CSIR - Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology
The Innovation Engine of India
Sonal Nagarkar Jaiswal
Scientist-E
Developmental Biology
+91-040-27192574
sonalnj[at]ccmb[dot]res[dot]in
Research Interests
Neural stem cells self-renew to maintain their pool, yet differentiate into enormous functionally and morphologically distinct neurons and glia. Proper regulation of self-renewal and differentiation has profound consequences in development and homeostasis. Decreased neurogenesis could lead to defects in brain development resulting in neurodevelopmental disorders like microcephaly, epilepsy and autism. On the other hand, an increase in self-renewal could lead to malignancies such as cancer. We are interested in identifying the mechanisms and the molecular players underlying neural stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. To study these processes, we use Drosophila developing brain and human neuronal stem cells as model systems. We utilize state of the art genome editing tools and a diverse set of cell and molecular biology approaches.
Selected Publications
A.A. Kakade,S. Gupta,A. Johnson,R. Varghese,H. Adicherla, & S. Nagarkar-Jaiswal, Inseparable/IER3IP1 are essential for cytokinesis in Drosophila neuroblasts and human cells, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (39) e2415361122, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2415361122 (2025)
Cheramangalam RN, Anand T, Pandey P, Balasubramanian D, Varghese R, Singhal N, Nagarkar Jaiswal N#, Jaiswal M# (2023) Bendless is essential for PINK1-Park mediated Mitofusin degradation under mitochondrial stress caused by loss of LRPPRC. eLife.88318.3
Nagarkar-Jaiswal S.#, Manivannan SN, Zuo Z., Bellen HJ#. Flip-Flop, a facile, cell cycle-independent, conditional gene inactivation strategy differentially tagging wild-type and mutant cells eLife 6:e26420
Skinner SO*, Xu H*, Nagarkar-Jaiswal S, Freire PR, Zwaka TP, Golding I. Single-cell analysis of transcription kinetics across the cell cycle. eLife 5:e12175
Nagarkar-Jaiswal S*, DeLuca S*, Lee PT, Lin WW, Pan H, Zuo Z, Lv Z, Spradling AC, Bellen HJ (2015). A genetic toolkit for tagging intronic MiMICs containing genes. eLife 4:e08469
Carrillo CA*,Ozkan E*, Menon KP*, Nagarkar-Jaiswal S, Jeon M, Bellen HJ, Garcia CK, Zinn K. Control of synaptic connectivity in Drosophila by a network of IgSF surface proteins. Cell 163:1770-1782 (*equal contribution)
(# Co-corresponding authors)(*equal contribution)
Education & Experience
P.G:
Industrial Microbiology ; Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, India ; 2003
Ph.D:
Chromosome dynamics during cell divisions in Drosophila melanogaster ; University of Bayreuth, Germany ; 2010
Post.Doc:
Genetics ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA ; 2012-2017
Stem cells ; Center for Cell and Gene Therapy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA ; 2010-2012
Team Members
Sonal Nagarkar Jaiswal
Scientist-E
Nandan J
Senior Research Fellow
Aishwarya Kakade
Senior Research Fellow
Sachin Gupta
Senior Research Fellow
Priyanka Pandey
Senior Research Fellow
Landeri Yeshwitha
Junior Research Fellow
Apoorv Agarwal
Junior Research Fellow
Andrea Johnson
Project Assistant - I
Ayesha Javed
Project Assistant - I
Meghna U Shenoy
Project Associate-I
Publications
Title
Journal
Year
Inseparable/IER3IP1 are essential for cytokinesis in Drosophila neuroblasts and human cells
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122 (39) e2415361122,
2025
Bendless is essential for PINK1-Park mediated Mitofusin degradation under mitochondrial stress caused by loss of LRPPRC
PLoS Genet 19(4): e1010493
2023
DYRK1A interacts with Tuberous Sclerosis complex and promotes mTORC1 activity.
eLife12:RP88318.
2023
Methods for Creating Fly Models to Understand the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Neurological Diseases
Insights into Human Neurodegeneration: Lessons Learnt from Drosophila, 37-54
2019
Flip-flop Mediated Conditional Gene Inactivation in Drosophila.
Bio-protocol 9(3): e3157 (* Corresponding author)
2019
Transsynaptic interactions between IgSF proteins DIP-? and Dpr10 are required for motor neuron targeting specificity in Drosophila.
Elife. 2019 Feb 4;8. pii: e42690
2019
Stereotyped terminal axon branching of leg motor neurons mediated by IgSF proteins DIP-? and Dpr10.
Elife. 2019 Feb 4;8. pii: e42692
2019
Methods for Creating Fly Models to Understand the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Neurological Diseases
Book: Insights into Human Neurodegeneration: Lessons Learnt from Drosophila
2019
Ari-1 regulates myonuclear organization together with Parkin and is associated with aortic aneurysms.
Developmental Cell 45:226-244.
2018
Neuron-subtype-specific expression, interaction affinities, and specificity determinants of DIP/Dpr cell recognition proteins.
Neuron 6, P1385-1400.E6
2018
Loss of Nardilysin, a chaperone for a-Ketoglutarate Dehydrogenase, causes neurodegeneration in flies and humans and promotes mTORC1 activation.
Neuron 93:115-131
2017
Flip-Flop, a facile, cell cycle-independent, conditional gene inactivation strategy differentially tagging wild-type and mutant cells.
eLife 6:e26420 (*Corresponding author)
2017
Single-cell analysis of transcription kinetics across the cell cycle.
eLife5:e12175
2016
The E3 ligase Ubr3 regulates Usher syndrome and MYH9 disorder proteins in the auditory organs of Drosophila and mammals.
eLife 5:e15258
2016
A library of MiMICs allows tagging of genes and reversible spatial and temporal knockdown of proteins in Drosophila.
eLife 4:e05338
2015
A voltage gated calcium channel regulates lysosomal fusion with endosomes and autophagosomes and is required for neuronal homeostasis.
PLoS Biology 13:e1002103
2015
A genetic toolkit for tagging intronicMiMICs containing genes.
eLife4:e08469
2015
Complementary Expression of Ig superfamily ligands and receptors in synaptic pairs in the Drosophila visual system.
Cell163:1770-1782
2015
Control of synaptic connectivity in Drosophila by a network of IgSF surface proteins.
Cell163:1770-1782
2015
The Cohesin Subunit Rad21 Is Required for Synaptonemal Complex Maintenance, but Not Sister Chromatid Cohesion, during Drosophila Female Meiosis.
PLoS Genetics 10(8):e1004540 (*equal contribution)
2014
Functional dissection of the Drosophila melanogaster condensin subunit Cap-G reveals its exclusive association with condensin I.
PLoS Genetics 9(4):e1003463.
2013