Restoration of Arid Grasslands: Issues and Strategies

Economy of the Thar Desert of India, lying between 24-29°N latitude and 70-76°E longitude, is closely linked with the raising of livestock which mainly depends upon the native rangelands for their sustenance. Pearl millet, moth bean, cluster bean, range grasses and legumes, trees and shrubs are the major components of arid ecosystem. Perennial grasses, viz., buffel grass, bird wood grass, sewan and gramna are the dominating pasture species of the region. Due to frequent droughts and overgrazing, the productivity of the natural grasslands of the region has been steadily decreasing leading to reduced carrying capacity between 0.2-0.5 ACU per ha, which needs to be enhanced through improved technological interventions

Response of fodder cropping sequences to irrigation scheduling in arid environment

A field experiment was conducted at Jodhpur during kharif, rabi and summer seasons for three consecutive years (2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11) to assess the fodder production potential, water use, water use efficiency and fodder quality of different cropping systems under variable moisture regimes. The main plot treatments consist of four cropping sequences, i.e. bajra–lucerne, cowpea– oat – bajra, Cenchrus ciliaris - C. ciliaris + lucerne, bajra + cowpea (1:1) – oat–sorghum and three irrigation levels, i.e. 50, 75 and 100 mm CPE in subplots with three replications. Among the crop sequences round the year, maximum mean green fodder yield was recorded from cowpea-oat-bajra sequence, which was at par with bajra + cowpea – oat – sorghum sequence but significantly higher than C. ciliaris +lucerne and bajra–lucerne sequences. Similarly, dry matter yield was also maximum from cowpea– oat –bajra sequence which was also at par with C.ciliaris–C. ciliaris+lucerne and bajra + cowpea – oat – sorghum sequences but was only significantly higher than bajra – lucerne sequence. During rabi season all crops produced significantly higher green fodder yield at 50 mm CPE level than 75 and 100 mm CPE levels but dry matter yield was at par at 50 and 75 mm CPE levels. Green and dry matter yields of summer crops were significantly higher at 50 mm CPE level than that of 75 and 100 mm CPE. This showed that irrigation at 75 CPE level optimized dry fodder yield during rabi season and 50 mm CPE during summer season. The fodder yield of C. ciliaris + lucerne system at 50 mm CPE and 75 mm CPE was at par but significantly higher than that of 100 mm CPE while fodder yield of bajra + cowpea (1:1)-oat–sorghum and cowpea –oat–bajra at 50 mm CPE was significantly higher than that of 75 mm CPE. Water use efficiency (WUE) and water productivity were higher with bajra, C. ciliaris and oat grown with sprinkler irrigation. Among cropping sequences • ciliaris -C. ciliaris+ lucerne system had maximum WUE and water productivity but statistically at par with cowpea- oat –bajra sequence. Water use was higher at 50 mm CPE irrigation level but water use efficiency and water productivity were higher with 75 and 100 mm CPE level. Protein yield was maximum with bajra – lucerne system followed by cowpea –oat– bajra while C. ciliaris-C. ciliaris + lucerne system had lowest protein yield being at par with bajra + cowpea–oat–sorghum sequence. Protein yield was higher with 50 mm CPE level as compared to 75 and 100 mm CPE in all cropping sequences. Irrigation at 75 mm CPE was best for C. ciliaris + lucerne intercropping system and 50 mm CPE for bajra + cowpea, oat – bajra, cowpea–oat–sorghum and bajra-lucerne crop sequence for getting higher productivity of quality fodder under arid conditions

Phenotypic Variability of \u3cem\u3eCenchrus ciliaris\u3c/em\u3e L. Germplasm in Field Gene Bank

