Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) causes one of the most serious diseases affecting common bean production. This potyvirus is spread non-persistently by aphids and is also seed-borne. In present investigation out of 132 genotypes selected for screening for BCMV only 8 genotypes (WB-399, WB640, WB-359 & WB-375, WB-494, WB-933 & WB-939, WB-335) were found phenotypically resistant against it, which was later ascertained by molecular analysis by different microsatellite markers. The variable number of bands produced by different primers ranged from 5 to 22 with an average of 11.4 bands per primer and with level of polymorphism 24.5%. Among the molecular markers used, SSR marker named 835 produced a maximum of 6 alleles, followed by marker 841 then by marker 827 then by BMD-1 followed by ROC-11then followed by marker EIF-4E then followed by SBD-5 and finally by SW-13 that produced 3 alleles each. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was calculated for all the markers, and was highest...

In the present investigation root samples of brown sarson (Brassica rapa L.) were collected from three districts of Kashmir valley viz., Anantnag, Srinagar and Baramulla. The bacterial population per gram of all the root sample was determined and it was observed that one of the site Hugam in the District Anantnag had the highest bacterial population of 4.35 × 10 5 cfu/g of fresh weight) and site Nowgam in the District Srinagar had the lowest bacterial population of 6.8 × 10 3 cfu/g of fresh weight). A total of 81 morphologically dissimilar isolates were selected and characterized on Gram's staining, cell and colony morphology basis and it was observed that Gram negative bacteria formed the dominant group. The colony characterization revealed that circular forms dominated, likewise the colonies with entire margins and convex elevation dominated among all the isolates. The metabolic properties of isolated bacterial root endophytes revealed that all the isolates can metabolize gluc...

Assessment of nutritional diversity in a crop germplasm is vital. In the present study a set of 19 rice accessions, including pigmented, scented landraces, Basmati-type genotypes and popular varieties of Northern Himalayan region were evaluated biochemically for their nutritional value. De-husked rice grains were assessed for seven major parameters. A highly aromatic landrace of Kashmir Himalayas, which is grown in mid altitude cold regions, showed maximum total protein (8.86%) content as well as highest fiber content (3.31%). However, it recorded the lowest starch content of 70.45% while a popular high yielding variety grown in the plains of Kashmir valley ‘Shalimar rice-1’ recorded the highest (79.36%) starch content as well as maximum amylose percentage (24.34%). Total Phenol content showed a wide range from 4.87 to 1.02 mg/g, with maximum in a pigmented rice genotype ‘Purple rice’ while lowest in Jhelum, a popular high yielding rice variety. Besides, purple rice also had maximum...

In agriculture the Bacillus thuringensis as insecticidal toxins have been used for insect pest management for decades. The specific molecular interaction between the toxin and the insect midgut receptors makes the Bt a popular choice for pest control. This specificity of the action of Bt toxins reduce the concern of adverse effect on the non-target species, a concern which remains with the chemical insecticides since centuries. Different class of toxins are produced by Bt and to maximise the effect the diferent toxins are often combined which makes the Bt expression in then transgenic more effective. Although, the Bt is very effective, but there are concerns over the resistance development by insects species and also the narrow spectrum of activities of individual toxins. Gene flow, cross-resistance and hazards to the environment are of major concern in developed countries. Research is in progress to improve the toxicity of the Bt-toxins so as to control the resiatnce development. T...

Salicylic acid, methyl salicylate, jasmonic acid, and methyl jasmonate are important signaling hormones that play a significant role during plant stress. In the present study, the effect of cold stress on rice (Oryza sativa L.) leaves at the seedling stage was studied with regard to the level of these signaling hormones. Rice genotypes of Kashmir Himalayas were screened for cold tolerance under controlled conditions. The two contrasting (cold tolerant/susceptible) genotypes were selected to find whether these phytohormones play some role in cold stress. The seedlings of the two rice genotypes were subjected to cold stress at 5 °C and samples were collected at different time points. The level of Jasmonic acid and methyl jasmonate decreased sharply under cold treatment in both the contrasting genotypes. However, the concentration of these signalling hormones (JA and MeJA) was much higher in the resistant genotype than in the susceptible genotype. In the susceptible genotype, salicylic acid decreased sharply under cold treatment, while in the resistant genotype, it increased under cold. The concentration of methyl salicylate increased in both susceptible and resistant genotypes under cold stress.

