Cajanus Scarabaeoides Yellow Mosaic Virus, a New Bipartite Begomovirus Causing Yellow Mosaic Disease in Cajanus scarabaeoides in India.

Yellow mosaic disease of Cajanus scarabaeoides (L.) Thouars (CsYMD) was observed in up to 46% of C. scarabaeoides plants in the mungbean, urdbean, and pigeon pea fields from 22 districts of Chhattisgarh State, India, during 2017 to 2019. The symptoms were characterized by yellow mosaic on green leaves and yellow discoloration of leaves in advanced stages of the disease. Severely infected plants showed shortened internodal length and reduced leaf size. CsYMD was transmissible to healthy C. scarabaeoides and C. cajan by whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). The infected plants developed typical yellow mosaic symptoms on their leaves within 16 and 22 days of inoculation, respectively, suggesting a begomovirus etiology. Molecular analysis revealed that this begomovirus has a bipartite genome composed of DNA-A (2,729 nucleotides) and DNA-B (2,630 nucleotides). Sequence and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the nucleotide sequence of the DNA-A component had the highest identity of 81.1% with DNA-A of Rhynchosia yellow mosaic virus (RhYMV; NC_038885), followed by mungbean yellow mosaic virus (MN602427; 75.3%). DNA-B had the highest identity of 74.0% with DNA-B of RhYMV (NC_038886). As per ICTV guidelines, this isolate had <91% nucleotide identity with DNA-A of any of the begomoviruses reported; so, it is proposed as a new begomovirus species, tentatively named C. scarabaeoides yellow mosaic virus (CsYMV). After agroinoculation with DNA-A and DNA-B clones of CsYMV, all Nicotiana benthamiana plants developed leaf curl symptoms along with light yellowing symptoms 8 to 10 days after inoculation (DAI), while ∼60% of the C. scarabaeoides plants developed yellow mosaic symptoms similar to those observed in the field 18 DAI, thus fulfilling Koch's postulates. From these agro-infected C. scarabaeoides plants, CsYMV was transmissible to healthy C. scarabaeoides plants by B. tabaci. Apart from these hosts, CsYMV also infected and caused symptoms in mungbean and pigeon pea.

Microbial biopesticides for insect pest management in India: Current status and future prospects.

The biopesticide industry in India is undergoing rapid change, reflecting increased global trade in agricultural commodities, a changing regulatory environment and evolving consumer preferences. Currently biopesticides comprise ≈ 5% of the Indian pesticide market, with at least 15 microbial species and 970 microbial formulations registered through the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC). As of 2017, over 200 products based on entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana, B. brongniartii, Metarhizium anisopliae s.l., Lecanicillium lecanii and Hirsutella thompsonii) and nematicidal fungi (Purpureocillium lilacinum and Pochonia chlamydosporia) are registered for use against various arthropods and plant parasitic nematodes. Regarding bacteria, over 30 products based on Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) subsp. kurstaki are registered against bollworms, loopers and other lepidopterans, while 12 based on Bt subsp. israelensis and three with Bt subsp. sphaericus have been used against mosquitoes. Two viruses are registered, namely Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (22 products) and Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrovirus (5 products) for use against bollworms and armyworms. Four entomopathogenic nematode species are sold in Indian market. These include long-lasting wettable powder formulations of Heterorhabditis indica developed by the ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru which have been distributed on a large scale to control white grubs and other sugarcane pests. Biopesticide research on the subcontinent is at a relatively early stage, but evolving rapidly, and focusing on indigenous entomopathogens. Despite onerous regulation, quality-control issues and limited large-scale production facilities, investment in domestic fermentation technologies, improved delivery systems, and promotion of biological control through private and public initiative will increase the share of microbial biopesticides in the country.

MR Enterography of Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Endoscopic Correlation.

