Explore the vast range of titles available.

Fusarium basal rot (FBR) severely reduces onion production by causing substantial pre- and post-harvest losses, resulting in shortage of onion during the lean period. Among many reported Fusarium species causing FBR, the Fusarium acutatum and Fusarium falciforme have become more aggressive with their increasing prevalence. The current study evaluated and compared the five different ‘onion bulb inoculation methods’ to induce F. acutatum and F. falciforme mediated bulb rotting under controlled laboratory conditions. The methods tested included: (1) cotton swab impregnated with spore suspension, (2) pinprick at the basal plate followed by dipping in spore suspension, (3) a combination of pinprick, dipping, and cotton swab, (4) disk inoculation, and (5) injection of spore suspension. Onion bulb rotting was monitored for 15 days post-inoculation observing mycelial growth, tissue necrosis, affected bulb surface area and affected bulb tissue volume, histopathology, and disease rating. Depending upon effectiveness of methods, the bulb rot affected area ranged from 32 to 70 cm 2 for F. acutatum and from 64 to 81 cm 2 for F. falciforme , while the volume of affected bulb tissue ranged from 17 to 55 cm 3 for F. acutatum and from 48 to 69 cm 3 for F. falciforme . The affected surface area, affected volume, rotting over control and disease rating in Cotton swab method was 48 cm 2 , 31 cm 3 , 56%, 7 for F. acutatum and 80 cm 2 , 67 cm 3 , 92%, 9 for F. falciforme , respectively, which indicated the pathogenicity of F. falciforme was higher than that of F. acutatum across all five inoculation methods (Methods 1–5). Further, we observed that F. acutatum caused rot within 3 days of exposure while symptoms in F. falciforme appeared on 5th day, however the extent of the tissue damage was higher. In our findings, the ‘cotton swab method’ was found best for creating the artificial infection on the onion bulbs followed by ‘Pinprick at the basal plate and dipping in spore suspension method’ in comparison to other methods. The results of this study would pave the way to onion breeders and pathologists to employ suitable screening method for mass screening of onion genotypes for FBR resistance/tolerance.

Allium species are valued for their culinary and medicinal applications, with flowering and bulbing being key developmental processes regulated by photoperiod and temperature. In short-day, many Allium species exhibit limited floral induction, hindering their potential in breeding programs. The present study aimed to (i) develop a methodology to induce flowering under non-inductive conditions and (ii) elucidate the molecular mechanisms regulating florogenesis and bulbing in A. cepa , A. sativum , and A. tuberosum. A photoperiod extension system (10 h daylight followed by 8 h artificial light) coupled with gibberellic acid (GA 3 ; 50, 100, 200 mg/L) treatment was standardized and applied to wild Allium species ( A. tuberosum , A. fasciculatum , A. macranthum A. schoenoprasum ). Results revealed that 200 mg/L GA 3 combined with an 18-hrs photoperiod significantly promoted early scape emergence and flowering in A. tuberosum. In contrast, scape induction was not observed in other species under any treatment combinations. In our parallel experiment, expression profiling through qRT-PCR indicated that FT1, FT3, and FT4 genes were associated with bulbing, while FT2, CO, and LFY were key regulators of flowering. High expression of LFY, AP1, SEP3, and PI in A. cepa and A. tuberosum was correlated with successful floral transition, whereas their suppression in A. sativum underpinned its non-flowering phenotype. Additionally, the flowering repressor FLC was up-regulated during bulbing but down-regulated during flowering, reinforcing its antagonistic role in florogenesis. This work provides new insights into the florogenesis and bulbing regulatory network under short-day conditions and underscores the pivotal role of LFY in promoting flowering in Allium species. The findings offer a framework for future genetic manipulation strategies, including LFY overexpression to induce flowering in sterile garlic cultivars and LFY knockdown to control bolting in bulb onions.

