Medicinal Plant Biodiversity used among the rural communities of Arid Regions of Northern Punjab, Pakistan

226-241One-third of the earth’s surface is categorized as arid. Arid regions throughout the world having unique biodiversity comprising of different climatic conditions. The current study focused on Medicinal Plant Biodiversity used among the rural communities of Arid regions of Northern Punjab, Pakistan. Total 225 households were interviewed by using a semi-structured questionnaire. By using different quantitative indices, results were analyzed that includes frequency of citation (FC), the relative frequency of citation (RFC), fidelity level (FL), Informant consensus factor (ICF) and use value (UV). In this study 98 plants, species were reported, used for medicinal purposes. Asteraceae was found to be a dominant family. The most frequently used parts were leaves (46%) as compared to other plants parts. The mostly used herbal medicinal preparation method was a powder (44%) as compared to decoction (43%), paste (20%). The highest ICF was reported for respiratory system disorders (Asthma, cold, chest problems, flue, and cough). The fidelity level varies from 50% to 96%. Species having the highest use value was Ficus benghalensis (0.16) while the plant species with the highest RFC was Ficus palmate (0.42). The findings exposed that medicinal plants are the main source of medicines for primary health care. Medicinal plants having high used value help to identify a phytochemical compound that are bio-active that are essential for the synthesis of new drugs for various diseases

Genetic dissection of Ni toxicity in a spring wheat diversity panel by using 90 K SNP array

Excess Ni intake has harmful implications on human health, which include chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, and cancer of lung and nasal sinuses. Like other toxic metals, higher Ni accumulation in grains leads to excess intake by humans when the contaminated grains are consumed as food. There is little information about the genetic factors that regulate Ni uptake in plants. To investigate genetic architecture of Ni uptake in leaf and translocation to grain, we performed a genome-wide association study with genotyping from 90 K array in a historical bread wheat diversity panel from Pakistan. We observed that Ni toxicity caused more than 50 % reductions in biological yield and grain yield, other agronomic traits were also partly or severely affected. Genetic association study helped identify 23 SNP-trait associations involved in Ni uptake in leaf and translocation to grains. These 23 SNPs covered 15 genomic loci at chromosomes 1A, 2D, 3B, 4A and 4B of wheat. The favorable alleles of these SNPs were randomly distributed in subpopulations indicating no selection pressure for this trait during breeding improvement. These regions had 283 low-confidence and 248 high-confidence protein coding genes. Among these, 156 were annotated using databases of wheat and closely related grass species. Since there is no previous report on genetic information of Ni uptake and translocation, these results provide sufficient grounds for further research of candidate genes and varietal development.Peer reviewe

Identification of monocot flora using pollen features through scanning electron microscopy

Pollen used to track structural and functional evolution in plants as well as to investigate the problems relative to plant classification. Pollen characters including ornamentation, shape, apertural pattern, pollen symmetry, colpus length, width, and margins used to detect the similarities and dissimilarities between genera and also species of the same genus. In this study pollen features of 20 monocot species belonging to 15 genera of the Amaryllidaceae, Asparagaceae, Iridaceae, Ixioliriaceae, Liliaceae, and Xanthorrhoeaceae were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM). In this study two species that is Zephyranthes citrina and Tulbaghia violacea were reported for the first time from Pakistan. Pollen grains were visualized with LM. Non-acetolyzed and acetolyzed pollen were examined using SEM. A taxonomic key was developed to highlight the variation in pollen features in order to make their systematic application for correct species identification

Foliar micromorphology of Convolvulaceous species with special emphasis on trichome diversity from the arid zone of Pakistan

In present study, 18 plant species belonging to 7 genera of the family Convolvulaceae has been investigated by using the light microscope for foliar epidermal anatomy. Despite the medicinal importance of family Convolvulaceae, there is no evidence regarding the secretory structure and their effect of environmental conditions on their density is unknown. The aim of the study was to describe the morphology of these secretory structures and to estimate the hypothesis that glandular trichomes density decreases with increased aridity. Foliar micromorphology of Convolvulaceous taxa, gathered from arid parts of Northern Punjab Pakistan, was first time conducted with an aim to utilize this information as an aid in plant taxonomy. Significant diversity was observed in both qualitative and quantitative characteristics using light microscopy. Variations were observed in stomatal number, size, guard cells shape, epidermal cell number, subsidiary cells, and trichomes. Unique ornamentation was observed in trichomes diversity. A taxonomic key was prepared for the identification of species. The main goal of this study was to describe the morphology of glandular trichomes and to estimate the hypothesis that glandular trichomes density decreases with increased aridity. Based on these findings, Light microscopy of foliar epidermal features can be of special interest for taxonomists in the identification of complex taxa. Studied taxa were also separated from each other by using Cluster Analysis (MVSP ver.3.22). Statistical analysis by using the Software XLSTAT exhibited that some anatomical features are the main characteristics in the identification of the taxa. Principal component analyses (PCA) used as a statistical tool for data analyses that show the importance of these characteristics for the characterization and identification of the family Convolvulaceae in an arid land. The study shows many novel characters that provide baseline information about trichome diversity in relation to aridity for future taxonomist