Crohn disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two main forms of idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). CD is a transmural chronic inflammatory disorder that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract in a discontinuous distribution. UC is a mucosal and submucosal chronic inflammatory disease that typically originates in the rectum and may extend proximally in a continuous manner. In treating patients with CD and UC, clinicians rely heavily on accurate diagnoses and disease staging. Magnetic resonance (MR) enterography used in conjunction with endoscopy and histopathologic analysis can help accurately diagnose and manage disease in the majority of patients. Endoscopy is more sensitive for detection of the early-manifesting mucosal abnormalities seen with IBD and enables histopathologic sampling. MR enterography yields more insightful information about the pathologic changes seen deep to the mucosal layer of the gastrointestinal tract wall and to those portions of the small bowel that are not accessible endoscopically. CD can be classified into active inflammatory, fistulizing and perforating, fibrostenotic, and reparative and regenerative phases of disease. Although CD has a progressive course, there is no stepwise progression between these disease phases, and various phases may exist at the same time. The endoscopic and MR enterographic features of UC can be broadly divided into two categories: acute phase and subacute-chronic phase. Understanding the endoscopic features of IBD and the pathologic processes that cause the MR enterographic findings of IBD can help improve the accuracy of disease characterization and thus optimize the medication and surgical therapies for these patients. ©RSNA, 2016.

An apomixis-linked ORC3-like pseudogene is associated with silencing of its functional homolog in apomictic Paspalum simplex.

Apomixis in plants consists of asexual reproduction by seeds. Here we characterized at structural and functional levels an apomixis-linked sequence of Paspalum simplex homologous to subunit 3 of the ORIGIN RECOGNITION COMPLEX (ORC3). ORC is a multiprotein complex which controls DNA replication and cell differentiation in eukaryotes. Three PsORC3 copies were identified, each one characterized by a specific expression profile. Of these, PsORC3a, specific for apomictic genotypes, is a pseudogene that was poorly and constitutively expressed in all developmental stages of apomictic flowers, whereas PsORC3b, the putative functional gene in sexual flowers, showed a precise time-related regulation. Sense transcripts of PsORC3 were expressed in the female cell lineage of both apomictic and sexual reproductive phenotypes, and in aposporous initials. Although strong expression was detected in sexual early endosperm, no expression was present in the apomictic endosperm. Antisense PsORC3 transcripts were revealed exclusively in apomictic germ cell lineages. Defective orc3 mutants of rice and Arabidopsis showed normal female gametophytes although the embryo and endosperm were arrested at early phases of development. We hypothesize that PsORC3a is associated with the down-regulation of its functional homolog and with the development of apomictic endosperm which deviates from the canonical 2(maternal):1(paternal) genome ratio.

Isolation of bacteriophages infecting Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and genomic characterization of novel phage vB_XooS_NR08 for biocontrol of bacterial leaf blight of rice.

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease of rice caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is one of the most destructive diseases worldwide in rice-growing regions. The Ineffectiveness of chemicals in disease management has increased the interest in phage therapy. In this study, we isolated 19 bacteriophages, infecting Xoo, from a rice field, which belonged to phage families Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, and Podoviridae on the basis of electron microscopy. Among 19 phages, Phage vB_XooS_NR08, a member of the Siphoviridae family, expressed antibacterial activity against all Xoo strains tested and did not lyse X. campestris and other unrelated bacterial hosts. Phage NR08 showed more than 80% viability at a temperature range of 4°C-40°C, pH range of 5-9, and direct exposure to sunlight for 2 h, whereas UV light and chemical agents were highly detrimental. In a one-step growth curve, NR08 has a 40-min latent period, followed by a 30-min burst period with a burst size of 250 particle/bacterium. The genome of NR08 is double-stranded DNA, linear having a size of 98,812 bp with a G + C content of 52.9%. Annotation of the whole-genome sequence indicated that NR08 encodes 142 putative open reading frames (ORFs), including one ORF for tRNA, namely, trna1-GlnTTG. Comparative genome analysis of NR08 showed that it shares maximum similarity with Pseudomonas phage PaMx42 (40% query coverage, 95.39% identity, and acc. Length 43,225) and Xanthomonas phage Samson (40% query coverage, 96.68% identity, and acc. Length 43,314). The average alignment percentage (AP) of NR08 with other Xoophages was only 0.32 to 1.25 since the genome of NR08 (98.8 kb) is almost double of most of the previously reported Xoophages (43-47 kb), thus indicating NR08 a novel Xoophage. In in vitro bacterial challenge assay, NR08 showed bacteriostasis up to 24 h and a 99.95% reduction in bacterial growth in 48 h. In rice pot efficacy trials, single-dose treatment of NR08 showed a significant reduction in disease up to 90.23% and 79.27% on 7 and 21 dpi, respectively. However, treatment using 2% skim milk-supplemented phage preparation was significantly less effective as compared to the neat phage preparation. In summary, this study characterized a novel Xoophage having the potential as a biocontrol agent in the mitigation of BLB in rice.

