Sulfur diagnostic criteria for French prune trees

One year old Marianna 2624 (Prunus cerasifera X P. munsoniana) trees grafted with French prunes (P. domestica) were grown in the greenhouse in pots containing vermiculite and supplied with graded amounts of sulfate‐sulfur (SO₄‐S) to study the methods of evaluating sulfur (S). Tree fresh weight gain was recorded. Leaf samples were analyzed for different S fractions. Chlorophyll concentration of leaves was better than fresh weight gain as an indicator of tree S status. Sulfate in recently matured leaves is a better diagnostic index for prunes than total‐S, organic‐S, or N:S ratio which are not suitable for this purpose. Using chlorophyll as an indicator of growth potential, critical SO₄‐S level of recently matured leaves is 97 ppm. Sulfate‐sulfur as a percent of total‐S can also be used as a diagnostic tool. Critical level for this index in the recently matured leaves is 7.85%. External critical S level is 80 μM (8 ppm as SO₄).     

Forest Dilemma in the Hindu Raj Mountains Northern Pakistan: Impact of Population Growth and Household Dynamics

Mountain ecosystems are fragile and sensitive to changes. The past few decades have witnessed substantial changes in every aspect of the bio-physical and socio-cultural environment of the northern mountainous belt of Pakistan. Population growth and the associated household dynamics accompanied by agricultural and economic transformations and improvements in transportation network have initiated and accelerated unprecedented changes in the bio-physical setup particularly land use patterns and distribution of natural resources. Forests resources are one of the most important natural assets of this region and several communities in remote mountainous areas of the region still depend on these resources for subsistence. The present study aims to explore the changes occurring in the socio-economic environment particularly population growth and household dynamics and their impacts on forest cover and diversity of the Hindu Raj Mountains of northern Pakistan. The study relies on remote sensing and GIS technology for characterizing forest cover dynamics and questionnaire data for household changes. Findings reveal that significant changes have occurred in the basic household characteristics and population changes are resulting in a high rate of deforestation in the study area.     

Occurrence of Cucumber mosaic virus Subgroup IA in tomato in Pakistan

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - Infection of tomato in Faisalabad, Pakistan with subgroup IA strain of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is reported for the first time. The virus was detected...     

Identifying the global potential for baobab tree cultivation using ecological niche modelling

The benefits provided by underutilised fruit tree species such as baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) in combating increasing malnutrition and poverty become more apparent as awareness grows regarding concerns of climate change and food security. Due to its multiple uses, its high nutritional and medicinal value, drought tolerance and relatively easy cultivation, baobab has been identified as one of the most important edible forest trees to be conserved, domesticated and valued in Africa. In order to contribute towards the cultivation of the species, suitability of sites in Africa and worldwide was evaluated for potential cultivation using species’ locality data and spatial environmental data in MAXENT modelling framework. A total of 450 geo-referenced records of the baobab tree were assembled from herbarium records, commercial firm’s databases and fieldwork for modelling site suitability for global cultivation of the baobab tree. Climatic and topographic data were acquired from the Worldclim data while soil data was obtained from the Harmonized World Soil Database. MAXENT was found to be a successful modelling method for studying cultivation potential. The main variables that contributed towards predicting baobab’s global cultivation potential were annual precipitation and temperature seasonality. Results suggest that baobab tree could be widely cultivated in most countries in southern Africa and in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa from Senegal to Sudan. Angola and Somalia were found to be highly suitable for cultivating baobab in Africa. Model suggests, India, where the baobab tree already exists and is used, to be the most suitable country for baobab cultivation outside Africa. North-west Australia, Madagascar, north-east Brazil and Mexico resulted to be other suitable places for cultivating the tree species. Although it is recommended model results be validated with in situ seedling experiments, there seems to be a great potential for the cultivation of this species globally.     

An Update of Lectins from Marine Organisms: Characterization,Extraction Methodology,and Potential Biofunctional Applications

Lectins are a unique group of nonimmune carbohydrate-binding proteins or glycoproteins that exhibit specific and reversible carbohydrate-binding activity in a non-catalytic manner. Lectins have diverse sources and are classified according to their origins, such as plant lectins, animal lectins, and fish lectins. Marine organisms including fish, crustaceans, and mollusks produce a myriad of lectins, including rhamnose binding lectins (RBL), fucose-binding lectins (FTL), mannose-binding lectin, galectins, galactose binding lectins, and C-type lectins. The widely used method of extracting lectins from marine samples is a simple two-step process employing a polar salt solution and purification by column chromatography. Lectins exert several immunomodulatory functions, including pathogen recognition, inflammatory reactions, participating in various hemocyte functions (e.g., agglutination), phagocytic reactions, among others. Lectins can also control cell proliferation, protein folding, RNA splicing, and trafficking of molecules. Due to their reported biological and pharmaceutical activities, lectins have attracted the attention of scientists and industries (i.e., food, biomedical, and pharmaceutical industries). Therefore, this review aims to update current information on lectins from marine organisms, their characterization, extraction, and biofunctionalities.     

