Whole plant response of Pongamia pinnata to drought stress tolerance revealed by morpho-physiological, biochemical and transcriptome analysis

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.

A Behavioural Analysis to Explain the Intent While Buying Organically Made Skin Care Essentials in Young Working Professionals of Noida City

In recent times, an upward shift in the demand for organically made skincare essentials has been witnessed. Consumers are giving up on conventional products by choosing products containing natural ingredients. The study uncovered the role of consumer values that influence consumers’ attitudes when they look for organically made skincare essentials. Further, it was studied that the theory of planned behaviour constructs like attitudes and perceived behavioural control of consumers impacted their buying intent for organically made skincare essentials. An online questionnaire was shared with the working professional audience of Noida city within the age bracket of 20-35 years, and 241 responses were collected. The results showed that awareness towards health, appearance, and understanding about the product was favourably impactful on the attitude of the buyers while buying organically made skincare essentials. In contrast, the impact fullness of awareness towards the environment was not significant for the same. In addition, consumers’ attitudes towards buying organically made skincare essentials and their perceived behavioural control were solid and positive predictors of intent to purchase such products. Conclusively, managerial inferences are stated that can be productively utilized by the companies.