The focus of the laboratory is to understand the role of a small G-protein, Rab11, in development and differentiation. A novel P-insertion in the Rab11 locus has been created in Drosophila, the gene has been cloned and Rab11+ transgenic flies have been developed. The phenotypes of Rab11 mutations ranged from eye defects, sterility to lethality during various developmental stages. Altered activity of Rab11 affects central nervous system, myogenesis, cell adhesion and dorsal closure during embryonic stages of development. Genetic interaction of Rab11 with JNK and ERK pathway components have been established.
The roles of some of the pattern forming genes as well as tumour suppressor genes in Drosophila development have been studied and a new tumour suppressor mutation, lethal(3)tumourous brain, has been identified. Mapping and characterization of this gene is in progress.
Further, a large scale screening for human papilloma virus, a causative agent for cervix cancers, in the female population from eastern UP has been undertaken. Studies on interaction of viral genes and some of the host genes are in progress to decipher the initiation and aggravation of cervix cancer.

Number of students received Ph D degrees : Ten
Number of students presently working for Ph D degree : Seven

List of 10 major Publications:

1. Mukherjee A, Lakhotia S C, Roy J K. l(2)gl gene regulates late expression of segment polarity genes in Drosophila. Mech Dev 51, 227-234 (1995)
2. Emerald B S, Roy J K. Homeotic transformation in Drosophila. Nature 389, 684 (1997)
3. Emerald B S, Roy J K. Organising activities of engrailed, hedgehog, wingless and decapentaplegic in the genital discs of Drosophila melanogaster. Dev Genes Evol 208, 504-516 (1998)
4. Alone D P, Tiwari A K, Mandal L, Li M, Mechler B M, Roy J K. Rab11 is required during Drosophila eye development. Int J Dev Biol 49, 873-879 (2005)
5. Sasikumar S, Roy J K. Developmental expression of Rab11, a small GTP-binding protein in Drosophila epithelia. Genesis 47:32-39 (2009)
6. Tiwari A K, Roy J K. Mutation in Rab11 results in abnormal organization of ommatidial cells and activation of JNK signaling in Drosophila eye. Eur J Cell Biol 88, 445-460 (2009)
7. Bhuin T, Roy J K. Rab11 is required for cell adhesion, maintenance of cell shape and actin-cytoskeleton organization during Drosophila wing development. Int J Dev Biol 55, 269-279 (2011)
8. Das Purkayastha B P, Roy J K. Molecular analysis of oncogenicity of the transcription factor, BRN3A, in cervical cancer cells. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 137, 1859-1867 (2011)
9. Srivastava S, Gupta S, Roy J K. High prevalence of oncogenic HPV-16 in cervical smears of asymptomatic women of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India: A population-based study. J Biosci 37, 63-72 (2012)
10. Singh D, Roy J K. Rab11 plays an indispensable role in the differentiation and development of the indirect flight muscles in Drosophila. Plos One 8, e73305 (2013)

