Towards developing resistance to chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing using multiplexed gRNAs

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Mastreviruses are an emerging group of viruses transmitted by leafhoppers and infect both monocot and dicot plants. Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus...     

Dactylospongia elegans—A Promising Drug Source: Metabolites,Bioactivities, Biosynthesis,Synthesis, and Structural-Activity Relationship

Marine environment has been identified as a huge reservoir of novel biometabolites that are beneficial for medical treatments, as well as improving human health and well-being. Sponges have been highlighted as one of the most interesting phyla as new metabolites producers. Dactylospongia elegans Thiele (Thorectidae) is a wealth pool of various classes of sesquiterpenes, including hydroquinones, quinones, and tetronic acid derivatives. These metabolites possessed a wide array of potent bioactivities such as antitumor, cytotoxicity, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory. In the current work, the reported metabolites from D. elegans have been reviewed, including their bioactivities, biosynthesis, and synthesis, as well as the structural-activity relationship studies. Reviewing the reported studies revealed that these metabolites could contribute to new drug discovery, however, further mechanistic and in vivo studies of these metabolites are needed.     

Phenotypic variations of wheat cultivars from the North China Plain in response to cadmium stress and associated single nucleotide polymorphisms identified by a genome-wide association study

Understanding the genetic mechanisms for cadmium(Cd) uptake and translocation in common wheat(Triticum aestivum) is of significance in food Cd contamination control. In this study, a diverse panel of 132 wheat cultivars was collected from the North China Plain. The cultivars were evaluated in terms of their phenotypic variations in response to Cd stress and subjected to a genome-wide association study(GWAS) to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms(SNPs) associated with the phenotypic variatio...     

Genetic variability and estimates of heritability in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) genotypes grown in a semiarid zone of Sudan

A field experiment was conducted to evaluate nine genotypes of sorghum grown for two consecutive cropping seasons in 2006 and 2007 under rain-fed conditions in a semiarid zone at the Research Farm of El Fasher Research Station, Sudan. The objective of the study was to assess genetic variability and heritability among sorghum genotypes using phenotypic morphological traits. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used for the experiment. The grain yield (kg ha^?1), the number of heads/plant, followed by straw yield (kg ha^?1) had the highest genotypic coefficients of variation in both seasons. High heritability (above 95%) was shown for plant height in both seasons. High genetic advance was reported in straw yield, 1000-grain weight and days to flowering in both seasons. Highly significant differences among genotypes were found for all characters. The high-yielding genotype was Adv-Edo-CWS (E-9) with grain yields of 2780.6 kg ha^?1. Grain yield was significantly and positively correlated with straw yield (r = 0.91), number of heads/plant (r = 0.69), plant height (r = 0.53) and 1000-grain weight (r = 0.36). However, it was significantly and negatively correlated with days to 50% flowering (r = ?0.21). Based on their positive association with grain yield, the character’s straw weight, number of heads/plant, plant height and 1000-grain weight would be the preferable selection criteria for sorghum improvement program in the country.     

Wheat Seed Presoaking for Improved Germination

Seed presoaking improves wheat germination under marginal moisture conditions. The duration of seed presoaking was studied at The University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, using 10 wheat varieties. Seed presoaking beyond 12 h does not improve germination further, and beyond 21 h, germination rate is drastically reduced.     

Anti-Oxidant Activities,Chemical Attributes and Fruit Yield of Peach Cultivars as Influenced by Foliar Application of Ascorbic Acid

Peach fruit is enriched with natural antioxidants but oxidation caused by biotic and abiotic stresses, reduce these antioxidants and consequently effect the quality and yield of the fruit. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to investigate the role of ascorbic acid to sustain the natural antioxidant activity, improve the fruit quality and yield of peach cultivars (Early Grand and Florida King). The peach cultivars, Early Grand and Florida King were tested against four levels of ascorbic acid (200, 400, 600 and 800?ppm) and compared with control as water spray. The foliar application of ascorbic acid significantly influenced anti-oxidant activity and physico-chemical attributes of peach cultivars. However, the foliar application of ascorbic acid @ 800?ppm significantly increased the fruit weight, fruit yield, fruit firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, antioxidant activity of fruit peel, with least percent infected fruits and fruit juice pH as compared to the rest of the treatments. Similarly, significant variation was recorded for peach cultivars regarding anti-oxidant activity and various physico-chemical attributes. The maximum fruit weight, fruit yield, fruit firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity and TSS/TA ratio were noted in fruit of cultivar Florida King. On other side the foliar treated fruit of peach cultivar Early Grand had the highest percent infected fruits, fruit juice pH and antioxidant activity of fruit peel. It is concluded from the significant findings of present research that the peach cultivar Florida King performed better in terms of maximum fruit yield, whereas the cultivar Early Grand produced better quality fruits with high anti-oxidant activity when treated with 800?ppm of ascorbic acid as foliar spray.     

利用乳成分分析仪与近红外光谱仪比较分析牛奶中的乳脂肪和乳蛋白

采用乳成分分析仪和近红外光谱仪比较分析了牛奶中的乳脂肪和乳蛋白。分析结果表明,二者没有显著差异,近红外光谱仪可以代替乳成分分析仪用来检测牛奶中的乳脂肪和乳蛋白。     

Bound water characteristics and microstructure evolution during uniaxial compression of mucky silty clay

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Compression studies can provide insights into evaluating the engineering potential and environmental impact of clay. The objective of this study was to...