Genomics-assisted breeding in four major pulse crops of developing countries: present status and prospects

The global population is continuously increasing and is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. This huge population pressure will lead to severe shortage of food, natural resources and arable land. Such an alarming situation is most likely to arise in developing countries due to increase in the proportion of people suffering from protein and micronutrient malnutrition. Pulses being a primary and affordable source of proteins and minerals play a key role in alleviating the protein calorie malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and other undernourishment-related issues. Additionally, pulses are a vital source of livelihood generation for millions of resource-poor farmers practising agriculture in the semi-arid and sub-tropical regions. Limited success achieved through conventional breeding so far in most of the pulse crops will not be enough to feed the ever increasing population. In this context, genomics-assisted breeding (GAB) holds promise in enhancing the genetic gains. Though pulses have long been considered as orphan crops, recent advances in the area of pulse genomics are noteworthy, e.g. discovery of genome-wide genetic markers, high-throughput genotyping and sequencing platforms, high-density genetic linkage/QTL maps and, more importantly, the availability of whole-genome sequence. With genome sequence in hand, there is a great scope to apply genome-wide methods for trait mapping using association studies and to choose desirable genotypes via genomic selection. It is anticipated that GAB will speed up the progress of genetic improvement of pulses, leading to the rapid development of cultivars with higher yield, enhanced stress tolerance and wider adaptability

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS

A comparative review of soil charcoal data: Spatiotemporal patterns of origin and long-term dynamics of Western European nutrient-poor grasslands

International audienceThe nutrient-poor grasslands of Western Europe are of major conservation concern because land use changes threaten their high biodiversity. Studies assessing their characteristics show that their past and ongoing dynamics are strongly related to human activities. Yet, the initial development patterns of this specific ecosystem remain unclear. Here, we examine findings from previous paleoecological investigations performed at local level on European grassland areas ranging from several hundred square meters to several square kilometers. Comparing data from these locally relevant studies at a regional scale, we investigate these grasslands' spatiotemporal patterns of origin and long-term dynamics. The study is based on taxonomic identification and radiocarbon AMS dating of charcoal pieces from soil/soil sediment archives of nutrient-poor grasslands in Mediterranean and temperate Western Europe (La Crau plain, Mont Lozère, Grands Causses, Vosges Mountains, Franconian Alb, and Upper-Normandy region). We address the following questions: (1) What are the key determinants of the establishment of these nutrient-poor grasslands? (2) What temporal synchronicities might there be? and (3) What is the spatial scale of these grasslands' past dynamics? The nutrient-poor grasslands in temperate Western Europe are found to result from the first anthropogenic woodland clearings during the late Neolithic, revealed by fire events in mesophilious mature forests. In contrast, the sites with Mediterranean affinities appear to have developed at earlier plant successional stages (pine forest, matorral), established before the first human impacts in the same period. However, no general pattern of establishment and dynamics of the nutrient-poor grasslands could be identified. Local mechanisms appear to be the key determinants of the dynamics of these ecosystems. Nevertheless, this paleoecological synthesis provides insights into past climate or human impacts on present-day vegetation

Chloroplast DNA phylogeography of European ashes, Fraxinus sp. (Oleaceae): Roles of hybridization and life history traits

We investigated range-wide phylogeographic variation in three European ash species (Fraxinus sp. Oleaceae). Chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) microsatellites were typed in the thermophilous Fraxinus angustifolia and Fraxinus ornus and the observed haplotypes and the geographic distribution of diversity were compared to cpDNA data previously obtained in the more cold-tolerant Fraxinus excelsior. We found wide-ranging haplotype sharing between the phylogenetically close F. angustifolia and F. excelsior, suggesting hybridization (i) in common glacial refuges in the Iberian Peninsula, northern Italy, the eastern and/or Dinaric Alps and the Balkan Peninsula, and/or (ii) during postglacial recolonization. The data allowed us to propose additional glacial refuges for F. angustifolia in southern Italy and in Turkey, and populations from the latter region were particularly polymorphic. There was evidence for refuge areas in Italy, the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey for F. ornus, which did not share any single chloroplast haplotype with the other species. In both F. angustifolia and F. ornus, cpDNA diversity (hS = 0.027 and hS = 0.009, respectively) was lower and fixation levels (GST = 0.964 and GST = 0.983, respectively) higher than in sympatric F. excelsior (hS = 0.096, GST = 0.870). These diversity patterns could be due to temperature tolerance or the demographic history. © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.SCOPUS: ar.jFLWINinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe