Marker-assisted pseudo-backcrossing for developing climate-resilient rice.

The increased prevalence of abiotic stresses, such as salt, submergence, and drought, severely affects rice productivity. Developing a rice variety, with inbuilt resistance to these main abiotic stresses, will contribute to a long-term rise in rice yield in adverse environments. In the present study, the rice variety Improved White Ponni (IWP) a high-yielding but highly susceptible to drought, salinity, and submergence variety was introgressed with Sub1 + SalT + DTY2.

"Elucidating the immunomodulatory role of endocannabinoids in intervertebral disc degeneration".

Purpose: The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been well-established to play a crucial role in the regulation of several physiological processes as well as many inflammatory disease conditions. However, its role in intervertebral disc degeneration has been least explored. We aim to investigate the immunomodulatory role of endocannabinoids in regulating IVD health.

Unleashing the Potential of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing for Yield-Related Traits in Rice.

Strategies to enhance rice productivity in response to global demand have been the paramount focus of breeders worldwide. Multiple factors, including agronomical traits such as plant architecture and grain formation and physiological traits such as photosynthetic efficiency and NUE (nitrogen use efficiency), as well as factors such as phytohormone perception and homeostasis and transcriptional regulation, indirectly influence rice grain yield. Advances in genetic analysis methodologies and functional genomics, numerous genes, QTLs (Quantitative Trait Loci), and SNPs (Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms), linked to yield traits, have been identified and analyzed in rice.

Identification of extracellular matrix proteins in plasma as a potential biomarker for intervertebral disc degeneration.

Purpose: Recently, there has been significant focus on extracellular matrix proteolysis due to its importance in the pathological progression of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). The present study investigates the circulating levels of extracellular matrix proteins in the plasma of IVDD and determines their potential relevance as biomarkers in disc degeneration.

Methods: Global proteomic analysis was performed in the plasma samples of 10 healthy volunteers (HV) and 10 diseased subjects (DS) after depletion of highly abundant proteins such as albumin and IgG.

Identifying molecular targets for modulating carotenoid accumulation in rice grains.

Carotenoids are potential antioxidants offering extensive human health benefits including protection against chronic diseases. Augmenting the supply of health-benefiting compounds/metabolites through dietary supplements is the most sustainable way for a healthy life. Our study compares the traditional rice cultivar Kavuni and the white rice variety ASD 16.

Unveiling mungbean yellow mosaic virus: molecular insights and infectivity validation in mung bean () via infectious clones.

Yellow mosaic disease (YMD) with typical symptoms of alternating bright yellow to green patches associated with stunting, downward cupping, and wrinkling has been observed in mung bean on agricultural farms in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. PCR using gene-specific primers indicated the presence of the yellow mosaic virus in symptomatic plants. Rolling circle amplification (RCA) followed by restriction digestion detected ~2.

Marker-assisted breeding accelerates the development of multiple-stress-tolerant rice genotypes adapted to wider environments.

Introduction: Rice, one of the major staple food crops is frequently affected by various biotic/abiotic stresses including drought, salinity, submergence, heat, Bacterial leaf blight, Brown plant hopper, Gall midge, Stem borer, Leaf folder etc. Sustained increase of yield growth is highly necessary to meet the projected demand in rice production during the year 2050. Hence, development of high yielding and multiple stress tolerant rice varieties adapted to wider environments will serve the need.

Does the gut microbiome influence disc health and disease? The interplay between dysbiosis, pathobionts, and disc inflammation: a pilot study.

Background Context: Gut microbiome alterations resulting in inflammatory responses have been implicated in many distant effects on different organs. However, its influence on disc health is still not fully investigated.

Purpose: Our objective was to document the gut biome in healthy volunteers and patients with disc degeneration and to understand the role of gut dysbiosis on human disc health.

Empowering rice breeding with NextGen genomics tools for rapid enhancement nitrogen use efficiency.

As rice has no physiological capacity of fixing nitrogen in the soil, its production had always been reliant on the external application of nitrogen (N) to ensure enhanced productivity. In the light of improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in rice, several advanced agronomic strategies have been proposed. However, the soared increase of the prices of N fertilizers and subsequent environmental downfalls caused by the excessive use of N fertilizers, reinforces the prerequisite adaptation of other sustainable, affordable, and globally acceptable strategies.

Metagenomics approaches in unveiling the dynamics of Plant Growth-Promoting Microorganisms (PGPM) vis-à-vis Phytophthora sp. suppression in various crop ecological systems.

Phytophthora species are destructive pathogens causing yield losses in different ecological systems, such as potato, black pepper, pepper, avocado, citrus, and tobacco. The diversity of plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) plays a crucial role in disease suppression. Knowledge of metagenomics approaches is essential for assessing the dynamics of PGPM and Phytophthora species across various ecosystems, facilitating effective management strategies for better crop protection.

Unravelling the metabolomic diversity of pigmented and non-pigmented traditional rice from Tamil Nadu, India.

Rice metabolomics is widely used for biomarker research in the fields of pharmacology. As a consequence, characterization of the variations of the pigmented and non-pigmented traditional rice varieties of Tamil Nadu is crucial. These varieties possess fatty acids, sugars, terpenoids, plant sterols, phenols, carotenoids and other compounds that plays a major role in achieving sustainable development goal 2 (SDG 2).