Saffron authenticity is important for the saffron industry, consumers, food industry, and regulatory agencies. Herein we describe a combo of two novel methods to distinguish genuine saffron from fake in a user-friendly manner and without sophisticated instruments. A smartphone coupled with Foldscope was used to visualize characteristic features and distinguish “genuine” saffron from “fake.” Furthermore, destaining and staining agents were used to study the staining patterns. Toluidine blue staining pattern was distinct and easier to use as it stained the papillae and the margins deep purple, while its stain is lighter yellowish green toward the central axis. Further to automate the process, we tested and compared different machine learning-based classification approaches for performing the automated saffron classification into genuine or fake. We demonstrated that the deep learning-based models are efficient in learning the morphological features and classifying samples as either fa...

Background Buckwheat (Fagopyrum spp.), belonging to the Polygonaceae family, is an ancient pseudo-cereal with high nutritional and nutraceutical properties. Buckwheat proteins are gluten-free and show balanced amino acid and micronutrient profiles, with higher content of health-promoting bioactive flavonoids that make it a golden crop of the future. Plant metabolome is increasingly gaining importance as a crucial component to understand the connection between plant physiology and environment and as a potential link between the genome and phenome. However, the genetic architecture governing the metabolome and thus, the phenome is not well understood. Here, we aim to obtain a deeper insight into the genetic architecture of seed metabolome in buckwheat by integrating high throughput metabolomics and genotyping-by-sequencing applying an array of bioinformatics tools for data analysis. Results High throughput metabolomic analysis identified 24 metabolites in seed endosperm of 130 diverse...

In agriculture the Bacillus thuringensis as insecticidal toxins have been used for insect pest management for decades. The specific molecular interaction between the toxin and the insect midgut receptors makes the Bt a popular choice for pest control. This specificity of the action of Bt toxins reduce the concern of adverse effect on the non-target species, a concern which remains with the chemical insecticides since centuries. Different class of toxins are produced by Bt and to maximise the effect the diferent toxins are often combined which makes the Bt expression in then transgenic more effective. Although, the Bt is very effective, but there are concerns over the resistance development by insects species and also the narrow spectrum of activities of individual toxins. Gene flow, cross- resistance and hazards to the environment are of major concern in developed countries. Research is in progress to improve the toxicity of the Bt-toxins so as to control the resiatnce development. ...

Postharvest Physiology is the scientific study of the physiology of living plant tissues after they are denied further nutrition by picking from the parent plant. About one -third of the fruits produced worldwide are never consumed by humans due to loss at various stages and the loses are generally more in developing countries in comparison with developed countries especially when compared between production and retail sites (Kader 2005). Fruits, in general, show two distinctive respiratory patterns during ripening and on this basis fruits are categorized into climacteric and non-climacteric groups (Kader and Barrett 2003). Post-harvest physiology has direct applications to postharvest handling in establishing the storage and transport conditions that best prolong shelf life, for example 1Methyl Cyclopropene (1-MCP) is an inhibitor of ethylene perception that can delay or prevent ripening and senescence processes in plant tissues (Sisler and Serek, 2003). Pre harvest factors also ef...

These genotypes were selected for their molecular characterization on the basis of phenotypic resistance/highly susceptibility against BCMV. Molecular characterization of 10 common bean genotypes was done using different micro-satellite markers. The total number of 148 bands were produced among them the number of polymorphic bands were 40 with an average of 3.07 per primer. Primer 841, BMD-3 and ROC-11 exhibited the highest PIC value of 0.49. Marker index (MI) value was highest (0.169) for SBD-5 primer whereas the lowest (0) was for primers BMD-3, BMD-2, BMD-6, EIF-4E and SG6. The similarity coefficient values ranged from 0.33 to 0.80 and the highest similarity coefficient amongst 10 genotypes (0.80) was observed between WB-967 and WB-335, which was closely followed by (0.79) between WB-359 and WB-335, 0.77 (between WB-335 and WB-933) and the lowest similarity index (0.33) was observed between WB-967 and WB-933).

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important pulse crop in Kashmir. Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) is a seed-born disease that affects this crop and reduces its yield significantly in the country. The present study was conducted at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Science and Technology, Shalimar in growing season of 2014-2015. The aim of this study was to screen virus occurring in Kashmir using artificial inoculation. Kashmir cultivars (SR-1) was selected as susceptible host. Artificial screening from Sr-1 to 134 genotypes using chemical and red spider mites. 6 genotypes were observed as phonetypical resistant genotypes as these show no symptoms after inoculation.

Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) causes one of the most serious diseases affecting common bean production. This potyvirus is spread non-persistently by aphids and is also seed-borne. In present investigation out of 132 genotypes selected for screening for BCMV only 8 genotypes (WB-399, WB-640, WB-359 & WB-375, WB-494, WB-933 & WB-939, WB-335) were found phenotypically resistant against it, which was later ascertained by molecular analysis by different microsatellite markers. The variable number of bands produced by different primers ranged from 5 to 22 with an average of 11.4 bands per primer and with level of polymorphism 24.5%. Among the molecular markers used, SSR marker named 835 produced a maximum of 6 alleles, followed by marker 841 then by marker 827 then by BMD-1 followed by ROC-11then followed by marker EIF-4E then followed by SBD-5 and finally by SW-13 that produced 3 alleles each. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was calculated for all the markers, and was highes...

root samples of brown sarson (Brassica rapa L.) were collected from three districts of Kashmir valley viz., Anantnag, Srinagar and Baramulla. The bacterial population per gram of all the root sample was determined and it was observed that one of the site Hugam in the District Anantnag had the highest bacterial population of 4.35 × 105 cfu/g of fresh weight) and site Nowgam in the District Srinagar had the lowest bacterial population of 6.8 × 103 cfu/g of fresh weight). A total of 81 morphologically dissimilar isolates were selected and characterized on Gram's staining, cell and colony morphology basis and it was observed that Gram negative bacteria formed the dominant group. The colony characterization revealed that circular forms dominated, likewise the colonies with entire margins and convex elevation dominated among all the isolates. The metabolic properties of isolated bacterial root endophytes revealed that all the isolates can metabolize glucose and galactose but some isol...

Melatonin is ubiquitous molecule with wide distribution in nature and is produced by many living organisms. In human beings, pineal gland is the major site for melatonin production and to lesser extent by retina, lymphocytes, bone marrow, gastrointestinal tract, and thymus. Melatonin as a neurohormone is released into circulation wherein it penetrates all tissues of the body. Melatonin synthesis and secretion is supressed by light and enhanced by dark. Melatonin mostly exerts its effect through different pathways with melatonin receptor 1 (MT1) and melatonin receptor 2 (MT2) being the predominant type of receptor that are mainly expressed by many mammalian organs. Melatonin helps to regulate sleep patterns and circadian rhythms. In addition, melatonin acts as an antioxidant and scavenges excessive free radicals generated in the body by antiexcitatory and anti-inflammatory properties. A multiple array of other functions are displayed by melatonin that include oncostatic, hypnotic, immune regulation, reproduction, puberty timing, mood disorders, and transplantation. Deficiencies in the production or synthesis of melatonin have been found to be associated with onset of many disorders like breast cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. Melatonin could be used as potential analgesic drug in diseases associated with pain and it has quite promising role there. In the past century, a growing interest has been developed regarding the wide use of melatonin in treating various diseases like inflammatory, gastrointestinal, cancer, mood disorders, and others. Several melatonin agonists have been synthesized and are widely used in disease treatment. In this review, an effort has been made to describe the biochemistry of melatonin along with its therapeutic potential in various diseases of humans.

Subclinical mastitis (SCM) is a predominant form of mastitis wherein major visible signs of disease are absent. The present study aimed to determine acute phase proteins (APPs) like ferritin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and microalbumin (Malb) in 135 composite milk and serum samples of healthy (n = 25) and SCM (n = 110) cows. As bovine mastitis is an inflammatory disease, the present study also aimed at finding novel anti-inflammatory compounds from natural sources by repurposing approach using computational studies. The findings of the present study revealed substantial elevation (p < 0.001) in milk SCC and an increase in ferritin, CRP, and Malb (p < 0.001) in milk and sera of the SCM group as compared to healthy animals. Receiver operating characteristics of milk SCC, milk, and serum APPs unraveled statistically substantial alteration (p < 0.001). Further, SCC was correlated with milk APPs ferritin (r = 0.26 **, p < 0.002), CRP (r = 0.19 *, p < 0.02), and Malb (r = 0....

Bean Common Mosaic Virus (BCMV) causes one of the most serious diseases affecting common bean production. This potyvirus is spread non-persistently by aphids and is also seed-borne. In present investigation out of 132 genotypes selected for screening for BCMV only 8 genotypes (WB-399, WB-640, WB-359 & WB-375, WB-494, WB-933 & WB-939, WB-335) were found phenotypically resistant against it, which was later ascertained by molecular analysis by different microsatellite markers. The variable number of bands produced by different primers ranged from 5 to 22 with an average of 11.4 bands per primer and with level of polymorphism 24.5%. Among the molecular markers used, SSR marker named 835 produced a maximum of 6 alleles, followed by marker 841 then by marker 827 then by BMD-1 followed by ROC-11then followed by marker EIF-4E then followed by SBD-5 and finally by SW-13 that produced 3 alleles each. The polymorphism information content (PIC) was calculated for all the markers, and was highest for Primer BMD-6 which exhibited PIC value of 0.49 and the lowest for the primer BMD-2 (0.22). Hence, primer BMD-6 was observed to be highly informative and serve as an effective and useful marker to determine the genetic differences among the common bean accessions and also to study the phylogenetic relationships.