Effect of stem structural characteristics and cell wall components related to stem lodging resistance in a newly identified mutant of hexaploid wheat ( L.).

In wheat, lodging is affected by anatomical and chemical characteristics of the stem cell wall. Plant characteristics determining the stem strength were measured in lodging tolerant mutant (PMW-2016-1) developed through mutation breeding utilizing hexaploid wheat cultivar, DPW-621-50. Various anatomical features, chemical composition, and mechanical strength of the culms of newly developed lodging-tolerant mutant (PMW-2016-1) and parent (DPW-621-50), were examined by light microscopy, the Klason method, prostate tester coupled with a Universal Tensile Machine, and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy.

Consensus genomic regions associated with multiple abiotic stress tolerance in wheat and implications for wheat breeding.

In wheat, a meta-analysis was performed using previously identified QTLs associated with drought stress (DS), heat stress (HS), salinity stress (SS), water-logging stress (WS), pre-harvest sprouting (PHS), and aluminium stress (AS) which predicted a total of 134 meta-QTLs (MQTLs) that involved at least 28 consistent and stable MQTLs conferring tolerance to five or all six abiotic stresses under study. Seventy-six MQTLs out of the 132 physically anchored MQTLs were also verified with genome-wide association studies. Around 43% of MQTLs had genetic and physical confidence intervals of less than 1 cM and 5 Mb, respectively.

Meta-QTLs for multiple disease resistance involving three rusts in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

In wheat, multiple disease resistance meta-QTLs (MDR-MQTLs) and underlying candidate genes for the three rusts were identified which may prove useful for development of resistant cultivars. Rust diseases in wheat are a major threat to global food security. Therefore, development of multiple disease-resistant cultivars (resistant to all three rusts) is a major goal in all wheat breeding programs worldwide.

Meta-analysis reveals consensus genomic regions associated with multiple disease resistance in wheat ( L.).

Unlabelled: In wheat, meta-QTLs (MQTLs) and candidate genes (CGs) were identified for multiple disease resistance (MDR). For this purpose, information was collected from 58 studies for mapping QTLs for resistance to one or more of the five diseases. As many as 493 QTLs were available from these studies, which were distributed in five diseases as follows: septoria tritici blotch (STB) 126 QTLs; septoria nodorum blotch (SNB), 103 QTLs; fusarium head blight (FHB), 184 QTLs; karnal bunt (KB), 66 QTLs; and loose smut (LS), 14 QTLs.

Meta-QTLs, ortho-MQTLs and candidate genes for the traits contributing to salinity stress tolerance in common wheat ( L.).

Unlabelled: A meta-analysis of QTLs associated with the traits contributing to salinity tolerance was undertaken in wheat to detect consensus and robust meta-QTLs (MQTLs) using 844 known QTLs retrieved from 26 earlier studies. A consensus map with a total length of 4621.56 cM including 7710 markers was constructed using 21 individual linkage maps and three previously published integrated genetic maps.

Meta-QTLs, ortho-meta-QTLs and candidate genes for grain yield and associated traits in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

In wheat, 2852 major QTLs of 8998 QTLs available for yield and related traits were used for meta-analysis; 141 meta-QTLs were identified, which included 13 breeder's MQTLs and 24 ortho-MQTLs; 1202 candidate genes and 50 homologues of genes for yield from other cereals were also identified. Meta-QTL analysis was conducted using 2852 of the 8998 known QTLs, retrieved from 230 reports published during 1999-2020 (including 19 studies on tetraploid wheat) for grain yield (GY) and the following ten component traits: (i) grain weight (GWei), (ii) grain morphology-related traits (GMRTs), (iii) grain number (GN), (iv) spikes-related traits (SRTs), (v) plant height (PH), (vi) tiller number (TN), (vii) harvest index (HI), (viii) biomass yield (BY), (ix) days to heading/flowering and maturity (DTH/F/M), and (x) grain filling duration (GFD). The study resulted in the identification of 141 meta-QTLs (MQTLs), with an average confidence interval (CI) of 1.

Meta-QTLs, ortho-MQTLs and candidate genes for nitrogen use efficiency and root system architecture in bread wheat ( L.).

Unlabelled: In wheat, meta-QTLs (MQTLs), ortho-MQTLs, and candidate genes (CGs) were identified for nitrogen use efficiency and root system architecture. For this purpose, 1788 QTLs were available from 24 studies published during 2006-2020. Of these, 1098 QTLs were projected onto the consensus map resulting in 118 MQTLs.

Current updates on adaptive immune response by B cell and T cell stimulation and therapeutic strategies for novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) treatment.

The prevalence of COVID-19 continues to rise with more than 114,315,846 million confirmed cases and 2,539,427 deaths worldwide by 3 March 2021 and this number kept on increasing day by day. There is no clear therapeutic treatment or vaccine available for COVID-19 till date and by seeing such a high rise in the cases of COVID-19 on daily basis, it would have been necessary to implement precautions and hygienic measures to monitor and reduce human-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 before there is any successful intervention/treatment available. Currently, several studies demonstrated the important improvements in both the innate and adaptive immune systems of COVID-19 patients.