Harsh Kumar Dikshit

Genetic Diversity in Lens Species Revealed by EST and Genomic Simple Sequence Repeat Analysis.

Low productivity of pilosae type lentils grown in South Asia is attributed to narrow genetic base of the released cultivars which results in susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses. For enhancement of productivity and production, broadening of genetic base is essentially required. The genetic base of released cultivars can be broadened by using diverse types including bold seeded and early maturing lentils from Mediterranean region and related wild species. Genetic diversity in eighty six accessions of three species of genus Lens was assessed based on twelve genomic and thirty one EST-SSR markers. The evaluated set of genotypes included diverse lentil varieties and advanced breeding lines from Indian programme, two early maturing ICARDA lines and five related wild subspecies/species endemic to the Mediterranean region. Genomic SSRs exhibited higher polymorphism in comparison to EST SSRs. GLLC 598 produced 5 alleles with highest gene diversity value of 0.80. Among the studied subspecies/species 43 SSRs detected maximum number of alleles in L. orientalis. Based on Nei’s genetic distance cultivated lentil L. culinaris subsp. culinaris was found to be close to its wild progenitor L. culinaris subsp. orientalis. The Prichard’s structure of 86 genotypes distinguished different subspecies/species. Higher variability was recorded among individuals within population than among populations.

Discovery of EST-derived microsatellite primers in the legume Lens culinaris (Fabaceae)

Premise of the study: We developed microsatellite markers in the legume Lens culinaris from publicly available databases to enrich the limited marker resource available for the crop. Methods and Results: Eighty-two primer sets were identified using expressed sequence sets of L. culinaris available in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database and were characterized in six species of Lens. Among them, 20 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers produced no amplification product, 43 produced monomorphic products, and 19 were polymorphic. The primers amplified mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, and hexanucleotide repeats with one to four alleles. These SSR loci successfully amplified in five related wild species, with a total of 61 primer pairs in L. nigricans and L. odemensis (98.39%), 59 in L. tomentosus (95.1 %), and 60 in L. ervoides and L. orientalis (96.7%), respectively. Conclusions: The microsatellite markers discovered in this study will be useful in genetic mapping, marker-assisted breeding, and characterization of germplasm.

Genetic differentiation of wild and cultivated Lens based on molecular markers

Genetic diversity among 83 lentil genotypes including 23 wild types, 19 indigenous varieties, 5 exotic lines and 36 advanced breeding lines was studied using molecular markers. A total of 112 amplicons were produced using 15 RAPD and 8 SSR markers. Dendrogram based on Jaccard similarity coefficient and UPGMA analysis revealed two major clusters and one minor cluster. Cluster I comprised 21 wild accessions of L. orientalis and 1 L. ervoides subspecies. Nineteen Indian varieties grouped together in subcluster IIA indicating their narrow genetic base. Subcluster IIB consisted of 41 genotypes including 5 exotic and 36 advanced breeding lines mainly derived from exotic genotypes. The narrow genetic base of released cultivars and germplasm lines emphasized the need for broadening of genetic base of breeding material using exotic collections and wild species to ascertain genetic improvement upon existing cultivars.

Molecular and morphological characterization of fixed lines from diverse cross in mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Mung bean is an important crop grown in 2.99 millionhectare with 1.02 million tonne production (average during2000–2003). This crop provides protein-rich food, restoresand maintains the soil fertility by fixing atmospheric nitro-gen, and also fits well in different cropping systems. How-ever, the productivity of mung bean is only around 350 kgper ha. The low productivity of this crop can be attributedto narrow genetic base (resulting in low yield potential andsusceptibility to biotic and abiotic stresses) and lack of suit-able plant types for different cropping situations. Mung beanis suitable crop for diversifying more than 10.5 ha land un-derwheat–ricecroppingsystem (Ali 2004)in ‘Indo-Gangeticplain’ and for sustaining the present productivity levels ofcereals. The desired maturity duration for spring/summerseason is 58–62 days, with determinate growth habit, highharvest index, photo-insensitivity and thermo-insensitivity,high pod set in first reproductive flush along with concen-tration at the top of the plant of pods that remain nonshat-tering, fast initial growth, long pod with above 10 seedsper pod and 1000-seed weight of 35–40 g. Short durationmung bean varieties require determinate growth habit. Thepresent investigation was conducted with the specific objec-tive of identifying suitable parents from advanced lines ofdiverse cross for hybridization with established agronomicbase PDM-139. For developing suitable varieties for cul-tivation in spring/summer season, both morphological andmolecular analyses were carried out for characterization ofadvanced breeding lines.

