Endophytic strains of Trichoderma increase plants' photosynthetic capability.

The world faces two enormous challenges that can be met, at least in part and at low cost, by making certain changes in agricultural practices. There is need to produce enough food and fibre for a growing population in the face of adverse climatic trends, and to remove greenhouse gases to avert the worst consequences of global climate change. Improving photosynthetic efficiency of crop plants can help meet both challenges. Fortuitously, when crop plants' roots are colonized by certain root endophytic fungi in the genus Trichoderma, this induces up-regulation of genes and pigments that improve the plants' photosynthesis. Plants under physiological or environmental stress suffer losses in their photosynthetic capability through damage to photosystems and other cellular processes caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). But certain Trichoderma strains activate biochemical pathways that reduce ROS to less harmful molecules. This and other mechanisms described here make plants more resistant to biotic and abiotic stresses. The net effect of these fungi's residence in plants is to induce greater shoot and root growth, increasing crop yields, which will raise future food production. Furthermore, if photosynthesis rates are increased, more CO2 will be extracted from the atmosphere, and enhanced plant root growth means that more sequestered C will be transferred to roots and stored in the soil. Reductions in global greenhouse gas levels can be accelerated by giving incentives for climate-friendly carbon farming and carbon cap-and-trade programmes that reward practices transferring carbon from the atmosphere into the soil, also enhancing soil fertility and agricultural production.

Establishing PCR Testing in Nepal for Covid-19: Challenges and Opportunities.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) invented by Kary Mullis (1983), has become the centrepiece of molecular detection of various infectious diseases including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Many developing countries like Nepal faces various challenges and grab many future opportunities during and after establishment of molecular PCR laboratories throughout the country. This viewpoint describes the involvement of laboratory employees, development and adoption of new protocols or framework, deliberate partnership with national and international community is very efficient for the establishment of PCR laboratories. Beside this, continued alliance and nation leadership is crucial to generate a unified and sustainable PCR laboratory network in the country like Nepal. In future the established PCR laboratories can be utilized for the diagnosis of others pandemic diseases and can be used for multipurpose like in verification of infectious diseases; Oncology; Blood test; Genetic testing.