Comprehensive Meta-Analysis on the Impact of the MDM2 SNP 309 T>G Gene Variant in Leukemia Susceptibility

Comprehensive Meta-Analysis on the Impact of the MDM2 SNP 309 T>G Gene Variant in Leukemia Susceptibility: Introduction: Genetic factors play a significant role in the development of leukemia. The overexpression of MDM2 is associated with the progression of certain leukemias. This meta-analysis investigates the relationship between the MDM2 SNP 309TG and various forms of leukemia across global populations. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted to retrieve genotyping data from twenty casecontrol studies related to MDM2 SNP 309TG polymorphism and leukemia. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for the association analysis. MetaGenyo software was utilized to conduct statistical analyses in this meta-analysis. Results: The findings indicate a significant association between MDM2 309 SNPTG polymorphism and leukemia in Asian and Caucasian populations. Additionally, this polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), implying that MDM2 may play a role in the pathogenesis of these specific forms of leukemia. Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that MDM2 may represent a susceptibility gene for leukemia risk.

World mental health day

World Mental Health Day was observed for the first time on 10 October 1992. It was started as an annual activity of the World Federation for Mental Health and is officially commemorated every year on October 10th. It is a unified effort to promote greater public awareness and understanding of mental health and mental illness. Every year, thousands of people across the world raise awareness and funds for mental health causes. In view of this for the year 2009, Department of psychiatry, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai conducted a CME program on Molecular basis of psychiatric disorders (Speaker: Dr. L.V.K.S. Bhaskar) and debate on Euthanasia to be legalized or not to be legalized.

Papers published

Genetic affinities among the lower castes and tribal groups of India: inference from Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA

Ismail Thanseem; Kumarasamy Thangaraj; Gyaneshwer Chaubey; Vijay Kumar Singh; Lakkakula VKS Bhaskar; B Mohan Reddy; Alla G Reddy and Lalji Singh

Abstract

Background

India is a country with enormous social and cultural diversity due to its positioning on the crossroads of many historic and pre-historic human migrations. The hierarchical caste system in the Hindu society dominates the social structure of the Indian populations. The origin of the caste system in India is a matter of debate with many linguists and anthropologists suggesting that it began with the arrival of Indo-European speakers from Central Asia about 3500 years ago. Previous genetic studies based on Indian populations failed to achieve a consensus in this regard. We analysed the Y-chromosome and mitochondrial DNA of three tribal populations of southern India, compared the results with available data from the Indian subcontinent and tried to reconstruct the evolutionary history of Indian caste and tribal populations.

Results

No significant difference was observed in the mitochondrial DNA between Indian tribal and caste populations, except for the presence of a higher frequency of west Eurasian-specific haplogroups in the higher castes, mostly in the north western part of India. On the other hand, the study of the Indian Y lineages revealed distinct distribution patterns among caste and tribal populations. The paternal lineages of Indian lower castes showed significantly closer affinity to the tribal populations than to the upper castes. The frequencies of deep-rooted Y haplogroups such as M89, M52, and M95 were higher in the lower castes and tribes, compared to the upper castes.

Conclusion

The present study suggests that the vast majority (>98%) of the Indian maternal gene pool, consisting of Indio-European and Dravidian speakers, is genetically more or less uniform. Invasions after the late Pleistocene settlement might have been mostly male-mediated. However, Y-SNP data provides compelling genetic evidence for a tribal origin of the lower caste populations in the subcontinent. Lower caste groups might have originated with the hierarchical divisions that arose within the tribal groups with the spread of Neolithic agriculturalists, much earlier than the arrival of Aryan speakers. The Indo-Europeans established themselves as upper castes among this already developed caste-like class structure within the tribes.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of the Alcohol Dehydrogenase Genes among the 28 Caste and Tribal Populations of India

B. M. Reddy, A. N. S. Reddy, T. Nagaraja, L.V. K. S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, A. G. Reddy and L. Singh

Int J Hum Genet, 6(4): 309-316 (2006)

