High-impact paper co-authored by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham Scientist throws light on sex determination among vertebrates

by Suman Gupta

• The paper has been published in Physiological Reviews, a high-impact journal of the American Physiological Society, with an impact factor of 37.3.

• Dr. Bindhu Paul-Prasanth, Center for Nanosciences & Molecular Medicine, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, collaborated with four scientists from Japan for research

• The review is a comprehensive analysis of 686 publications on sex determination research

• The clinical highlights provided by the authors can contribute to the understanding of the evolutionary puzzles in speciation and species diversity

NEW DELHI, February 15, 2022: A team of eminent scientists from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and universities in Japan have collaborated to make a significant effort to unravel the mysterious interplay between nature and the living world to sustain life on this planet. The scientists have carried out comprehensive review of an extensive literature dealing with sex determination, sexual differentiation and sexual plasticity among vertebrates, ranging from fishes to reptiles and mammals, and come up with important postulates regarding the development and existence of the two different sexes, the male and female. The joint paper has been published in “Physiological Reviews,” a high-impact journal of the American Physiological Society, with an impact factor of 37.3.

For the research, Dr. Bindhu Paul-Prasanth, Center for Nanosciences & Molecular Medicine, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in India collaborated with Dr. Yoshitaka Nagahama (Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, National Institute of Basic Biology, Japan), Dr. Tapas Chakraborty (South Ehime Fisheries Research Center, Ehime University, Japan), Dr. Kohei Ohta (Laboratory of Marine biology, Kyushu University, Japan) and Dr. Masaru Nakamura (Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of Ryukyus, Japan).

The ability to make a copy through reproduction is what demarcates the living world from the non-living world. The plants and animals make it happen mainly in two ways, asexual and sexual. In asexual reproduction, organisms make xerox copies of themselves, while in sexual reproduction, organisms are provided a unique opportunity to prepare their species to adapt to the constantly changing environment through mixing and shuffling of genomes. Nature executes sexual mode of reproduction through division of members belonging to sexually reproducing species into two forms, male and female. Humankind has always been curious regarding the biological differences between these two forms. Scientists involved in research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying sexually dichotomous development of organisms, including humans, have thrown light into a myriad of strategies that enable organisms to attain two different sexual identities.

Said Dr. Bindhu Paul-Prasanth: “This review is a comprehensive analysis of more than 680 publications on sex determination research, in which the clinical highlights provided by the authors can contribute to the understanding of the evolutionary puzzles in speciation and species diversity. It puts forth several important observations such as that the constantly evolving and devolving nature of sex determination as a biological process ensures the survival, fitness and biodiversity in this planet, and that sex determination is an interactive outcome of an individual with its environment. Another significant observation is that identification of self either as a male or female, as dictated by the chromosome constitution of an organism, is one of the goals of sex determination and sexual differentiation, which is indispensable for achieving reproductive success both at the individual and species levels.”

Dr. Bindhu Paul-Prashanth is the only author from India who has contributed to this prestigious review article of the American Physiological Society. The review paper has received a high impact factor of 37.3, an indication of the authority and importance of the published work.

About Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham : http://www.amrita.edu Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is a multi-campus, multidisciplinary Institution of Eminence accredited by NAAC.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (http://www.amrita.edu) is a very young University (18 years of age) growing at a rapid pace in terms of its research and academic programs. Today we are ranked in the Top 100 universities in the World for its Impact as per THE 2021 Impact Rankings) (http://www.amrita.edu/rankings). In India, as per the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF), we are ranked as the 4th best university amongst all public and private universities. Recently we were also the youngest University in India to be accredited with the highest grade of A++ by National Accreditation Council (NAAC), Government of India

 Amrita partners with academic, industry and governmental institutions across the world to accomplish human-centered, translational, and groundbreaking research. To date, Amrita has more than 500 collaborations from more than 200 signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). Some of Amrita’s partners include Harvard University, Columbia University, King’s College London, KTH – Royal Institute of Technology, VU Amsterdam, the British Geological Society, University of Oxford, Italian National Research Council, Deakin University, and the University of Tokyo. Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (Amma), a world-renowned humanitarian leader is the founder, Chancellor, and guiding light of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. Amma’s words, thoughts, and vision for education and research have shaped the university’s mission and vision.