A detailed study on genetic diversity, antioxidant machinery, and expression profile of drought-responsive genes in rice genotypes exposed to artificial osmotic stress.

Seasonal variations in rainfall patterns, particularly during sowing, early growing season, and flowering, drastically affect rice production in northeastern India. However, sensitivity to drought stress is genotype-specific. Since 80% of the land in this region is used for rice production, it is crucial to understand how they have adapted to water stress. This study evaluated 112 rice genotypes grown in NE India for seed germination percentage and seedling development under PEG-mediated drought stress. Among the rice genotype, Sahbhagi dhan, RCPL-1-82, Bhalum-3 and RCPL-1-128 showed drought-tolerant traits, while Ketaki Joha, Chakhao, Chandan, RCPL-1-185 and IR-64 were the most drought-sensitive rice genotypes. Drought-tolerant rice also showed significantly higher seed germination potential, proline content, antioxidant activity and expression of drought-responsive genes than drought-sensitive rice genotypes. A similar expression pattern of genes was also observed in the rice genotype treated with a 50% water deficit in pot culture. In addition, drought stress reduced the pollen fertility and yield per plant in sensitive rice genotypes. Molecular markers associated with drought stress were also used to characterize genetic diversity among the rice genotypes studied.

Nutrition security, constraints, and agro-diversification strategies of neglected and underutilized crops to fight global hidden hunger.

Introduction: Neglected and underutilized crop species (NUCS) or forbidden crops offer tremendous potential to combat malnutrition, poverty, and global hidden hunger. Since overdependence on a few dominant cereal crops, viz., rice, maize, and wheat, is insufficient to meet the global food energy intake, the identification, genetic improvement, and implementation of various policies for wenumerates comprehensive comparative analyses of the nutrient profile of staple crops vs. potent underutilized crops with reference to cultivation constraints and climate resilience with different agro-diversification strategies. Methodology: The research databases Scopus, JSTOR, Web of Science, EBSCO, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Academic Search were searched using relevant research queries. Result: Out of 2,345 hits, 99 articles pertinent to the subject domain showed that underutilized crops are nutritionally superior, contain health-promoting bioactive components, and are more climate resilient than cereal crops. However, several constraints hinder the efficient utilization of these crops. Discussion: Despite underutilized crops' many health benefits, improved cultivation techniques for the large-scale production of these crops are still in their infancy. Most of the time, however, the scientific knowledge gleaned from various study domains stays within the scientific community. The most crucial need of the hour, therefore, is an efficient network structure connecting governments, farmers, researchers, and people in business. Moreover, care must be taken to ensure that the policies of governments and INGOs/NGOs are properly implemented within a NUCS framework.

Identification and expression pattern of aluminium-responsive genes in roots of rice genotype with reference to Al-sensitivity.

Aluminium (Al) is the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust. Globally, acidic soil occupies 30-40% of ice-free land areas; Al toxicity is a major threat to crops. The first symptom of Al toxicity is the inhibition of root growth followed by poor root hair development, swollen root apices, necrosis of leaves and reduced yield. Although Rice (Oryza sativa) is an Al toxicity tolerant crop, it shows considerable variations among rice genotypes to Al exposure. Therefore, it is pertinent to understand Al toxicity and underlying mechanisms for Al tolerance in Rice. In the present study, 63 rice genotypes screened under Al stress showed significant variations of root growth. Expression stability of endogenous control genes (ECGs) revealed sulphite reductase (SR) as the most stable ECG that can be used as a reference gene for quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Expression patterns of Al-responsive genes suggest genes associated with cytoskeletal dynamics, metabolism, and ion transporter could play significant roles in Al adaptation and tolerance in rice. The results showed Motodhan, Vietnam-1, Yimyu and N-861 as Al-toxicity tolerant, while Lespah, RCPL-13, VL-31329, and UPR2919-141-1 as most Al-sensitive genotypes among the studied rice lines cultivated in North-East India.

CRISPR-Cas-Led Revolution in Diagnosis and Management of Emerging Plant Viruses: New Avenues Toward Food and Nutritional Security.

Plant viruses pose a serious threat to agricultural production systems worldwide. The world's population is expected to reach the 10-billion mark by 2057. Under the scenario of declining cultivable land and challenges posed by rapidly emerging and re-emerging plant pathogens, conventional strategies could not accomplish the target of keeping pace with increasing global food demand. Gene-editing techniques have recently come up as promising options to enable precise changes in genomes with greater efficiency to achieve the target of higher crop productivity. Of genome engineering tools, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins have gained much popularity, owing to their simplicity, reproducibility, and applicability in a wide range of species. Also, the application of different Cas proteins, such as Cas12a, Cas13a, and Cas9 nucleases, has enabled the development of more robust strategies for the engineering of antiviral mechanisms in many plant species. Recent studies have revealed the use of various CRISPR-Cas systems to either directly target a viral gene or modify a host genome to develop viral resistance in plants. This review provides a comprehensive record of the use of the CRISPR-Cas system in the development of antiviral resistance in plants and discusses its applications in the overall enhancement of productivity and nutritional landscape of cultivated plant species. Furthermore, the utility of this technique for the detection of various plant viruses could enable affordable and precise in-field or on-site detection. The futuristic potential of CRISPR-Cas technologies and possible challenges with their use and application are highlighted. Finally, the future of CRISPR-Cas in sustainable management of viral diseases, and its practical utility and regulatory guidelines in different parts of the globe are discussed systematically.