Molecular diversity and pathogenic variability in Colletotrichum capsici of chilli (Capsicum annuum) in Haryana

The fruit rot of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.), caused by Colletotrichum capsici, is the most serious disease of chilli in India. Fourteen isolates of C. capsici collected from different locations in Haryana state were investigated for molecular variations along with their virulence pattern. Different levels of virulence were expressed dividing isolates into four groups. Out of 33 primers, 22 exhibited DNA polymorphism producing a total of 108 bands with an average of 4.90 bands per primer. At an arbitrary cut-off at 45% similarity level of dendrogram, the isolates were clustered into two main clusters. The grouping of the isolates based on RAPDs was in general neither in agreement with their pathogenicity on different host cultivars nor with the geographical location of the isolate. The information may be helpful in improving chilli fruit rot resistance and varietal deployment strategies essential for effective disease management

Exploring potential of pearl millet germplasm association panel for association mapping of drought tolerance traits

A pearl millet inbred germplasm association panel (PMiGAP) comprising 250 inbred lines, representative of cultivated germplasm from Africa and Asia, elite improved open-pollinated cultivars, hybrid parental inbreds and inbred mapping population parents, was recently established. This study presents the first report of genetic diversity in PMiGAP and its exploitation for association mapping of drought tolerance traits. For diversity and genetic structure analysis, PMiGAP was genotyped with 37 SSR and CISP markers representing all seven linkage groups. For association analysis, it was phenotyped for yield and yield components and morpho-physiological traits under both well-watered and drought conditions, and genotyped with SNPs and InDels from seventeen genes underlying a major validated drought tolerance (DT) QTL. The average gene diversity in PMiGAP was 0.54. The STRUCTURE analysis revealed six subpopulations within PMiGAP. Significant associations were obtained for 22 SNPs and 3 InDels from 13 genes under different treatments. Seven SNPs associations from 5 genes were common under irrigated and one of the drought stress treatments. Most significantly, an important SNP in putative acetyl CoA carboxylase gene showed constitutive association with grain yield, grain harvest index and panicle yield under all treatments. An InDel in putative chlorophyll a/b binding protein gene was significantly associated with both stay-green and grain yield traits under drought stress. This can be used as a functional marker for selecting high yielding genotypes with 'stay green' phenotype under drought stress. The present study identified useful marker-trait associations of important agronomics traits under irrigated and drought stress conditions with genes underlying a major validated DT-QTL in pearl millet. Results suggest that PMiGAP is a useful panel for association mapping. Expression patterns of genes also shed light on some physiological mechanisms underlying pearl millet drought tolerance

Genetic diversity among greengram [<i style="">Vigna radiata </i>(L.) Wilczek] genotypes varying in micronutrient (Fe and Zn) content using RAPD markers

48-53Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek, commonly known as greengram or mungbean, is an important food legume that has inexpensive, low flatulence protein, which makes it indispensable in Indian vegetarian diet. There is a global effort to breed and disseminate new bio-fortified varieties rich in iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) content to fight hidden hunger. RAPD polymorphism among 16 mungbean genotypes using 33 decamer primers revealed 148 amplified bands with an average of 6.16 bands per primer, of which 142 were polymorphic and 6 were monomorphic. The similarity coefficients among different genotypes ranged from 0.40-0.89 and the genotypes were categorized into two major clusters. Fe content (mg/kg) varied from 44.52 in GP-181 to 106.15 in Ganga-8, while Zn content (mg/kg) varied from 23.31 in Satya to 40.46 in ML-776. High Fe and Zn genotypes did not cluster together; however, RAPD markers were efficient for identification of genotypes—high Fe (85.1 mg/kg) and high zinc (46.31 mg/kg) ML-776 and low Fe (46.31mg/kg) and low Zn (23.31 mg/kg) Satya, falling in two different subgroups based on cluster analysis. These genotypes can be used in linkage analysis by developing mapping population to tag this trait

Additional file 5: Table S1. of Transcriptome analysis of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) in response to seedling drought stress

Comparison of 1 T-1C Vs 2 T-2C with DEGs using Edge (R). (XLS 14709 kb

Additional file 8: Figure S7. of Transcriptome analysis of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) in response to seedling drought stress

HeatMap of Top Down regulated between samples with p value < 0.05 in 1C_Control_1T_Treated. (TIF 974 kb

Additional file 10: Figure S9. of Transcriptome analysis of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) in response to seedling drought stress

HeatMap of Top Down regulated between samples with p value < 0.05 in 2C_Control_2T_Treated. (TIF 872 kb

Additional file 12: Figure S11. of Transcriptome analysis of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) in response to seedling drought stress

Top 25 GO terms for down-regulated and up-regulated transcripts in ‘1 T’ as compared to ‘1C. (TIF 2218 kb

Molecular Assortment of Lens Species with Different Adaptations to Drought Conditions Using SSR Markers.

The success of drought tolerance breeding programs can be enhanced through molecular assortment of germplasm. This study was designed to characterize molecular diversity within and between Lens species with different adaptations to drought stress conditions using SSR markers. Drought stress was applied at seedling stage to study the effects on morpho-physiological traits under controlled condition, where tolerant cultivars and wilds showed 12.8-27.6% and 9.5-23.2% reduction in seed yield per plant respectively. When juxtaposed to field conditions, the tolerant cultivars (PDL-1 and PDL-2) and wild (ILWL-314 and ILWL-436) accessions showed 10.5-26.5% and 7.5%-15.6% reduction in seed yield per plant, respectively under rain-fed conditions. The reductions in seed yield in the two tolerant cultivars and wilds under severe drought condition were 48-49% and 30.5-45.3% respectively. A set of 258 alleles were identified among 278 genotypes using 35 SSR markers. Genetic diversity and polymorphism information contents varied between 0.321-0.854 and 0.299-0.836, with mean value of 0.682 and 0.643, respectively. All the genotypes were clustered into 11 groups based on SSR markers. Tolerant genotypes were grouped in cluster 6 while sensitive ones were mainly grouped into cluster 7. Wild accessions were separated from cultivars on the basis of both population structure and cluster analysis. Cluster analysis has further grouped the wild accessions on the basis of species and sub-species into 5 clusters. Physiological and morphological characters under drought stress were significantly (P = 0.05) different among microsatellite clusters. These findings suggest that drought adaptation is variable among wild and cultivated genotypes. Also, genotypes from contrasting clusters can be selected for hybridization which could help in evolution of better segregants for improving drought tolerance in lentil