Molecular characterization and assessment of genetic diversity of sorghum inbred lines

Selecting parents of diverse genetic base with contrasting phenotype is an important step in developing mapping populations for quantitative trait loci (QTL) detection and marker-assisted selection. We studied genetic diversity in 31 sorghum parents using 413 sorghum simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers. The polymorphism information content (PIC), a measure of gene diversity, varied from 0 to 0.92 with an average of 0.53 and was significantly correlated with number of alleles. The primers IS10215, IS10270 and IS10333 could differentiate all the 31 lines conclusively. Clustering analysis based on the genetic dissimilarity grouped the 31 parents into eight clusters and grouping was in good agreement with pedigree, race and geographic origin. Diverse pairs of sorghum parents were identified with contrast phenotype for various biotic and abiotic stresses with higher genetic diversity for developing recombinant inbred line (RIL) mapping populations to identify QTLs/genes for important traits in sorghum. One of the mapping populations resulted in the identification of QTLs for resistance to sorghum shoot fly and these QTL results were validated in a second mapping population.Key words: Simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers, genetic diversity, sorghum, mapping parents

Assessing the genetic diversity of Indian Kharif sorghum landraces through agro-morphological characterization (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)

The agro-morphological characterization of local germplasm provides insight into existing diversity, enables the identification of desirable traits, and enhances crop improvement. The present study evaluated 96 kharif sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) landraces and 6 checks using 20 agro-morphological traits at two locations, ICAR-IIMR in Hyderabad and Experimental Farm at Annamalai University in Annamalai Nagar, using alpha lattice design with 2 replications during 2021 kharif to assess genetic diversity. Results showed significant genetic variability among the 20 traits (P<0.01), providing opportunities for improvement. The high genotypic (GCV) and phenotypic components of variance (PCV) exhibited among the traits indicated their genetic determination and potential for improvement through breeding programs. High heritability and genetic advance also indicated the presence of additive genes, offering reliable improvement through trait selection. The correlation analysis showed a strong positive relationship between grain yield and several desirable traits, including panicle length, width, primary branch length, hundred seed weight, number of leaves, and total tillers per plant, indicating that grain yield can be improved by selecting accessions with desirable characteristics for these traits. The Cluster analysis using Euclidean distance revealed (four distinct clusters), with Cluster I being the most differentiated. These clusters may serve as valuable resources for hybridization programs. The PCA analysis indicated that the first three PCs accounted for 43.26% of the total variation and highlighted the key agro-morphological traits driving diversity. The results of this study demonstrated the significant genetic diversity among kharif sorghum landraces, providing a promising opportunity for varietal development programs.

Chemical synthesis of d(GC)<SUB>4</SUB>,d(GC)<SUB>5</SUB> and d(GGTGGACCTC) by continuous flow solid phase phosphotriester method

A simplified protocol for the synthesis of oligodeoxyribonucleotides by phosphotriester approach on controlled pore glass resins using a manualdna synthesiser is presented. The main features of this method are: (i) a single system of solvents (acetonitrile:dichloromethane, 8 : 2) is used in the assembly procedure reducing the number of mechanical manipulations, (ii) dichloroacetic acid is used as a good compromise between the efficiency of deprotection and minimal depurination and (iii) it competes effectively with the phosphite method in terms of speed, efficiency and ease. All the required protected mononucleotides and functionalised resins were home-made and detailed procedures are reported. The utility of the procedure is demonstrated by the actual synthesis of sequences d(G-C)4, d(G-C)5 and d(GGTGGACCTC) required for biophysical studies in our laboratory. The oligonucleotides were purified by the recently introduced method of fast protein liquid chromatography which gives good resolutions in shorter time periods as compared to the high performance liquid chromatography technique

Stacked Cu1.8S nanoplatelets as counter electrode for quantum dot-sensitized solar cell

It is found that the electrocatalytic activity of Cu2-xS thin films used in quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs) as counter electrode (CE) for the reduction of polysulfide electrolyte depends on the surface active sulfide and disulfide species and the deficiency of Cu. The preferential bonding between Cu2+ and S2-, leading to the selective formation of a Cu1.8S stacked platelet-like morphology, is determined by the cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide surfactant and deposition temperature; the crab-like Cu-S coordination bond formed dictates the surface area to volume ratio of the Cu1.8S thin films and their electrocatalytic activity. The Cu deficiency enhances the conductivity of the Cu1.8S thin films, which exhibit near-infrared localized surface plasmon resonance due to free carriers, and UV-vis absorption spectra show an excitonic effect due to the quantum size effect. When these Cu1.8S thin films were employed as CEs in QDSSCs, a robust photoconversion efficiency of 5.2% was obtained for the film deposited at 60 °C by a single-step chemical bath deposition method

Competing risks analysis for neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of diabetic retinopathy incidence in the Scottish population

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a major sight-threatening microvascular complication in individuals with diabetes. Systemic inflammation combined with oxidative stress is thought to capture most of the complexities involved in the pathology of diabetic retinopathy. A high level of neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is an indicator of abnormal immune system activity. Current estimates of the association of NLR with diabetes and its complications are almost entirely derived from cross-sectional studies, suggesting that the nature of the reported association may be more diagnostic than prognostic. Therefore, in the present study, we examined the utility of NLR as a biomarker to predict the incidence of DR in the Scottish population.Methods: The incidence of DR was defined as the time to the first diagnosis of R1 or above grade in the Scottish retinopathy grading scheme from type 2 diabetes diagnosis. The effect of NLR and its interactions were explored using a competing risks survival model adjusting for other risk factors and accounting for deaths. The Fine and Gray subdistribution hazard model (FGR) was used to predict the effect of NLR on the incidence of DR.Results: We analysed data from 23,531 individuals with complete covariate information. At 10 years, 8416 (35.8%) had developed DR and 2989 (12.7%) were lost to competing events (death) without developing DR and 12,126 individuals did not have DR. The median (interquartile range) level of NLR was 2.04 (1.5 to 2.7). The optimal NLR cut-off value to predict retinopathy incidence was 3.04. After accounting for competing risks at 10 years, the cumulative incidence of DR and deaths without DR were 50.7% and 21.9%, respectively. NLR was associated with incident DR in both Cause-specific hazard (CSH = 1.63; 95% CI: 1.28–2.07) and FGR models the subdistribution hazard (sHR = 2.24; 95% CI: 1.70–2.94). Both age and HbA 1c were found to modulate the association between NLR and the risk of DR.Conclusions: The current study suggests that NLR has a promising potential to predict DR incidence in the Scottish population, especially in individuals less than 65 years and in those with well-controlled glycaemic status.</p

Fabric Properties and Their Characteristics

This book describes the differences between woven and knitted structures, provides an understanding of fabric behavior and the characteristics of a functional garment, and outlines the importance of garment fit and consumer perception of ..

ChloroMitoSSRDB: open source repository of perfect and imperfect repeats in organelle genomes for evolutionary genomics

This article has been accepted for publication in DNA Research Published by Oxford University Press.[EN] Microsatellites or simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are repetitive stretches of nucleotides (A, T, G, C) that are distributed either as single base pair stretches or as a combination of two- to six-nucleotides units that are non-randomly distributed within coding and in non-coding regions of the genome. ChloroMitoSSRDB is a complete curated web-oriented relational database of perfect and imperfect repeats in organelle genomes. The present version of the database contains perfect and imperfect SSRs of 2161 organelle genomes (1982 mitochondrial and 179 chloroplast genomes). We detected a total of 5838 chloroplast perfect SSRs, 37 297 chloroplast imperfect SSRs, 5898 mitochondrial perfect SSRs and 50 355 mitochondria! imperfect SSRs across these genomes. The repeats have been further hyperlinked to the annotated gene regions (coding or non-coding) and a link to the corresponding gene record in National Center for Biotechnology Information(vvww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) to identify and understand the positional relationship of the repetitive tracts. ChloroMitoSSRDB is connected to a user-friendly web interface that provides useful information associated with the location of the repeats (coding and non-coding), size of repeat, motif and length polymorphism, etc. ChloroMitoSSRDB will serve as a repository for developing functional markers for molecular phylogenetics, estimating molecular variation across speciesThis work was supported by BIOMASFOR (Z0912003I, Italy) and EC FP7 (BIOSUPPORT, Bulgaria). M.A.F. was supported by a grant from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Inovacio´n (BFU2009- 12022).Sablok, G.; Mudunuri, SB.; Patnana, S.; Popova, M.; Fares Riaño, MA.; La Porta, N. (2013). ChloroMitoSSRDB: open source repository of perfect and imperfect repeats in organelle genomes for evolutionary genomics. DNA Research. 20(2):127-133. https://doi.org/10.1093/dnares/dss038S12713320