1. Lakhotia S C, Roy J K, Kumar M. Chromosoma 72, 249-255 (1979)
2. Lakhotia S C, Roy J K. Experimental Cell Research 132, 423-431 (1981)
3. Roy J K, Lakhotia S C, Mello M L S. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 20, 791-796 (1982)
4. Lakhotia S C, Roy J K. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 21, 357-362 (1983)
5. Roy J K, Lakhotia S C. Indian Journal of Experimental Biology 22, 287-291 (1984)
6. Roy J K, Mukherjee A. Biology Education 8, 233-244 (1991)
7. Lakhotia S C, Roy J K. Genome 38, 148-152 (1995)
8. Lakhotia S C, Roy J K, Kar-Chowdhuri S. Journal of Biosciences 20, 175-195 (1995)
9. Roy J K, Majumdar K C, Pathak S, Khar A. Multiple specific chromosomal alterations in a rat ascetic histiocytoma `AK-5�. Anticancer Res 15, 1-6 (1995)
10. Mukherjee A, Lakhotia S C, Roy J K. l(2)gl gene regulates late expression of segment polarity genes in Drosophila. Mech Dev 51, 227-234 (1995)
11. Mukherjee A, Roy J K. Mutations in tumour suppressor genes, l(2)gl and l(2)gd, alter the expression of wingless in Drosophila. J Biosci 20, 333-339 (1995)
12. Emerald B S, Roy J K. Homeotic transformation in Drosophila. Nature 389, 684 (1997)
13. Emerald B S, Roy J K. Organising activities of engrailed, hedgehog, wingless and decapentaplegic in the genital discs of Drosophila melanogaster. Dev Genes Evol 208, 504-516 (1998)
14. Alone D P, Tiwari A K, Mandal L, Li M, Mechler B M, Roy J K. Rab11 is required during Drosophila eye development. Int J Dev Biol 49, 873-879 (2005)
15. Tiwari A K, Alone D P, Roy J K. Rab11 is essential for fertility in Drosophila. Cell Biol Int 32, 1158-1168 (2008)
16. Sasikumar S, Roy J K. Developmental expression of Rab11, a small GTP-binding protein in Drosophila epithelia. Genesis 47:32-39 (2009)
17. Bhuin T, Roy J K. Rab11 is required for embryonic nervous system development in Drosophila. Cell Tissue Res 335, 349-356 (2009)
18. Bhuin T, Roy J K. Rab11 is required for myoblast fusion in Drosophila. Cell Tissue Res 336, 489-499 (2009)
19. Tiwari A K, Roy J K. Mutation in Rab11 results in abnormal organization of ommatidial cells and activation of JNK signaling in Drosophila eye. Eur J Cell Biol 88, 445-460 (2009)
20. Bhuin T, Roy J K. Rab11 regulates JNK and Raf/MAPK-ERK signaling pathways during Drosophila wing development. Cell Biol Int 34, 1113-1118 (2010)
21. Singh N K, Purkayastha B D, Roy J K, Banik R M, Yashpal M, Singh G, Malik S, Maiti P. Nanoparticle-induced controlled biodegradation and its mechanism in poly (ε-caprolactone). ACS Appl Matter Interfaces 2, 41-47 (2010)
22. Mishra A, Purkayastha B P D, Roy J K, Aswal V K, Maiti P. Tunable properties of self-assembled polyurethane using two-dimentional nanoparticles: Potential nano-biohybrid. Macromolecules 43, 9928-9936 (2010)
23. Singh N K, Purkayastha B D, Roy J K, Banik R M, Gonugunta P, Misra M, Maiti P. Tuned biodegradation using poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-valerate) nanobiohybrids: Emerging biomaterials for tissue engineering and drug delivery. J Materials Chem 21, 15919-15927 (2011)
24. Bhuin T, Roy J K. Rab11 is required for cell adhesion, maintenance of cell shape and actin-cytoskeleton organization during Drosophila wing development. Int J Dev Biol 55, 269-279 (2011)
25. Das Purkayastha B P, Roy J K. Molecular analysis of oncogenicity of the transcription factor, BRN3A, in cervical cancer cells. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 137, 1859-1867 (2011)
26. Mishra A, Das Purkayastha B P, Roy J K, Aswal V K, Maiti P. Nanoparticle Controlled Self-Assembly in varying chain extended polyurethanes as potential Nanobiomaterials. J Phys Chem C 116, 2260-2270 (2012)
27. Chongtham Rajlakshmi, Pandey B L, Roy J K, Rai A K, Bhattacharyya A An unusual phenotypic and genotypic expression in F2 generation following one stage zidovudine exposure during pregnancy and lactation- an experiment in mice. J Toxicol Sci 37, 51-61 (2012)
28. Srivastava S, Gupta S and Roy J K. High prevalence of oncogenic HPV-16 in cervical smears of asymptomatic women of eastern Uttar Pradesh, India: A population-based study. J Biosci 37, 63-72 (2012)
29. Bhuin T and Roy J K. Rab11 is required for maintenance of cell shape via beta-PS integrin mediated cell adhesion in Drosophila. Int J Mol Cellul Med 1, 185-190 (2013)
30. Singh D, Roy J K. Rab11 plays an indispensable role in the differentiation and development of the indirect flight muscles in Drosophila. Plos One 8, e73305 (2013)
31. Srivastava S, Shahi U P, Divya A, Gupta S, Roy J K. Distribution of HPV genotypes and involvement of risk factors in cervical lesions and invasive cervical cancer: a study in an Indian population. Int J Mol Cellul Med 3, 61-73 (2014)
32. Das Purkayastha B P, Roy J K. Cancer cell metabolism and developmental homeodomain/POU domain transcription factors: A connecting link. Cancer Let 356, 316-319 (2014)
33. Bhuin T, Roy J K. Rab proteins: the key regulators of intracellular vesicle transport. Exp Cell Res 328, 1-19 (2014)
34. Bhuin T, Roy J K. Rab11 in disease progression. Int J Mol Cellul Med 4, 1-8 (2015)
35. Banerjee A, Roy J K. Study of bantam miRNA expression in brain tumour resulted due to loss of polarity modules in Drosophila melanogaster. J Genet (2016)
36. Rai A, Singha A K, Sonkar A K, Prakash A, Roy J K, Nagrajan R, Mishra L. A smart switchable module for detection of multiple-ions via turn-on dual-optical readout and their cell imaging studies. Dalton Transactions (2016)