Evolutionary aspects of direct or indirect selection for seed size and seed metabolites in Brassica juncea and diploid progenitor species.

Seed size and seed metabolites have been the targets of direct or indirect selection during domestication and subsequent crop breeding. Understanding these traits and associated genetics can prove very useful for plant translational research. Large germplasm assemblage (235) of Brassica juncea and its progenitor species (B.

Structural and Epitope Analysis (T- and B-Cell Epitopes) of Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Glycoproteins: An Approach.

Background: Chronic infection with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) poses a major risk for liver disease like cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. In terms of percentage, the prevalence of HCV in India was found to be low to moderate (1-1.5%), but in terms of sheer numbers, India has a significant number of global HCV patients.

Transcriptome-wide identification of genes involved in Ascorbate-Glutathione cycle (Halliwell-Asada pathway) and related pathway for elucidating its role in antioxidative potential in finger millet ( (L.)).

Finger millet is being recognized as a potential future crop due to their nutrient contents and antioxidative properties, which are much higher compared to the other minor millets for providing health benefits. The synthesis of these nutritional components is governed by the expression of several gene(s). Therefore, it is necessary to characterize these genes for understanding the molecular mechanisms behind de novo synthesis of nutrient components.

Effects of different creep feed types on pre-weaning and post-weaning performance and gut development.

Objective: This experiment was carried out to determine the effects of different creep feed types on suckling performance and further adjustments to solid feed after weaning.

Methods: A total of 24 multiparous sows and their litters were allotted to one of three treatment groups: i) provided highly digestible creep feed (Creep), ii) provided a pig weaning diet (Weaner), and iii) provided sow feed (Sow) as creep feed until weaning. After weaning, a total of 96 piglets were selected for evaluation of post-weaning performance.

Cloning and Characterization of Limonoid Glucosyltransferase from Kinnow Mandarin ( Blanco).

Kinnow mandarin ( Blanco) is a popular citrus crop of northwestern India and it occupies maximum fruit area in Punjab. However, citrus juice processing industry is still suffering from delayed bitterness problem caused mainly by limonoid aglycones such as limonin. In order to study citrus limonoid metabolism, limonoid glucosyltransferase () gene, which encodes a natural debittering enzyme, was isolated from the fruit tissues of Kinnow mandarin.

Effects of dietary energy and crude protein levels on growth performance, blood profiles, and nutrient digestibility in weaning pigs.

Objective: This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of reducing dietary metabolic energy (ME) and crude protein (CP) levels on growth performance, blood profiles, and nutrient digestibility in weaning pigs.

Methods: A total of 240 crossbred pigs (Duroc×[Landrace×Yorkshire]) with an average body weight of 8.67±1.

Shifting the limits in wheat research and breeding using a fully annotated reference genome.

An annotated reference sequence representing the hexaploid bread wheat genome in 21 pseudomolecules has been analyzed to identify the distribution and genomic context of coding and noncoding elements across the A, B, and D subgenomes. With an estimated coverage of 94% of the genome and containing 107,891 high-confidence gene models, this assembly enabled the discovery of tissue- and developmental stage-related coexpression networks by providing a transcriptome atlas representing major stages of wheat development. Dynamics of complex gene families involved in environmental adaptation and end-use quality were revealed at subgenome resolution and contextualized to known agronomic single-gene or quantitative trait loci.

Evaluation of grooming behaviour and apparent digestibility method in cats.

Objectives: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the behavioural time budget for grooming and grooming patterns for shorthair and longhair cats, and to assess the effect of grooming behaviour on apparent digestibility of nutrients in domestic cats ( Felis catus) by comparing hair-included faeces and hair-removed faeces.

Methods: A total of 10 adult domestic cats, with a mean ± SD body weight of 4.3 ± 0.

Effects of coat length and faecal hair removal on measured nutrient digestibility in cats.

Objectives: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of coat length and faecal hair removal on measured nutrient digestibility in longhair and shorthair cats.

