Genotype and phenotype variability studies in fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum L.) accessions in Kaffa Zone, South West Ethiopia

The present investigation was conducted on 36 geographically diverse Ethiopian accessions of fenugreek with an objective to study the extent of genetic and phenotypic variation among yield and its related traits. The accessions differed significantly for most of the characters and exhibited a relatively wide range. These characters indicated existence of variation among the tested accessions. High GCV was only observed in number of secondary branches per plant. High PCV were observed in number of primary and secondary branches per plant, number of seeds per pod, and 1000-seeds weight. High heritability values were observed in the number of seed per pod (63.1%), plant height (65.3%), biological yield per plot (80.1%), seed yield per plot (89.0%), day to maturity (80.8%), and day to flowering (71.4%). High genetic advance was observed for days to maturity, number of pod per plant, number of secondary branches per plant, biological yield and seed yield per plot. Seed yield per plot had positive and significant genotypic correlations with all traits except days to 50% flowering and plant height. Seed yield per plot had positive and significant phenotypic association with number of primary branches and plant height at maturity. This study revealed that there is good scope of concurrent improvement in yield by exploiting the Ethiopian germplasm of fenugreek. &nbsp

Combining Ability Study for Grain Yield and Agronomic Traits of Quality Protein Maize (Zea Mays L.) Inbred Lines Adapted to Mid-Altitude Agroecology of Ethiopia

In spite of the importance of quality protein maize to alleviate protein deficiency, almost all maize varieties cultivated in Ethiopia are normal maize varieties, which are devoid of lysine and tryptophan. Perusing the combining ability of QPM inbred for grain yield and its components is vital to design appropriate breeding strategies for the development of nutritionally enhanced maize cultivars. A line x tester analysis involving 36 crosses generated by crossing 9 elite maize inbred lines with 4 testers were evaluated for different desirable agronomic traits during the 2019 main season at BNMRC and JARC. The experiment was conducted using alpha lattice design with 3 replications. The objectives were to determine the combining ability of quality protein maize inbred lines, adapted to mid altitude agroecology of Ethiopia for agronomic traits. The crosses were evaluated in alpha lattice design replicated 3 times. Analyses of variances showed significant mean squares due to crosses for almost all the traits studied. GCA mean squares due to lines and testers were significant (P<0.05 or P<0.01) for most studied traits. SCA mean squares were also significant for most attributes across locations. The comparative importance of GCA and SCA variances observed in the current study for most studied traits indicated the preponderance of additive genetic variance in governing these attributes. Only L3 was the best general combiner for grain yield. Inbred line L3, for days to anthesis and L5 for days to silking had negative and significant GCA effects. L5 and L6 displayed negative and significant GCA effects for plant and ear height. Crosses, L2xT4, L3xT4, L4xT4, L5xT2, L6xT3, L7xT2, L9xT1 and L9xT4 were good specific combiners for grain yield. In general, these genotypes help as a source of promising alleles that could be used for forthcoming breeding work in the development of quality protein maize cultivars with desirable traits

Sustainability assessment and pathways for U.S. domestic paper recycling

Dramatic changes in global recovered paper markets, triggered in large part by Chinese import restrictions, challenge the U.S. to find sustainable pathways for increasing the domestic paper recycling rate. This study presents a technology-rich process model of the U.S. domestic paper recycling industry to assess the energy consumption, carbon emissions, and system costs. A scenario analysis shows the viability of three potential pathways for achieving the national goals of a 15 % increase in both the paper recycling rate and the recycled paper utilization rate. The results suggest that the national goals can be achieved by recovering 80 % of recyclable papers from households and commercial stores, while trading all exported bales to domestic recovery with additional investments in processing capacity expansion. The deployment of advanced technology can enable material recovery facilities (MRFs) and paper mills to produce most recycled paper products that are more energy efficient with fewer CO2 emissions

Sustainability assessment and pathways for US domestic paper recycling

Abstract: Dramatic changes in global recovered paper markets, triggered in large part by Chinese import restrictions, challenge the U.S. to find sustainable pathways for increasing the domestic paper recycling rate. This study presents a technology-rich process model of the U.S. domestic paper recycling industry to assess the energy consumption, carbon emissions, and system costs. A scenario analysis shows the viability of three potential pathways for achieving the national goals of a 15 % increase in both the paper recycling rate and the recycled paper utilization rate. The results suggest that the national goals can be achieved by recovering 80 % of recyclable papers from households and commercial stores, while trading all exported bales to domestic recovery with additional investments in processing capacity expansion. The deployment of advanced technology can enable material recovery facilities (MRFs) and paper mills to produce most recycled paper products that are more energy efficient with fewer CO2 emissions

