Evaluation of crop research institutes under data and resource constraints: An alternative approach

The evaluation of crop research institutes in the developing world under limited data availability has not been assessed in the past due to resource constraints. The paper assesses the social benefits of rice research taking the case of a research institute from India following a new approach. The area coverage of the varieties was estimated to be 3.4 million ha and the gain in production was 6.2 million tonnes per year in India. The additional return obtained due to the adoption of these varieties was about ₹ 14,621 million (US$ 232 million) per year at constant 2014-5 prices. The return per rupee investment in the institute's research and extension was ₹ 17. This approach is recommended for the impact evaluation of other crop research institutes in India and the developing world under resource constraints.

Marker-Assisted Improvement for Durable Bacterial Blight Resistance in Aromatic Rice Cultivar HUR 917 Popular in Eastern Parts of India

Bacterial blight (BB) is a devastating disease of rice in the tropics of Indian sub-continent, where the presence of Xoo races with varying levels of genetic diversity and virulence renders disease management extremely challenging. In this context, marker-assisted improvement of plant resistance has been proven as one of the most promising approaches for the development of sustainable rice cultivars. The present study demonstrates the marker-assisted introgression of the three BB resistant genes (Xa21 + xa13 + xa5) into the background of HUR 917, a popular aromatic short grain (ASG) rice cultivar in India. The performance of the resulting improved products (near isogenic lines (NILs), HR 23-5-37-83-5, HR 23-5-37-121-10, HR 23-5-37-121-14, HR 23-65-6-191-13, HR 23-65-6-237-2, HR 23-65-6-258-10 and HR 23-65-6-258-21) establishes the utility of marker-assisted selection (MAS) approach for accelerated trait introgression in rice. The MAS-bred lines carrying three introgressed genes showed broad spectrum BB resistance (lesion length, LL of 1.06 ± 1.35 cm to 4.61 ± 0.87 cm). Besides, these improved lines showed the complete product profile of recurrent parent HUR 917 along with the enhanced level of durable BB resistance. The improved introgression lines with durable BB resistance would contribute to sustainable rice production in India, particularly in the Indo-Gangetic plane that has substantial acreage under HUR 917.

Identification of QTLs for high grain yield and component traits in new plant types of rice

A panel of 60 genotypes comprising New Plant Types (NPTs) along with indica, tropical and temperate japonica genotypes was phenotypically evaluated for four seasons in irrigated situation for grain yield per se and component traits. Twenty NPT genotypes were found promising with an average grain yield varying from 5.45 to 8.8 t/ha. A total of 85 SSR markers were used in the study to identify QTLs associated with grain yield per se and related traits. Sixty-six (77.65%) markers were found to be polymorphic. The PIC values varied from 0.516 to 0.92 with an average of 0.704. A moderate level of genetic diversity (0.39) was detected among genotypes. Variation to the tune of 8% within genotypes, 68% among the genotypes within the population and 24% among the populations were observed (AMOVA). This information may help in identification of potential parents for development of transgressive segregants with very high yield. The association analysis using GLM and MLM models led to the identification of 30 and 10 SSR markers associated with 70 and 16 QTLs, respectively. Thirty novel QTLs linked with 16 SSRs were identified to be associated with eleven traits, namely tiller number (qTL-6.1, qTL-11.1, qTL-4.1), panicle length (qPL-1.1, qPL-5.1, qPL-7.1, qPL-8.1), flag leaf length (qFLL-8.1, qFLL-9.1), flag leaf width (qFLW-6.2, qFLW-5.1, qFLW-8.1, qFLW-7.1), total no. of grains (qTG-2.2, qTG-a7.1), thousand-grain weight (qTGW-a1.1, qTGW-a9.2, qTGW-5.1, qTGW-8.1), fertile grains (qFG-7.1), seed length-breadth ratio (qSlb-3.1), plant height (qPHT-6.1, qPHT-9.1), days to 50% flowering (qFD-1.1) and grain yield per se (qYLD-5.1, qYLD-6.1a, qYLD-11.1).Some of the SSRs were co-localized with more than two traits. The highest co-localization was identified with RM5709 linked to nine traits, followed by RM297 with five traits. Similarly, RM5575, RM204, RM168, RM112, RM26499 and RM22899 were also recorded to be co-localized with more than one trait and could be rated as important for marker-assisted backcross breeding programs, for pyramiding of these QTLs for important yield traits, to produce new-generation rice for prospective increment in yield potentiality and breaking yield ceiling.

