Genetic variation and diversity for grain iron, zinc, protein and agronomic traits in advanced breeding lines of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] for biofortification breeding

Genetic improvements of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) content in pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] may reduce the problems of anemia and stunted growth among millet dependent staple food consumers. The availability of variation in diversebreeding lines is essential to improve grain micronutrients in high-yielding cultivars. This study aimed to determine the extent of variability, heritability and diversity for grain Fe, Zn and protein, along with key agronomic traits, in 281 advanced breeding lines bred at ICRISAT and evaluated across two seasons (environments). A pooled analysis of variance displayed significant variation for all these traits. Highest variability was recorded for Fe (35–116 mg kg-1), Zn (21–80 mg kg-1), and protein (6–18%), and a three-fold variation was observed for panicle length, panicle girth and 1000-grain-weight (TGW). Diversity analysis showed 10 clusters. Cluster-III had maximum lines (25%) and Cluster-V showed the highest mean values for Fe, Zn, protein and TGW. These results highlight the success of breeding program that aimed both the maintenance and creation of genetic variability and diversity. A significant positive correlation among Fe, Zn, protein and TGW indicated the potential for simultaneous improvement. Grain yield had a non-significant association with Fe and Zn, while protein showed a negative correlation. These results suggest that significant variability exists in elite-breeding lines, thus highlighting an opportunity to breed for biofortified varieties without compromising on the grain yield. The lines with high Fe, Zn and protein content can be used as hybrid parents and may also help in further genetic investigations

Narrative review of epilepsy: getting the most out of your neuroimaging

Neuroimaging represents an important step in the evaluation of pediatric epilepsy. The crucial role of brain imaging in the diagnosis, follow-up and presurgical assessment of patients with epilepsy is noted and has to be familiar to all neuroradiologists and trainees approaching pediatric brain imaging. Morphological qualitative imaging shows the majority of cerebral lesions/alterations underlying focal epilepsy and can highlight some features which are useful in the differential diagnosis of the different types of epilepsy. Recent advances in MRI acquisitions including diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), post-acquisition image processing techniques, and quantification of imaging data are increasing the accuracy of lesion detection during the last decades. Functional MRI (fMRI) can be really useful and helps to identify cortical eloquent areas that are essential for language, motor function, and memory, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) can reveal white matter tracts that are vital for these functions, thus reducing the risk of epilepsy surgery causing new morbidities. Also positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), simultaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) and fMRI, and electrical and magnetic source imaging can be used to assess the exact localization of epileptic foci and help in the design of intracranial EEG recording strategies. The main role of these “hybrid” techniques is to obtain quantitative and qualitative informations, a necessary step to evaluate and demonstrate the complex relationship between abnormal structural and functional data and to manage a “patient-tailored” surgical approach in epileptic patients

Obstetric emergencies during the COVID-19 lockdown period: a case series

Obstetric emergencies during COVID-19 pandemic pose an enormous challenge to the concerned obstetrician. Risk stratification during obstetric triage will guide in the initial assessment & planning of further management to reduce maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality rates. As the health system adapts to cope with this pandemic, special attention needs to be given to the several moral and ethical dilemmas that may occur during patient care

Art and craft of episiotomy

Background: Episiotomy is the most common obstetric surgical procedure performed in labor room. Mediolateral and Midline episiotomies are the most common types. Post-delivery suture angle is the most important determinant factor which predicts the risk of anal sphincter injuries. Mediolateral episiotomy has a significantly lower risk of OASIS rate when compared to midline episiotomies. Aim of the study was to know whether mediolateral episiotomies are actually mediolateral and does the angle of episiotomy influences the risk of anal sphincter injuries, maternal/fetal complications in the perinatal period.Methods: An observational study was conducted on 250 postpartum patients admitted to our hospital. Details of episiotomy in relation to incision angle, length, depth and post suturing angle were noted within two days of delivery.Results: Among the subjects included there were 40.8 % incisions were RMLE, average length was 3.32cms, average suture angle is 28.69 degree. OASIS was seen in 19.5% cases more so with midline episiotomies.Conclusions: Episiotomy is an essential, must to know skill. Compulsory ssupervised clinical teaching and use of skill lab training can prevent potential detrimental consequences

Effect of isogenic-alloplasmic cytoplasmic male sterility system on grain yield traits in pearl millet

