Greenhouse evaluation and inheritance analysis of transgenic cotton expressing <Emphasis Type="Italic">PTM3</Emphasis>, a MADS-box gene of Aspen

The PTM3 (MADS-box) gene characterized from flower of Aspen was ectopically expressed in cotton and was found to result in desirable agronomic traits. Among several transgenic lines, the PTM3 cotton event-10 was found to flower significantly earlier than the control and yield better [Ramachandran et al. (2011)]. We report our findings on performance based on greenhouse evaluation and inheritance of PTM3 cotton event-10. The T₁ progeny of event-10 were grown in pots under RBD design. The progeny were confirmed by kanamycin imbibition test, PCR, and GUS assay which showed the segregation of transgene at about 3:1 ratio. GUS assay was performed with pollen from all transgenic plants; plants that expressed gus in all pollen versus those that showed segregation for expression were found to be at a ratio of 1:2. Similar to observations made in the T₀ generation of event-10, the agronomic evaluation of T₁ progeny exhibited, on an average, earliness of 13 days in flowering, 13.5 days in crop maturity, and 22% of yield enhancement. The T₂ progeny of homozygous lines were grown on field soil in the greenhouse under strip trial design to see the effect as observed from potted plants of T₁ progeny. Inheritance of transgene cassette to T₂ progeny was confirmed by the same tests used to analyze T₁ progeny. As exhibited by T₀ and T₁ progenies, the T₂ progeny also showed earliness of 8 days in flowering, 12 days in crop maturity, and 17% of yield enhancement. The data generated from the progeny over two generations confirms that the PTM3 cotton event-10 is superior in agronomic characters as compared to non-transgenic cotton and is of interest for breeding shorter duration varieties with improved yield.     

Varietal difference in physicochemical properties of pigmented rice varieties

The physicochemical properties of pigmented (Midorimochi, Jeokjinjubyeo, and Heukmichalbyeo) and non-pigmented (Hwayoungbyeo) rice varieties were investigated. Starch from non-pigmented rice consisted mainly of large polyhedral granules that were more loosely packed than those of the non-pigmented sample. Pigmented rice showed higher linoleic acid content (36–40%) and hydrolysis rate (63–79%) but lower oleic acid content (35–39%), blue value (0.05–0.17), and viscosity values than the non-pigmented one. Significantly higher mineral content, blue value, and pasting and viscosity values were observed in the Jeokjinjubyeo sample compared to those of the other pigmented rice samples. The Midorimochi variety, on the other hand, exhibited the highest total amino acid (816.82 ng mg⁻¹) and sugar (0.15–3.35 μg g⁻¹) contents and the lowest pasting and viscosity values. No substantial difference in the X-ray diffraction pattern was observed among the samples. Results of this study could serve as baseline information for the quality evaluation of three pigmented rice cultivars and provide a better understanding of their potential uses and food industry applications.     

Estimating canopy cover from color digital camera image of rice field

Canopy cover (CC) is a good predictor variable for plant growth parameters such as leaf area index and aboveground biomass. A nondestructive, low-cost, and convenient method is presented for estimating CC using digital camera image analysis. CC was estimated by the ratio of plant pixels to total pixels of digital camera image of rice field. To determine the criteria for segmenting the rice plant from variable soil background, three mosaic images for rice plant, flooded/bare soil, and algae-infested background were prepared from digital camera images that were taken in various field conditions. An image analysis program was developed in Visual Basic to extract red, green, and blue (RGB) features from the mosaic images, calculate RGB-based color indices, and compute the minimum segmentation error for separating rice plant from background. When judged by the segmentation error, modified excessive green index (MEGI) showed the highest potential for segmenting rice plant from flooded/bare soil background, followed by normalized green (g) and excessive green index (EGI). At the threshold MEGI value of 0.03, the segmentation error was the lowest as 0.13%. Any single index considered was not satisfactory in segmenting rice plant from algae-infested background. However, a discriminant function of 1.2553EGI + 0.01735G − 0.01474B was successful in segmenting rice plant from flooded/bare soil and algaeinfested background with segmentation errors of 0.34 and 1.17%, respectively. CC for four rice varieties from tillering to booting stage was estimated based on the threshold value of MEGI and discriminant function and also manually using commercial software. Both estimates of CC showed good relationship of r² = 0.94, suggesting that a digital camera could be used efficiently for measuring the CC of rice field.     

Why invest in minor projects in sub-Saharan Africa? An exploration of the scale economy and diseconomy of irrigation projects

It is well-known that major irrigation projects have a strong scale economy, handicapping irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because of the difficulty in formulating large-scale projects. Using project-level investment cost and performance data of major and minor irrigation projects, this paper examines the causes of the economy of scale phenomenon. We find that strong scale economy exists not only for major but also for minor projects, i.e., small- and micro-scale, projects. This is largely because of the existence of indivisible overhead costs such as high-opportunity-cost human resources for planning, designing and engineering management and supervision. We also find that large differences between major and minor projects in the absolute level of overhead as well as construction costs creates a strong scale diseconomy and results in better performance of minor projects. The advantage of minor projects holds even when their higher risk associated with the water source is taken into consideration. We argue that there is an urgent need to promote irrigation development in SSA through developing minor projects, and to reduce the heavy burden of overhead costs by developing the capacity of human resources at the national, local and farmer levels in the fields of irrigation engineering, irrigation agronomy, institutional development, and micro water management technologies.     

