Polymorphism association and expression analysis of alpha-lactalbumin (LALBA) gene during lactation in Nili Ravi buffalo

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Alpha-lactalbumin has been reported as a highly polymorphic gene that potentially alters the gene expression and is associated with milk composition in dairy...     

Brucellosis in India: results of a collaborative workshop to define One Health priorities

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Brucellosis is an important zoonosis worldwide. In livestock, it frequently causes chronic disease with reproductive failures that contribute to production...     

Glyphosate-tolerant cotton in Australia: successes and failures

ABSTRACT

Cotton is an important cash crop grown on 2.5% of the world’s arable land in over 100 countries, and has a 31% share of the world’s fibre market. In Australia, cotton is also a leading crop and contributes around AUD $3 billion to the total agricultural production. Weeds are a major biotic constraint resulting in yield losses of up to 90% and revenue losses of around AUD $100 billion globally and $4 billion to Australian agriculture. Genetically-modified (GM) crops have refashioned the weed management with more dependency on glyphosate. Such overreliance has led to the evolution of 43 glyphosate-resistant (GR) weed populations globally, with 16 species reported from Australia. Such GR weeds along with volunteer glyphosate-tolerant (GT) plants are now decreasing the value of the GM crops and forcing growers to spend more time and effort, and investment in their management. Weed management strategies need to be diversified and integrated with non-chemical methods and alternative herbicides not only to achieve efficient control, but to reduce the rate of evolution of GR weeds. In future, research is needed to improve integrated weed management through development and use of competitive and multiple herbicide-tolerant (HT) crops, organic herbicides, bio-herbicides, RNAi technology and robotics.     

Potential for analytic breeding in allopolyploids: an illustration from Longiflorum × Asiatic hybrid lilies (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lilium</Emphasis>)

Ploidy level and intergenomic recombination was studied in interspecific hybrids between Longiflorum × Asiatic lilies (LA hybrid) backcross to Asiatic parents in order to assess the possibility for analytic breeding in lily. By backcrossing the diploid (2n = 2x = 24) F1 interspecific hybrid between Longiflorum × Asiatic lilies to Asiatic parents, 104 BC1 progeny plants were produced. Among these, there were 27 diploids, 73 triploids (2n = 2x = 36) and 4 aneuploids (2x − 1, 2x + 2 or 2x + 3). In addition, by backcrossing triploid BC1 (LAA) plants to diploid Asiatic parents in 2x − 3x and reciprocal combinations, 14 diploid BC2 progenies were produced. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) was performed to study the intergenomic recombination and karyotype composition. GISH indicated extensive intergenomic recombination among the chromosomes in LA hybrids. A large number of Longiflorum chromosomes were transmitted to the BC1 progenies from LA hybrids. However, very few Longiflorum chromosomes were transmitted from the BC1 triploid (LAA) plants to the BC2 progenies. The occurrence of diploid plants in the BC progenies of LA hybrids has opened the prospects of analytic breeding in lilies. In this approach, the selection of superior genotypes can be carried out at the diploid level and polyploid forms are synthesized from superior diploid parents. The advantages of analytic breeding are evident: (a) a maximum level of heterozygosity can be attained in the synthetic polyploids and (b) introgression can be achieved with a minimum of linkage drag. Based on GISH results the potential application of analytic breeding in lily allopolyploids has been discussed.     

Screening of okra varieties resistance against insect pests under agro climatic conditions of Dera Ismail Khan,Pakistan

The present study was conducted to screen four okra varieties (Sabz Pari, Sada Bahar, Pusa Sawani, Arka Anamika) against bollworm, whitefly and jassid under field conditions during 2011. It was concluded that none of the tested variety had resistance against okra fruit borer. However, these varieties showed some degree of resistance against sucking insect pests. Okra variety Sada Bahar was less infested with jassid (1.30/leaf) and whitefly (5.36/leaf) compared to other tested varieties and resulted in maximum yield (1529.62 kgha^–1). The plants of Sabz Peri variety attained maximum height (113.7 cm), which was statistically at par with 110.9 cm height attained by the plants of Arka Anamika. Number of fruits pods plant^–1 was found non significantly different on all the tested okra varieties. On the basis of present findings, it was concluded that Sada Bahar variety is suitable for cultivation in Dera Ismail Khan and other parts of the country with similar environmental conditions.     

Soil and microbial biomass stoichiometry regulate soil organic carbon and nitrogen mineralization in rice-wheat rotation subjected to long-term fertilization

Journal of Soils and Sediments - Soil microbial biomass (SMB), as the source and sink of soil nutrients, and its stoichiometry play a key role in soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen (N)...