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Biotic stress due to fungal infection is detrimental to the growth and development of chickpea. In our study, two chickpea genotypes viz Cicer pinnatifidum (resistant) and PBG5 (susceptible) were inoculated with (1 × 10 4 spore mL −1 ) of nectrotrophic fungus Botrytis cinerea at seedling stage. These seedlings were evaluated for morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular differences after 3, 5 and 7 days post inoculation (dpi). Visual symptoms were recorded in terms of water-soaked lesions, rotten pods and twigs with fungal colonies. Light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the differences in number of stomata, hyphal network and extent of topographical damage in resistant ( C. pinnatifidum ) and susceptible (PBG5) genotypes, which were validated by stomatal index studies done by using fluorescence microscopy in the infection process of B. cinerea in leaves of both chickpea genotypes. In case of control (water inoculated) samples, there were differences in PCR analysis done using five primers for screening the genetic variations between two genotypes. The presence of a Botrytis responsive gene (LrWRKY) of size ~300 bp was observed in uninoculated resistant genotype which might have a role in resistance against Botrytis grey mould. The present investigation provides information about the variation in the infection process of B. cinerea in two genotypes which can be further exploited to develop robust and effective strategies to manage grey mould disease.

Our co-seismic GRACE gravity data (Level 2 ‘RL_05’ data product “GX-OG-_2-GSM) for Sumatra earthquake 2004 is obtained by differencing monthly gravity field average for November 2004 from that of January 2005 and band-pass filtering (17–30, degrees and orders) in spectral domain. Here we propose an 11-layered 3-D thrust fault gravity model based on several co-seismic rupture models in literature. Previously we have covered the 3-D modelling details and its inferences like slip rate, seismic moment, momentum etc. in our published literature. Further we extend the inferences through our model for this case study. Here, we have estimated the layer-wise energy distribution by undertaking two types energy loss one is spherical spreading and second absorption with constrained by literature. We have computed layer-wise energy loss, equivalent energy, differential pressure, slip rate, ultimate slip and work done. The computed differential pressure and work done for Sumatra Earthquake 2004 are 1.7552 × 108 N/m2 and 1.657 × 1018 J, respectively. We also estimated the absorption coefficient (calculated absorption coefficients) from our model to honour the slip rate of Sumatra earthquake 2004. The differential pressure is estimated for ocean bottom and sea level surface. The volumetric analysis is also provided for entire 3-D body (layer-wise) using excess mass of our model. The computed differential pressure indeed corresponds to an area pulse at ocean bottom that led to a Tsunami generation.

Dendranthema grandiflora is an important cut flower with high economic importance in the floriculture industry. Identification of stable and high yielding genotypes of Dendranthema grandiflora, hence becomes paramount for ensuring its year-round production. In this context, the genotype by environment interaction effects on 22 chrysanthemum hybrids across six test environments were investigated. The experiment was conducted using Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications for 6 years and data on various agro-morphological and yield-contributing traits were evaluated. Our analysis revealed significant mean sum of squares due to environmental, genotypic and genotype by environment interaction variations for all examined traits. A 2D GGE biplot constructed using first two principal components computed as 59.2% and 23.3% of the differences in genotype by environment interaction for flower yield per plant. The GGE biplot identified two top-performing genotypes, G2 and G5, while the AMMI model highlighted genotypes G17, G15, G6, G5, and G2 as the best performers. Genotype G17 ranked highest for multiple traits, while G2 displayed high mean flower yield as well as stability across all environments. According to AEC line, genotypes G2 and G5 exhibited exceptional stability, whereas genotypes G4, G18 and G19 demonstrated lower stability but maintained high average flower yields. Hence, our findings provide valuable insights into chrysanthemum hybrids that were not only best performing but also hold promise to meet the growers demand of the cut flower industry and can be recommended for large scale commercial cultivation.

