Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry

About: Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry is a education organization based out in Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Agriculture. The organization has 608 authors who have published 515 publications receiving 2356 citations.

Advances in Omics Approaches for Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Tomato

Abstract: Tomato, one of the most important crops worldwide, has a high demand in the fresh fruit market and processed food industries. Despite having considerably high productivity, continuous supply as per the market demand is hard to achieve, mostly because of periodic losses occurring due to biotic as well as abiotic stresses. Although tomato is a temperate crop, it is grown in almost all the climatic zones because of widespread demand, which makes it challenge to adapt in diverse conditions. Development of tomato cultivars with enhanced abiotic stress tolerance is one of the most sustainable approaches for its successful production. In this regard, efforts are being made to understand the stress tolerance mechanism, gene discovery, and interaction of genetic and environmental factors. Several omics approaches, tools, and resources have already been developed for tomato growing. Modern sequencing technologies have greatly accelerated genomics and transcriptomics studies in tomato. These advancements facilitate Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and genomic selection (GS). However, limited efforts have been made in other omics branches like proteomics, metabolomics, and ionomics. Extensive cataloging of omics resources made here has highlighted the need for integration of omics approaches for efficient utilization of resources and a better understanding of the molecular mechanism. The information provided here will be helpful to understand the plant responses and the genetic regulatory networks involved in abiotic stress tolerance and efficient utilization of omics resources for tomato crop improvement.

α-Amylases from Microbial Sources and Its Potential Applications in Various Industries

Abstract: Amylases are widely distributed and are one of the most studied enzymes. Such enzymes hydrolyze the starch molecules into polymers composed of glucose units. Amylases have potential application in a wide number of industrial processes such as food, fermentation and pharmaceutical industries. Amylases can be obtained from plants, animals and microorganisms. However, enzymes from fungal and bacterial sources have dominated applications in industrial sectors. The microbial source of amylase is preferred to other sources because of its plasticity and vast availability. The production of α-amylase is essential for conversion of starches into oligosaccharides. Starch is an important constituent of the human diet and is a major storage product of many economically important crops such as wheat, rice, maize, tapioca, and potato. The properties of each α-amylase such as thermostability, pH profile, pH stability, and Ca-independency are important in the development of fermentation process. This review focuses on the isolation, substrates of α-amylases, production of bacterial and fungal α-amylases, properties of α-amylases, and the use of these enzymes in industrial applications.

Bacteriocin: safest approach to preserve food products.

Abstract: Start of the 21st century with its universal call to feed the hungry is an appropriate time to refocus attention on food security and especially the impact of biopatenting on poor communities who are the primary victims of hunger in our world. Antibacterial metabolites of lactic acid bacteria and Bacillus spp have potential as natural preservatives to control the growth of spoilage and pathogenic bacteria in food. Among them, bacteriocin is used as a preservative in food due to its heat stability, wider pH tolerance and its proteolytic activity. Due to thermo stability and pH tolerance it can withstand heat and acidity/alkanity of food during storage condition. Bacteriocin are ribosomally synthesized peptides originally defined as proteinaceous compound affecting growth or viability of closely related organisms. Research is going on extensively to explore the nascent field of biopreservation. Scientists all over the world are showing their keen interest to isolate different types of bacteriocin producing strains and characterize bacteriocin produced by them for food preservation.

Perennial Wild Relatives of Chickpea as Potential Sources of Resistance to Helicoverpa armigera

Abstract: The legume pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubn.), is one of the major constraints to chickpea production, and host plant resistance is an important component for the management of this pest. The levels of resistance in the cultivated chickpea are low to moderate, and therefore, we evaluated 17 accessions of perennial Cicer along with three cultivated chickpea genotypes for resistance to H. armigera. There was a significant reduction in both leaf feeding and larval weights when the larvae were fed on the leaves of Cicer microphyllum Benth. accessions ICC 17146, ICC 17236, ICC 17240, and ICC 17248. Relative resistance index based on leaf feeding, larval survival, and larval weight indicated that C. microphyllum accessions ICC 17146, ICC 17236, ICC 17234, ICC 17240, ICC 17243, and ICC 17248 were highly resistant to H. armigera. Under natural infestation, accessions belonging to C. microphyllum, C. canariense Santos Guerra et Lewis, and C. macracanthum M. Pop suffered a damage rating of 80% leaf area damaged). There was considerable diversity in the accessions belonging to perennial wild species of chickpea, and these can be exploited to increase the levels and diversify the basis of resistance to H. armigera in the cultivated chickpea.