Mapping of Quantitative Trait Loci Associated with Resistance to Brown Planthopper in Rice by Means of a Doubled Haploid Population

ABSTRACT these major genes The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stå l) (Homotive resistance should be more durabl

Porcine ovarian biometry, oocyte retrieval and quality of oocytes under different seasons in north east hill region

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different seasons on porcine ovarian biometry and centred, oocyte retrieval and quality of oocytes in north east hill region of India. Porcine ovaries (1886) were collected over a period of 12 months from local abattoirs. The morphological studies revealed mulberry shaped multi- lobulated ovaries with an average weight of 4.435 ± 0.622 The average number of GF and CL were significantly higher in winter than monsoon) but not significantly different from pre-monsoon/summer. The number of CA was significantly higher in winter than monsoon and summer. The number of recovered oocyte from the visible follicles in oocyte collection medium had significantly higher number in winter than other two seasons. The oocyte percentage of grade-I, grade-II, grade-III and grade-IV were found to be 24, 36, 23 and 17%, respectively. The culturable oocytes were significantly higher during winter than summer and monsoon seasons. The season had significant effect on quality and quantity of porcine ovaries which could be well utilized in-vitro maturation and fertilization by the research in field of reproduction and biotechnology

Effect of Presuperovulatory Treatment of Buserelin on Superovulatory Response and Embryo Recovery in Cattle under Subtropical Conditions of Meghalaya

ABSTRACT An experiment was conducted with 24 healthy cyclic cows between 2 nd to 5 th lactation by under intensive system of rearing. The animals were randomly divided into Control (C) and Experiment (E) groups with 12 animals in each The control and experiment groups were again further subdivided in groups C 1 and C 2 & E 1 and E 2 comprising six in each. Onset of oestrus was considered as day 0 for superovulatory treatment. The animals of groups C 1 and C 2 & E 1 and E 2 were injected with 5 ml NSS (i/ml) & 21μg GnRH (i/m) (Buserelin acetate) on day 8 of the oestrous cycle, respectively. Each of the experimental animals of groups C 1 and E 1 was superovulated with 400 mg FSH (i/m) in divided and equal doses at 12 h intervals for four days on day 10 to 13 of the oestrous cycle and consequently, each of the experimental animals of groups C 2 and E 2 was also superovulated with 2000 I.U.PMSG injection (i/m) as single dose on day 10 of the oestrous cycle. PGF 2 α 2ml was injected (i/m) at morning time on day 12 of oestrous cycle. At the superovulatory oestrus, all the animals were bred three times at 12 h intervals using frozen semen. The animals were examined per rectally on day 6 of the induced oestrus after first insemination to detect the superovulatory response. Flushing was performed on day 7 of induced oestrus to retrieve embryos from the superovulated cows. In the present experiment, superovulatory response in GnRH treated groups of cows (groups E 1 and E 2 ) were found to be better as compared to that of the animals of control groups but the duration of induced oestrus (h) recorded in groups C 2 (49.02 ± 0.07 h) and E 2 (50.40 ± 0.27 h) were found to be significantly higher (P<0.05) than the value recorded in groups C 1 and E 1

Relearning old lessons for the future of food—by bread alone no longer: diversifying diets with fruit and vegetables

Diversifying diets and agricultural enterprises with fruit and vegetables is a potent weapon in the current global battle against malnutrition and poverty. Agricultural science can contribute substantially to enhance the development prospects and health of not only disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals at one end of the spectrum but also the growth and equity of national economies at the other. Moreover, with relatively simple applied research, new crop species and technologies can rapidly enter the development pathway to benefi t even the poorest people or nations. More upstream research can help to guard fruit and vegetable production against the vagaries of potential climatic uncertainty, which is projected to become more prominent over future decades. However, historical and continuing widespread underinvestment in fruit and vegetable research and development from the national to the global level may severely compromise the world’s ability to use such highvalue species for crop diversifi cation and as a major engine of development growth to ensure global food and nutritional security

Revolutionizing Crop Production: The Imperative of Speed Breeding Technology in Modern Crop Improvement

Speed breeding (SB) technology is an innovative solution to shorten the breeding cycle and accelerate crop improvement. The key factors of plant growth and development, including photoperiod, light intensity and quality, temperature, relative humidity, planting density and plant nutrition are manipulated in such a way as to stimulate flowering and seed set under controlled conditions. The development of SB technology may be challenging as crops tend to vary in their response to physiological manipulations. Therefore, crop-specific optimization is highly critical to developing successful SB technology in crops. The SB technology can also be synergistically integrated with cutting edge genomics and marker-assisted selection technologies to enhance genetic gain in crop breeding programmes. In this review, various aspects concerning the science and techniques underpinning SB technology, the successful implementation of SB technology in different crops, the inherent challenges faced, and the potential opportunities to integrate SB technology with cutting-edge genomics technologies towards accelerating crop improvement are discussed

Boron-Based Inhibitors of the NLRP3 Inflammasome.

NLRP3 is a receptor important for host responses to infection, yet is also known to contribute to devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis, and others, making inhibitors for NLRP3 sought after. One of the inhibitors currently in use is 2-aminoethoxy diphenylborinate (2APB). Unfortunately, in addition to inhibiting NLRP3, 2APB also displays non-selective effects on cellular Ca2+ homeostasis. Here, we use 2APB as a chemical scaffold to build a series of inhibitors, the NBC series, which inhibit the NLRP3 inflammasome in vitro and in vivo without affecting Ca2+ homeostasis. The core chemical insight of this work is that the oxazaborine ring is a critical feature of the NBC series, and the main biological insight the use of NBC inhibitors led to was that NLRP3 inflammasome activation was independent of Ca2+. The NBC compounds represent useful tools to dissect NLRP3 function, and may lead to oxazaborine ring-containing therapeutics

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Not AvailableAphid is an important insect pest of safflower in India. An average of 37% yield loss has been reported throughout India by aphid infestation on safflower. Resistant cultivars are the best option for management of aphid problem in safflower cultivation. Excellent sources of resistance to aphid (A-1 and EC-523368-2) have been identified in safflower germplasm collection at ICAR-IIOR, Hyderabad. Genetic characterization of these germplasm sources would help to identify resistance genes and further breeding this resistance into improved high yielding cultivar backgrounds to realize higher productivity.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableSunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an important oilseed crop which competes in the “world oilseed complex” with three other major oilseeds viz., soybean, groundnut and rapeseed. In 2010, global area under sunflower cultivation was about 23 million hectares and the production was about 30 million tonnes with an average productivity of 1322.6 kg/ha (Table 1; FAOSTAT). An introduced crop in India in early 1970s, sunflower has become an important oilseed crops with 1 million hectares under its cultivation (Table 2). In 2000-01, Karnataka (45%), Maharashtra (31%) and Andhra Pradesh (18%) were the leading states, which covered almost 94 per cent of total acreage of sunflower in India. In contrast, during 2009-10, Karnataka accounted for 54 per cent followed by Andhra Pradesh with 24 per cent (Table 3). A substantial reduction in sunflower area has occurred in Maharashtra between 2001 (31%) and 2009 (15%). The analysis of growth rates of sunflower during the past decade in the country indicates clear signals of deceleration in the area and production (Vision 2030, DOR; Nayak et al. 2010). The crop, hitherto confined to southern parts of India, has made inroads into non-traditional areas such as Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh as spring/summer crop during the last decade.Not Availabl