Colletotrichum is an important plant pathogenic fungi that causes anthracnose/-twister disease in onion. This disease was prevalent in the monsoon season from August to November months and the symptoms were observed in most of the fields. This study aimed to investigate the pathogenicity and cumulative effect, if any of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Fusarium acutatum . The pot experiment was laid out to identify the cause responsible for inciting anthracnose-twister disease, whether the Colletotrichum or Fusarium or both, or the interaction of pathogens and GA3. The results of the pathogenicity test confirmed that C. gloeosporioides and F. acutatum are both pathogenic. C. gloeosporioides caused twisting symptoms independently, while F.acutatum independently caused only neck elongation. The independent application of GA3 did not produce any symptoms, however, increased the plant height. The combined treatment of C. gloeosporioides and F. acutatum caused twisting, which enhanced upon interaction with GA3 application giving synergistic effect. The acervuli were found in lesions infected with C. gloeosporioides after 8 days of inoculation on the neck and leaf blades. Symptoms were not observed in untreated control plants. Koch's postulates were confirmed by reisolating the same pathogens from the infected plants.

Aims To evaluate and compare the efficacy of manual toothbrush, audio-tactile performance (ATP) method, and musical toothbrush on plaque control and oral hygiene maintenance in visually impaired children. Methods and results The current observational study included 60 visually impaired children aged 9–16 years who were randomly divided into 3 groups, each with 20 children receiving oral hygiene instructions in different modes: Group 1 (Control) manual toothbrush, Group 2 (ATP) audio-tactile performance method with a manual toothbrush, and Group 3 musical toothbrush. Both manual (groups 1 and 2) and musical toothbrushes (Group 3) were changed after 3 months for better efficiency. Oral hygiene index simplified (OHI-S) and Rustogi Modified Navy Plaque Index (RMNPI) plaque scores were recorded at baseline, at the end of 1, 3, and 6 months. The collected data were statistically analysed using SPSS version 21. The intra- and inter-group comparisons were analysed using one-way ANOVA, and the multiple group comparisons were analysed using the Tukey HSD test. In intragroup comparisons from baseline to 6 months, both OHI-S and RMNPI plaque scores were reduced for group 3, only OHI-S plaque scores were reduced for group 2. Intergroup comparisons revealed a statistically high significant difference in OHI-S plaque scores from baseline to 6 months and RMNPI plaque scores from 1 to 6 months. Conclusion The motivation and education with musical toothbrushes and audio-tactile performance (ATP) method could aid in the improvement of oral hygiene maintenance of visually impaired children.

Background Melia dubia Cav. is a fast-growing multipurpose tree suitable for agroforestry and has been widely cultivated for wood-based industries, particularly pulp and paper production. Despite its high economic value in India, there is a lack of information regarding the molecular mechanism driving its fast-growth. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms responsible for fast-growth by expression analysis of selective candidate genes. Methods and results Initially, growth traits were assessed, including tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH), across three different ages (one-year-old, two-year-old, and three-year-old) of M. dubia plantations. Tree volume based on tree height and DBH, was also calculated. The analysis of annual tree height increment revealed that the second-year plantation exhibited the higher increment, followed by first and third years. In contrast, DBH was maximum in third-year plantation, followed by the second and first years. Similarly, annual tree volume increment showed a similar trend with DBH that maximum in the third year, followed by second and first years. Furthermore, a differential gene expression analysis was performed using qRT-PCR on four genes such as Phloem Intercalated with Xylem (PXY), Clavata3/Embryo Surrounding Region-Related 41 (CLE41), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase (ACS-1) and Hemoglobin1 (Hb1) for downstream analysis. The relative gene expression showed up-regulation of CLE41, ACS-1, and Hb1 genes, while the PXY gene was downregulated across the tree ages. Interestingly, a positive association was observed between tree growth and the expression of the selected candidate genes. Conclusion Our results pave the way for further research on the regulatory mechanisms of genes involved in fast-growth and provide a basis for genetic improvement of Melia dubia .

