Sturgeons are commonly known as living fossils or ancient giants that diverged from ancient pre-Jurassic teleost lineage approximately ~300 million years ago (Mya). Sturgeons' 85% species are listed as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Sturgeons' reproductive traits such as delay in sexual maturation and periodic interrupted spawning cycles make their rehabilitation more difficult. However, among sturgeon species, the sterlet (Acipenser ruthenus) has shortest sexual maturation period. Therefore, it can be used as a host in surrogate production in sturgeons. Dnd1 was discovered as germ-plasm specific maternal RNA that exclusively expresses in vertebrate germ-line. Various studies have confirmed that dnd1 protein is essential for Primordial Germ Cells (PGCs) migration; and disruption of the PGCs migration affects fish fertility. Dnd1 deficient PGCs in zebrafish transdifferentiate into somatic cells. Previously our colleagues used morpholino oligonucleotide to knock down dnd1 in sterlet to produce germ cell free host for surrogate production. CRISPR/Cas9, a cutting-edge genome editing technology is being used in different research fields; here we thus aimed to harness the power of aforementioned technology to knock out dnd1 in sterlet. No or less number of PGCs were observed in CRISPR/Cas9 injected embryos as compared to control group injected with FITC-dextran only in order to label PGCs. Furthermore, we compared three different sterilization techniques viz., CRISPR/Cas9 and morpholino oligonucleotide (MO) targeting dnd1 and ultraviolet irradiation to eliminate PGCs in sterlet. Our data showed higher hatching and survival rates in CRISPR/Cas9, UV irradiation, and MO knockdown groups, respectively. Interestingly, some embryos treated with CRISPR/Cas9 displayed malformations. We presume that malformations were due to off-target effects and/or due to double injections i.e., injection of CRISPR/Cas9 at animal pole to knock-out the dnd1 and FITC-dextran at vegetal pole. Taking advantages of Iron Oxide nanoparticles (IONs) applications in various burgeoning research fields, we opted to use them to label PGCs in sturgeons. We injected IONs combined with FITC-dextran into vegetal pole of sturgeon embryos, and have successfully labelled the PGCs. Injection of IONs in sturgeons did not affect hatching and survival rates of embryos. Interestingly at 5 dpf, significantly less number of FITC-dextran labelled PGCs in FITC-dextran/IONs injected group were observed when compared with PGCs that were labelled with FITC-dextran only. Less number of PGCs in IONs injected group presumably could be because of interference posed by IONs to PGCs during the course of their migration. This is first study of its kind where germ cells of any species have been labelled by using nanoparticles. In conclusions, this thesis provides information regarding role of Dnd1 protein as potential germ-cell molecular marker in various fish species, and its use for conservation of fish species. Dnd1 knockout sterlet can be potentially used as sterile host for surrogate production in sturgeons. Moreover, labelling of PGCs in sturgeons by using IONs can thus open new avenues to study interactions of nanoparticles with cells that will ultimately help in hyperthermia where cells/tissues are exposed to electromagnetic field increasing temperatures to activate their death. After insertion of IONs to PGC in sturgeon embryo, it could be possible to isolate PGC using a magnetic field or to apply hyperthermia for host sterilization purpose.

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Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGCs) are non-selective cation channels that were first identified in vertebrate photosensory and olfactory neurons. Although the physiological roles and biophysical properties of animal CNGCs have been well studied, much less is known about these channels in plants. The Arabidopsis genome encodes twenty putative CNGC subunits that are postulated to form channel complexes that mediate various physiological processes involving abiotic and biotic stress responses, ion homeostasis and development. The identification of Arabidopsis autoimmune CNGC mutants, such as defense no death class (dnd1 and dnd2), and the constitutive expressor of pathogenesis related genes 22 (cpr22) implicate AtCNGC2, 4, 11 and 12 in plant immunity. Here, I present a comprehensive study of the molecular mechanisms involved in CNGC-mediated signaling pathways with emphasis on pathogen defense. Previously, a forward genetics approach aimed to identify suppressor mutants of the rare gain-of-function autoimmune mutant, cpr22, identified key residues that are important for CNGC subunit interactions and channel function. First, I present a structure-function analysis of one of these suppressor mutants (S58) that revealed a key residue in the cyclic nucleotide binding domain involved in the stable regulation of CNGCs. Second, I present a new suppressor screen using AtCNGC2 T-DNA knockout mutants that specifically aimed to identify novel downstream components of CNGC-mediated pathogen defense signaling. In this screen, I successfully isolated and characterized the novel Arabidopsis mutant, repressor of defense no death 1 (rdd1), and expanded this study to demonstrate its involvement in AtCNGC2 and AtCNGC4-mediated signal transduction. Additionally, I demonstrated for the first time, the physical interaction of AtCNGC2 and AtCNGC4 subunits in planta. The findings presented in this thesis broaden our current knowledge of CNGCs in plants, and provide a new foundation for future elucidation of the structure-function relationships and signal transduction mediated by these channels.

Cyclic nucleotide-gated channels (CNGCs) are non-selective cation channels that were first identified in vertebrate photosensory and olfactory neurons. Although the physiological roles and biophysical properties of animal CNGCs have been well studied, much less is known about these channels in plants. The Arabidopsis genome encodes twenty putative CNGC subunits that are postulated to form channel complexes that mediate various physiological processes involving abiotic and biotic stress responses, ion homeostasis and development. The identification of Arabidopsis autoimmune CNGC mutants, such as defense no death class (dnd1 and dnd2), and the constitutive expressor of pathogenesis related genes 22 (cpr22) implicate AtCNGC2, 4, 11 and 12 in plant immunity. Here, I present a comprehensive study of the molecular mechanisms involved in CNGC-mediated signaling pathways with emphasis on pathogen defense. Previously, a forward genetics approach aimed to identify suppressor mutants of the rare gain-of-function autoimmune mutant, cpr22, identified key residues that are important for CNGC subunit interactions and channel function. First, I present a structure-function analysis of one of these suppressor mutants (S58) that revealed a key residue in the cyclic nucleotide binding domain involved in the stable regulation of CNGCs. Second, I present a new suppressor screen using AtCNGC2 T-DNA knockout mutants that specifically aimed to identify novel downstream components of CNGC-mediated pathogen defense signaling. In this screen, I successfully isolated and characterized the novel Arabidopsis mutant, repressor of defense no death 1 (rdd1), and expanded this study to demonstrate its involvement in AtCNGC2 and AtCNGC4-mediated signal transduction. Additionally, I demonstrated for the first time, the physical interaction of AtCNGC2 and AtCNGC4 subunits in planta. The findings presented in this thesis broaden our current knowledge of CNGCs in plants, and provide a new foundation for future elucidation of the structure-function relationships and signal transduction mediated by these channels.