Central Agricultural University

About: Central Agricultural University is a education organization based out in Imphal, Manipur, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Agriculture. The organization has 1116 authors who have published 1157 publications receiving 9217 citations.

Comparative analysis of ROS-scavenging gene families in finger millet, rice, sorghum, and foxtail millet revealed potential targets for antioxidant activity and drought tolerance improvement

Abstract: Antioxidants play a key role in maintaining cell activity in plants and animals by scavenging reactive oxygen species. Hence, it is very important to understand genes associated with antioxidant activity for improving the varieties. In this study, we compared structural and functional aspects of antioxidant genes viz., APX, DHAR, MDHAR, GR, and SOD of two contrasting genotypes viz. GP-1 (low Ca2+) and GP-45 (high Ca2+) of finger millet with other cereal crops such as rice, sorghum, and foxtail millet. The structural analysis shows that all genes are conserved and shares almost the same domains such as ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, Fe, and Cu–Zn superoxide dismutase domains which play a significant role in antioxidant activity and drought tolerance. These genes were mainly localized in chloroplast and cytoplasm which prove that both are the major ROS-scavenging sites. Furthermore, several putative cis-acting regulatory elements such as AuxRE, DRE, GARE, G-box, GATA-box, MBS, MYBR, and W-box are also studied and found that these genes are involved in defense mechanisms which allow responses against drought stress. Antioxidant activity of these genes was compared using expression analysis in terms of FPKM values and found that the genes of low Ca2+ genotype are highly expressed compared to the genes of high Ca2+ genotype and the genes of rice, sorghum, and foxtail millet. These results revealed that a low Ca2+ genotype of finger millet has higher antioxidant activity in comparison to high Ca2+ genotype and other cereal crops. Based on the results, we hypothesize that these candidate genes could be a target to develop highly antioxidative potential and drought tolerant genotypes of other cereal crops through appropriate breeding approaches.

Targeted expression of a cysteine protease (AdCP) in tapetum induces male sterility in Indian mustard, Brassica juncea.

Abstract: The development of male sterile plants is a prerequisite to developing hybrid varieties to harness the benefits of hybrid vigor in crops and enhancing crop productivity for sustainable agriculture. In plants, cysteine proteases have been known for their multifaceted roles during programmed cell death, and in ubiquitin- and proteasome-mediated proteolysis. Here, we showed that Arachis diogoi cysteine protease (AdCP) expressed under the TA-29 promoter induced complete male sterility in Indian mustard, Brassica juncea. The herbicide resistance gene bar was used for the selection of transgenic plants. Mustard transgenic plants exhibited male sterile phenotype and failed to produce functional pollen grains. Irregularly shaped aborted pollen grains with groove-like structures were observed in male sterile plants during scanning electron microscopy analysis. The T1 progeny plants obtained from the seed of primary transgenic male sterile plants crossed with the wild-type plants exhibited segregation of the progeny into male sterile and fertile plants with normal seed development. Further, male sterile plants exhibited higher transcript levels of AdCP in anther tissues, which is consistent with its expression under the tapetum-specific promoter. Our results clearly suggest that the targeted expression of AdCP provides a potential tool for developing male sterile lines in crop plants by the malfunction of tapetal cells leading to male sterility as shown earlier in tobacco transgenic plants (Shukla et al. 2014, Funct Integr Genomics 14:307–317).

Physiological and molecular response to low light intensity in rice: A review

Abstract: Rice being the staple food of the world, its production is of immense importance. But rice productivity is dependent on appropriate light intensity, among other factors. This review focuses on morphological, physiological and biochemical the effects of low light on rice yield and quality. An attempt has been made to give the progress made in this important area of rice research along with future research directions that can be taken to improve rice grain yield and quality under low light stress.