Comparative effectiveness of inter-simple sequence repeat and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers to study genetic diversity of Indian Garcinia

A study to compare the effectiveness of inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiling was carried out with a total of 65 DNA samples using 12 species of Indian Garcinia. ISSR and RAPD profiling were performed with 19 and 12 primers, respectively. ISSR markers generated a total number of 156 bands with 92 polymorphic bands, while RAPD markers produced a total of 134 bands with 80 polymorphic bands. Percentage of polymorphic loci in RAPD profiling was 60.4% while in ISSR profiling, it was 59.3%. Heterogeneity index was similar for the markers, 0.86 for ISSR and 0.89 for RAPD, indicating that both the marker systems are effective in determining polymorphism in Garcinia. ISSR markers showed clear distinction among the species whereas RAPD markers showed segregation based on geographical location as well as species based.Key words: Garcinia, genetic diversity, inter-simple sequence repeats, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, principal component analysis

Isozyme diversity of Garcinia gummigutta (L.) N. Robson in Western Ghat region, South India

Isozyme genetic markers are efficient tools to study genetic variations within and betweenpopulations of less known wild species as well as for studies on spatial distribution of geneticvariation.  A study  was conducted with  four  important  isozyme markers namely, peroxidase,polyphenol oxidase, esterase and superoxide dismutase in Garcinia gummigutta  populationcollected from Western Ghats in South India. The cluster analysis of the marker bands showedthat most of the population from similar geographic locations was the first one to groupthemselves, though a significant pattern was not noticed. The mean percentage of polymorphicloci was 52.5%. Total heterozygocity was 0.97 which is consistent with the average of tropicaltree species. &nbsp

Diversity study of leaf volatile oil constituent of Piper species based on GC/ MS and spatial distribution

Ten wild Piper species of Western Ghats were studied for leaf volatile oil constituents using GC/MS. The total number of major components (≥ 1%) in different species varied from 5 to 10. The leaf oil was rich in sesquiterpenoids. The most abundant compounds in Piper leaf oil of Western Ghats were β-Caryophyllene, Nerolidol and β - Elemene. Different accessions of P. nigrum collected from different parts of Western Ghats were used to study the spatial diversity of aroma with the help of DIVA GIS. The results indicated that the latitudinal influence was strong in aroma diversity. Total number of components varied from 17 to 73, while the major components found were 10 in P. nigrum leaves. The diversity index of the total component was 2.87. &nbsp

Volatile oil composition of four popular varieties of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.)

In the present study volatile oil profile of the four popular varities of large cardamom (Amomum subulatum Roxb.) namely Sawney, Varlangey, Ramla and Ramsey were studied in detail. The capsules contained 58.1- 68.1% seeds and 1.2-2.8% essential oil. By GC-MS analysis 23 constituents of the oil were identified with 1, 8- cineole as the chief component. Major constituents of the oil were ?-pinene (1.7-6.5%), ? - pinene (4.0-11.1%), 1, 8- cineole (63.2-73.4%) and ?- terpineol (5.6-7.6%). The oil contained high level of 1, 8- cineole when compared to small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomMaton). ? -Terpinyl acetate, the chief component of small cardamom oil was not detected in large cardamom. &nbsp

Rates of alcohol consumption and risk status among Australian university students vary by assessment questions

Introduction and Aims. Different self-report methods tend to produce different estimates of alcohol consumption. The present study compares differences in rates and risk levels based on responses to a modified version of the Daily Drinking Questionnaire (m-DDQ) and quantity-frequency (QF) questions. Design and Methods. The sample comprised 2082 university students, 61% of whom were female and 39% male with a mean age of 23.5 years. An email containing an online link to a brief six-question survey was emailed to students enrolled in participating faculties at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Current drinkers completed m-DDQ and QF questions about alcohol consumption. Results. QF methods identified significantly lower estimates of consumption (Mean = 9.15, SD = 12.51) compared with m-DDQ (Mean = 13.06, SD = 14.07). Allocation to risk categories based on the Australian Alcohol Guidelines were conducted for both the m-DDQ and QF methods. Almost twice as many students were found to be drinking at levels considered risky using the m-DDQ method compared with QF. In addition, the relative rank order of participants varied significantly between the two methods. Discussion and Conclusions. The m-DDQ method identified higher rates of drinking and categorised almost twice as many individuals into risky categories of drinking compared with QF. Such variations have major implications for identification of risk groups in health promotion or prevention programs.[Utpala-Kumar R, Deane FP. Rates of alcohol consumption and risk status among Australian university students vary by assessment questions

Heavy episodic drinking among University students: Drinking status and perceived normative comparisons

The present study tests the perceived norms hypothesis in relation to different levels of heavy episodic drinking (HED) among university students. In 2007, 303 students from residence halls and the School of Psychology at the University of Wollongong, Australia, completed a questionnaire about their alcohol consumption and associated attitudes and behaviors. Between-groups analyses of variance (ANOVAs) revealed significantly higher AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) scores among students in higher-frequency HED groups. Students who engaged in HED tended to underestimate their own drinking when comparing themselves with others. Improving the accuracy of perceptions about one’s own drinking in relation to others (normative information) may help reduce levels of HED among students

Diversity of ginger cultivation in India - a GIS study

The climatic conditions of important ginger (Zingiber officinale) growing states of India wereanalysed with the help of Geographic Information System (GIS). The Eco-crop model ofDIVA-GIS indicated that Orissa, West Bengal, north eastern States and Kerala are   environ-mentally most suitable for ginger cultivation. &nbsp

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Not AvailableInter-simple sequence repeat (IISR) is a multilocus DNA marker increasingly being used for DNA typing of plants. Three non-anchored primers were tested for assessing the suitability of its use in genetic diversity analysis of spices germplasm. Optimum annealing temperature for different primers varied from 42 to 63°C depending on the base sequences of the primers.All the primers were successfully used in amplifying inter-microsatellite regions of small cardamom, large cardamom, different species of vanilla and Pipe. Band profiles obtained with ISSR primers were found to be highly polymorphic and reproducible. The ISSR primer (GACA)4 yielded reproducible and consistent DNA banding pattern in Piper and was found to be useful in distinguishing the seven species selected for the study. It is suggested that ISSR markers, in addition to being simple and time efficient, allow rapid identification of polymorphisms within spices germplasmNot Availabl

Spatial influence on the important bio-chemical properties of <i style="">Piper</i> <i style="">nigrum</i> Linn. leaves

444-447Black pepper (Piper nigrum Linn.) is available in a vast altitudinal diversity and shows great adaptability to a wide range of climatic and soil conditions. The study of leaf bio-chemical components such as chlorophyll, carotene and phenol concentration and bio-mass percentage, showed considerable intra species variation in wild black pepper collected from the Western Ghats (Karnataka and Kerala). The results plotted in map with the help of ARC-GIS software to get an idea of spatial variation, indicated that, the diversity of chlorophyll and carotene percentage is wide in a narrow geographical range, but certain patch showed high phenol concentration (between 10º48' and 12º25' latitude)