ABSTRACT We report single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the four sites in ADH2 and ADH3 genes among the 28 populations from southern parts of Andhra Pradesh, India. A total of 1048 individuals belonging to 28 endogamous populations distributed in the contiguous areas of the 6 southernmost districts of Andhra Pradesh were enrolled for the present study. Genotyping involved PCR and sequencing. We sequenced exon 3 and 9 of ADH2 and exon 8 of ADH3, besides the ADH2 3’UTR- rs17033 (72 bases down stream of ADH2 Arg369Cys). The two sites of ADH2 (Arg47His and Arg369Cys) are found to be completely monomorphic showing only Arg47 and 369Arg (ADH2*1 allele), the remaining two sites were polymorphic. None of the 28 populations of this study deviated significantly from Hardy Weinberg Equilibrium proportions. The allele frequencies do not show any clear trend across socioeconomic groups. The degree of heterogeneity in the genotype frequencies among the hierarchical groups is significant for Ile349Val (df = 12; χ2 = 22.050) and not for the 3’UTR rs17033 (df = 6; χ2 = 9.765). The haplotype distribution among the hierarchical groups is found to be highly homogeneous and statistically nonsignificant (χ2 = 0.248, df = 18). Linkage disequilibrium does not exist between the two-polymorhic loci. The results were interpreted in the light of cultural patterns of the Indian hierarchical society.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in alcohol dehydrogenase genes among some Indian populations

V. R. Rao ^, L. V. K. S. Bhaskar , C. Annapurna , A. G. Reddy , K. Thangaraj , A. Papa Rao , Lalji Singh

Abstract: Seven ADH genes, identified until now, located in the long arm of human chromosome 4, produce seven different isozymes involved in the metabolism of ethanol to acetaldehyde. Of the more than 500 SNPs reported in the coding and non-coding regions of these genes in the world databases, 11 are more extensively studied. Three SNPs, ADH1B Arg47His (Exon3), ADH1B Arg369Cys (Exon9) and ADH1C Val349Ile (Exon8), are functionally validated in terms of phenotype-genotype correlations and are in specific linkage disequilibrium (LD) with non-coding SNPs. However, the frequency of each SNP and configuration of LD varies among populations. The Indian populations studied were conspicuous by the complete absence of African specific allele ADH1B*369Cys, the negligible frequency of East Asian specific ADH1B*47His allele and the presence of a novel SNP ADH1B A3529G (Intron3). The ADH1C*349Ile was the only functional allele polymorphic with a strong LD block in all the populations studied and the high F_st value observed for the non-coding ADH1B Rsa1 variant was in conformity with world populations.

Allelic variation at the NPY gene in 14 Indian populations

L. V. K. S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, A. M. Shah, G. Pardhasaradhi, K. Praveen Kumar, A.G. Reddy, A. Papa Rao, C. J. Mulligan, Lalji Singh and V. R. Rao

Abstract: NPY is a 36-aminoacid peptide expressed in several areas of the nervous system. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptors represent a widely diffused system that is involved in the regulation of multiple biological functions. The human NPY gene is located in chromosome 7. The functional significance of coding Leu7Pro polymorphism in the signal peptide of preproNPY is known. Six hundred and fifty four individuals of 14 ethnic Indian populations were screened for three mutations in the NPY gene, including Leu7Pro. We found the Pro7 frequencies among the studied populations were much higher than in previous studies from other parts of the world. The highest allele frequency of Pro7 was detected in the Kota population in the Nilgiri Hill region of south India and may reflect a past founder event or genetic drift. All populations followed Hardy Weinberg equilibrium for the assayed markers. A total of five haplotypes were observed out of which only two were found to be in high frequency in all populations. No linkage disequilibrium (LD) was observed across the tested alleles in any population with the exception of Leu7Pro and Ser50Ser in the Badaga population (χ2=13.969; p=0.0001).

Anthropological Perspective of the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the NPY and DRD2 Genes among the Socio-Economically Stratified Populations of Andhra Pradesh, India

B. Mohan Reddy, A.N. Srikar Reddy, T. Nagaraju, L.V. K. S. Bhaskar, H.P. Singh, V. M. Naidu, K. Thangaraj, A.Govardhan Reddy, A. Nirmala, Lalji Singh

International Journal of Human Genetics, 07(4): 277-284; 2007

ABSTRACT: We report single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) at the two sites each of NPY and DRD2-Taq1 loci among the 28 populations from southern parts of Andhra Pradesh, India. The average allele frequency at these sites in these populations categorized into upper, middle and lower ranking castes, Muslims and tribes were also carried out in order to test if there is any trend in the allele frequency of some of these SNPs that are implicated in alcoholism. This was felt important as some of these hierarchical low ranking groups and tribes traditionally are known for addictive behavior, especially to alcohol, as against the prohibitive norms among most of the higher ranking castes. The trend in average allele frequency although suggests some association with these traditional behavioral patterns, the case control studies are required before inferring exact nature of this association. The bivariate plot between the NPY-C and Taq1A1 mean allele frequencies in the 28 populations and the lack of significant association between the genotypes of these two SNPs at the individual level rules out any possibility of co-adaptation between these two alleles, despite both being somewhat implicated in alcoholism.

Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of ALDH2 gene in six Indian populations

L. V. K. S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, Michael Osier, A.G. Reddy, A. Papa Rao, Lalji Singh and V. R. Rao

^{Annals of Human Biology, 34(6): 607-619; 2007}

Abstract:

Background: Aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) degrades acetaldehyde metabolized from ethanol. Its encoding gene ALDH2 has a functional polymorphism, ALDH2 Glu487Lys associated with low enzyme activity.

Aim: Since Glu487Lys of this locus is fixed for the functional subunit in all non-East Asian populations; we examined this polymorphism along with G–357A promoter (SacI) and other four intronic loci to identify informative markers to study the role of this gene in Indian populations.

Subjects and methods: A total of 397 males belonging to six ethnic populations, from four linguistic groups of India were included in the present study. No test was performed to detect the phenotype of alcoholism. Genotype of ALDH2*E487K, and G–357A promoter site along with four non–coding Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in the upstream of this polymorphism were determined by PCR and sequencing.

Results: All of the subjects were found to have the common homozygous genotype (ALDH2*1/ALDH2*1) for the E487K site. Allele frequencies of non–coding SNPs varied among populations but genetic variance (Fst) indicated little variation among populations. Only four major SNP-defined haplotypes accounted for almost all chromosomes in all populations. The ancestral haplotype was found in high frequency in all populations and linkage disequilibrium (LD) was strong and highly significant between all sites (P<0.05).

Conclusion: The small number of haplotypes in this region is suggestive of strong LD across the region confirms the global long range LD at around the ALDH2 locus. This study provides a baseline for future research into the role of the ALDH2 locus in alcoholism in Indian populations.

Maternal Footprints of Southeast Asians in North India

Kumarasamy Thangaraj, Gyaneshwer Chaubey, Toomas Kivisild, Vijay Kumar Singh, Selvi-Rani Deepa, Thanseem Ismail, Denise Carvalho-Silva, Mait Metspalu, LVKS Bhaskar, Sharat Chandra, Niharika Adarsh, Abhilasha Verma, Inaganti Amara Jyothi, Chandana Basu Mallick, Nidhi Shrivastava, Ragala Devasena, Babita Kumari, Amit Kumar Singh, Shailendra Kumar Dhar Diwedi, Shefali Singh, Geeta Rao, Pranav Gupta, Kavita Kumari, Afsar Basha, K. R Bhargavi, Albert Lalremruata, Aravind Kumar Gupta, K. K. Reddy. A. Papa Rao, Alla G. Reddy, Richard Villems, Chris Tyler-Smith, Lalji Singh. Hum Hered 2008;66:1-9 (DOI: 10.1159/000114160)

Abstract:

We have analyzed 7,137 samples from 125 different caste, tribal and religious groups of India and 99 samples from three populations of Nepal for the length variation in the COII/tRNALys region of mtDNA. Samples showing length variation were subjected to detailed phylogenetic analysis based on HVS-I and informative coding region sequence variation. The overall frequencies of the 9-bp deletion and insertion variants in South Asia were 1.9 and 0.6%, respectively. We have also defined a novel deep-rooting haplogroup M43 and identified the rare haplogroup H14 in Indian populations carrying the 9-bp deletion by complete mtDNA sequencing. Moreover, we redefined haplogroup M6 and dissected it into two well-defined subclades. The presence of haplogroups F1 and B5a in Uttar Pradesh suggests minor maternal contribution from Southeast Asia to Northern India. The occurrence of haplogroup F1 in the Nepalese sample implies that Nepal might have served as a bridge for the flow of eastern lineages to India. The presence of R6 in the Nepalese, on the other hand, suggests that the gene flow between India and Nepal has been reciprocal.

Genetic heterogeneity in the Indian stocks of seahorse (Hippocampus kuda and Hippocampus trimaculatus) inferred from mtDNA

Mukunda Goswami, Kumaraswamy Thangaaraj, Binod Chaudhary, LVKS. Bhaskar, Achamveettil Gopalakrishnan, M Joshi, Lalji Singh, Wazir Lakra. cytochrome b gene. Hydrobiologia (2009) 621:213–221.

