Biodiversity, Geographical Distribution, Utilization and Conservation of Wild Mulberry Morus serrata Roxb.

Exploitation of wild relatives of crop plants to a large extent depends on the efficient use of germplasm resources available in natural habitat and the centre of diversity. The mulberry, sole food for silkworm is cultivated for the production and development of silkworm industry. Four species of mulberry viz., M. indica L., M. alba L., M. laevigata Wall., and M. serrata Roxb., are reported in India. Among these species, M. serrata is endemic to North Western Himalayan belt and growing in the higher altitude ranging from 560 ? 2200m above mean sea level. As a part of survey and exploration, 54 samples of M. serrata were collected from three states i.e., Uttaranchal (45), Himachal Pradesh (07) and Jammu and Kashmir (02). During collection, morphological variability, details of habitat viz., natural abode of plant and other related data were recorded. The collected materials were established in the Ex-situ field gene bank of Central Sericultural Germplasm Resources Centre (CSGRC) for further study. The morphological, anatomical, reproductive and growth traits showed variation among the different collections of M. serrata. This paper deals with biodiversity, geographical distribution, utilization and conservation of M. serrata for posterity

A new Species of Spider of the Genus Plator Simon (Family: Platoridae) from India

Volume: 72Start Page: 797End Page: 79

A new species of spider of the genus Plator Simon (family—Platoridae) from Almora, India

Volume: 73Start Page: 178End Page: 17

Molecular diversity of wild mulberry (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Morus </i>spp.) of Indian subcontinent

334-343A total of 72 collections belonging to two wild mulberry species, viz., Morus laevigata and M. serrata, from different eco-geographic regions of India were utilized for assessment of molecular diversity and interrelationships. The study employed a total of 21 RAPD and 6 ISSR primers and generated 409 markers, of which 92.4% were polymorphic. Among M. laevigata collections, genetic divergence was significant between the mainland and Andaman Island collections, highlighting the geographical and reproductive isolation among the two populations. Hierarchical clustering of molecular marker similarity coefficients by UPGMA method resolved the collections into three distinct clusters, first one having all the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">M. laevigata collections of the mainland, second comprising of M. laevigata collections from the Andaman Islands and the third containing M. serrata collections exclusively. This is in concurrence with the geographical distribution and taxonomic status. Three <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">M. laevigata (OPA-09900, OPA-092400 & UBC-8113500) and two M. serrata (OPA-16650 & UBC-8071450) specific DNA markers were identified for possible conversion into SCAR markers for diligent identification of wild mulberry species. The results obtained from the analysis of molecular diversity and coefficient of variance indicated the need for immediate <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">in situ conservation measures for wild mulberry species, especially the M. serrata population of India