NTS2(gifted byDr. Susan J Baserga) (Gallagheret al., 2004); ACT1 cDNA (+175 to +701) cloned into TOPO vector; pUC12 plasmid containing 5S rDNA construct (giftedby Dr. Purnima Bhargava). Empty TOPO plasmid and genomic DNA extracted from wild type yeast were used as controls. Plasmids and gDNA were extracted, quantitated and denatured in alkaline denaturing solution. 10 μg of each plasmid and gDNAin replicates weredenaturedin alkali, blotted on a Hybond N+membrane using a 96-well Dot Blot

The following plasmids (Table 2.2)were used as probes to detect the transcribed RNA (Fig. 2.1). The TOPOplasmids containing rDNA start (+1 to +177), 5’ETS (+351 to

Cells were transfectedwith various combinations of plasmids and treated with cycloheximide (50ug/ml) 24hrs.post-transfection. Cells were harvested at different time points, and the protein levels were determined by using the standard protocol for western blotting/immunoblotting

concentarion in the samples were determined based on their peak area against standard oxalic acid plot.For GC-MS analysis, N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) derivatization was performed with the dried HPLC fraction of samples as well as standards as described previously (Šťávová et al., 2011). Briefly, 200 μl BSTFA, and 100 μl hexane were added to the sample, and incubated at 50 °C for 70 min. GC analyses were performed using a Shimazdu GP 2010 plus instrument equipped with an autosampler, and a split injector.Separations were accomplished using a 30-m long DB-5 capillary column, 0.25 mm internal diameter (I.D.) at a constant helium flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. Samples (10 μL) were injected with a split ratio of 10 into the column at 100 °C. The final column temperature program started at 100 °C and attained final temperature 280°C with a gradient increase of 5 °C/min. The MS data (total ion chromatogram,TIC) was acquired in the full scan mode (m/z of 50–500) at a scan rate of 1000 amu using the electron ionization (EI) with an electron energy of 70 eV. The acquired spectrum was searched against standard NIST-05 library

Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzicola strains were grown overnight in PS medium supplemented with appropriate antibiotics. 0.2 % of the overnight grown culture was reinoculated in 250 ml of fresh PS medium supplemented with 50 μM 2,2’-dipyridyl, and allowed to grow till OD600reached 1. Cultures were centrifuged to obtain cell free culture supernatant, concentrated on vaccum evaporator, and freeze dried at regular time intervals to remove the water completely. Oxalic acid was estimated from the dried supernatant by using Agilent 1100 series HPLC system as described previously with slight modifications (Ding et al., 2006). In brief, dried supernatant fractions of different cultures were dissolved in mobile phase of pH 2.7, and allowed to stand for 3 h for the precipitation of humic substances. These samples were filtered through membrane filter (porosity, 0.45 μm), and 20 μl volume of the filtrate was injected into the Agilent C18 (4.6 mm× 250 mm× 5 μm) column. The mobile phase used was 10 mM KH2PO4-CH3OH (95:5, pH 2.7), and the samples were separated by isocratic elution at 0.8 mL/min at 26°C temperature. Standard oxalic acid was detected in similar way in mobile phase (pH 2.7 at 210 nm) with retention time (RT) of 6.7 min. Likewise, oxalic acid in the test samples were also detected at 210 nm with RT 6.7

fluorophore-conjugated phalloidin (Alexa Fluor 488 or rhodamine) for 45 min, followed by DAPI staining for 2 min. Cover slips were mounted onto glass slides using Fluoromount G (Southern Biotech) or Vectashield (VectorLabs),and imaged using an LSM 710 laser confocal-anisotropymicroscope (Zeiss, Zen acquisition software, 40x 1.3 N.A. objective) for 15 min spreading,or LSM 510laser confocal microscope (Zeiss, LSM acquisition software, 63x 1.4 N.A. objective) for 24 hspreading.To measure the cell spread area for serum depleted cells (0.2% serum), images captured at identical zoom settings were analyzed using the Image J software (NIH)as follows:thresholdvalues were set to define the cell edge and amaskwas then createdfor each cellto get the totalcellarea(with arbitrary units)within the mask.For 15 min spreading (10% serum) and 24 h spreading, the exact spread area was calculated based on pixel dimensions during image acquisition

Cell spreading assays were done as described previously (Balasubramanianet al., 2010).Briefly, cells were cultured in complete medium (10% FBS) or subjected to serum starvation (0.2% FBS for 12-14 h), trypsinized, counted using a hemocytometer, and held in suspension in the same medium containing 1% methylcellulose at 37°Cand 5% CO2in a 50 mL tube in a slanted position. After 90 min, cells werepelleted down at 1350 rpm for 8 min at 4°Cand the supernatant was discarded leaving 5 mL at the bottom. Cells were dislodged or displaced gently without touching the walls of the tubes, which might lead to activation of adhesion dependent signalling. Now, cells were washed once with excess of cold media (4°C)and one more time with warm media (37°C). A day before the experiments coverslips were coated with fibronectin (2 μg/mL)overnight at 4°Cand washed once with PBS before plating the cells. Cell suspension equivalent to 105cells was plated onto each fibronectin (2 μg/mL) coated coverslip and allowed to spread for 15 min or24 hin serum depleted (0.2% FBS) or complete medium. At each time point, unadhered cells were washed off with PBS and the coverslips were fixedwith 3.5-4% paraformaldehyde for 20 minat room temperature. After fixation coverslips are washed thrice with PBS and cells were permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100 for 5 min,followed by blocking with 5% BSAfor 30 min at room temperature. Fixed cells were stained with