Key messageAn approach to release ‘frozen’ variability in apomictic species using sexuality of another species, eventually its utilization in crop improvement and de-novo domestication of crop wild relatives is presented.Pennisetum squamulatum, a secondary gene pool species of pearl millet (P. glaucum), harbours many desirable traits. However, it was neither utilized to improve pearl millet fodder traits nor improvement of its own domestication traits was attempted, due to the complexities of genomes and apomictic reproduction. To overcome this, we followed an Apomixis Mediated Genome Addition (AMGA) strategy and utilized the contrasting reproductive capacities (sexuality and apomixis) of both the species to access the otherwise un-available variability embedded in P. squamulatum. Segregating population of interspecific hybrids exhibited significant variability and heterosis for desired morphological, agronomical, and nutritional traits. Elite apomictic and perennial hybrids were evaluated in breeding trials, and eventually a novel grass cultivar was released for commercial cultivation in India. The performance of newly developed cultivar was superior to other adapted perennial grasses of arid and semi-arid rangelands. Through AMGA, the sexuality of one species was successfully utilized to ‘release’ the ‘frozen’ variability embedded in another species. Subsequently, the hybrids representing desirable trait combinations were again ‘fixed’ utilizing the apomixis alleles from the male parent in a back-and-forth apomixis-sexual-apomixis selection cycle. This study also demonstrated the potential of AMGA to improve crop relatives through genomes introgression as well as de novo domestication of new crops from wild species.

In March 2024, onion fields at ICAR-DOGR Pune, India, displayed basal rot symptoms averaging 10–15% disease incidence. The pathogen Fusarium equiseti was isolated, identified, and confirmed through sequencing Tef1-α gene primers. Pathogenicity was tested fulfilling Koch’s postulates and the pathogen was re-isolated. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the initial documented occurrence of F. equiseti causing basal rot of onion bulbs in India, emphasizing the necessity of developing management strategies for this pathogen.

Background Pongamia is considered an important biofuel species worldwide. Drought stress in the early growth stages of Pongamia influences negatively on the germination and seedling development. Due to lack of cultivar stability under drought stress conditions, establishment of successful plantation in drought hit areas becomes a major problem. To address this issue, drought stress response of four Pongamia genotypes was studied at morphological, physio-chemical and transcriptome levels. Methods and results Drought stress was levied by limiting water for 15 days on three months old seedlings of four genotypes. A significant effect of water stress was observed on the traits considered. The genotype NRCP25 exhibited superior morpho-physiological, biochemical drought responses. Also, the genotype had higher root length, photosynthetic pigments, higher antioxidant enzymes and solute accumulation compared to other genotypes. In addition, transcript profiling of selected drought responsive candidate genes such as trehalose phosphate synthase 1 (TPS1), abscisic acid responsive elements-binding protein 2 (ABF2-2), heat shock protein 17 (HSP 17 kDa), tonoplast intrinsic protein 1 (TIP 1–2), zinc finger homeodomain protein 2 (ZFP 2), and xyloglucan endotransglucolase 13 (XET 13) showed only up-regulation in NRCP25. Further, the transcriptome responses are in line with key physio-chemical responses exhibited by NRCP25 for drought tolerance. Conclusions As of now, there are no systematic studies on Pongamia drought stress tolerance; therefore this study offers a comprehensive understanding of whole plant drought stress responsiveness of Pongamia. Moreover, the results support important putative trait indices with potential candidate genes for drought tolerance improvement of Pongamia.

Panicum maximum (guinea grass) is a model crop for apomixis and polyploidy studies. It is predominantly tetraploid (2n = 32) and is characterized by gametophytic apomixis, Panicum-type apospory and pseudogamous endosperm development. The three components of apomixis, viz. apomeiosis, parthenogenesis and functional endosperm development, can be uncoupled in this crop. An exhaustive single progenitor-derived ploidy series comprising of 32 accessions representing 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x, 7x, 8x, 9x and 11x cytotypes was utilized in present study to understand ploidy effects on expression of apospory as well on uncoupled components in two phases of progeny formation i.e. in matured ovules (using embryo-sac analysis) and in matured self-pollinated seeds (using Flow Cytometric Seed Screen method). Rise in ploidy enhanced the formation of sexual embryo-sacs (ES) thereby increasing the frequency of facultative accessions at higher ploidy level. Our results suggested that the eventual phenotype depends on relative doses of apospory and sexual factors in the genome. Ploidy level was also found affecting the penetrance and expressivity of uncoupled apomixis components. Formation of BIII hybrids (3n) appeared to be more stabilised and less affected by the ploidy change, however, formation of M1 (1n) progenies increased with the rise in ploidy. Ploidy effects on traits such as occurrence of multiple ES, autonomous endosperm development, and twin embryos were also studied. Flexibility of guinea grass to tolerate excessive genome burden and successful formation of seeds overcoming endosperm balance number and endosperm imprinting constraints is also discussed.

