Linkage analysis for drought tolerance in kharif rice of Assam using microsatellite markers

371-375Drought stress in rainfed ecosystem significantly limits the production of Ranjit, the most predominant high yielding rice variety of Assam. A mapping population comprising 85 F4 individuals between Ranjit and a drought tolerant cultivar, ARC10372 was developed and genotyped with 80 microsatellite markers in order to understand the genetic basis of drought tolerance. The linkage map constructed based on a framework linkage map using these markers showed that the marker loci were distributed across 12 chromosomes spanning a distance of 273.4 cM with an average interval of 3.41 cM between marker loci. Most of the marker loci were found to be in good fit with the expected Mendelian segregation ratio; however, thirteen marker loci in total showed segregation distortion on six chromosomes. The linkage map generated in the study will facilitate mapping of quantitative trait loci imparting drought tolerance in rice of Assam and their map-based cloning

A Novel Triterpenoid Isolated from the Root Bark of Ailanthus excelsa Roxb (Tree of Heaven), AECHL-1 as a Potential Anti-Cancer Agent

We report here the isolation and characterization of a new compound Ailanthus excelsa chloroform extract-1 (AECHL-1) (C(29)H(36)O(10); molecular weight 543.8) from the root bark of Ailanthus excelsa Roxb. The compound possesses anti-cancer activity against a variety of cancer cell lines of different origin.AECHL-1 treatment for 12 to 48 hr inhibited cell proliferation and induced death in B16F10, MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and PC3 cells with minimum growth inhibition in normal HEK 293. The antitumor effect of AECHL-1 was comparable with that of the conventional antitumor drugs paclitaxel and cisplatin. AECHL-1-induced growth inhibition was associated with S/G(2)-M arrests in MDA-MB-231, MCF-7, and PC3 cells and a G(1) arrest in B16F10 cells. We observed microtubule disruption in MCF-7 cells treated with AECHL-1 in vitro. Compared with control, subcutaneous injection of AECHL-1 to the sites of tumor of mouse melanoma B16F10 implanted in C57BL/6 mice and human breast cancer MCF-7 cells in athymic nude mice resulted in significant decrease in tumor volume. In B16F10 tumors, AECHL-1 at 50 microg/mouse/day dose for 15 days resulted in increased expression of tumor suppressor proteins P53/p21, reduction in the expression of the oncogene c-Myc, and downregulation of cyclin D1 and cdk4. Additionally, AECHL-1 treatment resulted in the phosphorylation of p53 at serine 15 in B16F10 tumors, which seems to exhibit p53-dependent growth inhibitory responses.The present data demonstrate the activity of a triterpenoid AECHL-1 which possess a broad spectrum of activity against cancer cells. We propose here that AECHL-1 is a futuristic anti-cancer drug whose therapeutic potential needs to be widely explored for chemotherapy against cancer

Symposium- The practice of telepathology in India

Telepathology in India is still in the evolving stages. Although, much progress has been made around the world specially in the field of digital imaging and virtual slides, the practice of telepathology in India still revolves around static telepathology, be it in telelearning or distance learning, or in remote diagnosis. Websites such as telepathology.org.in have been very successful in popularizing telepathology through quizzes of interesting and rare cases. The only study of teleconsultation from India, has shown that a good concordance with glass slide and static telepathology images. The reasons for the relative delay in acceptance of telepathology in India are manifold

Not Available

Not AvailableConserving the mithun (Bos frontalis), a rare bovine of south-east Asia, could benefit from effective ex situ genetic management and breeding programmes including the use of assisted reproduction. Longterm storage of epididymal sperm collected from dead mithun bulls by cryopreservation, with high survival rate, is essential for the establishment of genetic resource banks of this rare species. A study was therefore conducted to (i) characterize the epididymal sperm collected from dead mithun bulls, (ii) investigate the effectiveness of epididymal sperm for cryopreservation and (iii) to study the expression pattern of genes related to motility (TSSK6 and ADAM5P ) and fertility (PRM1, PRM2, PRM3, Tnp1 and Tnp2) in mithun epididymal sperm. For the purpose, sperm collected from caudal epididymis of eight dead mithun bulls were evaluated for concentration, progressive motility, morphological abnormalities, live sperm counts, acrosome integrity, membrane stability (hypo-osmotic swelling test; HOST) and DNA integrity. Epididymal sperm were cryopreserved using tris-egg yolk-glycerol diluent in liquid nitrogen. Post-thaw quality of the cryopreserved sperm in terms of progressive motility, morphological abnormalities, live cell counts, acrosome integrity, membrane stability and DNA integrity were assessed. The RNA extracted from fresh and post-thawed cryopreserved epididymal sperm was reverse transcribed to cDNA and expressions of the genes related to motility and fertility were determined by RT-PCR. The progressive motility, live cell counts, morphological abnormalities and acrosome integrity (normal) of fresh sperm were 89.9±2.7, 88.7±6.7, 7.8±1.07 and 95.3±7.8%, respectively. Fresh sperm that responded to HOST were 88.3±7.2%, and 89.5±6.4% fresh sperm had intact DNA. Following cryopreservation, the percentage of progressive motility (fresh vs frozen-thawed), live cell counts, morphological abnormalities, acrosome integrity, membrane stability and DNA integrity were found to decrease significantly (P<0.01) with a motility recovery rate of 75±8.5%. Transcripts encoding a serine/threonine testis-specific protein kinase (TSSK6) and a metalloproteinase non coding RNA (ADAM5P ) were found to be associated with high-motility status (P<0.01) and their relative expressions were higher in fresh than frozen-thawed sperm. There were no differences in relative expressions for the transcripts related to fertility (PRM1, PRM2, PRM3, Tnp1 and Tnp2) between fresh and frozen-thawed sperm indicating no change of fertility of mithun epididymal sperm after cryopreservation. Taken together, results of our study provide a foundation of collection and cryopreservation of epididymal sperm from dead mithun bulls. Furthermore, the post-thaw quality in terms of percentage of progressive motility, live cell counts, morphological abnormalities, acrosome integrity, membrane stability and DNA integrity were sufficient for genetic improvement of this rare species through AI and conservation of the valuable germplasm for future.Not Availabl

