Marker‐assisted backcross breeding for improvement of drought tolerance in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. em Thell)

Drought stress is presently a major productivity limiting factor in wheat. This study developed five wheat lines with inbuilt tolerance to drought stress using marker‐assisted backcross breeding (MABB) approach employing three linked quantitative trait loci (QTLs) in an initial population of 516 BC₁F₁ plants. The high‐yielding wheat cultivar ‘HD2733’ grown over last few years extensively in the eastern plains of India is largely sensitive to drought and is used as the recurrent parent. ‘HI1500’ released for water‐limiting conditions and carrying drought‐tolerant QTLs was used as donor parent. MABB lines were advanced using foreground and background selection, coupled with stringent phenotyping. We identified 29 lines that were homozygous for targeted QTLs in different combinations with background recovery range of 89.2%–95.4%. Further evaluation of selected lines for physiological traits and distinctness, uniformity and stability (DUS) characters under rainfed condition identified five potential varieties for national varietal evaluation programme in the zone. The report is first of its kind in implementing known QTLs for the development of drought‐tolerant wheat lines through MABB approach.     

Structure and function of traditional agroforestry systems in the western Himalaya. I. Biomass and productivity

Species composition, biomass, and productivity patterns of three types of traditional agroforestry systems, namely, agrisilvicultural, agrihorticultural, and agrihortisilvicultural, commonly practiced in the western Himalaya, were studied. Species composition in the systems varied depending upon the size of the land holdings, and the basic requirements of the farmer. Among three systems agrihortisilvicultural was highly diverse in vegetation, with as many as 13 tree and 5 agricultural crops mixed together. This system showed the highest productivity up to 25.8 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, out of which 68 percent was contributed by the trees and the remainder by the annuals. Agrisilvicultural system having predominantly annuals had the lowest productivity of 20.4 t ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ with only 27 percent contribution by the trees. Total aboveground biomass in agrihortisilvicultural or agrihorticultural system was around 48 t ha⁻¹ and it was about 2-fold higher than agrisilvicultural system. In fodder trees, a significant percentage of annual production, up to 48 percent, was allocated in current twigs, while in horticultural trees a major portion, up to 63 percent was partioned towards fruits. Implications of the results have been discussed in context with the growing problems of fuel, fodder, and packaging material in the western Himalaya.     

Effect of dietary inclusion of toasted guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) meal as a source of protein on performance of White Leghorn layers

1. Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of including toasted (120°C/35 min) guar meal (GM, Cyamopsis tetragonoloba) in the diet on performance and egg shell quality of White Leghorn (WL) layers.

2. Totals of 2376 and 2816 layer chickens (Babcock, BV 300) were randomly distributed into 27 and 32 replicates with 88 birds each in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Three diets in Experiment 1 (0, 50 and 100 g GM) and 4 diets in Experiment 2 (0, 50, 100 and 150 g GM/kg) were prepared having similar concentrations of energy and protein. Each diet was fed ad libitum to 9 and 8 replicates, respectively, in Experiments 1 (from 53 to 68 weeks) and 2 (35 to 46 weeks of age).

3. Compared to soya bean meal (SBM) GM contained similar concentrations of protein, but was deficient in all essential amino acids except arginine, which was 70% higher than in SBM. Total non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) content in GM (166 g/kg) was lower than that of SBM (179 g/kg). Amongst different NSP fractions, GM contained higher levels of arabans, xylans, mannans and glucans compared to SBM. The galactomannan gum content in GM was 46 g/kg.

4. Egg production (EP), body weight (BW), food intake (FI), food efficiency (FE) and egg quality (shell weight, shell per cent, shell thickness, Haugh unit score, egg density and egg breaking strength) parameters were not affected by incorporating GM up to 100 g/kg diet in Experiment 1. However, egg weight (EW) and egg mass (EM) were reduced significantly in groups fed on 100 g/kg diet.

5. In Experiment 2, EP and FE were not affected by incorporating GM up to 100 g/kg, but were reduced at 150 g/kg diet. FI, EW, BW and egg quality parameters were not affected by incorporating toasted GM up to 150 g/kg diet.