Mango (Mangifera indica L.), acclaimed as the 'king of fruits' in the tropical world, has historical, religious, and economic values. It is grown commercially in more than 100 countries, and fresh mango world trade accounts for ~3,200 million US dollars for the year 2020. Mango is widely cultivated in sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world, with India, China, and Thailand being the top three producers. Mango fruit is adored for its taste, color, flavor, and aroma. Fruit color and firmness are important fruit quality traits for consumer acceptance, but their genetics is poorly understood. For mapping of fruit color and firmness, mango varieties Amrapali and Sensation, having contrasting fruit quality traits, were crossed for the development of a mapping population. Ninety-two bi-parental progenies obtained from this cross were used for the construction of a high-density linkage map and identification of QTLs. Genotyping was carried out using an 80K SNP chip array. Initially, we constructed two high-density linkage maps based on the segregation of female and male parents. A female map with 3,213 SNPs and male map with 1,781 SNPs were distributed on 20 linkages groups covering map lengths of 2,844.39 and 2,684.22cM, respectively. Finally, the integrated map was constructed comprised of 4,361 SNP markers distributed on 20 linkage groups, which consisted of the chromosome haploid number in Mangifera indica (n =20). The integrated genetic map covered the entire genome of Mangifera indica cv. Dashehari, with a total genetic distance of 2,982.75 cM and an average distance between markers of 0.68 cM. The length of LGs varied from 85.78 to 218.28 cM, with a mean size of 149.14 cM. Phenotyping for fruit color and firmness traits was done for two consecutive seasons. We identified important consistent QTLs for 12 out of 20 traits, with integrated genetic linkages having significant LOD scores in at least one season. Important consistent QTLs for fruit peel color are located at Chr 3 and 18, and firmness on Chr 11 and 20. The QTLs mapped in this study would be useful in the marker-assisted breeding of mango for improved efficiency.

Chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) is an important pulse crop around the globe and a valuable source of protein in the human diet. However, it is highly susceptible to various plant pathogens such as fungi, bacteria, and viruses, which can cause significant damage from the seedling phase until harvest, leading to reduced yields and affecting its production. Botrytis cinerea can cause significant damage to chickpea crops, especially under high humidity and moisture conditions. This fungus can cause grey mould disease, which can lead to wilting, stem and pod rot, and reduced yields. Chickpea plants have developed specific barriers to counteract the harmful effects of this fungus. These barriers include biochemical and structural defences. In this study, the defence responses against B. cinerea were measured by the quantification of biochemical metabolites such as antioxidant enzymes, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline, glutathione (GSH), H 2 O 2 , ascorbic acid (AA) and total phenol in the leaf samples of chickpea genotypes (one accession of wild Cicer species, viz . Cicer pinnatifidum 188 identified with high level of resistance to Botrytis grey mould (BGM) and a cultivar, Cicer arietinum PBG5 susceptible to BGM grown in the greenhouse). Seedlings of both the genotypes were inoculated with (1 × 10 4 spore mL −1 ) inoculum of isolate 24, race 510 of B. cinerea and samples were collected after 1, 3, 5, and 7 days post-inoculation (dpi). The enhanced enzymatic activity was observed in the pathogen-inoculated leaf samples as compared to uninoculated (healthy control). Among inoculated genotypes, the resistant one exhibited a significant change in enzymatic activity, total phenolic content, MDA, proline, GSH, H 2 O 2 , and AA, compared to the susceptible genotype. The study also examined the isozyme pattern of antioxidant enzymes at various stages of B. cinerea inoculation. Results from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed that BGM had a more significant impact on susceptible genotypes compared to resistant ones when compared to the control (un-inoculated). In addition, SEM and FTIR spectroscopy analyses confirmed the greater severity of BGM on susceptible genotypes compared to their resistant counterparts. Our results suggest the role of antioxidant enzymes and other metabolites as defence tools and biochemical markers to understand compatible and non-compatible plant-pathogen interactions better. The present investigation will assist future plant breeding programs aimed at developing resistant varieties.

Melatonin and polyamines have been broadly found in multiple physiological processes and in diverse abiotic stresses faced by plants. In various plant species, melatonin-induced regulation of polyamine metabolism has been reported to play a critical role in the manifestation of stress tolerance mechanisms. Exogenous melatonin pretreatment has been shown to elevate the levels of endogenous polyamines through enhanced expression of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and arginine decarboxylase (ADC) ultimately resulting in tolerant phenotypes. The melatonin-polyamine modulation activates the antioxidant enzymatic machinery within the plant system that maintains the reactive species levels and alleviates the oxidative burst-associated damage responses. Alternatively, melatonin-mediated polyamine catabolism has been reported to be crucial in minimizing the excess reactive species accumulation under stress conditions. The melatonin-induced balance of polyamine metabolic flux maintains the ionic homeostasis in plant cells under stress conditions. Recent reports highlighted that melatonin-polyamine regulation involves crosstalk with salicylic acid, abscisic acid and ethylene that leads to a complex network of defense activation under stress conditions. This review attempts to highlight the regulatory role of melatonin in the modulation of polyamine metabolism and associated signaling components that confer stress tolerance in plants. The potential hormonal crosstalks involving melatonin-polyamine regulation have also been discussed to provide mechanistic insight into possible underlying mechanisms. This study will assist the current understanding of the uses of melatonin and polyamines as polyfunctional phytoprotectant in the crop production system.