Genetic stock structure analysis of two seahorse species from the south east and south west coasts of India (37 samples of Hippocampus kuda and 39 samples of Hippocampus trimaculatus from Kollam (Kerala) and Mandapam (Tamil Nadu)) was carried out through sequence variation analysis of a 350 bp cytochrome b fragment of mitochondrial DNA. This was taken up to support the breeding and restocking programme of these species in natural habitats for conservation purpose. The occurrence of strong genetic subdivision among the samples, detected by the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), and significant ΦST values indicated that stocks of both the species in the two Indian coasts are distinct. The findings of the present study have important implications for conservation and management of these two species and we recommend stock-specific, breeding assisted sea-ranching programme for H. kuda and H. trimaculatus along the Indian coasts.

Molecular genetic analysis of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene in patients with cardiac arrhythmia
L.V.K.S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, Pallavi Subramanian, P.S Dandapani, Solomon F. D. Paul. . Sri Ramachandra Journal of medicine, August 2008, 8-13.

Background: The heart is powered by an electrical impulse that signals the heart to contract, each at a proper time. Cardiac arrhythmia is any group of conditions in which the electrical activity of the heart is irregular or is faster or slower than normal. In arrhythmia, the heart rate either goes beyond 100 or below 60 beats per minute and this is called tachycardia and bradycardia respectively. NPY is co release with norepinephrine during sympathetic nerve stimulation, and is extensively involved in cardiovascular regulation because it modulates heart rate, cardiac excitability, and ventricular function as well as coronary blood flow.
Materials and Methods: In this study, we included 40 arrhythmia and 46 healthy unrelated individuals to examine the NPY gene polymorphisms. All four exons were screened using PCR and sequencing method.
Results: Three polymorphisms (Leu7Pro, Ser50Ser and A7735G) and one novel mutation (G172T) were obtained. Association was found only between one marker (Ser50Ser) and the arrhythmia. Weak linkage disequilibrium (LD) was seen between all the pairs of SNPs. The LD between Ser50Ser and A7735G was found to be significant. The distribution of haplotypes in arrhythmia and normal was not statistically significant.
Conclusion: NPY gene Leu7Pro polymorphism, which has been reported earlier as a potential cause for many of the cardiac problems, is not associated with arrhythmia in Indian population.

Current concepts in genetics of nonsyndromic clefts.
Jyotsna Murthy, L. V. K. S. Bhaskar. Indian J Plast Surg Jan-June 2009 Vol 42 Issue 1

Nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate is a complex genetic disorder with variable phenotype, largely attributed to the interactions of the environment and multiple genes, each potentially having small effects. Numerous genes have been reported in studies demonstrating associations and/or linkage of the cleft lip and palate phenotypes to alleles of microsatellite markers and single nucleotide polymorphisms within specific genes that regulate transcription factors, growth factors, cell signalling and detoxification metabolisms. Although the studies reporting these observations are compelling, most of them lack statistical power. This review compiles the evidence that supports linkage and associations to the various genetic loci and candidate genes. Whereas significant progress has been made in the field of cleft lip and palate genetics in the past decade, the roles of the genes and genetic variations within the numerous candidate genes that have been found to associate with the expression of the orofacial cleft phenotype remain to be determined.

Dopamine transporter (DAT1) VNTR polymorphism in 12 Indian populations

LVKS Bhaskar, Kumarasamy Thangaraj, Connie J. Mulligan, Samiksha Wasnik, Amrita Nandan, Varun Kumar Sharma, Vishwas Sharma, Alla Govardhana Reddy, Lalji Singh and Vadlamudi Raghavendra Rao., Neurological Sciences 2009, 10.1007/s10072-009-0139-2.

The dopamine transporter (DAT1) is a membrane spanning protein that binds the neurotransmitter dopamine and performs re-uptake of dopamine from the synapse into a neuron. The gene encoding DAT1 consists of 15 exons spanning 60 kb on chromosome 5p15.32. Several studies have investigated the possible associations between variants in DAT1 gene and psychiatric disorders. The present study aimed to determine the distribution of the variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism in the 3′ untranslated region of DAT1 in 12 Indian populations. A total of 471 healthy unrelated individuals in 12 Indian populations from 3 linguistic groups were included in the present study. The analysis was carried out using PCR and electrophoresis. Overall, 4 alleles of the DAT1 40-bp VNTR, ranging from 7 to 11 repeats were detected. Heterozygosity indices were low and varied from 0.114 to 0.406. The results demonstrate the variability of the DAT1 40-bp VNTR polymorphism in Indian populations and revealed a high similarity with East Asian populations.