Prevalence of anemia among toddlers (12-36 months) in urban area of district Rohtak, Haryana.

Background: Children are considered as an important asset for any country and their health as one of the important indicators of a healthy country. There are several factors affecting children's health and anemia is one of them. Globally around 1.62 billion people are affected by it, which corresponds to 24.8% of the population, with the highest prevalence of anemia (47.4%) among preschool-aged children. Aim: The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of anemia among toddlers (12-36 months) and to determine the associated factors. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among toddlers (12-36 months) in the urban field practice area of Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak. A total of 170 toddlers were enrolled in the study and their mothers were interviewed using a semi-structured pretested questionnaire. Hb was estimated by Sahli's acid hematin method. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Results: In the present study, more than half (55.9%) participants were girls and 44.1% were boys. The overall prevalence of anemia was found to be 62.4%, with mild, moderate, and severe anemia being 41.8%, 17.7%, and 2.9%, respectively. The children with regular intake of iron supplementation were found to be 6.625 times likely to be nonanemic as compared to those with no supplementation. Conclusion: Every endeavor should be made to combat the anemia in children through multisectoral and multipronged approach such as nutritional education of mothers, growth monitoring, nutritional supplementation, etc.

Achieving maximum efficiency of Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus infection in mungbean by agroinoculation.

Mungbean is one of the important food legumes in the Indian-sub-continent. Yellow mosaic disease, caused by Mungbean yellow mosaic virus and Mungbean yellow mosaic India virus (MYMIV) poses a severe threat to its production. Agroinoculation has been the most preferred way to test the function of genomic components of these viruses. However, the available inoculation methods are not as efficient as whitefly transmission, thereby limiting their usage for screening and biological studies. We hereby report an efficient and reproducible agroinoculation method for achieving maximum (100%) efficiency using tandem repeat infectious agro-constructs of DNA A and DNA B of MYMIV. The present study targeted wounding of various meristematic tissues of root, shoot, parts of germinating seeds and also non-meristematic tissue of stem to test the suitable tissue types for maximum infection. Among the various tissues selected for, the inoculation on the epicotyl region showed maximum infectivity. Further, to enhance the infectivity of MYMIV, different concentrations of acetosyringone, incubation time and Agrobacterium cell density were also standardized. The incubation of wounded sprouted seeds in 1.0 OD of agroculture containing repeat construct of MYMIV for 2-4 h without acetosyringone followed by sowing in soil showed maximum infection of MYMIV within 10-12 days on the first trifoliate leaf. This standardized method is reproducible and has potential to screen germplasm lines and will be useful in mungbean biological/virological studies and breeding programmes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-021-03088-w.

Phenotype study of multifoliolate leaf formation in Trifolium alexandrinum L.