Methods: A total of 14 adult domestic cats, with a mean ± SD body weight of 4.5 ± 1.

Structural and functional evolution of an auxin efflux carrier PIN1 and its functional characterization in common wheat.

Particularly PIN1, PIN protein-mediated rate-limiting auxin distribution plays a critical role in plant differentiation. Although well-characterized in Arabidopsis, little is known about the structural and functional relationship of the PIN1 gene among other plants. Here, we report that the gene structure remained conserved among bryophytes and angiosperms while the gene size varied by ~ 17%.

Comparison of the virulence of three H3N2 canine influenza virus isolates from Korea and China in mouse and Guinea pig models.

Background: Avian-origin H3N2 canine influenza virus (CIV) has been the most common subtype in Korea and China since 2007. Here, we compared the pathogenicity and transmissibility of three H3N2 CIV strains [Chinese CIV (JS/10), Korean CIV (KR/07), and Korean recombinant CIV between the classic H3N2 CIV and the pandemic H1N1 virus (MV/12)] in BALB/c mouse and guinea pig models. The pandemic H1N1 (CA/09) strain served as the control.

Large-scale purification of unstable, water-soluble secologanic acid using centrifugal partition chromatography.

Introduction: Secologanic acid, a major secoiridoid in the flower buds of Lonicera japonica, is a fragile, highly polar compound that readily changes to epivogeloside or vogeloside after being dissolved in methanol. Thus, it is very difficult to obtain secologanic acid on a large-scale.

Objective: To develop a centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) method for large-scale purification of secologanic acid with high purity from the flower buds of L.

High-resolution genetic mapping of a novel brown planthopper resistance locus, Bph34 in Oryza sativa L. X Oryza nivara (Sharma & Shastry) derived interspecific F population.

A BPH-resistant locus designated as Bph34 identified in Oryza nivara acc. IRGC104646 on long arm of chromosome 4 using high-resolution mapping with 50 K SNP chip. BPH resistance contributed by locus showed dominant inheritance in F and F.

Influence of various levels of milk by-products in weaner diets on growth performance, blood urea nitrogen, diarrhea incidence, and pork quality of weaning to finishing pigs.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate various levels of milk by-product in weaning pig diet on growth performance, blood profiles, carcass characteristics and economic performance for weaning to finishing pigs.

Methods: A total of 160 weaning pigs ([Yorkshire×Landrace]×Duroc), average 7.01±1.

Red rot resistant transgenic sugarcane developed through expression of β-1,3-glucanase gene.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a commercially important crop, vulnerable to fungal disease red rot caused by Colletotrichum falcatum Went. The pathogen attacks sucrose accumulating parenchyma cells of cane stalk leading to severe losses in cane yield and sugar recovery.

Genome-Wide Association Study of Grain Architecture in Wild Wheat .

, the D-genome progenitor of , encompasses huge diversity for various traits of potential economic importance such as yield, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, quality and nutrition. In the present study, variation for grain size in germplasm was studied and its genetic basis dissected using genome-wide association study (GWAS). Grain length, width, and weight evaluated in 177 accessions over 3 years showed near normal distribution with 1.

In Silico Identification and Validation of Potential microRNAs in Kinnow Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco).

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a large family of 19-25 nucleotides, regulatory, non-coding RNA molecules that control gene expression by cleaving or inhibiting the translation of target gene transcripts in animals and plants. Despite the important functions of miRNAs related to regulation of plant growth and development processes, metabolism, and abiotic and biotic stresses, little is known about the disease-related miRNA. Here, we present a new pipeline for miRNA analysis using expressed sequence tags (ESTs)-based bioinformatics approach in Kinnow mandarin, a commercially important citrus fruit crop.

Novel Alleles of Phosphorus-Starvation Tolerance 1 Gene () from Confers High Phosphorus Uptake Efficiency.