Pearl millet is a nutri-cereal and is grown predominantly by subsistence farmers in semi-arid regions of India and Africa. Considering highly cross pollination nature and availability of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), pearl millet hybrids are becoming a dominant cultivar type in India. Present study aims to assess the effect of isonucleus-alloplasmic, A1, A4 and A5 cytoplasmic male sterility system on agronomic performance of pearl millet hybrids. Five isogenic females each having 3 alloplasmic (A1, A4 and A5) cytoplasm were crossed with 6 male-parents to generate 120 hybrids and were evaluated in two contrasting season in splitsplit- plot design (SSPD). The significant cytoplasm per se and restorer per se indicate the both contribution to most of the traits, however, greater magnitude of contribution arises from restorers (74% grain yield; 95% 1000-grain weight). The significant hybrids × environment shows the mandatory of multi location testing for yield traits while non-significant of CMS × environment interactions reveals the greater stability of CMS. Further, no significant mean yield differences exhibited in A1, A4 and A5 hybrids (2.53-2.81 t ha-1) indicates not any adverse effect of cytoplasm on grain yield and associated traits. Also, diverse genetic backgrounds used in this study exhibited significant contributions to grain yield and its component traits. These results imply the prospects for utilization of potential alternative cytoplasm (A4 and A5) to widen the cytoplasm base together with development of counterpart restorers to produce future high-yielding hybrids

Genetic diversity analysis among advanced breeding lines in pearl millet for grain iron, zinc and agronomic traits

Evaluation of genetic diversity within breeding populations will help in parents’ diversification and identification of trait-specific inbred sources. Total of 294 inbreds were evaluated for grain iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and agronomic traits in two contrasting seasons using alpha-lattice field design. There was a significant variability observed for all traits. Three-to-four-fold variability noticed for Fe (31-120 mg kg-1), Zn (19-88 mg kg-1), yield (0.6-2.6 tha-1) and 1000- grain weight (6-16 g 1000-1). The magnitude of genetic coefficient of variation explained by traits were varied in the order of Fe (25%)>Zn>TGW>PL>PH>GY>PG>DF (7%) and heritability (broad sense) was very high as >84% for all traits except grain yield (56%). Nine clusters formed at 90% genetic similarity. Clusters I to IV and VII had higher mean value for Fe density (78-100 mg kg-1) and agronomic traits. Highest number of genotypes grouped in cluster I (63) followed by cluster III (54) having higher yield,1000-grain weight, panicle girth, Fe and Zn. Top-10% of high-Fe lines had significantly higher Fe (64%), Zn (49%), grainweight (29%) and panicle girth (19%) than bottom-10% genotypes. This implies that high- Fe/Zn sources are available with eliteness and can be incorporated into any genetic background without compromising agronomic superiority. Higher heritability and genetic advance as percentage of mean were observed for Fe, Zn and grain-weight suggesting these traits are predominantly determined by additive gene and can be improved through selection

Effect of isonuclear-alloplasmic cytoplasmic male sterility system on grain yield traits in pearl millet

Pearl millet is a nutri-cereal and is grown predominantly by subsistence farmers in semi-arid regions of India and Africa. Considering it’s highly cross pollinated nature and availability of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS), hybrids have become a dominant cultivar type in India. Present study aims to assess the effect of isonuclear alloplasmic A1, A4 and A5 CMS on agronomic performance of pearl millet hybrids. Five isogenic females each having 3 alloplasmic (A1, A4 and A5) cytoplasm were crossed with 6 male-parents to generate 120 hybrids. All these were evaluated in two contrasting seasons (E) in split-split-plot design. The significant cytoplasm per se and restorer per se indicate the both contribution to most of the traits, however, greater magnitude of contribution arises from restorers significantly (75%grain yield; 95% 1000-grain weight). The significant, hybrids x E shows the mandatory of multilocation testing for yield traits while non-significant of CMS × E interaction reveals the greater stability of CMS. Further, non-significant mean yield differences exhibited in A1, A4 and A5 hybrids (2.84-3.14 t ha–1) indicated no adverse effect of cytoplasm on grain yield and associated traits. Also, diverse genetic backgrounds used in this study displayed significant contributions to grain yield and its component traits. These results imply the prospects for utilization of potential alternative cytoplasm (A4 and A5) to widen the cytoplasm base together with development of counterpart restorers to produce future high-yielding hybrids

From manual curation to visualization of gene families and networks across Solanaceae plant species

High-quality manual annotation methods and practices need to be scaled to the increased rate of genomic data production. Curation based on gene families and gene networks is one approach that can significantly increase both curation efficiency and quality. The Sol Genomics Network (SGN; http://solgenomics.net) is a comparative genomics platform, with genetic, genomic and phenotypic information of the Solanaceae family and its closely related species that incorporates a community-based gene and phenotype curation system. In this article, we describe a manual curation system for gene families aimed at facilitating curation, querying and visualization of gene interaction patterns underlying complex biological processes, including an interface for efficiently capturing information from experiments with large data sets reported in the literature. Well-annotated multigene families are useful for further exploration of genome organization and gene evolution across species. As an example, we illustrate the system with the multigene transcription factor families, WRKY and Small Auxin Up-regulated RNA (SAUR), which both play important roles in responding to abiotic stresses in plants