BACKGROUND: The genus Trifolium is characterized by typical trifoliolate leaves. Alterations in leaf formats from trifoliolate to multifoliolate, i.e., individual plants bearing trifoliolate, quadrifoliolate, pentafoliolate or more leaflets, were previously reported among many species of the genus. The study is an attempt to develop pure pentafoliolate plants of T. alexandrinum and to understand its genetic control. METHODS: The experimental material consisted of two populations of T. alexandrinum with multifoliolate leaf expression, i.e.,interspecific hybrid progenies of T. alexandrinum with T. apertum, and T. alexandrinum genotype Penta-1. Penetrance of the multifoliolate trait was observed among multifoliolate and trifoliolate plant progenies. In vitro culture and regeneration of plantlets from the axillary buds from different plant sources was also attempted. RESULTS: The inheritance among a large number of plant progenies together with in vitro micro-propagation results did not establish a definite pattern. The multifoliolate leaf formation was of chimeric nature, i.e., more than one leaf format appearing on individual branches. Reversal to normal trifoliolate from multifoliolate was also quite common. Penetrance and expression of multifoliolate leaf formation was higher among the plants raised from multifoliolate plants. Multifoliolate and pure pentafoliolate plants were observed in the progenies of pure trifoliolate plants and vice-versa. There was an apparent increase in the pentafoliolate leaf formation frequency over the years due to targeted selection. A few progenies of the complete pentafoliolate plants in the first year were true breeding in the second year. Frequency of plantlets with multifoliolate leaf formation was also higher in in vitro axillary bud multiplication when the explant bud was excised from the multifoliolate leaf node. CONCLUSION: Number of leaflets being a discrete variable, occurrence of multifoliolate leaves on individual branches, reversal of leaf formats on branches and developing true breeding pentafoliolates were the factors leading to a hypothesis beyond normal Mendelian inheritance. Transposable elements (TEs) involved in leaf development in combination with epigenetics were probably responsible for alterations in the expression of leaflet number. Putative TE's movement owing to chromosomal rearrangements possibly resulted in homozygous pentafoliolate trait with evolutionary significance. The hypothesis provides a new insight into understanding the genetic control of this trait in T. alexandrinum and may also be useful in other Trifolium species where such observations are reported.

Prevalence of Menopausal Symptoms and its Effect on Quality of Life among Rural Middle Aged Women (40-60 Years) of Haryana, India.

BACKGROUND: Demographic and epidemiological transitions have increased the life expectancy of middle aged women, resulting in higher burden of morbidities related to menopausal symptoms and also effect the quality of life (QOL). OBJECTIVES: To study the prevalence of menopausal symptoms and its effect on QOL among rural middle aged women (40-60 years) of Haryana, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in 400 middle aged women (40-60 years) from April 2018 to March 2019 by random sampling technique. The menopause rating scale was used to assess the prevalence of menopausal symptoms and the QOL and data were collected for sociodemographic factors, relevant menstrual history and other variables. RESULTS: Prevalence of menopausal symptoms was found to be 87.7%. Majority of the study subjects had anxiety (80%), followed by physical and mental exhaustion (71.5%), sleep problem (61.2%), irritability (60.7%), Joint and muscular discomfort (56%) and heart problems (54%). The most classical symptom of menopause i.e., hot flushes were reported in 36.7%. The mean age of menopause was 47.53 standard deviation 4.5 years. Statistical significant difference was seen for the mean score of few symptoms i.e., hot flushes, sweating (P < 0.003) and joint and muscular discomfort (P < 0.014) between post and peri-menopausal groups. The QOL was impaired in 70.2% of study subjects. The psychological symptoms attributed 70.8% to the poor QOL. CONCLUSION: To improve the QOL and to decrease the menopausal symptoms in these women, a holistic approach in the form of lifestyle and behavioral modification are required.

Active case finding of tuberculosis among household contacts of newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients: A community-based study from southern Haryana.