Neuropeptide Y gene functional polymorphism influences susceptibility to hypertension in Indian population

LVKS Bhaskar , K Thangaraj , A L Non , K Praveen Kumar , G Pardhasaradhi , L Singh & V R Rao Journal of Human Hypertension advance online publication, 24 December 2009; doi:10.1038/jhh.2009.104

Hypertension is an independent determinant of cardiovascular risk, a phenotype that usually has a strong genetic component. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) plays an important role in BP homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible influence of NPY polymorphisms on hypertension in a South Indian population. A total of 252 subjects (132 controls and 120 hypertensives) were analysed for T1128C, G1258A and A7735G polymorphisms in the NPY gene. Body mass index (BMI), pulse, SBP and DBP were assessed. Direct sequencing of PCR products was adopted for genotyping. All three polymorphisms were found to be in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. Additive, dominant and recessive models were tested using multivariate regression analysis. The results of our study reveal a significant association between T1128C and hypertension even after adjusting for age, sex and BMI. The adjusted OR (95|[percnt]| confidence interval) for the recessive model was 0.56 (0.33–0.95). The other two polymorphic sites (G1258A and A7735G) are not associated with hypertension. The Pro7 allele of the T1128C polymorphic site-containing haplotype (CGA) is associated with hypertension (P|[equals]|0.049), but the combined haplotypes did not show any evidence of haplotype–phenotype association (global P|[equals]|0.129). These data support the hypothesis that hypertension is influenced by the NPY T1128C polymorphism.

Neuropeptide Y Gene Polymorphisms are Not Associated With Obesity in a South Indian Population

LVKS Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, G. Pardhasaradhi, K. Praveen Kumar, Lalji Singh, V.R.Rao. European journal of clinical nutrition, 2010

Background: Neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene has been shown to play a critical role in the regulation of satiety, reproduction, central endocrine and cardiovascular systems. Among the primary functions associated with NPY are its acute effects on feeding behavior and energy expenditure.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between obesity and neuropeptide Y gene polymorphisms in a South Indian Population.

Design: Three polymorphisms in NPY (Leu7Pro, Ser50Ser and A7735G) were analysed in 263 individuals of an endogamous Kota population. Based on BMI, they were divided in to two groups. Associations were tested using Logistic regression and haplotype analyses and linkage disequilibrium.

Results: There was no evidence of deviation for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Logistic regression analysis did not reveal significant association with obesity and NPY SNPs in the present study. All three SNPs were in weak LD with low r2 values. Haplotype analysis also did not yield significant association between NPY gene and obesity (Global p=0.756).

Conclusions: Our study did not validate the association between previously implicated SNPs in NPY gene and the Obesity in an Indian population. Population specific validation of putative associations has far reaching implications for the future personal genomics medicine applications.

Population-based case-control study of DRD2 gene polymorphisms and Alcoholism

LVKS Bhaskar , K Thangaraj , A L Non, L Singh & V R Rao. Journal of Addictive diseases. 2010.

There are several independent lines of evidence for genetic contributions to vulnerability to alcoholism. Dopamine is thought to play a major role in the mechanism of reward and reinforcement in response to alcohol. D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) gene has been among the stronger candidate genes implicated in alcoholism. In this study, alcohol use was assessed in 196 randomly selected Kota individuals of Nilgiri Hills, South India. Six DRD2 SNPs were assessed in 81 alcoholics and 151 controls to evaluate the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and alcoholism. Of the three models (dominant, recessive, and additive) tested for association between alcoholism and DRD2 SNPs, only the additive model shows association for three loci (rs1116313, TaqID and rs2734835). Out of six studied polymorphisms, five are in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) forming onesingle haplotype block. Though the global haplotype analysis with these five SNPs was not significant, haplotype analysis using all six SNPs yielded a global P value of 0.033, even after adjusting for age. These findings support the importance of dopamine receptor gene polymorphisms in alcoholism. Further studies to replicate these findings in different populations are needed to confirm these results.

My profile

CURRICULUM VITAE

L.V.K.S. Bhaskar, M.Sc., Ph.D.
(లక్కాకుల వెంకట కామేశ్వర సుబ్రహ్మణ్య భాస్కర్)

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Sri Ramachandra University
Porur, Chennai- 600116
Phone:+91-44-2476 8027 -33 Extn.: 8297
Fax:+91-44-2476 7008
Email: lvksbhaskar@gmail.com

CURRENT POSITION
Assistant professor (on leave 2009-2010), Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India.

