Aspergillus flavus pangenome (AflaPan) uncovers novel aflatoxin and secondary metabolite associated gene clusters.

Background: Aspergillus flavus is an important agricultural and food safety threat due to its production of carcinogenic aflatoxins. It has high level of genetic diversity that is adapted to various environments. Recently, we reported two reference genomes of A.

Genetic structure and ecological niche space of lentil's closest wild relative, Lens orientalis (Boiss.) Schmalh.

Crops arose from wild ancestors and to understand their domestication it is essential to compare the cultivated species with their crop wild relatives. These represent an important source of further crop improvement, in particular in relation to climate change. Although there are about 58,000 Lens accessions held in genebanks, only 1% are wild.

CRISPR/Cas9-Mediated Mutation in and Genes Impart Genetic Tolerance to Fusarium Wilt Disease of Tomato ( L.).

Fusarium wilt is a major devastating fungal disease of tomato ( L.) caused by f. sp.

Development of a new AgriSeq 4K mid-density SNP genotyping panel and its utility in pearl millet breeding.

Pearl millet is a crucial nutrient-rich staple food in Asia and Africa and adapted to the climate of semi-arid topics. Since the genomic resources in pearl millet are very limited, we have developed a brand-new mid-density 4K SNP panel and demonstrated its utility in genetic studies. A set of 4K SNPs were mined from 925 whole-genome sequences through a comprehensive in-silico pipeline.

Cereal grain mineral micronutrient and soil chemistry data from GeoNutrition surveys in Ethiopia and Malawi.

The dataset comprises primary data for the concentration of 29 mineral micronutrients in cereal grains and up to 84 soil chemistry properties from GeoNutrition project surveys in Ethiopia and Malawi. The work provided insights on geospatial variation in the micronutrient concentration in staple crops, and the potential influencing soil factors. In Ethiopia, sampling was conducted in Amhara, Oromia, and Tigray regions, during the late-2017 and late-2018 harvest seasons.

Recent advancements in CRISPR/Cas technology for accelerated crop improvement.

Precise genome engineering approaches could be perceived as a second paradigm for targeted trait improvement in crop plants, with the potential to overcome the constraints imposed by conventional CRISPR/Cas technology. The likelihood of reduced agricultural production due to highly turbulent climatic conditions increases as the global population expands. The second paradigm of stress-resilient crops with enhanced tolerance and increased productivity against various stresses is paramount to support global production and consumption equilibrium.

Contract farming and rural transformation: Evidence from a field experiment in Benin.

Contract farming has emerged as a popular mechanism to encourage vertical coordination in developing country agriculture. Yet, there is a lack of consensus on its ability to spur structural transformation in rural economies. We present results from a field experiment on contract farming for rice production in Benin.

The nutritional quality of cereals varies geospatially in Ethiopia and Malawi.

Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) remain widespread among people in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to sufficient food from plant and animal sources that is rich in micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) is limited due to socioeconomic and geographical reasons. Here we report the micronutrient composition (calcium, iron, selenium and zinc) of staple cereal grains for most of the cereal production areas in Ethiopia and Malawi. We show that there is geospatial variation in the composition of micronutrients that is nutritionally important at subnational scales.

Label-free quantitative proteomics of Sorghum bicolor reveals the proteins strengthening plant defense against insect pest Chilo partellus.

Background: Spotted stem borer- Chilo partellus - a Lepidopteran insect pest of Sorghum bicolor is responsible for major economic losses. It is an oligophagous pest, which bores through the plant stem, causing 'deadheart' and hampering the development of the main cob. We applied a label-free quantitative proteomics approach on three genotypes of S.

Two New Reference Genomes Reveal a Large Insertion Potentially Contributing to Isolate Stress Tolerance and Aflatoxin Production.

Efforts in genome sequencing in the genus have led to the development of quality reference genomes for several important species including , , and However, less progress has been made for As part of the effort of the USDA-ARS Annual Aflatoxin Workshop Fungal Genome Project, the isolate NRRL3357 was sequenced and resulted in a scaffold-level genome released in 2005. Our goal has been biologically driven, focusing on two areas: isolate variation in aflatoxin production and drought stress exacerbating aflatoxin production by Therefore, we developed two reference pseudomolecule genome assemblies derived from chromosome arms for two isolates: AF13, a MAT1-2, highly stress tolerant, and highly aflatoxigenic isolate; and NRRL3357, a MAT1-1, less stress tolerant, and moderate aflatoxin producer in comparison to AF13. Here, we report these two reference-grade assemblies for these isolates through a combination of PacBio long-read sequencing and optical mapping, and coupled them with comparative, functional, and phylogenetic analyses.