In the current study, we compared the production of extracellular lignocellulose degrading enzymes and bioethanol from the spent mushroom substrate (SMS) of Calocybe indica and Volvariella volvacea . From SMS at different stages of the mushroom development cycle, ligninolytic and hydrolytic enzymes were analysed. The activities of lignin-degrading enzymes, including lignin peroxidase (LiP), laccase, and manganese peroxidase (MnP) were maximal in the spawn run and primordial stages, while hydrolytic enzymes including xylanase, cellobiohydrolase (CBH), and carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) showed higher activity during fruiting bodies development and at the end of the mushroom growth cycle. SMS of V. volvacea showed relatively lower ligninase activity than the SMS of C. indica , but had the maximum activity of hydrolytic enzymes. The enzyme was precipitated with acetone and further purified with the DEAE cellulose column. The maximum yield of reducing sugars was obtained after hydrolysis of NaOH (0.5 M) pretreated SMS with a cocktail of partially purified enzymes (50% v/v). After enzymatic hydrolysis, the total reducing sugars were 18.68 ± 0.34 g/l (SMS of C. indica ) and 20.02 ± 0.87 g/l (SMS of V. volvacea ). We observed the highest fermentation efficiency and ethanol productivity (54.25%, 0.12 g/l h) obtained from SMS hydrolysate of V. volvacea after 48 h at 30 ± 2 °C, using co-culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae MTCC 11,815 and Pachysolen tannophilus MTCC 1077.

In this era of rapid industrialization and modernization, contamination of the environment with heavy metals from natural and anthropogenic sources without proper disposal treatment is a global concern. Huge amounts of toxic heavy metals (HM) released through industrial, agricultural, and military practices into the environment lead to pernicious effects on soils, water, and air. Deposited toxic HM beyond certain permissible limits is producing an obnoxious effect not only on the soil but also on human and animal health. Application of physical and chemical processes for HM remediation is expensive, laborious, and non-sustainable. Under metal stress, soil microbes have developed various mechanisms to cope with metal toxicity. They can accumulate, alter, or detoxify HM. Therefore, the exploitation of microbes acquiring metal detoxifying traits in addition to plant beneficial attributes make the metal remediation process eco-friendly and cost-effective. Plant–microbe interactions aiming at HM stress may provide a new way to existing phytoremediation and rhizoremediation uses. This review includes a brief insight into heavy metal pollution, their effect on plant biology, and metal-microbe association and highlights the various mechanisms of microbes mediated heavy metal detoxification in plants.

Soil salinity is major constraint for wheat production globally and breeding wheat cultivars for salt tolerance by conventional means is difficult. Therefore, understanding molecular components associated with salt tolerance is needed to facilitate breeding for salt tolerance in wheat. In this investigation, quantitative trait loci (QTL/s) associated with salt tolerance were identified using recombinant inbred lines (RILs) developed from a cross between Kharchia 65 (KH 65) and HD 2009 cultivars. Parents and RILs were evaluated under controlled and sodic stress conditions for 11 morpho-physiological and yield determining traits for two consecutive crop cycles. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were employed for mapping studies. Using composite interval mapping approach, 11 QTLs on 6 chromosomal regions (1B, 2D, 5D, 6A, 6B and 7D) for 7 different traits were identified explaining proportion of the phenotypic variance (PVEs) (2.5–12.8%) under control condition. Three of the QTLs (QCph.iiwbr-2D.1, QCle.iiwbr-6A and QCle.iiwbr-6B) were most consistent in all the environments and explained PVEs (5.1–12.8%) under control condition. Twenty-five QTLs were detected on 7 chromosomal regions (1A, 1B, 2D, 4D, 5D, 6A and 7D) for 10 different traits explaining PVEs (2.6–15.1%) under salt stress. Six of the QTLs namely QSNa+.iiwbr-1B, QSK+.iiwbr-2D, QStn.iiwbr-4D, QSph.iiwbr-2D.1, QSph.iiwbr-6A and QSdth.iiwbr-2D were consistently reproducible in all the environments and explained PVEs ranging from 2.6 to 15.1%. SSR markers namely gwm 261, wmc 112, and cfd 84 were tightly linked with QTLs for K+ content; DTH and DTA; and TN and NE, respectively. Several QTLs contributing towards salt tolerance were present on 2D chromosome. Most of the QTLs linked with salt tolerant traits were inherited from KH 65 signifying the presence of several genes associated with salt tolerance in this cultivar. The information is very useful in marker assisted breeding to enhance salt tolerance in wheat.