RIG-I expression pattern and cytokine profile in indigenous ducks infected with duck plague virus.

The present study was undertaken to elucidate mRNA expression pattern of RIG-I and serum cytokines profile alterations in indigenous ducks of Assam, India viz. Pati, Nageswari and Cinahanh in response to natural infections of duck plague virus. Field outbreaks of duck plague virus were attended during the study period for collection of tissue and blood samples. The ducks under study were divided into three distinct groups as per health status i.e. healthy, duck plague infected and recovered. Results from the study revealed that RIG-I gene expression was significantly upregulated in liver, intestine, spleen, brain and PBMC of both infected and recovered ducks. However, fold changes in RIG- I gene expression was lower in recovered ducks as compared to infected ones which indicated continued stimulation of RIG-I gene by the latent viruses. Both serum pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines were elevated in infected ducks as compared to healthy and recovered ducks, indicating activation of inflammatory reactions in the ducks due to virus invasion. The results from the study indicated that innate immune components of the infected ducks were stimulated in order to make an attempt to resist the virus from the infected ducks.

Assessment of selection criteria using multi-year study for effective breeding program of Zingiber officinale L.

Background: Ginger has been an important cash crop with numerous applications since ancient times. As the demand for ginger is ever-growing and being a seasonal crop, a high-yielding variety of ginger would be economically profitable. Methods: In this study, 150 germplasm were collected from different regions of NE India and evaluated for three years in CRBD design with three replications. The present study thus focused on the variability, association, and diversity studies for the first time on 150 ginger germplasm from across North East India. The genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation, heritability, correlation, and path analysis were evaluated for the germplasm. Results: Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed considerable differences among the studied germplasm for studied characters, revealing sufficient variability in the materials. The Mahalanobis D2 and Tocher methods grouped the 150 ginger germplasm into ten clusters. Based on the results of the path coefficient analysis determined for essential oil yield and rhizome yield per plant, it can be concluded that the characters' initial rhizome weight, the weight of mother rhizome, and weight of secondary rhizome were the most important and appeared promising in improving the overall yield potential of ginger rhizome and essential oil yield. Thus, selection based on the identified traits would lead to an effective ginger breeding program for higher rhizome and essential oil yield.

Induced variations by gamma radiation and EMS on the agronomic traits, essential oil yield with its quality and their exploitation in Java citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt).

PURPOSE: The slips of Cymbopogon winterianus (Java citronella) are used to propagate this industrially important crop. It does not have a mating system that allows it to create new variability or develop superior progenies, which could be addressed by using induced mutation caused by physical or chemical agents. Physical treatments, rather than chemical treatments, are believed to be the most incredible alternative for mutation breeding. As a result, this study aims to assess the effects of gamma radiation and EMS treatment on the development of better C. winterianus progenies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The three superior lines, i.e. JC-62 (IC-0627007), JC-55 (IC-0627000), and JC-71 (IC-0627018) based on high herbage, essential oil yield and citronellal content were selected through clonal selection during three-year evaluation. These were then irradiated with 60Co gamma rays (50 Gy, 100 Gy, 150 Gy, 200 Gy, 250 Gy, and 300 Gy) and treated with EMS dose (0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 and 1%) separately. Ten plants of each dose were mutated and planted in the experimental field to obtain the MV2 progenies. After 4 months, the plants were harvested, and the slips were prepared and planted to get the MV3 and subsequently MV4 progenies. All morphological and essential oil data have been recorded and analyzed statistically. The essential oil was extracted through the Clevenger apparatus for all the progenies, followed by GC and GC-MS analysis. RESULTS: The morpho-chemical study of the 112 healthy mutants has led to the identification of six superior progenies in MV4 progenies, M17, M63, M77, M179, M233, and M392. In terms of the economic yield, it was observed that mutant M77 treated with 0.20% EMS dose increased the herbage yield and citronellal content tremendously. In contrast, the progeny M17 irradiated with γ-100Gy increased essential oil yield from 1.32% to 1.50%. The EMS treatment at 0.10% and 0.20% doses showed an increasing trend in plant height, leaf length, tillers/bush, leaves/bush, herbage yield, and citronellal content compared to the base variety. The LD50 value of C. winterianus for gamma radiation and EMS treatment was averaged at 173 Gy and 0.72%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In C. winterianus, both gamma rays and EMS treatment successfully created superior progenies with desired characteristics. The 0.20 percent EMS treatment significantly improved economic features, including herbage yield and citronellal content. Simultaneously, gamma radiation at 100 Gy produced the highest essential oil yield, which is a highly desirable characteristic in C. winterianus breeding.

Evaluation of Genetic Diversity Based on Microsatellites and Phytochemical Markers of Core Collection of Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt Germplasm.

Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt is an industrially important crop due to its value in the aromatic, perfumery and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, 72 accessions of C. winterianus were selected for molecular diversity analysis using SSR markers. It revealed a total of 65 polymorphic alleles showing an average of 68.10% polymorphism. The best SSR primer with competency in discriminating the germplasm was 3CM0506 with PIC (0.69), MI (0.69) and Rp (3.12). Genetic variation was studied between Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh populations. A dendrogram based on the Neighbour-Joining Method showed clustering of germplasm on the collection site. A total of six relevant genetic populations were identified through a structure harvester software analysis. Moreover, a dendrogram based on similarity, complete linkage and Euclidean distance was also elucidated differentiating the genotypes with respect to the major phytochemical constituents of the essential oil. GC-FID and GC-MS analyses of the essential oil of the 72 germplasms revealed citronellal content from 2.58-51.45%, citronellol from 0.00-26.39% and geraniol from 0.00-41.15%. This is the first molecular diversity report with 72 accessions of C. winterianus collected from the NE region using 28 SSR primers as well as their diversity based on phytochemical markers. This diversity computation will help with acquisition of the knowledge and relationship among each individual accession leading to the development of improved and essential oil component-rich cultivars.