6. Based on the results of both experiments, it is concluded that toasted GM can be included in WL layer diets up to 100 g/kg without affecting EP, FE, EW, EM, Haugh unit score, BW and egg shell quality parameters.

     

De Novo Next Generation Sequencing of Plant Genomes

The genome sequencing of all major food and bioenergy crops is of critical importance in the race to improve crop production to meet the future food and energy security needs of the world. Next generation sequencing technologies have brought about great improvements in sequencing throughput and cost, but do not yet allow for de novo sequencing of large repetitive genomes as found in most crop plants. We present a strategy that combines cutting edge next generation sequencing with “old school” genomics resources and allows rapid cost-effective sequencing of plant genomes.     

Vertical transmission and concurrent infection of multiple bacterial pathogens in naturally infected red tilapia (Oreochromis spp.)

Horizontal transmission of various bacterial pathogens in tilapia is well described, but there is scant information regarding their vertical transmission. This study aimed to determine the possibility of vertical transmission of two commonly reported bacterial pathogens (Francisella noatunensis subsp. orientalis and Shewanella putrefaciens) in natural stocks of red tilapia (Oreochromis spp.). Vertical transmission of these pathogens via gametes was evaluated using in vitro fertilization from 10 different families and analysing for the presence of bacteria in milt, unfertilized eggs, fertilized eggs and offspring at various ages (1‐day‐old larvae, 10‐day‐old fry and 30‐day‐old fingerlings), as well as water samples using colorimetric LAMP assay. The study revealed that both F. n. orientalis (6/10) and S. putrefaciens (4/10) was transmitted vertically to the fertilized eggs. Analysis of the water samples from different water sources (brood stock tanks, hatching chamber and larval rearing tanks) showed that both the pathogens were present in water samples with highest prevalence for F. n. orientalis followed by S. putrefaciens. Analyses for the presence of two pathogens in various organs (gonads, gill, liver, spleen, kidney and brain) of the healthy tilapia broodstock without any clinical symptoms of disease demonstrated they were carriers of S. putrefaciens and F. n. orientalis. This is the first documented evidence that vertical transmission via the broodstock of tilapia may also play an important role in transmitting these problematic pathogens to their progeny and underlines the necessity to modify the current disease management strategies in tilapia aquaculture.     

Identifying chromosomal introgressions from a wild species Arachis diogoi into interspecific peanut hybrids

An interspecific peanut hybrid population was generated from a cross between Arachis diogoi, a wild species with resistance to spotted wilt, and “Gregory”, a susceptible cultivar. The objectives of the study are to identify successful introgression of A. diogoi's genome and to evaluate the spotted wilt resistance in the introgression population. Sixty-three putative introgression lines were genotyped using 137 polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers, out of which 14 markers located on seven of the 20 peanut chromosomes showed introgression of A. diogoi genome into at least one of the introgression lines. In addition, genotyping by sequencing of a subset of the population revealed SNP loci displaying introgression of A. diogoi genome on every chromosome of the A sub-genome of the introgression lines, with the most introgressed loci on chromosome A05. Several introgression lines showed consistent spotted wilt resistance, suggesting successful genomic introgression of A. diogoi contributing to the resistance.     

Exposure to salinity stress cause ovarian disruption in a stenohaline freshwater teleost,Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794)

Stenohaline freshwater fish with narrow salinity tolerance are susceptible to saline stress from global climate change and anthropogenic activities. The present study elucidated that saline exposure during the sensitive window of preparatory phase of oocyte maturation significantly affected gonadosomatic index, ovarian histology and morphometric features of oocytes in a stenohaline freshwater catfish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794) in a dose (2 ppt, 5 ppt)—and duration (8, 24 days)‐dependent manner. The gonads of H. fossilis show annual maturation cycle. Loss of integrity of ovigerous lamellae, disruption of ovarian stroma, disrupted oolemma, ooplasmic vacuolization, damaged germinal vesicles and altered morphometry of previtellogenic oocytes, such as chromatin‐nucleolus, early perinucleolar and late perinucleolar, elucidated consistent effects of saline exposure except at 8 days exposure to 2 ppt of saline. Increased salinity might have affected the transmembrane ion/water transport and disrupted the osmotic balance in ovary that eventually led to impairment in growth of ovary and oocyte maturation. The susceptibility of ovary to comparatively less concentrations of saline exposure might be due to sensitiveness of ovary/oocytes during the early phase of growth. Fluctuating salinity along with other stressors can affect metabolic and growth rates, fecundity and ultimately survival of fish.     