EDUCATIONAL AND EMPLOYMENT
Post-Doctoral Fellow, Graduate Institute of Medical Genetics, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (1-1-2009 - date)
Assistant professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India (1-6-2007 - date)
Post-Doctoral Fellow (Human Genetics) at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, India. (7-4-2003 to 26-5-2007)
Ph.D (Physiology and Endocrinology) - Awarded in December 2002 from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.
M.Sc (Zoology) - Got first class in the year 1996, from S.V. University, Tirupati, A.P., India.P.G. Dip. In Fishery Science and Aquaculture - Got Distinction in the year 1995, from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.
B.Sc (Zoology, Botany and Chemistry) - Got first class in the year 1994, from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, India.

AWARDS/MEDALSReceived Prof. K. Pampapathi Rao memorial Gold Medal for the Best Young Scientist research presentation in a National conference conducted by Indian Society for Comparative Animal Physiology during 26th – 28th February 2003.

Received Travel scholarship to Participate and present poster in 4th Indo Australian conference on biotechnology held at QIMR, Brisbane (Qld) Australia during 7th- 9th May 2007

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Ming-Ying Lu, Bhaskar LVKS, Yi-Chu Liao, Pei-Chien Tsai, Yi-Hsin Yang, Suh-Hang Hank Juo. Lack of association between the IL-10 gene polymorphisms and features of the metabolic syndrome. Journal of Investigative Medicine (doi: 10.231/JIM.0b013e3182050a36) (Impact factor: 1.628).

Gopi Chand M., Srinath J., Rao RS., Bhaskar LVKS, Satish Kumar, Rao VR. Association between the M268T polymorphism in the Angiotensinogen gene and hypertension in South Indian Population. Biochemical Genetics 2011 (Accepted, In Press) (Impact factor: 0.878).

Bhaskar LVKS, Thangaraj K, Non AL, Singh L, Rao VR. Population-based case-control study of DRD2 gene polymorphisms and Alcoholism. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 29:475–480, 2010 (Impact Factor: 1.182).

Bhaskar LVKS, Thangaraj K, Pardhasaradhi G, Praveen Kumar K, Singh L, Rao VR. Neuropeptide Y Gene Polymorphisms are Not Associated with Obesity in a South Indian Population. European journal of clinical nutrition, 2010; 64(8):868-872 (Impact factor: 2.686).

Bhaskar LVKS, Thangaraj K, Non, A.L, Praveen Kumar K, Pardhasaradhi G, Singh L, Rao VR. Neuropeptide Y gene functional polymorphism influences susceptibility to hypertension in Indian population. Journal of Human Hypertension, 2010; 24(9):617-622 (Impact factor; 2.637).

Bhaskar LVKS, Thangaraj K, Mulligan CJ, Wasnik S, Nandan A, Sharma VK, Sharma V, Reddy AG, Singh L, Rao VR. Dopamine transporter (DAT1) VNTR polymorphism in 12 Indian populations. Neurol Sci. 2009 Sep 25, DOI: 10.1007/s10072-009-0139-2 (Impact factor; 1.435)

Murthy J and Bhaskar LVKS. Current concepts in genetics of Nonsyndromic clefts. Indian J Plast Surg 2009, 42: 68-81

Mukunda Goswami, Kumarasamy Thangaraj, Binod Chaudhary, L.V.K.S. Bhaskar, Achamveettil Gopalakrishnan, M Joshi, Lalji Singh, Wazir Lakra. Genetic heterogeneity in the Indian stocks of seahorse (Hippocampus kuda and Hippocampus trimaculatus) inferred from mtDNA cytochrome b gene. Hydrobiologia 2009 621:213–221.

L.V.K.S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, Pallavi Subramanian, P.S Dandapani, Solomon F. D. Paul. Molecular genetic analysis of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene in patients with cardiac arrhythmia. Sri Ramachandra Journal of medicine, August 2008, 8-13.

L.V.K.S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, C.J. Mulligan, A. Papa Rao, G. Pardhasaradhi, K. Praveen Kumar, Anish M. Shah, B. Sabeera, A.G. Reddy, Lalji Singh, V.R. Rao. Allelic Variation and Haplotype Structure of the Dopamine Receptor Gene DRD2 in Nine Indian Populations. Genetic Testing. March 1, 2008, 12(1): 153-160.

