Efficiency of priming methods in crop establishment of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.)

The present research work was conducted to evaluate the effect of different priming methods on Zingiber officinale Rosc. variety Karthika. Hydropriming was done by immersing the ginger rhizomes in distilled water for varied time durations (6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 hour), and for halopriming different concentrations (50mM,100mM, 250mM and 500mM) of sodium chloride (NaCl) solution was used for different time durations (6, 12, 18 and 24 hour). The primed plants showed fast germination than unprimed ones. The germination percentage of haloprimed (50 mM NaCl for 24 hour) plants was 89.22% and in hydropriming it was 90.33% (24 hours). But in the case of unprimed (control) plants, the germination percentage was only 55.11%. The present study showed that the optimum time duration for priming in ginger was 24 hours. In halopriming, the growth was highest in 50 mM NaCl for 24 hours. The carbohydrate content and photosynthetic pigment content were highest in primed plants when compared to unprimed plants.When comparing both priming methods, the haloprimed plants showed highest chlorophyll content and carbohydrate content than the hydroprimed ones. But, regarding the yield, hydroprimed plants produced more tillers and thus more yield. Since, ginger is cultivated for mainly for the rhizomes, among the two priming methods investigated, hydropriming was found to be more promising than halopriming in terms of yield

Seed priming: An efficient method for enhancing growth and yield of Sesamum indicum L. under drought stress

Seed priming is a pre-germination physiological treatment of seeds with natural or synthetic compounds which provides faster and synchronized germination. In the present research work, the seed priming effects of NaCl and KNO3 in Sesamum indicum L.var. Thilothama under drought stress were studied. Sesame is a well known oil yielding plant and the seeds of these plants are used for oil extraction. Morphological, physiological and biochemical analysis were conducted in the seedlings raised from primed and non-primed seeds under field conditions. The results of analyses showed significant reduction in the growth of seedlings under drought stress conditions. But both the seed priming treatments resulted in an increase in the germination percentage, growth and yield. The germination percentage and growth attributes were found to be high in KNO3 primed plants, but as far as the yield parameters were concerned, the fruit weight and seed weight were found to be maximum in NaCl primed plants. Thus from the present research work, it was concluded that both the seed priming methods improved the drought stress tolerance potential of sesame and among the two seed priming treatments, we recommend seed priming with 15 mM NaCl as the most effective method for enhancing yield under drought stress in sesame

Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

Altres ajuts: Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC); Illumina; LifeArc; Medical Research Council (MRC); UKRI; Sepsis Research (the Fiona Elizabeth Agnew Trust); the Intensive Care Society, Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship (223164/Z/21/Z); BBSRC Institute Program Support Grant to the Roslin Institute (BBS/E/D/20002172, BBS/E/D/10002070, BBS/E/D/30002275); UKRI grants (MC_PC_20004, MC_PC_19025, MC_PC_1905, MRNO2995X/1); UK Research and Innovation (MC_PC_20029); the Wellcome PhD training fellowship for clinicians (204979/Z/16/Z); the Edinburgh Clinical Academic Track (ECAT) programme; the National Institute for Health Research, the Wellcome Trust; the MRC; Cancer Research UK; the DHSC; NHS England; the Smilow family; the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (CTSA award number UL1TR001878); the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania; National Institute on Aging (NIA U01AG009740); the National Institute on Aging (RC2 AG036495, RC4 AG039029); the Common Fund of the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health; NCI; NHGRI; NHLBI; NIDA; NIMH; NINDS.Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care or hospitalization after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes-including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)-in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease