Dr Mallesham Bulle

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“Where there’s life there’s phosphorus”  --- Alexander Todd 

I'am a Plant Biotechnology researcher,  Currently, Continuing the research with Plant Protein Phosphatases, which were scarcely studied in plants.

In plants, post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins control all the major cellular processes and pathways by regulating the stability and functional accuracy of the nascent proteins. The importance of PTMs in plant systems can be advocated by a number of studies supporting the role of glycosylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, nitrosylation and sumoylation in providing tolerance to plant systems in adverse environmental conditions by activating/ deactivating the pre-existing cellular components.

The importance of protein phosphatases for upholding healthy life and the cellular collapse that occurs when these enzymes are inhibited is strikingly illustrated by the problem with drinking water and algae blooms.


Some algae produce a toxin (microcystin) that bind to PP2A and PP4 and prevents the enzymes from doing their job in humans, animals and plants. For example in 2014, half a million people in Ohio were without drinking water because of such toxins in Lake Erie. These toxins are a worldwide problem, - also in  Hålandsvannet close to Stavanger, Norway


Protein phosphatases remove phosphate from proteins, and this dephosphorylation will change the properties of proteins regarding their stability, activity and subcellular localization. However, the target proteins being dephosphorylated by PP2A and PP4 are generally not known, and identifying these proteins is an important aim of our research.


Canonical PP2A and PP4 are trimeric proteins consisting of a catalytic, a regulatory, and a scaffolding subunit. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana there are at least 20 scaffolding/regulatory subunits, and their specific function in metabolism and physiology is hardly known. In addition to Arabidopsis, we  also using tomato and Chilli pepper plants in our  research.