Genetics, genomics and breeding of groundnut ( L.).

Groundnut is an important food and oil crop in the semiarid tropics, contributing to household food consumption and cash income. In Asia and Africa, yields are low attributed to various production constraints. This review paper highlights advances in genetics, genomics and breeding to improve the productivity of groundnut.

Carbohydrate, glutathione, and polyamine metabolism are central to Aspergillus flavus oxidative stress responses over time.

Background: The primary and secondary metabolites of fungi are critical for adaptation to environmental stresses, host pathogenicity, competition with other microbes, and reproductive fitness. Drought-derived reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been shown to stimulate aflatoxin production and regulate in Aspergillus flavus, and may function in signaling with host plants. Here, we have performed global, untargeted metabolomics to better understand the role of aflatoxin production in oxidative stress responses, and also explore isolate-specific oxidative stress responses over time.

Response to early drought stress and identification of QTLs controlling biomass production under drought in pearl millet.

Pearl millet plays a major role in food security in arid and semi-arid areas of Africa and India. However, it lags behind the other cereal crops in terms of genetic improvement. The recent sequencing of its genome opens the way to the use of modern genomic tools for breeding.

The application of ceramsite ecological floating bed in aquaculture: its effects on water quality, phytoplankton, bacteria and fish production.

In recent years, biological floating bed technology has been applied increasingly in aquaculture ponds. In this study we developed a novel floating bed made from ceramsite and studied its effect on water quality, phytoplankton, bacteria and fish growth. Water quality was effectively regulated and controlled in ceramsite floating bed (CFB) ponds with an average transparency of 23.

Proteome analysis of Aspergillus flavus isolate-specific responses to oxidative stress in relationship to aflatoxin production capability.

Aspergillus flavus is an opportunistic pathogen of plants such as maize and peanut under conducive conditions such as drought stress resulting in significant aflatoxin production. Drought-associated oxidative stress also exacerbates aflatoxin production by A. flavus.

Oxidative stress and carbon metabolism influence Aspergillus flavus transcriptome composition and secondary metabolite production.

Contamination of crops with aflatoxin is a serious global threat to food safety. Aflatoxin production by Aspergillus flavus is exacerbated by drought stress in the field and by oxidative stress in vitro. We examined transcriptomes of three toxigenic and three atoxigenic isolates of A.

Potential of promotion of alleles by genome editing to improve quantitative traits in livestock breeding programs.

Background: Genome editing (GE) is a method that enables specific nucleotides in the genome of an individual to be changed. To date, use of GE in livestock has focussed on simple traits that are controlled by a few quantitative trait nucleotides (QTN) with large effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of GE to improve quantitative traits that are controlled by many QTN, referred to here as promotion of alleles by genome editing (PAGE).

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) genotypes tolerant to intermittent drought maintain a high harvest index and have small leaf canopy under stress.

Intermittent drought, which varies in intensity, severely limits groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) yields. Experiments were conducted to assess root development, water uptake, transpiration efficiency, yield components and their relationships, in 20 groundnut genotypes under well watered (WW), and mild (DS-1), medium (DS-2) and severe (DS-3) intermittent stress.

Assessment of transpiration efficiency in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under drought using a lysimetric system.

Transpiration efficiency (TE) is an important trait for drought tolerance in peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.). The variation in TE was assessed gravimetrically using a long time interval in nine peanut genotypes (Chico, ICGS 44, ICGV 00350, ICGV 86015, ICGV 86031, ICGV 91114, JL 24, TAG 24 and TMV 2) grown in lysimeters under well-watered or drought conditions.

Transmission of Pigeon pea sterility mosaic virus by the Eriophyid Mite, Aceria cajani (Acari: Arthropoda).

The transmission characteristics of Pigeon pea sterility mosaic virus (PPSMV) to pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) by its eriophyid mite vector, Aceria cajani, were studied. Nonviruliferous A. cajani colonies were established on detached healthy leaflets of a PPSMV-immune pigeon pea cultivar floating on water.