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Adequate knowledge, access and introgression of genetic diversity available in cultivated and wild relatives are pre-requisites for widening the genetic base of cultivars to sustain genetic improvement. An attempt was made to screen anthracnose resistance in 33 indigenous and exotic accessions of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) belonging to primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary gene pools including three popular and widely cultivated landraces of North-Western Indian Himalayas. The cultivated and wild species of common bean were introgressed into the backgrounds of landraces, which resulted in the development of 22 crosses comprising 6 each of intra and interspecific crosses with P. vulgaris and P. coccineus, 3 with P. acutifolius, 2 with P. lunatus and 5 backcrosses. The hybridity of these crosses was confirmed using morphological and molecular markers. The interspecific crosses of P. vulgaris × P. coccineus, P. vulgaris × P. acutifolius and P. vulgaris × P. lunatus were attempted for the first time in India using in-vitro approaches. Further hybrid plants were grown to maturity following embryo rescue protocol, but all showed different developmental abnormalities. The overall establishment of successful hybrids and their complete development was the maximum in cross of Bhaderwah Local × Poonch Local (18.28%) and the minimum in Bhaderwah Local × IC258276 and Bhaderwah Local × IC328372 (0.5%). The results of the present study revealed that wild relatives of common bean viz. P. coccineus, P. acutifolius and P. lunatus are an excellent source of resistance against anthracnose, which can be exploited for diversification of cultivated gene pool. These resistant genetic resources could also be shared among common bean researchers in the country or elsewhere under Standard Material Transfer Agreement for strengthening ongoing crop improvement programmes.

The interaction between selective nutrients and linked genes involving a specific organ reveals the genetic make-up of an individual in response to a particular nutrient. The interaction of genes with food opens opportunities for the addition of bioactive compounds for specific populations comprising identical genotypes. The slight difference in the genetic blueprints of humans is advantageous in determining the effect of nutrients and their metabolism in the body. The basic knowledge of emerging nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics can be applied to optimize health, prevention, and treatment of diseases. In addition, nutrient-mediated pathways detecting the cellular concentration of nutrients such as sugars, amino acids, lipids, and metabolites are integrated and coordinated at the organismal level via hormone signals. This review deals with the interaction of nutrients with various aspects of nutrigenetics and nutrigenomics along with pathways involved in nutrient sensing and regulation, which can provide a detailed understanding of this new leading edge in nutrition research and its potential application to dietetic practice.

Persian walnut populations have tremendous morphological and allelic diversity in their germplasm due to heavy outcrossing and years of seed multiplication. These variations are assessed by morphological, cytological, biochemical, and molecular markers. Various researchers have used different tree, foliage, flower, nut, and kernel traits to evaluate morphological/phenotypic diversity. In walnut, morphological indices are first taken into consideration to describe and classify the germplasm, but the environment influences them. In comparison, DNA-based markers can detect genetic diversity at any stage of plant development and have been shown to be a potential tool for assessing variation at the DNA level and deciphering genetic relationships within and between species. Microsatellites are very powerful and informative among DNA-based markers in studying genetic relationships and genetic identity at different levels. They are neutral, highly frequent, uniformly distributed, hypervariable, codominant, highly reproducible, produce many alleles per locus, and require a small amount of DNA for analysis. Current breeding objectives can be achieved by selecting superior genotypes from the germplasm, supplemented by molecular characterization in the selection of parents for each breeding program. Therefore, the use of morphological and molecular markers is recommended for efficient exploration and utilization of germplasm resources and to improve diversity among genetic resources. The published literature on morphological and molecular markers, especially simple sequence repeats (SSRs), is presented in this review to provide current insights into the level of genetic diversity in walnut.