The First International Symposium of the World Wild Rice Wiring: Conservation and Utilization of Global Wild Rice Germplasm Resources through International Cooperation.

As drastic climatic changes significantly impact global agriculture, the importance of conserving and utilizing wild germplasm has gained prominance. In this context, the conservation and sustainable utilization of wild rice germplasm resources have become a high priority. Although efforts to conserve and sustainably utilize wild rice germplasm are underway globally, they are fragmented and require international cooperation to advance climate-resilient rice breeding and ensure future food securiety.

Phenological and morphological variations of Oryza rufipogon and O. nivara in Sri Lanka and their evolutionary implications.

Phenological and morphological variation are widely viewed as a pivotal driver of ecological adaptation and speciation. Here, we investigate variation patterns of flowering phenology and morphological traits within and between O. rufipogon and O.

Discovery of Kebanmycins with Antibacterial and Cytotoxic Activities from the Mangrove-Derived sp. SCSIO 40068.

Mangrove derived actinomycetes are a rich reservoir of bioactive natural products and play important roles in pharmaceutical chemistry. In a screen of actinomycetes from mangrove rhizosphere sedimental environments, the isolated strain sp. SCSIO 40068 displayed strong antibacterial activity.

Aromatic Polyketides from the Mangrove-Derived sp. SCSIO 40069.

A chemical investigation of sp. SCSIO 40069 resulted in the isolation of a series of aromatic polyketides with rare skeletons, including five new compounds RM18c-RM18g (-) and three known ones (-). Their structures and absolute configurations were determined by diverse methods, including HRMS and NMR spectra, chemical reaction, Snatzke's method, quantum mechanical-nuclear magnetic resonance (QM-NMR), and X-ray crystallographic analysis.

New Chlorinated Metabolites and Antiproliferative Polyketone from the Mangrove Sediments-Derived Fungus sp. SCSIO41409.

Two new chlorinated metabolites, 8-chlorine-5-hydroxy-2,3-dimethyl-7-methoxychromone () and 3,4-dichloro-1-pyrrole-2,5-dione (), and eight known compounds ( and -) were isolated from the mangrove sediments-derived fungus sp. SCSIO41409. Their structures were elucidated by physicochemical properties and extensive spectroscopic analysis.

Adaptation Strategies to Improve the Resistance of Oilseed Crops to Heat Stress Under a Changing Climate: An Overview.

Temperature is one of the decisive environmental factors that is projected to increase by 1. 5°C over the next two decades due to climate change that may affect various agronomic characteristics, such as biomass production, phenology and physiology, and yield-contributing traits in oilseed crops. Oilseed crops such as soybean, sunflower, canola, peanut, cottonseed, coconut, palm oil, sesame, safflower, olive etc.

Ornamental Plant Efficiency for Heavy Metals Phytoextraction from Contaminated Soils Amended with Organic Materials.

Accumulation of heavy metals (HMs) by ornamental plants (OPs) from contaminated agriculture soils is a unique technique that can efficiently reduce the metal load in the food chain. L. has attractive characteristics acquiring a higher growth rate and large biomass when grown at heavy metal contaminated soils.

Population genetics and evolutionary history of the wild rice species and in Sri Lanka.

Genetic diversity and population genetic structure of the wild rice species and in Sri Lanka were studied using 33 microsatellite markers. A total of 315 individuals of 11 natural populations collected from the wet, intermediate, and dry zones of the country were used in the study. We found a moderate to high level of genetic diversity at the population level, with the polymorphic loci () ranging from 60.

Dietary species richness as a measure of food biodiversity and nutritional quality of diets.

Biodiversity is key for human and environmental health. Available dietary and ecological indicators are not designed to assess the intricate relationship between food biodiversity and diet quality. We applied biodiversity indicators to dietary intake data from and assessed associations with diet quality of women and young children.

Arabidopsis CALCIUM-DEPENDENT PROTEIN KINASE8 and CATALASE3 Function in Abscisic Acid-Mediated Signaling and H2O2 Homeostasis in Stomatal Guard Cells under Drought Stress.

Drought is a major threat to plant growth and crop productivity. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs, CPKs) are believed to play important roles in plant responses to drought stress. Here, we report that Arabidopsis thaliana CPK8 functions in abscisic acid (ABA)- and Ca(2+)-mediated plant responses to drought stress.

Seed-mediated gene flow promotes genetic diversity of weedy rice within populations: implications for weed management.

Increased infestation of weedy rice-a noxious agricultural pest has caused significant reduction of grain yield of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) worldwide. Knowledge on genetic diversity and structure of weedy rice populations will facilitate the design of effective methods to control this weed by tracing its origins and dispersal patterns in a given region. To generate such knowledge, we studied genetic diversity and structure of 21 weedy rice populations from Sri Lanka based on 23 selected microsatellite (SSR) loci.

Arabidopsis calcium-dependent protein kinase CPK10 functions in abscisic acid- and Ca2+-mediated stomatal regulation in response to drought stress.

Plant calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) may function as calcium sensors and play important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development and in plant responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome encodes 34 CDPKs, and most of them have not been functionally characterized. Here, we report the functional characterization of CPK10 in Arabidopsis response to drought stress.