Kumarasamy Thangaraj, Gyaneshwer Chaubey, Toomas Kivisild, Vijay Kumar Singh, Selvi-Rani Deepa, Thanseem Ismail, Denise Carvalho-Silva, Mait Metspalu, LVKS Bhaskar, Sharat Chandra, Niharika Adarsh, Abhilasha Verma, Inaganti Amara Jyothi, Chandana Basu Mallick, Nidhi Shrivastava, Ragala Devasena, Babita Kumari, Amit Kumar Singh, Shailendra Kumar Dhar Diwedi, Shefali Singh, Geeta Rao, Pranav Gupta, Kavita Kumari, Afsar Basha, K. R Bhargavi, Albert Lalremruata, Aravind Kumar Gupta, K. K. Reddy. A. Papa Rao, Alla G. Reddy, Richard Villems, Chris Tyler-Smith, Lalji Singh. “Maternal Footprints of Southeast Asians in North India”. Hum Hered 2008;66:1-9 (DOI:10.1159/000114160).

L. V. K. S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, Michael Osier, A.G. Reddy, A. Papa Rao, Lalji Singh and V. R. Rao. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms of ALDH2 gene in six Indian populations. Annals of Human Biology, 34(6): 607-619; 2007.

B. Mohan Reddy, A.N. Srikar Reddy, T. Nagaraju, L.V. K. S. Bhaskar, H.P. Singh, V. M. Naidu, K. Thangaraj, A.Govardhan Reddy, A. Nirmala, Lalji Singh. Anthropological Perspective of the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the NPY and DRD2 Genes among the Socio-Economically Stratified Populations of Andhra Pradesh, India. International Journal of Human Genetics, 07(4): 277-284; 2007

L. V. K. S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, Anish M. Shah. G. Pardhasaradhi, K. Praveen Kumar, A.G. Reddy, A. Papa Rao, C. J. Mulligan, Lalji Singh and V. R. Rao. Allelic variation at the NPY gene in 14 Indian populations. Journal of Human Genetics, 52:592–598; 2007.

V. R. Rao, L. V. K. S. Bhaskar, Ch. Annapurna, A. G. Reddy, K. Thangaraj A. Papa Rao and Lalji Singh. Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH) genes among Some Indian populations. American Journal of Human Biology, 2007: 19-338-344.

B. M. Reddy, A. N. S. Reddy, T. Nagaraja, L. V. K. S. Bhaskar, K. Thangaraj, A. G. Reddy and L. Singh. Single Nucleotide polymorphisms of the Alcohol Dehydrogenase Genes among the 28 caste and Tribal Populations of India. International Journal of Human Genetics, 2006. 6(4): 309-316.

Ismail Thanseem, Kumarasamy Thangaraj, Gyaneshwer Chaubey, Vijay K Singh, L.V. K.S. Bhaskar, Mohan B Reddy, Alla G Reddy and Lalji Singh. Genetic Affinities Among the Lower Castes and Tribal Groups of India: Inference from Y Chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA. BMC Genetics, 2006, 7: 42 (http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2156/7/42)

L. V. K. S. Bhaskar. moult-modulating effect of serotonin in the crab Oziotelphusa senex senex (FABRICIUS). Bio-Science Research Bulletin. 2006, 22 (2), 105-109.

L.V.K.S. Bhaskar. Effects of biogenic amines on the regulation of ovarian development in the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (DE MAN, 1879). Bulletin of Pure & Applied Sciences. 2006, 25A (2), 135-143.

Venkatrayulu Ch, Komali M, L. V. K. S. Bhaskar, Kalarani V and Reddy D.C. “Hepatogonal changes in the female freshwater field crab, Oziotelphusa senex senex(Fabricius) in response to cadmium toxicity” Proc. of AP Akademi of Sciences, 2005. 9 (1) 29-34.

L.V.K.S. Bhaskar and M.Rajeswara Rao. “Inhibition of rat brain nitric oxide synthase activity by phosalone in vitro” Bulletin of pure and applied science, 2000. 19A (2) 117-119.

M. Leela siva parvathi, L.V.K.S. Bhaskar and D. Chandra Sekhara Reddy. “Impact of phosalone on long term exposure and recovery of ammonia and urea excretion in fresh water fish, Tilapia mossambica (PETERS)” Journal of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Monitoring, 1999. Vol.9 (4) 221-224.
MEMBERSHIP IN SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS:
Life member, Indian Society for Comparative Animal Physiology (ISCAP).
Life member, Ethological Society of India (ESI).
Life member, Indian Society of Human Genetics (ISHG).
SERVICE FOR THE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY.
Member SRU Scientific committee, 2007-present
Member QIPST (JCI) SRU, 2007-present