The world faces a continual need to increase forage crop productivity, and to develop new varieties more adapted to changing environmental and biological challenges, and evolving needs of Local communities. One of the main reasons for under-utilization of germplasm, according to curators, breeders and other users of plant genetic resources, is the lack of adequate passport, characterization and evaluation data (Biodiversity International, 2007). Buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris L.) is a C4 perennial grass of arid lands distributed over hotter and drier parts of India, Mediterranean region and tropical and southern Africa. This forage grass is under the focus of different ecological issues like, response to desertification, quality of forage and impact of invasion. The use of genetic resources by the researchers, gene bank managers and farmers will be limited by non-availability of essential information of their phenotypic and genotypic characters. Therefore, the accurate documentation of information about the origin, characterization and performance of germplasm is essential for effective conservation, use and also for the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) issues

Fodder Productivity of Different Genotypes of \u3cem\u3eCenchrus ciliaris\u3c/em\u3e under Hot Arid Climate of Thar Desert

Indian arid zone occupies about 31.7 million ha of land, of which 62% lies in western Rajasthan. The climate of the area is typically arid, characterized by hot dry summers, sub-humid monsoon and cold dry winters. The soils are coarse loamy sand with low level of nutrients. These factors render cropping an undependable proposition, while animal husbandry remains the main stake of the local people. Lasiurus sindicus, Cenchrus ciliaris, C. setigerus, Panicum antidotale, P. turgidum and Cymbopogon spp., are the main perennial grasses grow in this area. These grasses had three folds advantages in the arid agricultural economy, i.e., the cheapest livestock feed, soil builders and aid in soil conservation. Due to frequent droughts and overgrazing the productivity of the natural grasslands in the region has declined to \u3c 300 kg/ha per year. The ever existing gap between demand and supply of the fodder can be bridged by improving the rangelands by adopting improved grassland management techniques including genetically improved genotypes for their productivity and quality. Buffel grass (C. ciliaris L.) is one of the dominant grasses of Dichanthium-Cenchrus-Lasiurus grass cover of India (Dabadghao and Shankarnarayan, 1973). It is well distributed in hotter and drier parts of India, Mediterranean region, tropical and southern Africa. It is adapted to a wide range of soils and climatic conditions and can be cultivated in areas receiving rainfall from 150 to 1250 mm annually. It grows well on sandy to sandy-loam soils in semiarid and arid regions, forming mats or tussocks (Mansoor et al., 2002). The forage of this grass is highly palatable and rich in protein (Sawal et al., 2009). It has 6 to 10% crude protein, 34% crude fibre, 13% ash, 1.5% ether extract and 44% nitrogen free extract of dry matter at flowering. In earlier efforts at CAZRI, Jodhpur, germplasm was collected from different areas of arid zone and some accessions were identified for their fodder productivity and quality. Five genotypes were selected to assess their response for fodder production over the years under hot dry conditions

Assembly and Annotation of Red Spruce (Picea rubens) Chloroplast Genome, Identification of Simple Sequence Repeats, and Phylogenetic Analysis in Picea

We have sequenced the chloroplast genome of red spruce (Picea rubens) for the first time using the single-end, short-reads (44 bp) Illumina sequences, assembled and functionally annotated it, and identified simple sequence repeats (SSRs). The contigs were assembled using SOAPdenovo2 following the retrieval of chloroplast genome sequences using the black spruce (Picea mariana) chloroplast genome as the reference. The assembled genome length was 122,115 bp (gaps included). Comparatively, the P. rubens chloroplast genome reported here may be considered a near-complete draft. Global genome alignment and phylogenetic analysis based on the whole chloroplast genome sequences of Picea rubens and 10 other Picea species revealed high sequence synteny and conservation among 11 Picea species and phylogenetic relationships consistent with their known classical interrelationships and published molecular phylogeny. The P. rubens chloroplast genome sequence showed the highest similarity with that of P. mariana and the lowest with that of P. sitchensis. We have annotated 107 genes including 69 protein-coding genes, 28 tRNAs, 4 rRNAs, few pseudogenes, identified 42 SSRs, and successfully designed primers for 26 SSRs. Mononucleotide A/T repeats were the most common followed by dinucleotide AT repeats. A similar pattern of microsatellite repeats occurrence was found in the chloroplast genomes of 11 Picea species