IntroductionHeart failure (HF) is a complex disease which is growing to be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality leading to increased cost of chronic care and hospitalization. In the DAPA-HF study, the sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT-2i) dapagliflozin was shown to reduce the risk of worsening HF and death in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Our goal was to conduct an audit in a tertiary referral centre at University Hospital Galway (UHG) to identify patients with HFrEF who fulfil the eligibility criteria for SGLT-2i therapy, as seen in the DAPA-HF study. We also sought to identify patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) in our HFrEF cohort who are potential candidates for improvement of glycaemic control with SGLT-2i therapy according to the ADA-EASD Guidelines.MethodologyA retrospective audit was conducted on 129 patients with HFrEF attending the specialist-led heart failure clinic at UHG between January and March 2020. Demographic, clinical, biochemical and medication data were collected from medical charts and our local digital database:EVOLVE® and CVWeb®. Patients had to meet the DAPA-HF inclusion criteria to be deemed eligible for dapagliflozin therapy.ResultsTable 1 summarises the baseline clinical data and table 2 summarises the list of medical therapy at our centre. Of note, the 129 patients in our study represented a more elderly cohort compared to the DAPA-HF study population.Only 49/129 (38%) of our HFrEF patients were eligible for SGLT-2i therapy based on the DAPA-HF inclusion criteria. This is primarily due to the higher than expected percentage of patients in our cohort who were asymptomatic (34.9%) and who had low NT-proBNP levels (29.6%). 16/129 (12.4%) had severe CKD with an eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m2.There were only 26/129 (20.2%) patients with T2DM of which 6 patients were already on SGLT-2i. The majority had ischemic cardiomyopathy (69%) with concomitant risk factors and (30.8%) had poor glycaemic control.Abstract 24 Table 1Baseline characteristics and co-morbidities Local Data (n=129) DAPA-HF (n=4744) Mean Age (Years) 71.3 ± (11.8) 66 Male (%) 69 77 T2DM (%) 20.2 45 NYHA Class (%) NYHA I 34.9 None NYHA II 48.1 68 NYHA III 15.5 32 NYHA IV 1.5 1 Mean Left VentricularEjection Fraction (%) 28.5 ± (7.4) 31 Mean Systolic BP (mmHg) 122.7± (17) 122 Median NT-proBNP (pg/mL) 1317 1437 Mean eGFR (ml/min/1.73 m2) 57.4 ± (20.5) 66 Ischemic Aetiology (%) 58.1 56 HF Hospitalization within 1 year (%) 36.4 47 Hypertension (%) 77.5 74 Atrial Fibrillation/Flutter% 48 40 Abstract 24 Table 2Treatment Local Data (n=129) DAPA-HF (n=4744) Diuretic (%) 67.4 93 ACEI (%) 36.4 56 ARB (%) 8.5 28 ACEI/ARB/ARNI (%) 90.7 93.5 Beta-Blocker (%) 93.8 96 MRA (%) 27.9 71 ICD (%) 20.2 26 CRT (%) 10.9 7 Diabetes Medication (n=26) Metformin 10 Sulphonylurea 3 DPP4 Inhibitor 10 GLP-1 Agonist 0 Insulin 3 SGLT-2i 6 ConclusionThis study shows a lower than expected number of patients in our centre who would have been included in the DAPA-HF trial. This could be because many patients in this cohort were already on optimal HF treatment, many being asymptomatic and had low NT-proBNP levels. Some patients were also ineligible for SGLT-2i because of Stage 4 CKD.One-third of the diabetic patients in this HFrEF cohort were not at target HbA1C range and according to the ADA-EASD Guidelines, all these patients should have SGLT-2i added to intensify glycaemic control. Lately, the Canadian Heart Society have updated their guidelines with a strong recommendation to introduce SGLT-2i in diabetics with ischemic cardiomyopathy despite adequate glycaemic control for cardiovascular benefits.SGLT-2i represents an important, but underutilized therapeutic option by cardiologists, likely due to the lack of familiarity on its use. This study reveals that SGLT-2i prescription could potentially increase in HFrEF patients with or without T2DM as guidelines will soon be updated based on robust evidence from large-scale clinical trials and when prescribers become aware of the indication for primary prevention of heart failure hospitalization and death.