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections in The Gambia: an analysis of routinely collected surveillance data between March, 2020, and January, 2022.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, is one of the deadliest pandemics of the past 100 years. Genomic sequencing has an important role in monitoring of the evolution of the virus, including the detection of new viral variants. We aimed to describe the genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infections in The Gambia. METHODS: Nasopharyngeal or oropharyngeal swabs collected from people with suspected cases of COVID-19 and international travellers were tested for SARS-CoV-2 with standard RT-PCR methods. SARS-CoV-2-positive samples were sequenced according to standard library preparation and sequencing protocols. Bioinformatic analysis was done using ARTIC pipelines and Pangolin was used to assign lineages. To construct phylogenetic trees, sequences were first stratified into different COVID-19 waves (waves 1-4) and aligned. Clustering analysis was done and phylogenetic trees constructed. FINDINGS: Between March, 2020, and January, 2022, 11 911 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded in The Gambia, and 1638 SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced. Cases were broadly distributed into four waves, with more cases during the waves that coincided with the rainy season (July-October). Each wave occurred after the introduction of new viral variants or lineages, or both, generally those already established in Europe or in other African countries. Local transmission was higher during the first and third waves (ie, those that corresponded with the rainy season), in which the B.1.416 lineage and delta (AY.34.1) were dominant, respectively. The second wave was driven by the alpha and eta variants and the B.1.1.420 lineage. The fourth wave was driven by the omicron variant and was predominantly associated with the BA.1.1 lineage. INTERPRETATION: More cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were recorded in The Gambia during peaks of the pandemic that coincided with the rainy season, in line with transmission patterns for other respiratory viruses. The introduction of new lineages or variants preceded epidemic waves, highlighting the importance of implementing well structured genomic surveillance at a national level to detect and monitor emerging and circulating variants. FUNDING: Medical Research Unit The Gambia at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK Research and Innovation, WHO

Genetic diversity and population structure of wheat in India and Turkey

Genetic diversity among plant species offers prospects for improving the plant characteristics. Its assessment is necessary to help tackle the threats of environmental fluctuations and for the effective exploitation of genetic resources in breeding programmes. Although wheat is one of the most thoroughly studied crops in terms of genetic polymorphism studies, phylogenetic affinities of Indian and Turkish Triticum species have not been assessed to date. In this study, genetic association of 95 tetraploid and hexaploid wheat genotypes originating from India and Turkey was determined for the first time. Combined analysis of random amplified polymorphic DNA and inter-simple sequence repeat markers disclosed 177 polymorphic bands, and both the dendrogram and two-dimensional scatterplot showed similar groupings of the wheat genotypes. Turkish hexaploid varieties were basically divided into two clusters, one group showed its close association with Indian hexaploid varieties and the other with Indian tetraploid varieties. Analysis of molecular variance revealed high (77 %) genetic variation within Indian and Turkish populations. Population structure analysis elucidated distinct clustering of wheat genotypes on the basis of both geographical origin and ploidy. The results revealed in this study will support worldwide wheat breeding programmes and assist in achieving the target of sustainable wheat production

From RFLP to DArT: molecular tools for wheat (Triticum spp.) diversity analysis

Wheat (Triticum spp.) is a universally lucrative agricultural crop. An increase in wheat production has been shown through selection by the farmers which can increase the grain profitability. The determination of genetic associations among domestic cultivars is facilitated by molecular markers. Data on genetic polymorphism is valuable for the germplasm association and regarding the developing management strategies. The information would be supportive for potential genome mapping programs and for the relevance of intellectual property rights of wheat breeders. Present review is an effort for providing support information to wheat breeders to develop varieties with varied genetic environment to attain continuity in large-scale wheat production. In this review, we have tried to provide a collective depiction of relevant information about the usage of some commonly used markers in wheat. It may help researchers to find out the frequentness and application of different markers and compare their results. The manuscript may serve as a platform helping the intellectuals for the selection and modification of their marker system in wheat diversity analysis. The heart of this review is the emphasis on the performance of various molecular genetic markers in diversity studies in relation to definite approaches that are in practice since several years allied with the multifaceted wheat molecular breeding and its polyploid nature