Differential Expression of Genes at Panicle Initiation and Grain Filling Stages Implied in Heterosis of Rice Hybrids

RNA-Seq technology was used to analyze the transcriptome of two rice hybrids, Ajay (based on wild-abortive (WA)-cytoplasm) and Rajalaxmi (based on Kalinga-cytoplasm), and their respective parents at the panicle initiation (PI) and grain filling (GF) stages. Around 293 and 302 million high quality paired-end reads of Ajay and Rajalaxmi, respectively, were generated and aligned against the Nipponbare reference genome. Transcriptome profiling of Ajay revealed 2814 and 4819 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) at the PI and GF stages, respectively, as compared to its parents. In the case of Rajalaxmi, 660 and 5264 DEGs were identified at PI and GF stages, respectively. Functionally relevant DEGs were selected for validation through qRT-PCR, which were found to be co-related with the expression patterns to RNA-seq. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis indicated significant DEGs enriched for energy metabolism pathways, such as photosynthesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and carbon fixation, at the PI stage, while carbohydrate metabolism-related pathways, such as glycolysis and starch and sucrose metabolism, were significantly involved at the GF stage. Many genes involved in energy metabolism exhibited upregulation at the PI stage, whereas the genes involved in carbohydrate biosynthesis had higher expression at the GF stage. The majority of the DEGs were successfully mapped to know yield related rice quantitative trait loci (QTLs). A set of important transcription factors (TFs) was found to be encoded by the identified DEGs. Our results indicated that a complex interplay of several genes in different pathways contributes to higher yield and vigor in rice hybrids.

From QTL to variety-harnessing the benefits of QTLs for drought, flood and salt tolerance in mega rice varieties of India through a multi-institutional network

Rice is a staple cereal of India cultivated in about 43.5Mha area but with relatively low average productivity. Abiotic factors like drought, flood and salinity affect rice production adversely in more than 50% of this area. Breeding rice varieties with inbuilt tolerance to these stresses offers an economically viable and sustainable option to improve rice productivity. Availability of high quality reference genome sequence of rice, knowledge of exact position of genes/QTLs governing tolerance to abiotic stresses and availability of DNA markers linked to these traits has opened up opportunities for breeders to transfer the favorable alleles into widely grown rice varieties through marker-assisted backcross breeding (MABB). A large multi-institutional project, "From QTL to variety: marker-assisted breeding of abiotic stress tolerant rice varieties with major QTLs for drought, submergence and salt tolerance" was initiated in 2010 with funding support from Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, in collaboration with International Rice Research Institute, Philippines. The main focus of this project is to improve rice productivity in the fragile ecosystems of eastern, northeastern and southern part of the country, which bear the brunt of one or the other abiotic stresses frequently. Seven consistent QTLs for grain yield under drought, namely, qDTY1.1, qDTY2.1, qDTY2.2, qDTY3.1, qDTY3.2, qDTY9.1 and qDTY12.1 are being transferred into submergence tolerant versions of three high yielding mega rice varieties, Swarna-Sub1, Samba Mahsuri-Sub1 and IR 64-Sub1. To address the problem of complete submergence due to flash floods in the major river basins, the Sub1 gene is being transferred into ten highly popular locally adapted rice varieties namely, ADT 39, ADT 46, Bahadur, HUR 105, MTU 1075, Pooja, Pratikshya, Rajendra Mahsuri, Ranjit, and Sarjoo 52. Further, to address the problem of soil salinity, Saltol, a major QTL for salt tolerance is being transferred into seven popular locally adapted rice varieties, namely, ADT 45, CR 1009, Gayatri, MTU 1010, PR 114, Pusa 44 and Sarjoo 52. Genotypic background selection is being done after BC2F2 stage using an in-house designed 50K SNP chip on a set of twenty lines for each combination, identified with phenotypic similarity in the field to the recipient parent. Near-isogenic lines with more than 90% similarity to the recipient parent are now in advanced generation field trials. These climate smart varieties are expected to improve rice productivity in the adverse ecologies and contribute to the farmer's livelihood.

Spontaneous formation of small sized albumin/acacia coacervate particles

Microgel coacervate particles form spontaneously on mixing aqueous solutions of oppositely charged albumin and acacia, under specific conditions of pH, ionic strength, and polyion concentration, close to but not at the optimum conditions for maximum coacervate yield. The mean particle diameter of these coacervate particles is approximately 6 microns when suspended in aqueous media, as determined by HIAC/Royco particle analysis. The geometric standard deviation of the particles falls in the range 1.2-1.9 microns. The particle size was not dependent on the method of emulsification of the coacervate in the equilibrium phase, or on the stirring speed applied during the manufacturing process. The microgel particles were stable on storage, for periods up to forty-six days, without the addition of a chemical cross-linking agent, or the application of heat. Stability was measured with respect to the change in particle size of samples stored at different temperatures. The non-cross-linked microcapsules were also shown to be stable on pH change, to pH values outside the coacervation pH range. At the optimum conditions for maximum coacervate yield the albumin/acacia system formed a very viscous coacervate phase, which was unsuitable for microcapsule preparation. The rheological properties of albumin/acacia and gelatin/acacia complex coacervates optimized for maximum coacervate yield were compared. The albumin/acacia coacervate was shown to be three orders of magnitude more viscous than the gelatin/acacia system.

Characterization of albumin-alginic acid complex coacervation

Complex coacervation of albumin and alginic acid has been investigated to characterize this process, and to prepare a microencapsulation system suitable for the encapsulation of live cells, protein and polypeptide drugs. The optimum conditions of pH, ionic strength and total polyion concentration were in accordance with predictions based on the method of Burgess & Carless (1984). Albumin/alginic acid complex coacervation appears to fit the Vies-Aranyi model for complex coacervation. Coacervation was limited compared with other polypeptide/polysaccharide systems such as gelatin and acacia, with albumin/alginic acid complex precipitates rather than complex coacervates forming under certain conditions. In particular coacervation was limited to concentrations below 0.5% w/v. At concentrations between 0.35 and 0.5% w/v both complex coacervation and precipitation occurred, and at concentrations above 0.5% w/v only precipitation was detected. The albumin/alginic acid complex coacervate is very viscous and this together with the limited conditions governing the occurrence of coacervation makes this system unsuitable for the preparation of microcapsules.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme in organs of air-breathing fish

Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was measured in tissue homogenates from the African lungfish and six species of air-breathing teleosts (Heteropneustes fossilis, Clarias batrachus, Channa gachua, Anabas testudineus, Notopterus chitala, and Monopterus cuchia) using a standard spectrophotometric assay. In most species, the highest levels of ACE activity were found in the respiratory organs (gills and/or accessory respiratory organs). ACE was also found in heart and kidney tissues from most species and occasionally in liver. Converting enzyme was not found in skin or skeletal muscle from any species and only in blood from H. fossilis and brain from C. batrachus. Captopril, a potent inhibitor of mammalian ACE, inhibited enzymatic activity from all tissues except C. gachua heart and liver and A. testudineus heart. As fish make the transition from aquatic to aerial respiration the gill microcirculation is usually reduced in size and the accessory respiratory organs become elaborated and occupy a more central position in the vascular tree. The presence of ACE in accessory respiratory organs of air-breathing fish appears to greatly enhance the metabolic efficiency of this enzyme on circulating substrates.

Maternal-fetal pneumomediastinum complicating labor: report of a case and review of the literature

Maternal pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema is a rare, alarming but relatively benign complication of labor. It usually manifests itself during the second stage. Once it is diagnosed, further bearing down should be avoided and labor shortened. Due to its rarity, a case is reported with a review of literature. In this case pneumomediastinum and pneumothorax occurred in the newborn, also. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of simultaneous pneumomediastinum in mother and neonate.

Chemical composition and nutritive value of Indigofera enneaphylla and I. Cordifolia as sheep feeds

The chemical composition and nutritive value of Indigofera enneaphylla and Indigofera cordifolia were determined by analysis and by a digestion trial on l 1/2 year old lambs. The crude protein and calcium contents of both species were high and palatability was good. The digestible crude protein and total digestible nutrients on dry basis were 10.7 and 55.5 kg per 100 kg in I. enneapbylla and 7.8 and 57.5 kg per 100 kg in I. cordifolia. No toxic effects were observed in four weeks' feeding. Toxicity of I. enneapbylla reported for horses may not be applicable to sheep. Detailed investigation to assess the nature and extent of toxic principle, if any, is suggested.

Utilization of Zizyphus nummularia leaves by three breeds of sheep

The chemical composition of Zizyphus nummularia leaves was determined, and their nutritive value studied by feeding them to 8-month-old ram lambs, three each of the Rambouillet, Rambouillet x Chokla, and Malpura breeds. Z. nummularia leaves contained 14% crude protein, 3% ether extract, 17% crude fibre, 56% nitrogen-free extract, 73% total carbohydrates, 10% total ash, 2.8% calcium, and 0.14% phosphorus. The dry matter intake of the lambs was 2.05 kg per 100 kg body weight. The palatability of the leaves was low and the animals lost weight. The average digestion coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre, nitrogen-free extract, and total carbohydrates were 44, 54, 40, 28, 35, 64, and 57% respectively. The digestion coefficients of the nutrients did not differ between breeds except that for crude protein, which was higher in the Rambouillet (P < 0.05). The leaves contained 5.56 kg digestible crude protein and 49.7 kg total digestible nutrients per 100 kg dry matter. The nutritive ratio was 1 : 7.9. The leaves were quite nutritious, but palatability was low. Digestibility of protein was poor and urinary nitrogen excretion was low. Animals were in positive nitrogen balance, yet lost weight; possible causes for this are discussed. It is considered that Z. nummuluria leaves fed to growing lambs should be supplemented with other fodder. Protein and phosphorus supplements also seem desirable. Results indicate that wider investigations on factors limiting food intake, the role of supplements in improving the nutritional inadequacy of the diet, and ecological aspects of Zizyphus are necessary.