BACKGROUND: Active case-finding is provider-initiated and implies systematic searching for TB in individuals who would not spontaneously present to a health service, and bringing them into care for diagnosis and treatment. AIM: The present study was carried out with the objective to assess the yield and feasibility of active case finding strategy among household contacts of newly diagnosed pulmonary TB cases and to determine risk factors in household contact. METHODS: This community-based study with cross-sectional design was conducted among the household contacts of all newly diagnosed microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB patients registered at Tuberculosis Unit (TU), Nuh. Investigator conducted house to house visit and met respective index case and his/her household contacts to build the rapport. RESULTS: In the present study, there were 55 sputum smear-positive index cases and 356 household contacts of index cases. The most common symptom among screening positive household contacts was cough followed by weight loss. A substantial proportion (83.8%) of symptom positive household contacts were investigated for tuberculosis and among them, 18.9% were found to be positive for tuberculosis. The overall prevalence of TB cases among household contacts was found to be 1.97%. CONCLUSION: The present study concludes that household contact screening for active case finding for TB is a feasible and efficient tool that can potentially result in earlier diagnosis and treatment of active TB, thus minimizing the severity and decreasing transmission. It can also contribute toward improving treatment outcomes, health sequelae, and the social and economic consequences of TB.

Undernutrition and associated factors among children 1-5 years of age in rural area of Haryana, India: A community based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Children under five years of age are most vulnerable to the vicious cycles of malnutrition, disease/infection and resultant disability all of which influence the present condition of a child at the microlevel and the future human resource development of the nation at the macrolevel. AIM: The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of undernutrition among under-five children; and to determine the associated factors. METHODS: All 112 Anganwadi Centres in block Lakhan Majra were enlisted and 30 Anganwadi Centres were selected by adopting systematic random sampling. From each selected Anganwadi Centre, 20 children of 15 years of age group were selected by simple random sampling, thus, a sample of 600 children was included in the study. RESULTS: Overall prevalence of undernutrition in our study was found as follows: wasted 18.4%; underweight 38.3%; stunted 41.3%. Mothers who had four or more ANC visits and IFA intake for 100 or more days had lower prevalence of wasting, stunting, and underweight than the mothers with three or less ANC visits and inadequate IFA intake. Children with a history of pre-lacteal feeding had higher prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting than the children with no history of pre-lacteal feeding. CONCLUSION: Every endeavor should be made to combat the outcomes of undernutrition through multipronged approach such as growth monitoring, nutritional supplementation, etc., Also, present study findings reinforce the importance of proper infant and child feeding practices and appropriate maternal care in prevention of childhood undernutrition.

Prevalence of anaemia and its association with dietary habits among pregnant women in the urban area of Haryana.

INTRODUCTION: Anaemia is a major health problem in India especially among pregnant women and nutritional anaemia, primarily iron deficiency, is the most common type of anaemia caused primarily due to iron deficiency. About 58% of pregnant women in India are anaemic and it is estimated that anaemia is the underlying cause of 20-40% of cases of maternal deaths. Therefore, the present study was planned to study the prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women and to explore the relationship between anaemia during pregnancy and different dietary factors. AIM AND OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of anaemia and dietary habits among pregnant women in an urban slum of Haryana. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among pregnant women in the urban field practise area of Pt. B.D. Sharma PGIMS, Rohtak. All Pregnant women registered in 2018 were interviewed using a semi-structured pretested questionnaire. Observations were interpreted as per the WHO criteria. The data were analysed by SPSS statistical software version 20. RESULTS: Out of 408 study participants, 348 (85.3%) were anaemic with mild, moderate and severe anaemia in 80 (19.6%), 244 (59.8%) and 24 (5.9%), respectively. More than half (50.5%), of the anaemic mothers, were found in the first trimester, respectively. The association of vegetarian diet and tea consumption was statistically significant with the severity of anaemia. (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present findings showed a high prevalence of anaemia and unhealthy dietary habits significantly associated with it among pregnant women. Efforts to identify anaemia that may be responsive to modifiable factors such as diet to improve health outcomes are needed.

Induction and evaluation of colchitetraploids of two species of Tinospora Miers, 1851.