Identification, validation and quantification of thymoquinone in conjunction with assessment of bioactive possessions and GC-MS profiling of pharmaceutically valuable crop Nigella ( L.) varieties.

Background: Plants have been pivotal in traditional and modern medicine globally, with historical evidence supporting their therapeutic applications. Nigella ( L.) is an annual herbaceous plant of the Ranunculaceae family and is cultivated in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western and Central Asia.

Characterization of terminal flowering cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) mutants obtained by induced mutagenesis digs out the loss-of-function of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is one of the major food legume crops grown extensively in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The determinate habit of cowpea has many advantages over the indeterminate and is well adapted to modern farming systems.

Pilot-scale genome-wide association mapping in diverse sorghum germplasms identified novel genetic loci linked to major agronomic, root and stomatal traits.

This genome-wide association studies (GWAS) used a subset of 96 diverse sorghum accessions, constructed from a large collection of 219 accessions for mining novel genetic loci linked to major agronomic, root morphological and physiological traits. The subset yielded 43,452 high quality single nucleotide polymorphic (SNP) markers exhibiting high allelic diversity. Population stratification showed distinct separation between caudatum and durra races.

Plant Metabolomics: Current Initiatives and Future Prospects.

Plant metabolomics is a rapidly advancing field of plant sciences and systems biology. It involves comprehensive analyses of small molecules (metabolites) in plant tissues and cells. These metabolites include a wide range of compounds, such as sugars, amino acids, organic acids, secondary metabolites (e.

Exploring bixin from L. seeds: quantification and insights into its anti-cancer potential.

Bixin, the key pigment of L., is an apo-carotenoid found in the seed arils. The present study aimed to quantitatively determine the bixin content of seeds and explore its anti-cancer activity through studies.

"Are we barking up the wrong tree? Too much emphasis on Cutibacterium acnes and ignoring other pathogens"- a study based on next-generation sequencing of normal and diseased discs.

Background: The majority of literature on bacterial flora in the disc stands disadvantaged in utilizing traditional culture methods and targeting a single bacterium, Cutibacterium acnes.

Purpose: Our objective was to document the diversity in the bacterial flora between normal and degenerated discs for shortlisting potential pathogens using next-generation genomic tools.

Study Design: Experimental case-control study.

Molecular characterization and SNP identification using genotyping-by-sequencing in high-yielding mutants of proso millet.

Proso millet ( L.) is a short-duration C crop that is drought tolerant and nutritionally rich and can grow well in marginal lands. Though the crop has many climate-resilient traits like tolerance to drought and heat, its yield is lower than that of common cereals like rice, wheat, and maize.

Altering Stomatal Density for Manipulating Transpiration and Photosynthetic Traits in Rice through CRISPR/Cas9 Mutagenesis.

Stomata regulates conductance, transpiration and photosynthetic traits in plants. Increased stomatal density may contribute to enhanced water loss and thereby help improve the transpirational cooling process and mitigate the high temperature-induced yield losses. However, genetic manipulation of stomatal traits through conventional breeding still remains a challenge due to problems involved in phenotyping and the lack of suitable genetic materials.

Marker Assisted Introgression of Resistance Genes and Phenotypic Evaluation Enabled Identification of Durable and Broad-Spectrum Blast Resistance in Elite Rice Cultivar, CO 51.

Across the globe, rice cultivation is seriously affected by blast disease, caused by . This disease has caused heavy yield loss to farmers over the past few years. In this background, the most affordable and eco-friendly strategy is to introgress blast-resistant genes from donors into elite rice cultivars.

Targeting bone cancer with 4-Allylbenzene-1,2-diol purified from L.: an and cytotoxicity scrutiny.

L., a well-known medicinal plant with rich source of bioactive compounds, is widely used in several therapeutics. The present study was performed to scrutinize the anti-cancer potential of compounds petiole by means of studies, purification of 4-Allylbenzene-1,2-diol from petioles and assessing its cytotoxicity on bone cancer metastasis.

Comparative Metabolomic Profiling of Horse Gram ( (Lam.) Verdc.) Genotypes for Horse Gram Yellow Mosaic Virus Resistance.

Horse gram ( (Lam.) Verdc.) is an under-utilized legume grown in India.

Identification of Newer Stable Genetic Sources for High Grain Number per Panicle and Understanding the Gene Action for Important Panicle Traits in Rice.

Rice is an important food crop extensively cultivated worldwide, and rice's grain yield should be improved to meet future food demand. Grain number per panicle is the main trait that determines the grain yield in rice, and other panicle-related traits influence the grain number. To study the genetic diversity, 50 diverse Indian-origin germplasm were evaluated for grain number per panicle and other panicle traits for two consecutive seasons ( 2019 and 2020).

Unlocking the genetic diversity of Indian turmeric ( L.) germplasm based on rhizome yield traits and curcuminoids.

Turmeric is an important commercial crop widely grown in Asia due to its pharmacological and nutritional value. India is the centre of turmeric diversity and many turmeric accessions have good rhizome yield, varying curcuminoids content and are well-adapted to various agro-climatic zones. In the present study, we unravel the diversity among 200 Indian turmeric accessions based on rhizome yield traits and curcuminoids content.