Limited phosphorus availability in the soil is one of the major constraints to the growth and productivity of rice across Asian, African and South American countries, where 50% of the rice is grown under rain-fed systems on poor and problematic soils. With an aim to determine novel alleles for enhanced phosphorus uptake efficiency in wild species germplasm of rice , we investigated phosphorus uptake1 () locus with 11 previously reported SSR markers and sequence characterized the phosphorus-starvation tolerance 1 () gene. In the present study, we screened 182 accessions of along with Vandana as a positive control with SSR markers.

Characterization and thermal inactivation kinetics of highly thermostable ramie leaf β-amylase.

We characterized ramie leaf β-amylase, and determined its thermostability and kinetic parameters. The enzyme was purified 53-fold using ammonium sulfate fractionation (40-60% saturation), anion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and gel permeation chromatography on Superdex-200. The purified enzyme was identified as β-amylase with molecular mass of 42kD.

Effects of lysophospholipid supplementation to lower nutrient diets on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and blood metabolites in broiler chickens.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of dietary lysophospholipid (LPL) supplementation on low-energy, crude protein, and selected amino acids on growth performance, intestinal morphology, blood metabolites, inflammatory response, and carcass traits in broiler chickens. A total of 300 one-day-old male chicks (Ross 308) were assigned to 5 treatments, with 6 replications of 10 birds each in a completely randomized design. The 5 treatments were: positive control (PC) without LPL supplementation and adequate in all nutrients, negative control (NC) without LPL, and reduced 150 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy and reduced 5 to 6% of crude protein and selected amino acids including Lys, Met, Thr, and Trp in a calculated amount relative to the PC, NC + 0.

Effects of wheat supplementation levels on growth performance, blood profiles, nutrient digestibility, and pork quality in growing-finishing pigs.

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate various wheat supplementation levels on growth performance, blood profiles, nutrient digestibility, and pork quality in growing-finishing pigs.

Methods: A total of 120 growing pigs ([Yorkshire×Landrace]×Duroc), with an average 27.75± 1.

Comparative Temporal Transcriptome Profiling of Wheat near Isogenic Line Carrying 57 under Compatible and Incompatible Interactions.

Leaf rust caused by () is one of the most important diseases of bread wheat globally. Recent advances in sequencing technologies have provided opportunities to analyse the complete transcriptomes of the host as well as pathogen for studying differential gene expression during infection. Pathogen induced differential gene expression was characterized in a near isogenic line carrying leaf rust resistance gene and susceptible recipient genotype WL711.

Mapping of stripe rust resistance gene in an Aegilops caudate introgression line in wheat and its genetic association with leaf rust resistance.

A pair of stripe rust and leaf rust resistance genes was introgressed from Aegilops caudata, a nonprogenitor diploid species with the CC genome, to cultivated wheat. Inheritance and genetic mapping of stripe rust resistance gene in backcrossrecombinant inbred line (BC-RIL) population derived from the cross of a wheat-Ae. caudata introgression line (IL) T291- 2(pau16060) with wheat cv.

Genetic Characteristics and Immunogenicity of Pandemic H1N1 Influenza Virus Isolate from Pig in Korea.

A pandemic influenza A (H1N1) virus strain was isolated from a pig farm in Korea in December 2009. The strain was propagated in and isolated from both the Madin-Darby canine kidney cell line and embryonated eggs. The partial and complete sequences of the strain were identical to those of A/California/04/2009, with >99% sequence similarity in the HA, NA, M, NS, NP, PA, PB1, and PB2 genes.

Effect of dietary energy levels and phase feeding by protein levels on growth performance, blood profiles and carcass characteristics in growing-finishing pigs.

Background: Providing of insufficient nutrients limits the potential growth of pig, while feeding of excessive nutrients increases the economic loss and causes environment pollution. For these reasons, phase feeding had been introduced in swine farm for improving animal production. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary energy levels and phase feeding by protein levels on growth performance, blood profiles and carcass characteristics in growing-finishing pigs.