Autotetraploidy, both natural and/or induced, has potential for genetic improvement of various crop species including that of medicinal importance. Tinospora cordifolia (Willdenow, 1806) Miers, 1851 ex Hooker et Thomson, 1855 and T. sinensis (Loureiro, 1790) Merrill, 1934 are two diploid species, which are dioecious, deciduous and climbing shrubs with high medicinal importance. Among the three methods used for induction of polyploidy by colchicine treatment, it was cotton swab method which successfully induced the polyploidy in both species. The morphological and cytogenetical features of the synthetic tetraploids were compared with their diploid counterparts. The tetraploids were morphologically distinct from diploid plants. They exhibited larger organs, such as stem, leaves, inflorescence, fruits, flowers and seeds. The tetraploids were characterized by the presence of low quadrivalent frequency and high bivalent average. Unequal distribution of chromosomes at anaphase I was found in 60% cells. The present study provides important information on the superiority of autotetraploids as compared to diploid counterparts in both species.

Identification of Diploid Stylosanthes seabrana accessions from existing germplasm of S. scabra utilizing genome-specific STS markers and flow cytometry, and their molecular characterization.

Stylosanthes seabrana (Maass and 't Mannetje) (2n = 2x = 20), commonly known as Caatinga stylo, is an important tropical perennial forage legume. In nature, it largely co-exist with S. scabra, an allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 40) species, sharing a very high similarity for morphological traits like growth habit, perenniality, fruit shape and presence of small appendage at the base of the pod or loment. This makes the two species difficult to distinguish morphologically, leading to chances of contamination in respective germplasm collections. In present study, 10 S. seabrana accessions were discovered from the existing global germplasm stock of S. scabra represented by 48 diverse collections, utilizing sequence-tagged-sites (STS) genome-specific markers. All the newly identified S. seabrana accessions displayed STS phenotypes of typical diploid species. Earlier reports have conclusively indicated S. seabrana and S. viscosa as two diploid progenitors of allotetraploid S. scabra. With primer pairs SHST3F3/R3, all putative S. seabrana yielded single band of approximately 550 bp and S. viscosa of approximately 870 bp whereas both of these bands were observed in allotetraploid S. scabra. Since SHST3F3/R3 primer pairs are known to amplify single or no band with diploid and two bands with tetraploid species, the amplification patterns corroborated that all newly identified S. seabrana lines were diploid in nature. Flow cytometric measurement of DNA content of the species, along with distinguishing morphological traits such as flowering time and seedling vigour, which significantly differ from S. scabra, confirmed all identified lines as S. seabrana. These newly identified lines exhibited high level of similarity among themselves as revealed by RAPD and STS markers (>92% and 80% respectively). Along with the enrichment in genetic resources of Stylosanthes, these newly identified and characterized accessions of S. seabrana can be better exploited in breeding programs targeted to quality.

Prevalence of Hypertension and its Determinants among Policemen in a City of Haryana, India.

INTRODUCTION: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) kill 40 million people each year, equivalent to 70% of all deaths globally. Cardiovascular diseases account for most NCD deaths or 17.7 million people annually. Police work has been regarded by some researchers as one of the most stressful occupations in the world, and coronary heart disease has been identified as a major cause of mortality in this population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out during July 2016-June 2017 among 450 policemen posted in Rohtak city of Haryana selected randomly. The investigator made two measurements of blood pressure. Data were collected using predesigned, pretested, semi-structured interview schedule, and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0. RESULTS: Of 450 participants, 164 (36.4%) participants were found to be hypertensive. Age of study participants, duration of service, rank, and education are significantly associated with the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) among policemen. CONCLUSION: HTN in policemen has emerged as an important public health problem. Knowledge of risk factors for HTN may give tracks for prevention in this population. Therefore, it is the need of hour to devise a sound screening strategy to diagnose HTN among policemen and devise a comprehensive strategy for the management of HTN.

Partitioning Apomixis Components to Understand and Utilize Gametophytic Apomixis.