PAPERS PRESENTED IN CONFERENCES/SYMPOSIA:
1. Participated and presented in “APSI-ETHICON Accreditation course on CLEFT LIP AND PALATE”, from June 14th to 15th 2008.
2. Participated and presented in “7th national conference of Indian society of cleft lip, palate and craniofacial anomalies (ISCLPCA)”, from February 29th to 2nd 2008.
3. Participated and presented in “Fifth international symposium on Genetics, Health and Disease” held at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, from February 14th to 23rd 2008
4. Participated in “6th Asia- Pacific Conference of Cleft Lip and Palate " held at Goa, India during 2nd to 5th September 2007.
5. Participated and presented poster in 4th Indo Australian conference on biotechnology “Genes and the Environment in Human Disease" held at Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Brisbane (Qld) Australia during 7th- 9th May 2007.
6. Participated in XXXII Annual Conference of Indian Society of Human Genetics and International Symposium on "Deconstructing Human Disease: The Genomic Advantage" held at Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, INDIA during 14th- 16th February 2007.7. Participated in Indo-US Workshop on. ‘Mitochondrial Research and Medicine’ held at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, INDIA during 22nd- 24th January 2007.
8. Participated in EMBO Workshop on 'Human Evolution and Disease’ held at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, INDIA during 6th – 9th December 2006.
9. Participated in Indo-German Lecture Workshop on “Behavioural Neurobiology” held at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, INDIA during 18th – 22nd September 2006.
10. Participated and presented paper in the 9th ADNAT Convention & 30th Indian society of Human Genetics Conference on “Molecular Medicine and Health” conducted at CCMB Hyderabad. 20th February 2005.
11. Participated in 8th Association for the promotion of DNA fingerprinting & other DNA technologies (ADNAT) Convention: Symposium on “Comparative and Functional Genomics” conducted at CCMB Hyderabad, 20th February 2004.
12. Abstract for poster published in the “5th HUGO Pacific Meeting & 6th Asia-Pacific Conference on Human Genetics” held at Singapore during 17th - 20th November 2004.
13. Participated and presented a paper in the “20th Annual Conference of Indian Society for Comparative Animal Physiology” held at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati during 26th -28th February 2003.
14. Participated and presented a paper in the “National Conference on Recent Trends in Aquatic Biology”, held at Nagarjuna University, Guntur during 29th -31th January 2003.
15. Participated and presented a paper in the “National symposium on physiology and Biochemistry of cultivable crustaceans”, held at University of Madras during 18th -19th February 2002.
16. Participated in the one day seminar on “Internet and e-Governance” organized by The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers, on December 23, 2000.17. Participated and presented a paper in the “26th Conference of the Ethological Society of India”, held at Madurai during 13th -15th December 2000.
18. Participated and presented a paper in “National Seminar on Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture for Nutritional Security” held at Chennai during 30th November to 2nd December 2000.
19 . National Seminar on “Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture for Nutritional Security” held at Chennai during 30th November to 2nd December 2000.
TECHNIQUES KNOWN:· DNA RNA isolation methods· Protein purification and biochemical characterization· Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)· Immunoprecipitions and ELISA· Southern, western and northern blotting· Isolation of Plasmid DNA· Genetic transformation in bacteria· Restriction digestion of DNA· DNA sequencing and STR Analysis
· Gene expression profiling and SNP genotyping through Real Time-PCR· Gene expression profiling and SNP genotyping through microarray.· Silver staining of sequencing gels· TLC and HPLC techniques

TRAINING PROGRAMMES:
1. Attended “National Workshop On perspectives In Genetics A Practical Approach” sponsored by UGC, New Delhi, DSA- SAP in Department of Genetics, Osmania University, Hyderabad-India during February 1-13, 2003.
2. Attended training workshop on “Applications of bioinformatics” conducted by University of Agricultural Sciences College of Fisheries, Mangalore-India during March 21-23, 2002.
3. Attended training programme on “Feeds and Principles of Aquaculture Nutrition” conducted by Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhubaneswar – India during May 15-22, 2001.
SOFTWARE KNOWN/USED
PHYLIP, ARLEQUIN, CLUSTAL, GENEDOC, GENETOOL, MEGA, (Population Genetics)Sequencing Analysis, Auto assembler, GeneMapper, SeqEd, Gene Scan, Genotyper (for Genotyping)
SPSS, PLINK, HAPLO, HAPLOTYPER, HPLUS, HAPLOT3, THESIAS UNPHASED (estimating the haplotypes and Linkage disequilibrium)
Computer Platforms Known: Windows, DOS and Macintosh