Molecular Diversity in Sewan Grass (\u3cem\u3eLasiurus sindicus\u3c/em\u3e Henr.): A Natural Inhabitant of Hot Arid Ecosystem of Thar Desert

Lasiurus sindicus Henr., locally known as “Sewan”, a member of family poaceae, is a tufted perennial, forming a more or less oblique and woody rhizomatous rootstock with many shoots arising from the base, often appearing almost bushy. This grass has developed a number of morphological, anatomical and biochemical strategies to withstand the extreme climatic conditions. The leaves show characteristic C4 NADP-ME type of anatomy and have developed sclerenchyma to impart mechanical strength during drought and high wind. Sewan is a dominating grass species of Dichanthium-Cenchrus–Lasiurus type grass lands of hot arid ecosystem of Great Indian Desert, covering western Rajasthan and parts of Pakistan. It grows naturally in wide range of dry areas covering North Africa, Sudano-Sahelian Africa, East Africa and Asia. It thrives well in dry climate receiving annual rainfall below 250 mm prevailing between 25-27°N latitude on well aerated alluvial soils or light sandy soils with a pH of 8.5, rocky ground and gravelly soils. Though this grass tolerates prolonged droughts but has not been found growing in higher rainfall zones and faces a serious threat of becoming an endangered due to changes in the land use pattern, increase in soil moisture regime and overgrazing. The Sewan grass, considered as the “King of Desert Grasses”, is quite palatable and nutritious for the livestock. Crude protein in young leaves varies from 7 to 14% and remains high even at maturity leading to its better suitability for efficient utilization in the animal based agri-horti-pastoral production system prevalent in hyper arid regions of western Rajasthan. In the three districts of western Rajasthan viz. Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer the sustainability and productivity of livestock mainly depends on the sewan based pasture system. The present study was undertaken to analyze the extent of genetic variability existing among the L. sindicus germplasm, collected from Bikaner, Barmer and Jaisalmer, the diversity rich districts of hyper-arid Rajasthan, using ISSR and RAPD markers, for its importance in determining survival under changing climate

Aging in a Long-Lived Clonal Tree

Using genetic estimates of clone age in trembling aspen, this study demonstrates a significant decline in male sexual fitness with increasing age, showing that long-lived clonal organisms are vulnerable to aging

Tissue distribution and differential expression of melanocortin 1 receptor, a malignant melanoma marker

The melanocortin 1 receptor is a G-protein-coupled receptor, described to be expressed on melanomas and melanocytes. Subsequent RT–PCR studies demonstrated the presence of melanocortin 1 receptor mRNA in other tissues such as pituitary gland and testis. Previously, we have demonstrated that three HLA-A2 binding nonamer peptides derived from melanocortin 1 receptor can elicit peptide-specific CTL which can recognize target cells transfected with the melanocortin 1 receptor gene and MHC class I matched melanoma lines. The potential of targeting melanocortin 1 receptor in therapy and diagnosis will depend on a preferential expression of this receptor in the majority of primary and metastatic melanomas vs normal tissues. We tested a panel of melanomas, carcinomas and other cell lines for the presence of melanocortin 1 receptor, using two monoclonal antibodies. The receptor was detected in 83% of the tested melanoma cell lines but not in other carcinoma lines. Immunohistochemistry revealed a strong expression of melanocortin 1 receptor in all tested primary and metastatic melanomas, but also demonstrated low levels of expression in adrenal medulla, cerebellum, liver and keratinocytes. Flow cytometry studies showed that melanocortin 1 receptor was expressed in in vitro activated monocytes/macrophages and in the THP-1 monocytic leukaemia line at levels of about 1 in 3 to 1 in 5 of that found in melanomas. Peripheral blood-derived dendritic cells, also express melanocortin 1 receptor in vitro. This extensive analysis of melanocortin 1 receptor tissue distribution may be of relevance not only for melanoma immunology, but also for research on the pathogenicity of inflammatory conditions in the skin and neurologic tissues. It remains to be seen if the over-expression of melanocortin 1 receptor in melanomas is sufficiently high to allow a ‘therapeutic window’ to be exploited in cancer immunotherapy