Apomixis is a method of reproduction to generate clonal seeds and offers tremendous potential to fix heterozygosity and hybrid vigor. The process of apomictic seed development is complex and comprises three distinct components, viz., apomeiosis (leading to formation of unreduced egg cell), parthenogenesis (development of embryo without fertilization) and functional endosperm development. Recently, in many crops, these three components are reported to be uncoupled leading to their partitioning. This review provides insight into the recent status of our understanding surrounding partitioning apomixis components in gametophytic apomictic plants and research avenues that it offers to help understand the biology of apomixis. Possible consequences leading to diversity in seed developmental pathways, resources to understand apomixis, inheritance and identification of candidate gene(s) for partitioned components, as well as contribution towards creation of variability are all discussed. The potential of Panicum maximum, an aposporous crop, is also discussed as a model crop to study partitioning principle and effects. Modifications in cytogenetic status, as well as endosperm imprinting effects arising due to partitioning effects, opens up new opportunities to understand and utilize apomixis components, especially towards synthesizing apomixis in crops.

Draft genome sequence of Sclerospora graminicola, the pearl millet downy mildew pathogen.

Sclerospora graminicola pathogen is the most important biotic production constraints of pearl millet in India, Africa and other parts of the world. We report a de novo whole genome assembly and analysis of pathotype 1, one of the most virulent pathotypes of S. graminicola from India. The draft genome assembly contained 299,901,251 bp with 65,404 genes. This study may help understand the evolutionary pattern of pathogen and aid elucidation of effector evolution for devising effective durable resistance breeding strategies in pearl millet.

Effects of shade on guinea grass genotypes Megathyrsus maximus (Poales: Poaceae)

Introduction: Light stress is an important factor limiting the biomass yield while combining forage production with crops or forestry. Guinea grass is a widely adapted perennial fodder grass. The species exhibits high degree of variation for morphology, adaptation and biomass yield. Objective: Since there is a need in identifying shade adapted forage grasses for the expanding area under agroforestry/silvipastures, the present investigation took the task of understanding how the morphologically distinct genotypes of guinea grass respond under different shaded intensities. Methods: In the present study, forty-four genotypes related with the shade response were studied in varying shading conditions (pure sunlight, 25, 50 and 75 % shade) created artificially. Results: Based on green and dry matter yields ranking, the genotype IG 01-98 performed the best followed by genotypes IG 01-92, IG 97-5, IG 97-6 and IG 01-89 in decreasing order. Particularly, IG 01-93 was identified as the best performing under 50 % shading conditions. On the other hand, most of the top ranking genotypes performed well both under open and up to 50 % of shade. Morphologically, these genotypes were taller and possessed longer and broader leaves. Under shaded conditions (over 50 %), leaf length and width showed an increasing trend compared to open conditions. Also, chlorophyll content increased with shading intensity. Conclusions: Most of the genotypes collected from the southern Indian humid tropical environment with early flowering nature were tolerant to shade. Differential genotypic response was observed for biomass yield and yield attributes under shade. The study established appreciable variability for shade tolerance among genotypes.

Introducción: El estrés leve es un factor importante que limita el rendimiento de la biomasa al tiempo que combina laproducción forrajera con los cultivos o la silvicultura. El zacate guinea es una planta de forraje perenne ampliamente adaptada. La especie presenta un alto grado de variación en su morfología, adaptación y rendimiento de biomasa. Objetivo: Como existe la necesidad de la identificación de pastos forrajeros adaptados a la sombra para el área de expansión bajo agroforestería /silvicultura, la presente investigación se realizó para entender cómo los genotipos morfológicamente distintos al zacate guinea responden a diferentes intensidades de sombra. Métodos: Se estudiaron 44 genotipos y su respuesta a los niveles de sombra: luz solar pura y 25, 50 y 75 % de sombra (creados artificialmente). Resultados: Basado en la clasificación de rendimientos demateria verde y seca, el genotipo IG 01-98 fue el mejor, seguido de los genotipos IG 01-92, IG 97-5, IG 97-6 e IG 01-89 en orden decreciente. Por su parte, el IG 01-93 fue identificado como el de mayor rendimiento bajo el 50 % de condición de sombra. La mayoría de los genotipos de primer nivel tuvieron un buen desempeño, tanto bajo sombra abierta como al 50 %. Morfológicamente, estos genotipos fueron más altos y poseían hojas más largas y más anchas. En condiciones de sombra, de más del 50 %, la longitud y ancho de la hoja mostraron una tendencia creciente en comparación con la condición abierta. El contenido de clorofila aumentó con la intensidad de la sombra. Conclusiones: La mayoría de los genotipos recolectados al sur de la India en un ambiente tropical húmedo y tienen una floración temprana, fueron tolerantes a la sombra. Se observó una respuesta genotípica diferencial para los atributos de rendimiento y rendimiento de biomasa bajo sombra. El estudio mostró la existencia de una variabilidad apreciable para la tolerancia a la sombra entre los genotipos.

Transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed genes during embryo sac development in apomeiotic non-parthenogenetic interspecific hybrid of Pennisetum glaucum.

Apomixis results in the production of genetically uniform progeny, derived from the fertilization independent development (parthenogenesis) of an unreduced egg cell (apomeiosis). To identify genes involved in the apomeiosis, a comparative transcriptome analysis of differentially expressed genes during embryo sac (ES) development in a sexual Pennisetum glaucum (genotype 81A1) and its apomeiotic (aposporic) non-parthenogenetic interspecific hybrid (BC1GO) was investigated. BC1GO exhibited the partitioned apomeiosis component, whereby the second apomixis component viz., parthenogenesis was completely lacking. A total of 96 non-redundant transcripts were recovered using suppression subtractive hybridization and classified into 11 different categories according to their putative functions. Amongst the identified transcripts, many of them belonged to unknown function (40%) followed by those involved in protein metabolism, stress response, pollen/ovule/embryo development, and translation/protein modification process. A data search of transcriptional profiling in other apomictic species revealed that 75% of the differentially expressed transcripts have not been reported in previous studies. By macroarray analysis, we identified differential expression pattern of 96 transcripts, 45 (47%) of which showed ≥2-fold induction in apomeiotic BC1GO. Further, the obtained results were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to have a comparative expression profiling of eight selected up-regulated transcripts (≥2.5-fold) between BC1GO and 81A1 at different phases of ovule development. In silico mapping demonstrated that 13 transcripts were located onto rice chromosome 2, region syntenic with the apospory locus as reported in Brachiaria brizantha and Paspalum notatum. The expression patterns of these transcripts showed a significant difference at differentiating megaspore mother cell and gametogenesis stages thereby suggesting their involvement in floral development during apomeiotic (Panicum-type aposporous) ES development.

Generation of interspecific hybrids of Trifolium using embryo rescue techniques.

The genus Trifolium Leguminosae (Fabaceae), commonly called clovers, includes 237-290 annual and perennial species, of which about 20 are important as cultivated and pasture crops. Taxonomic distribution supported by molecular analysis indicates that Mediterranean region is one of the main centers of distribution of the genus and also a center of domestication and breeding. Self-incompatibility is prevalent in the genus, controlled by a single, multiallelic gene expressed gametophytically in the pollen. It was suggested that hybridity did not play a major role in the evolution of the genus due to the poor crossability of the species under natural conditions. Interspecific hybridization in the genus Trifolium by conventional crossing techniques has been largely unsuccessful. Post-zygotic barriers appear to be a primary cause of the reproductive isolation, associated with endosperm disintegration and consequent abnormal differentiation and starvation of the hybrid embryo. As hybridization using conventional techniques has almost failed in Trifolium, embryo culture technique was used by breeders to obtain new combinations of interspecific hybrids. Embryo culture has been effectively used in developing interspecific hybrids in Trifolium ambiguum, T. pratense, T. montanum, T. occidentale, T. isthomocarpum, T. repens, T. nigrescens, T. uniflorum, T. sarosiense, T. alexandrinum, T. apertum, T. resupinatum, T. constantinopolitanum, T. rubens, and T. alpestre in various combinations. The successful embryo -rescue and development of hybrid plantlets requires skilled techniques of tissue culture and field practices. It includes hybridization in field; excision of hybrid embryos at appropriate stage; disinfection and culture in suitable culture media to allow maturation of embryo, multiplication of shoots, and rooting; hardening of the plantlets; inoculation with suitable Rhizobium culture; and transfer to field.