An ethnobotanical study of <i style="">Chirus</i>- A less known tribe of Assam

572-574In present paper the first hand information is given about the ethnobotanical study of Chiru tribe of Lakhipur sub-division of Cachar district, Assam. Fifteen plant species belonging to 12 families are found to be utilized in 27 diseases. Out of 31 ethnobotanic remedies reported, 11 modes of uses are reported for the first time. Leaves are found to possess maximum therapeutic property over any other part

Soils of NICRA village’s survey and land use planning

Not AvailableSoil is a unique living entity. It has its origins in physical, chemical and biological interactions between the parent materials and the atmosphere. The very existence of mankind depends on this natural resource. This resource has to be guarded against depletion of its individual intrinsic values for sustainable agricultural production. There is a growing realization on the scientific management of soil health both at the national and international level. Scientific management of soil needs location and site specific information pertaining to the nature of soil and other land resources, their constraints, potential and suitability for various crops and other uses. In this context soil survey plays an important role in exploiting the potential soil resources and basic information and principles for their better utilization. It is appreciated that our faculty members of the Department of Soil Science, AAU Jorhat and the Scientist from AICRP(DA), BNCA, AAU Biswanath Chariali have conducted a detailed soil survey of the farm of Biswanath College of Agriculture and prepared a soil survey report covering all the aspects pertaining to scientific management of the land resource. I sincerely hope that the report will provide the desired information on the soils of the area and offer the guidelines to develop better land use planning.Not Availabl

Ten years of Dryland Agricultural Research. AICRPDA, Biswanath chariali

Not AvailableThe Assam state has 28.1 lakh hectares of net cropped area accounting for nearly 35.1 % of the total geographical area. The state receives an average rainfall of 1968.1 mm with intermittent dry spells. Majority of area in Assam comes under rainfed area. The rainfed areas are endowed with wide range of constraints with respect to soil and crop management and socio economic issues. The All India Coordinated Research for Dryland Agriculture(AICRPDA) center which was initially established at Jorhat in 2005 was shifted to Biswanath Chariali during 2010. Since its inception, the center has generated significant amount of database and good number of technologies on rain water management, nutrient management, cropping system, energy management, resource characterization, evaluation of improved varieties, IFS and alternate land use systems etc. for increasing the productivity of dryland agriculture on sustainable basis. These technologies have been demonstrated in the farmers' field with their participation under the NICRA project, NICRA upscaling programmes, TSP programmes and success stories have been documented. This publication includes research result of AICRPDA for the past one decade. The information provided in this publication would help the researchers, farmers/stake holders, extension workers and all those involved in development of rainfed agriculture furthering the cause of dryland research and for upscaling the different dryland technologies for increasing the productivity. I appreciate the efforts of the team of Scientists of AICRPDA, Biswanath Chariali and Jorhat center and congratulate them for bringing out the publication entitled " Ten Years of Dryland Agricultural Research". I wish them all success in future research and development endeavor.Not Availabl

Telecytology in East Africa: a feasibility study of forty cases using a static imaging system

We conducted a pilot study to assess the feasibility of telecytology as a diagnostic tool in difficult cases originating from a hospital in East Africa. Forty cytology cases considered difficult by a referring pathologist were posted on a telepathology website. Six pathologists independently assessed the static images. Telecytology diagnoses were compared with the consensus diagnoses made on glass slides and also with the histogical diagnoses when available. The diagnostic agreement of the six pathologists was 71–93% and tended to be higher for pathologists with more experience. Reasons for discordance included poor image quality, presence of diagnostic cells in thick areas of smears, sampling bias and screening errors. The consensus diagnoses agreed with histological diagnoses in all 17 cases in which a biopsy was performed. Diagnostic accuracy rates (i.e. telecytology diagnosis vs. histological diagnosis) for individual pathologists were 65–88%. To ensure diagnostic accuracy both referring and consulting pathologists must have adequate training in cytology, image acquisition and image-based diagnosis and the diagnostic questions of importance must be clearly communicated by the referring pathologist when posting a case