Molecular Systems Biology Lab (MOSYS), Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, Department HarvestPlus Program, Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali, Colombia, 3 International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Texcoco, Mexico, 4 Vienna Metabolomics Center (VIME), University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Editorial: Sorghum and Pearl Millet as Climate Resilient Crops for Food and Nutrition Security

Security, Volume II, comes at the right time to nurture scienti ﬁ c evidence for millet and sorghum research and development, products and promotions. This volume comprises eight manuscripts and aims to provide new insights into the breeding approaches, precision phenotyping, genetic resources, molecular analysis, physiological analysis, biotic stress adaptation mechanisms, nutritional aspects, abiotic stress resistance and gene mapping for the improvement and understanding of the fundamentals of these highly important climate-smart crops.

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Editorial: Sorghum and pearl millet as climate resilient crops for food and nutrition security, volume II

Bringing together a truly international spread of contributors from across the UK, US, South America, Mexico and Australia, this Handbook charts the field of television studies from issues of ownership and regulation through to reception and consumption.

Separate chapters are dedicated to examining the roles of journalists, writers, cinematographers, producers and manufacturers in the production process, whilst others explore different formats including sport, novella and soap opera, news and current affairs, music and reality TV. The final section analyses the pivotal role played by audiences in the contexts of gender, race and class, and spans a range of topics from effects studies to audience consumption.

How to Study Ownership and Regulation

Cinnamoyl-CoA reductase (CCR) is a pivotal enzyme in plant lignin synthesis, which has a role in plant secondary cell wall development and environmental stress defense. Alfalfa is a predominant legume forage with excellent quality, but the lignin content negatively affects fodder digestibility. Currently, there is limited information on CCR characteristics, gene expression, and its role in lignin metabolism in alfalfa. In this study, we identified 30 members in the CCR gene family of Medicago sativa. In addition, gene structure, conserved motif, and evolution analysis suggested MsCCR1–7 presumably functioned as CCR, while the 23 MsCCR-likes fell into three categories. The expression patterns of MsCCRs/MsCCR-likes suggested their role in plant development, response to environmental stresses, and phytohormone treatment. These results were consistent with the cis-elements in their promoters. Histochemical staining showed that lignin accumulation gradually deepened with the development, which was consistent with gene expression results. Furthermore, recombinant MsCCR1 and MsCCR-like1 were purified and the kinetic parameters were tested under four substrates. In addition, three-dimensional structure models of MsCCR1 and MsCCR-like1 proteins showed the difference in the substrate-binding motif H212(X)2K215R263. These results will be useful for further application for legume forage quality modification and biofuels industry engineering in the future.

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Characterization, Expression Profiling, and Biochemical Analyses of the Cinnamoyl-CoA Reductase Gene Family for Lignin Synthesis in Alfalfa Plants

Pearl millet is a staple food for more than 90 million people residing in highly vulnerable hot arid and semi–arid regions of Africa and Asia. These regions are more prone to detrimental effects of soil salinity on crop performance in terms of reduced biomass and crop yields. We investigated the physiological mechanisms of salt tolerance to irrigation induced salinity stress (ECiw ~3, 6 & 9 dSm–1) and their confounding effects on plant growth and yield in pearl millet inbred lines and hybrids. On average, nearly 30% reduction in above ground plant biomass was observed at ECiw ~6 dSm-1 which stretched to 56% at ECiw ~9 dSm-1 in comparison to best available water. With increasing salinity stress, the crop performance of test hybrids was better in comparison to inbred lines; exhibiting relatively higher stomatal conductance (gS; 16%), accumulated lower proline (Pro; –12%) and shoot Na+/K+(–31%), synthesized more protein (SP; 2%) and sugars (TSS; 32%) compensating in lower biomass (AGB; –22%) and grain yield (GY: –14%) reductions at highest salinity stress of ECiw ~9 dSm–1. Physiological traits modeling underpinning plant salt tolerance and adaptation mechanism illustrated the key role of 7 traits (AGB, Pro, SS, gS, SPAD, Pn, and SP) in hybrids and 8 traits (AGB, Pro, PH, Na+, K+, Na+/K+, SPAD, and gS) in inbred lines towards anticipated grain yield variations in salinity stressed pearl millet. Most importantly, the AGB alone, explained >91% of yield variation among evaluated hybrids and inbreed lines at ECiw ~9 dSm–1. Cumulatively, the better morpho–physiological adaptation and lesser yield reduction with increasing salinity stress in pearl millet hybrids (HHB 146, HHB 272, and HHB 234) and inbred lines (H77/833–2–202, ICMA 94555 and ICMA 843–22) substantially complemented in increased plant salt tolerance and yield stability over a broad range of salinity stress. The information generated herein will help address in deciphering the trait associated physiological alterations to irrigation induced salt stress, and developing potential hybrids in pearl millet using these parents with special characteristics.

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Deciphering trait associated morpho-physiological responses in pearlmillet hybrids and inbred lines under salt stress

Pearl millet is an important crop of the arid and semi-arid ecologies to sustain food and fodder production. The greater tolerance to drought stress attracts us to examine its cellular and molecular mechanisms via functional genomics approaches to augment the grain yield. Here, we studied the drought response of 48 inbreds representing four different maturity groups at the flowering stage. A set of 74 drought-responsive genes were separated into five major phylogenic groups belonging to eight functional groups, namely ABA signaling, hormone signaling, ion and osmotic homeostasis, TF-mediated regulation, molecular adaptation, signal transduction, physiological adaptation, detoxification, which were comprehensively studied. Among the conserved motifs of the drought-responsive genes, the protein kinases and MYB domain proteins were the most conserved ones. Comparative in-silico analysis of the drought genes across millet crops showed foxtail millet had most orthologs with pearl millet. Of 698 haplotypes identified across millet crops, MyC2 and Myb4 had maximum haplotypes. The protein–protein interaction network identified ABI2, P5CS, CDPK, DREB, MYB, and CYP707A3 as major hub genes. The expression assay showed the presence of common as well as unique drought-responsive genes across maturity groups. Drought tolerant genotypes in respective maturity groups were identified from the expression pattern of genes. Among several gene families, ABA signaling, TFs, and signaling proteins were the prospective contributors to drought tolerance across maturity groups. The functionally validated genes could be used as promising candidates in backcross breeding, genomic selection, and gene-editing schemes in pearl millet and other millet crops to increase the yield in drought-prone arid and semi-arid ecologies.

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Identification of Candidate Genes Regulating Drought Tolerance in Pearl Millet

Despite vast research on reality television (RTV) and The Bachelor (2002) franchise specifically, most scholarship focuses on its appeal or negative impact on viewers. The inclusion of social media...

Priya Shah

Papers

Identification of Candidate Genes Regulating Drought Tolerance in Pearl Millet

“You’re not here for the right reasons!” From The Bachelorette to Instagram Influencer