Prospects of new chickpea varieties in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is an important chickpea growing state in southern India, with spectacular increase in chickpea area from 120,000 ha in 1997/98 to 638,000 ha in 2007/08. The chickpea revolution in Andhra Pradesh has improved the prospects of many resource-poor, small land holding and rainfed farmers of Andhra Pradesh. However, the growing season of chickpea in Andhra Pradesh is warm and short (90-110 days), and drought is the foremost factor responsible for significant yield losses. Rainfall in major chickpea-growing regions is quite uncertain and erratic, resulting in poor yields. The Regional Agricultural Research Station of Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh, India is the lead centre responsible for location-specific research in chickpea in Andhra Pradesh. With support from ICRISAT and ICAR, the centre has initiated crop improvement programmes during 2004 and has released four promising chickpea varieties for commercial cultivation. Three desi varieties viz., Nandyal Sanaga 1(NBeG 3), Dheera (NBeG 47), and Nandyal Gram 49 (NBeG 49) released for Andhra Pradesh and one large-seeded kabuli Nandyal Gram 119 (NBeG 119) released for the southern zone comprising Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, are cutting across chickpea growing regions of Andhra Pradesh. Nandyal Sanaga 1, released in 2012, is a bold-seeded desi variety tolerant to drought and heat; Dheera released during 2015 is also a desi variety and the first of its kind in India, suitable for mechanical harvesting. Nandyal Gram 49 released during 2016 is a highyielding desi variety with attractive seeds; whereas Nandyal Gram 119 is early bold-seeded kabuli variety released during 2015. These varieties have clearly demonstrated their advantage (10%-15 % increase over popular varieties of the tract) in farmers’ holdings in large-scale demonstrations and are being preferred by farmers of not only Andhra Pradesh, but also Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Maharastra. Efforts are underway to promote large-scale adoption of these varieties to maximize long term productivity of chickpeas in rainfed vertisols

Low-cost interventions for big impacts in dryland production systems

A study at selected action sites in semi-arid region of Andhra Pradesh, India, showed widespread land degradation due to low levels of soil organic carbon (78% of fields) and deficiencies of available nutrients like phosphorus (34%), sulfur (93%), calcium (33%), zinc (84%), boron (73%), and copper (33%). Soil test-based addition of deficient micro- and macronutrients increased food grain production by 30–40% and straw (which is used as fodder) production by 10–30%. Micro-watershed scale low-cost cement-lined farm-ponds at smallholder farm level proved a scalable technology for drought-proofing of crops resulting into additional crop yield by more than 30% during 2015. Augmentation of water sources also facilitated farmers’ to successfully diversify the production system. Shared machinery resources improved the operational and economic efficiency of farm sowing operations through higher crop yields by around 10%. We conclude that a mix of low-cost critical interventions if out-scaled in a large number of dryland small holdings through policy support may not only improve productivity and livelihoods, but also enhance their abilities to effectively cope with the climatic aberrations

Dynamic Changes in the MicroRNA Expression Profile Reveal Multiple Regulatory Mechanisms in the Spinal Nerve Ligation Model of Neuropathic Pain

Neuropathic pain resulting from nerve lesions or dysfunction represents one of the most challenging neurological diseases to treat. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms responsible for causing these maladaptive responses can help develop novel therapeutic strategies and biomarkers for neuropathic pain. We performed a miRNA expression profiling study of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) tissue from rats four weeks post spinal nerve ligation (SNL), a model of neuropathic pain. TaqMan low density arrays identified 63 miRNAs whose level of expression was significantly altered following SNL surgery. Of these, 59 were downregulated and the ipsilateral L4 DRG, not the injured L5 DRG, showed the most significant downregulation suggesting that miRNA changes in the uninjured afferents may underlie the development and maintenance of neuropathic pain. TargetScan was used to predict mRNA targets for these miRNAs and it was found that the transcripts with multiple predicted target sites belong to neurologically important pathways. By employing different bioinformatic approaches we identified neurite remodeling as a significantly regulated biological pathway, and some of these predictions were confirmed by siRNA knockdown for genes that regulate neurite growth in differentiated Neuro2A cells. In vitro validation for predicted target sites in the 3′-UTR of voltage-gated sodium channel Scn11a, alpha 2/delta1 subunit of voltage-dependent Ca-channel, and purinergic receptor P2rx ligand-gated ion channel 4 using luciferase reporter assays showed that identified miRNAs modulated gene expression significantly. Our results suggest the potential for miRNAs to play a direct role in neuropathic pain

Titanium (III) reduction of dimethylglyoxime: Electrochemical and kinetic studies

176-179Titanium (III) mediated electroreduction of dimethyl glyoxime has been carried out in aqueous sulphuric acid medium and the reduction product has been isolated and characterised. The kinetic investigations have been carried out under stoichiometric and non-stoichiometric conditions at 306K. It has been found that the reaction follows overall second order kinetics, first order each in [Ti(III)] and [DMG] and fractional order in sulphuric acid. The effect of varying concentrations of Ti(III), DMG, H2SO4, ionic strength, and solvent composition has been studied. Effect of temperature has also been studied and activation parameters have been computed from Arrhenius and Eyring plots

MTHFR Gene variants C677T, A1298C and association with Down syndrome: A Case-control study from South India

Background: The 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase ( MTHFR ) polymorphisms and low folate levels are associated with inhibition of DNA methyltransferase and consequently DNA hypomethylation. The expanding spectrum of common conditions linked with MTHFR polymorphisms includes certain adverse birth outcome, pregnancy complications, cancers, adult cardiovascular diseases and psychiatric disorders, with several of these associations remaining still controversial. Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of mental retardation. It stems predominantly from the failure of chromosome 21 to segregate normally during meiosis. Despite substantial research, the molecular mechanisms underlying non-disjunction leading to trisomy 21 are poorly understood. Materials and Methods: Two common variants C677T and A1298C of the MTHFR gene were screened in 36 parents with DS children and 60 healthy couples from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The MTHFR genotypes were studied by RFLP analysis of PCR-amplified products and confirmed by sequencing. Results: The CT genotype was seen in three each (8.3%) of case mothers and fathers. One case father showed TT genotype. All the control individuals exhibited the wild type CC genotype. A similar frequency for the uncommon allele C of the second polymorphism was recorded in case mothers (0.35) and fathers (0.37) in comparison with the control mothers (0.39) and fathers (0.37). Conclusion: This first report on MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms in trisomy 21 parents from south Indian population revealed that MTHFR 677CT polymorphism was associated with a risk for Down syndrome