Conditioned medium of E17 rat brain cells induced differentiation of primary colony of mice blastocyst into neuron-like cells

BackgroundConditioned medium is the medium obtained from certain cultured cells and contained secretome from the cells. The secretome, which can be in the form of growth factors, cytokines, exosomes, or other proteins secreted by the cells, can induce the differentiation of cells that still have pluripotent or multipotent properties.ObjectivesThis study examined the effects of conditioned medium derived from E17 rat brain cells on cells with pluripotent properties.MethodsThe conditioned medium used in this study originated from E17 rat brain cells. The CM was used to induce the differentiation of primary colonies of mice blastocysts. Primary colonies were stained with alkaline phosphatase to analyze the pluripotency. The morphological changes in the colonies were examined, and the colonies were stained with GFAP and Neu-N markers on days two and seven after adding the conditioned medium.ResultsThe conditioned medium could differentiate the primary colony, beginning with the formation of embryoid-body-like structure; round GFAP positive cells were identified. Finally, neuron-like cells testing positive for Neu-N were observed on the seventh day after adding the conditioned medium.ConclusionsConditioned medium from different species, in this case, E17 rat brain cells, induced and promoted the differentiation of the primary colony from mice blastocysts into neuron-like cells. The addition of CM mediated neurite growth in the differentiation process.     

Triple test cross analysis for some morphological traits in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek)

Thirty progenies of mungbean were produced by crossing 10 true-breeding genotypes with three testers (NM 92, 6601, and their F₁) in a Triple Test cross (TTC) fashion and evaluated with parents in the kharif (July-October) and spring/summer (March-June) seasons. The data on parents and F₁s were analysed for pod clusters on main stem, pod clusters on branches, node of the first peduncle, nodes on main stem and average internode length to detect epistasis and estimate additive and dominance components of genetic variation. Epistasis was observed for node of the first peduncle and nodes on main stem in the kharif season. Partitioning of total epistasis revealed that both additive × additive (i type), and additive × dominance, and dominance × dominance (j and l types) interactions were significant with prevalent influence of i type interactions on these traits. Both additive and dominance components of genetic variation were significant for all those traits not significantly influenced by epistasis in either or both seasons. The additive component was predominant for pod clusters on main stem, pod clusters on branches and average internode length in the kharif season, and for the node of the first peduncle and nodes on main stem in spring/summer season whereas dominance component was important for pod clusters on main stem, pod clusters on branches, and average internode length in spring/summer season. These results suggested that particular generation of segregating population and specific breeding method for selection might be adopted in each season for the improvement of these traits in mungbean. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Identification of a molecular marker linked to an Agropyron elongatum-derived gene Lr19 for leaf rust resistance in wheat

The leaf rust resistance gene Lr19, transferred from Agropyron elongatum into wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) imparts resistance to all pathotypes of leaf rust (Puccinia recondita f.sp. tritici) in South‐east Asia. A segregating F₂ population from a cross between the leaf rust resistant parent ‘HW 2046’ carrying Lr19 and a susceptible parent ‘Agra Local’ was screened in the phytotron against a virulent pathotype 77‐5 of leaf rust with the objective of identifying the molecular markers linked to Lr19. The gene was first tagged with a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker S73₇₂₈. The RAPD marker linked to the gene Lr19 which mapped at 6.4 ± 0.035 cM distance, was converted to a sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker. The SCAR marker (SCS73₇₁₉) was specific to Lr19 and was not amplified in the near‐isogenic lines (NILs) carrying other equally effective alien genes Lr9, Lr28 and Lr32 enabling breeders to pyramid Lr19 with these genes.     

Fertility and segregation of the amphidiploid Phaseolus vulgaris L. x P. coccineus L. and its behaviour in backcrosses

Summary Amphidiploidy was induced by colchicine treatment of cuttings from the F₁ interspecific hybrid Phaseolus vulgaris L. x Ph. coccineus L.. Pollen stainability rose from about 50% in the raw amphidiploid to 76% in some C₅ individuals; similar improvement in seed fertility was also observed. It is suggested that both genic and chromosomal factors are implicated in the control of fertility in the amphidiploid.The amphidiploid is apparently unable to cross successfully with either parental species; difference in ploidy level is apparently an effective isolating mechanism between the amphidiploid and its parents.     

Variation in baobab seedling morphology and its implications for selecting superior planting material

With the aim of helping to select superior planting material for drought characteristics, baobab seedlings from two countries, one in western and one in south-eastern Africa, were grown in a greenhouse and their growth and morphology were studied. Seedlings were grown for 18 weeks and several morphological characteristics (length, diameter and dry weights of different plant parts, number of leaves, stomatal density, among others) were recorded at different harvesting times. Biomass allocation changed with time: seedlings invested more in fine roots and leaves in the beginning of their growth while later they invested more in the development of the taproot. In general, at any harvest time, seedlings from Malawi were larger; but seedlings from Mali had higher relative growth rates and a faster ontogeny. Seedlings from Mali had shorter hypocotyls, their stems were thicker, they had fewer leaves, lower leaf area ratios and, in general, they had a higher stomatal density than those from Malawi. Significant differences between provenances within one country could also be observed. In general, seedlings from drier provenances were smaller overall, they had fewer leaves, higher taproot water content and stomatal density, characteristics often related to drought adaptation. Seedlings from drier provenances also invested more in their taproot, a key organ for baobab seedling survival. Although our seedlings were only grown under optimal conditions in a greenhouse, results from this study indicate that there is a great variation in baobab seedling growth, biomass allocation to plant parts and morphology, which gives opportunities to select high quality planting material.