Association mapping unveils favorable alleles for grain iron and zinc concentrations in lentil (Lens culinaris subsp. culinaris)

Lentil is a major cool-season grain legume grown in South Asia, West Asia, and North Africa. Populations in developing countries of these regions have micronutrient deficiencies; therefore, breeding programs should focus more on improving the micronutrient content of food. In the present study, a set of 96 diverse germplasm lines were evaluated at three different locations in India to examine the variation in iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) concentration and identify simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers that associate with the genetic variation. The genetic variation among genotypes of the association mapping (AM) panel was characterized using a genetic distance-based and a general model-based clustering method. The model-based analysis identified six subpopulations, which satisfactorily explained the genetic structure of the AM panel. AM analysis identified three SSRs (PBALC 13, PBALC 206, and GLLC 563) associated with grain Fe concentration explaining 9% to 11% of phenotypic variation and four SSRs (PBALC 353, SSR 317–1, PLC 62, and PBALC 217) were associated with grain Zn concentration explaining 14%, to 21% of phenotypic variation. These identified SSRs exhibited consistent performance across locations. These candidate SSRs can be used in marker-assisted genetic improvement for developing Fe and Zn fortified lentil varieties. Favorable alleles and promising genotypes identified in this study can be utilized for lentil biofortification.

Screening of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus sub sp. culinaris) Germplasm against Fusarium Wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lentis)

Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) ranks third in the world after chickpea and pea (FAO 2015). It is considered as one of the oldest domesticated crop in the Near East based on the archaeological evidence (Cubero, 1981; Zohary and Hopf, 1973) and is grown as an important food source over the last 8,000 years (Dhuppar et al., 2012; Oplinger et al., 1990). Lentil is an annual, autogamous, diploid crop (2n=14) with genome size of approximately 4 Gbp in its haploid component (Arumuganathan and Earle, 1991). Lentil is planted as rotational crop for deriving ecological and environment benefits by improving rhizosphere diversity through biological nitrogen fixation increase in fertility of soil, carbon sequestration, and by management of diseases, weeds and insect pests (Kumar et al., 2013). It is an economical source of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and fiber for resource poor. The major lentil producing countries are Australia, North America, Western Asia, the Middle East, Nepal, China, Ethiopia, Syria, Bangladesh and India (FAOSTAT, 2014). In India, main lentil growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The global cultivated area of lentil is International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 11 (2017) pp. 2533-2541 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

Comparing differential response of Lentil (Lens culinaris Medik) genotypes to aluminium toxicity in hydroponic and soil culture experiments