Optimal conditions for cold-shock induction of triploidy in red tilapia

Production of sterile triploid red tilapia [Oreochromis mossambicus (Mozambique tilapia); Peters, 1852 × Oreochromis niloticus (Nile tilapia); Linnaeus, 1758] is an effective strategy to overcome their prolific breeding. Optimal conditions for cold-shock induction of triploidy in red tilapia were investigated by experimentally examining two variables: appropriate temperature of the shock and duration of shock treatment. A constant time after insemination of 4 min was used to determine the best combination of temperature (6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15 °C) with different durations of shock (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 min) with resultant ploidy level verified karyotypically. Shock duration for 30 min at a temperature of 9 °C was found most effective in producing maximum triploidy (98.7 %) with higher rates of hatching (63.2 %) and survival up to yolk-sac stage (75.8 %). The chromosome count confirmed that triploid percentages were higher when cold shock was used for longer durations at each temperature; however, hatching rates were generally decreased. The maximum triploid yield (82.1 %) obtained was higher than the yield obtained using heat shock (72.7 %) in red tilapia previously. The application of the results of this study has the potential to greatly improve the production of triploid red tilapia in commercial aquaculture.     

Growth Performance of Triploid Red Tilapia Reared Under Laboratory Conditions

Triploidy could reduce breeding activity in tilapia without the use of hormones. In this study, the effect of triploidy on survival, growth, and gender of a line of red hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus X Oreochromis niloticus) was assessed relative to the performance of diploid siblings. Triploidy was induced by preventing second polar body extrusion by applying either heat or cold shock. Growth was similar for both ploidies during the first 90 days of culture. However, at the age of 120 days, the average body weight of triploids produced by heat shock (215.5 ± 3.61 g) was significantly higher than that of cold shock (192.7 ± 2.6 g) and the diploid control (191.9 ± 1.74 g). Survival among triploids was inferior to diploids. Percentage of males in the triploid population was 82.9% in the heat-shocked treatment group, 54.8% in the cold-shock treatment, and 50% in the diploid control. Maximum attainable weight of red tilapia was calculated by applying the Ford-Walford growth plot: 650 g (heat-shocked triploids), 490 g (cold-shocked triploids), and 440 g in the diploid control.     

Distribution of Parthenium hysterophorus and one of its biological control agents (Coleoptera: Zygogramma bicolorata) in Nepal

Parthenium hysterophorus is a noxious invasive weed of both agricultural and natural ecosystems, spreading aggressively in Nepal. Management of this weed in Nepal has been limited, mainly because of the lack of geo‐referenced data concerning the weed's distribution. We conducted a nationwide survey of P. hysterophorus and its coleopteran biological control agent Zygogramma bicolorata from 2013 to 2016 to determine their spatial distribution. Both were widespread, with the distribution of Z. bicolorata lagging behind the invasion front of P. hysterophorus. The weed was present in 21.2% of the 4838 locations examined, including several isolated satellite populations. The weed was found in the Tarai, Siwalik, Middle Mountains and High Mountains regions, reaching up to 2000 m asl. It has invaded natural and modified ecosystems including all six protected areas in the Tarai and Siwalik regions. Road access appears to be the major pathway for its long‐distance dispersal. Zygogramma bicolorata had spread from the east to the west and was present in 15.4% of the weed occurrence locations, inflicting a low amount of damage. A CLIMEX modelling projection revealed the presence of additional geographic areas in Nepal which are climatically suitable for both P. hysterophorus and Z. bicolorata. Eradication of satellite populations of the weed by physical and chemical measures, and the release of Z. bicolorata into new, but climatically suitable, locations should be prioritised for P. hysterophorus management in Nepal. In conclusion, P. hysterophorus has rapidly become widespread in Nepal and the currently available biological control agent has not been able to prevent further spread of the weed.