Characterization of 'QTL-hotspot' introgression lines reveals physiological mechanisms and candidate genes associated with drought adaptation in chickpea.

'QTL-hotspot' is a genomic region on linkage group 04 (CaLG04) in chickpea (Cicer arietinum) that harbours major-effect quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for multiple drought-adaptive traits, and it therefore represents a promising target for improving drought adaptation. To investigate the mechanisms underpinning the positive effects of 'QTL-hotspot' on seed yield under drought, we introgressed this region from the ICC 4958 genotype into five elite chickpea cultivars. The resulting introgression lines (ILs) and their parents were evaluated in multi-location field trials and semi-controlled conditions. The results showed that the 'QTL-hotspot' region improved seed yield under rainfed conditions by increasing seed weight, reducing the time to flowering, regulating traits related to canopy growth and early vigour, and enhancing transpiration efficiency. Whole-genome sequencing data analysis of the ILs and parents revealed four genes underlying the 'QTL-hotspot' region associated with drought adaptation. We validated diagnostic KASP markers closely linked to these genes using the ILs and their parents for future deployment in chickpea breeding programs. The CaTIFY4b-H2 haplotype of a potential candidate gene CaTIFY4b was identified as the superior haplotype for 100-seed weight. The candidate genes and superior haplotypes identified in this study have the potential to serve as direct targets for genetic manipulation and selection for chickpea improvement.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of 1H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-1,2,3-triazole derivatives as novel anti-tubercular agents.

A series of novel 1H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-1,2,3-triazole derivatives have been synthesized in good to excellent yields. Through the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition via reaction of 7-(prop-2-ynyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidine and aryl, heteroaryl and alkyl azides in the presence of CuSO4·5H2O and sodium ascorbate. These compounds were evaluated for their in vitro antimycobacterial activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain. Most of these pyrrolopyrimidine-triazole hybrids exhibited good anti tubercular activity. The antimycobacterial assay results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration of compounds 4q and 4r were 0.78 µg/mL. The molecular docking results also had shown highest Moldock score for same compounds. These novel compounds exhibited good inhibition activities and further structure-activity studies of the derivatives had shown promising features to use in antitubercular therapy.

Virtual screening of RAGE inhibitors using molecular docking.

Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) interaction with Receptor for AGEs (RAGE) activates downstream signaling and evokes inflammatory responses in vascular cells. Therefore, it is of interest to design a novel series of molecules with a library of 352 compounds based on natural Isoflavone and Argpyrimidine moities. The compounds screened against the optimized structure of RAGE (PDB code: 3CJJ) using MolDock aided with molecular docking algorithm. This exercise identified compound number 62 with appreciable ADME properties having no toxicity and pharmacophore features. Therefore, compound 62 identified as a RAGE inhibitor is proposed for further validation in the context of Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) and vascular complications.