Davana (Artemisia pallens) ia an important high valued annual aromatic herb of India belonging to the family Asteraceae. India has a monopoly in production and export trade of davana oil and India stands 3 in essential oil production in the world. This study was conducted at Department of seed science and technology, TamilNadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore to standardization of suitable invigouration treatment for seed quality enhancement in davana under laboratory condition. The seeds of davana subjected to different seed invigouration treatments. The treatments are seed invigouration with GA3 25 ppm, GA3 50 ppm, GA3 100 ppm, Thiourea 100 ppm, Thiourea 150 ppm, Thiourea 200 ppm, KNO3 0.05%, KNO3 0.1%, KNO3 0.2% with three different soaking durations viz., 10, 20 and 30 mins. and dry seeds served as control. The observation made on germination %, seedling length (cm), dry matter production and vigour index. The results revealed that seed invigouration with GA350 ppm for 20 min. improved the germination (62%), seedling length (2.4cm) and vigour index (147.6)S genetic diversity is an important issue for forest restoration more willingly than low genetic diversity is suitable for commercial forestry for their economic importance and value. Viable diversity upholds in platelets generated through clonal propagation and horticulture is slightly difficult and this may be created genetic drift. Low genetic diversity among five cultivated populations of Terminalia arjuna was revealed using DNA fingerprints generated by ten commercially available random (RAPD) primers i.e. RPI01 to RPI10. Out of ten primers, eight primers generated total 79 bands with 69 polymorphic bands and 87.34 percentage of polymorphism, while primer RPI02 and RPI08 did not show amplification. Applied all 8 primes having a good polymorphic informativeness among the populations (mean PIC=0.355±0.032 and Ho=0.463±0.018). Higher genetic variation, gene diversity (H), Shannon’s Information index (I) and Percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) among populations (H=0.290±0.162, I=0.440±0.221 and PPB=87.34%) was observed compared to within populations (maximum H=0.165±0.212, I=0.239±0.304 and PPB=39.24%, minimum H=0.026±0.104, I=0.038±0.150, PPB=06.33%). Low average gene diversity (π=0.075±0.062) within population, higher pair wise Fst (ranged from 0.498 to 0.844) among the population and Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) shown adequate genetic variation among population (Percentage of variation Pv=75.57) but serious low genetic variation within populations (Pv=24.43, ΦST=0.756). Among the populations of T. arjuna the higher relative differentiation (GST=0.7843) with restricted gene flow GST (Nm)=0.1375 was observed. Unbiased measures of genetic distance and phylogram revealed that all locations have their once genetic identity and they arranged in their respective clusters. Lowest distance was showed by accession collected from JNKVV and TFRI Jabalpur.OMICS Group Conferences 5716 Corsa Ave., Suite 110, Westlake Los Angeles, CA 91362-7354, USA Phone: +1-650-268-9744, Fax: +1-650-618-1414, Toll free: +1-800-216-6499 Email: agri2014@omicsgroup.net “Organize your Events at OMICS Group Conferences” Proposals are invited for organizing Symposia/Workshops at OMICS Group Conferences or OMICS Group will sponsor small events at your universities in related areas under the title of your own. These proposals can be sent to respective conference mail ids or to symposia@omicsonline.org 167th OMICS Group ConferenceSoil fertility is coupled with number of microorganisms present and their activities in soil. In the present investigation, a pot culture experiment with factorial completely randomized design (FCRD) was performed to evaluate the impact of a lignite based bioinoculant (VIMP) containing consortium of four phosphate solubilizing species of Burkholderia viz., Burkholderia cenocepacia strainVIMP01(JQ867371), Burkholderia gladioli strain VIMP02 (JQ811557), Burkholderia gladioli strain VIMP 03 (JQ867372) and Burkholderia species strain VIMP 04 (JQ867373) isolated from sugarcane and sugar beet rhizosphere, on enzyme activities, CO2 evolution rate and available phosphorus in sterile and nonsterile soil along with or without sugar beet. The highest soil acid and alkaline phosphatase activities were recorded on 90 DAS while the highest soil urease and dehydrogenase activities were recorded on 30 and 60 DAS respectively. Soil microbial activities were recorded at the highest level by the treatment of nonsterile soil + VIMP + sugar beet in combination where the level of available phosphorus was found to be increased substantially by 87.63% and 115.14% as compared to sterile soil alone and nonsterile soil alone control treatments, respectively. Effects of graded levels of phosphorus fertilizer viz. 50%, 75%, 100% RDF with or without bioinoculant VIMP on yield and phosphorus uptake of sugar beet under field trial were also studied using factorial randomized block design (FRBD). The yield and phosphorus uptake of sugar beet recorded by the treatment 75% P2O5 + VIMP were found at par with results of treatment 100% P2O5 + VIMP.The grain smut [Sporisorium sorghi (Link.)Willd] pathogen on sorghum is externally seed borne. The smut sori break during threshing releasing the spores; that adhere to the surface of healthy seeds and remain dormant till next season. The infection takes place before the seedlings emerge out. The conditions suited for delayed germination of seeds favour the smut infection. An attempt has been made to find out the suitable fungicides for the management of grain smut of sorghum. Among the several fungitoxicants reviewed belonging to different groups; the seeds treated with carboxin+thiram (Vitavax power) followed by sulphur @ 3.0 g kg−1 just before sowing recorded significantly higher seed yield and lesser smut incidence and better seed quality parameters.Cereals are the major energy source for a large proportion of the world population. Consequently, reliance on a high proportion of cereal-based diets is now inducing health problems due to poor grain nutritional quality that is mainly due to low micronutrient content. As a result more than 2 billion people in the world are affected by Micronutrient malnutrition. According to WHO, (2002) Zinc (Zn) deficiency ranks fifth leading risk factor for disease in the developing world. Thus, increasing concentrations of Zn in cereal grains is, therefore, an important global humanitarian challenge. Hence, a study was carried in Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) to enhance the Zn density in the grains of three basmati rice cultivars containing low, medium and high Zn after screening the available germplasm in IARI. Their response to different sources and rate of Zn fertilization was studied in soils of divergent characteristics. The results showed that the three cultivars (CSR 30, Pusa Sugandh-5 and Pusa Basmati-6) differed in Zn accumulation in the grains. The Zn application through ZnSO4 in the form of basal and biweekly foliar application has increased the Zn content up to 30.34 mg kg -1 which is near to have a measurable biological impact on human health.G is being widely used as a therapeutic food and a flavouring agent in Indian households. Rapid urbanization and more women joining the workforce, has led to an increase in the demand of shelf stable, ready-to-eat, convenience foods with consistent functional quality. Peeled garlic cloves offer convenience but have short shelf life as they have high tendency towards surface discoloration, moisture loss and microbial spoilage. The nature of the demand for minimally processed products requires that they be fresh-like, visually acceptable and appealing. Reports suggest that commercial ready-to-use garlic products such as paste, powder, flakes etc. do not retain the fresh like characteristics and the required functionality owing to the harsh processing procedures followed for their manufacture. Modified atmosphere packaging is a potent tool to maintain the freshness and functional quality of minimally processed garlic cloves in terms of its total antioxidant capacity, total phenolic content, pungency and nutritional value. In the present investigation, the effect on quality of minimally processed garlic cloves of two varieties, viz., Yamuna Safed (G-1) and Yamuna Safed-4 (G-323) was evaluated during modified atmosphere storage. Freshly peeled garlic cloves were packed in different modified atmosphere conditions of oxygen (1-3%) and carbon dioxide (515%) concentrations and stored for 28 days at 10oC and 75-85% RH. It was observed that there was a non-significant increase in PLW for both the varieties under various modified atmospheric storage conditions in all the samples. Modified atmospheric packaging of samples was found to be most effective for retaining firmness, colour and other quality parameters such as total soluble solids, total antioxidant activity, total phenols and pyruvic acid and minimizing respiration and ethylene evolution rates throughout the storage period irrespective of and variety used.Aluminium is considered as the main abiotic stress in lentil grown on soils containing excessive aluminium contents. Developing more aluminium tolerant genotypes of lentil would help to improve productivity on these soils. This study assessed the differential response of lentil genotypes to aluminium toxicity stress under hydroponic and soil conditions to evaluate genotypes for aluminium tolerance. Significant genotypic differences in root length, shoot length, dry weight of root and shoot, root re-growth after staining, accumulation of aluminium in roots and shoots were observed under 0, 74, 148 and 222 and 296 mM Al concentration. Root and shoot aluminium contents were significantly lower in the tolerant than sensitive genotypes, indicating that aluminium exclusion mechanism was involved for aluminium tolerance. These results were compared with similar measurements including yield from soil assay. Root and shoot, aluminium content at 222mM Al concentrations were significantly correlated with biomass production under controlled conditions and ranked the genotypes with their seed yield in the soil assay. The trend in the differential responses of tolerant (‘L-7903’ and ‘L-4602’) and sensitive (‘L-4147’ and ‘BM-4’) genotypes to aluminium stress was fairly consistent in hydroponic and soil assays.