Molecular characterization of Red banana and its somaclonal variant: a comprehensive study.

The prized Red banana, selected for superior qualities, demands strong genetic uniformity for successful clonal propagation and preservation. Ensuring this uniformity early in the growth of in vitro Red banana plants is essential, as gene mutations and chromosome rearrangements during tissue culture can jeopardize both cloning and germplasm conservation. In this situation, molecular markers play a pivotal role in confirming genetic stability. Thus the study aims to discover a marker that identifies tissue-cultured Red bananas from their virescent variants during initial sub-culturing. A marker linked to anthocyanin has been identified which effectively differentiated Red bananas from virescent variants and it was further validated in various banana cultivars, ornamental Musa species and their interspecific hybrids. The PCR-based marker showed remarkable specificity, discerning Red bananas from virescent variants during tissue culture. It also distinguished green and red offspring, cutting time and resource costs, and shortening the banana breeding cycle. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03868-6.

Genome-wide analysis and differential expression of chitinases in banana against root lesion nematode (Pratylenchus coffeae) and eumusa leaf spot (Mycosphaerella eumusae) pathogens.

Knowledge on structure and conserved domain of Musa chitinase isoforms and their responses to various biotic stresses will give a lead to select the suitable chitinase isoform for developing biotic stress-resistant genotypes. Hence, in this study, chitinase sequences available in the Musa genome hub were analyzed for their gene structure, conserved domain, as well as intron and exon regions. To identify the Musa chitinase isoforms involved in Pratylenchus coffeae (root lesion nematode) and Mycosphaerella eumusae (eumusa leaf spot) resistant mechanisms, differential gene expression analysis was carried out in P. coffeae- and M. eumusae-challenged resistant and susceptible banana genotypes. This study revealed that more number of chitinase isoforms (CIs) were responses upon eumusa leaf spot stress than nematode stress. The nematode challenge studies revealed that class II chitinase (GSMUA_Achr9G16770_001) was significantly overexpressed with 6.75-fold (with high fragments per kilobase of exon per million fragments mapped (FPKM)) in resistant genotype (Karthobiumtham-ABB) than susceptible (Nendran-AAB) genotype, whereas when M. eumusae was challenge inoculated, two class III CIs (GSMUA_Achr9G25580_001 and GSMUA_Achr8G27880_001) were overexpressed in resistant genotype (Manoranjitham-AAA) than the susceptible genotype (Grand Naine-AAA). However, none of the CIs were found to be commonly overexpressed under both stress conditions. This study reiterated that the chitinase genes are responding differently to different biotic stresses in their respective resistant genotypes.

Hypocholesterolemic effect of protein prepared from Phaseolus aconitifolius (Jacq.).

Hypocholesterolemic effect of protein concentrate (PC) prepared from moth bean (Phaseolus aconitifolius Jacq.) seeds relative to that of pigeon pea PC and casein were investigated in rats fed on hypercholesterolemic diet containing two per cent cholesterol. The test diets containing casein and legume PCs at 10% protein level were fed to albino rats (Wistar strain) for 45 days. Compared to casein, the two legume PCs produced significantly lower levels of liver total lipid and cholesterol levels except that pigeon pea PC produced only non-significant decrease of total cholesterols in the heart. In addition, the legume PCs produced significantly lower levels of serum triglycerides and total lipids as well as lower levels of total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Moreover, only moth bean PC produced a significantly higher level of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Generally, PC of moth bean seemed to be more potent at lowering the elevated hepatic and serum lipids and cholesterol levels, which were attributed to the amino acid profile of this lesser-known legume as these indices well correlated with serum cholesterol levels.