Tank performance and multiple uses in Tamil Nadu,South India–comparison of 2 time periods (1996–97 and 2009–10)

Irrigation tanks in India are common property resources. Tanks provide not only for irrigation, but also forestry, fishing, domestic water supply, livestock, and other uses. Using empirical results from a study of tank performance from 80 tanks in Tamil Nadu, South India in two time period: 1996-97 and 2009-10, this paper evaluates tank irrigation system performance in terms of economic output and revenue generation forirrigation and other uses. The results indicate that irrigation and other productive uses put together raised the total value of output at tank level by 12 % in 1996-97 and just 6 % in 2009-10. This may suggest that tank multiple use values are small and getting smaller, and therefore not worth consideration. However, it was also found that, while declining in absolute terms, non-irrigation uses provided the majority of tax revenues and still more than cover government's operation and maintenance expenditure (O&M) budget. This finding provides another reason to consider multiple use values and their linkage with overall system viability.     

Modelling scenarios to identify a combined sediment-water management strategy for the large reservoirs of the Tuyamuyun hydro-complex

This paper introduces a combined modelling approach using a simple water budget model (THC-model) and a 3D reservoir sedimentation model (MOHID Water) to adapt reservoir operation and visualise their effects on the sediment deposition. By this, an effective combined sediment-water management can be identified under semi-arid conditions for dry, median and wet years. Results are presented for the reservoirs of the Tuyamuyun Hydro-Complex (THC), which is located in the lower Amu Darya River. The determination of the actual and usable reservoir storage volume shows that siltation will significantly adversely affect the ability of the in-stream Channel Reservoir to regulate seasonal demand for both irrigation and municipal water supply. However, modelling scenarios results confirm the effectiveness of adapted operation rules for the THC reservoirs and show that the operation of large dams could be modified according to a combined sediment-water management. The experience gained during this study emphasizes the fact that the concept of a combined reservoir management of sediments as well as water can be an efficient measure to improve the sustainable long-term use of reservoirs and to contribute towards a safe water supply in water crisis regions.     

Rapid identification of nonessential genes of herpes simplex virus type 1 by Tn5 mutagenesis

The large genome of herpes simplex virus type of (HSV-1) encodes at least 80 polypeptides, the majority of which have no recognized function. A subgroup of these gene products appears to be nonessential for virus replication in cell culture, but contributes to the complex life cycle of the virus in the host. To identify such functions, a simple insertional mutagenesis method has been used for selective inactivation of individual HSV-1 genes. The bacterial transposon Tn5 was allowed to insert randomly into cloned restriction fragments representing the entire short unique (US) region of the HSV-1 genome. Of the 12 open reading frames that were mutagenized with Tn5, mutant derivatives of US2, US4, and US5 were recombined into the virus. These three genes proved to be nonessential for HSV-1 replication in Vero (African Green monkey kidney) cells and the US4 gene appeared to be involved in viral pathogenesis in the central nervous system of mice. This rapid mutagenesis procedure should prove useful in exploring the entire HSV-1 genome as well as the genomes of other complex animal viruses.     

Slow deformation and lower seismic hazard at the new madrid seismic zone

Global Positioning System (GPS) measurements across the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ) in the central United States show little, if any, motion. These data are consistent with platewide continuous GPS data away from the NMSZ, which show no motion within uncertainties. Both these data and the frequency-magnitude relation for seismicity imply that had the largest shocks in the series of earthquakes that occurred in 1811 and 1812 been magnitude 8, their recurrence interval should well exceed 2500 years, longer than has been assumed. Alternatively, the largest 1811 and 1812 earthquakes and those in the paleoseismic record may have been much smaller than typically assumed. Hence, the hazard posed by great earthquakes in the NMSZ appears to be overestimated.     

Conserved folding in retroviral proteases: crystal structure of a synthetic HIV-1 protease

The rational design of drugs that can inhibit the action of viral proteases depends on obtaining accurate structures of these enzymes. The crystal structure of chemically synthesized HIV-1 protease has been determined at 2.8 angstrom resolution (R factor of 0.184) with the use of a model based on the Rous sarcoma virus protease structure. In this enzymatically active protein, the cysteines were replaced by alpha-amino-n-butyric acid, a nongenetically coded amino acid. This structure, in which all 99 amino acids were located, differs in several important details from that reported previously by others. The interface between the identical subunits forming the active protease dimer is composed of four well-ordered beta strands from both the amino and carboxyl termini and residues 86 to 94 have a helical conformation. The observed arrangement of the dimer interface suggests possible designs for dimerization inhibitors.     

Evidence for Alfvén waves in solar x-ray jets

Coronal magnetic fields are dynamic, and field lines may misalign, reassemble, and release energy by means of magnetic reconnection. Giant releases may generate solar flares and coronal mass ejections and, on a smaller scale, produce x-ray jets. Hinode observations of polar coronal holes reveal that x-ray jets have two distinct velocities: one near the Alfvén speed ( approximately 800 kilometers per second) and another near the sound speed (200 kilometers per second). Many more jets were seen than have been reported previously; we detected an average of 10 events per hour up to these speeds, whereas previous observations documented only a handful per day with lower average speeds of 200 kilometers per second. The x-ray jets are about 2 x 10(3) to 2 x 10(4) kilometers wide and 1 x 10(5) kilometers long and last from 100 to 2500 seconds. The large number of events, coupled with the high velocities of the apparent outflows, indicates that the jets may contribute to the high-speed solar wind.