Life Sciences

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Chickpea is a very important crop legume plant, which provides a protein-rich supplement to cereal-based diets and has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Despite its economic importance, the functional genomic resources for chickpea are very limited. Recently, we reported the complete transcriptome of chickpea using next generation sequencing technologies. We analyzed the tissue-specific expression of chickpea transcripts based on RNA-seq data. In addition, we identified two sets of lineage-specific genes, including a total of 3,632 chickpea-specific and 741 legume-specific transcripts based on sequence comparison with other species within plant kingdom. The study of lineage-specific genes provides insights into the species-/lineage-specific functions and evolutionary processes. In this study, we further analyzed the expression profiles of legume- and chickpea-specific transcripts in various tissue samples. Several legume- and chickpea-specific transcripts showed preferential and/or specific expression in the tissue samples analyzed. Our analysis provides evidence for the role of legume- and chickpea-specific transcripts in various tissues and opens an important area of future research to elucidate the exact role of these genes. © 2011 Landes Bioscience.

(SoNS) School of Natural Sciences

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Plant Signaling and Behavior

Pyrosequencing data reveals tissue-specific expression of lineage-specific transcripts in chickpea

We report here preliminary observations of phase and amplitude perturbations in VLF signal propagating in the Earth-ionosphere waveguide, monitored at low latitude station Varanasi using SoftPAL Receiver. Phase and amplitude perturbations (trimpis) on VLF signals consists of a sudden change in phase and amplitude of the transmitter signal followed by a slow recovery to the initial levels as the ionization decays. The current understanding of lightening discharge associated processes that leads to the changes in the characteristic of the waveguide and thus variation in the received amplitude and/or phase of the VLF transmission signals have been reported. © 2011 IEEE.

2011 30th URSI General Assembly and Scientific Symposium, URSIGASS 2011

Phase and amplitude perturbations observed on subionospheric VLF signal recorded at Varanasi (L = 1.07) using SoftPAL Receiver

The development of new high yielding cultivars of good quality with large berry size is the main objective of seedless grape breeding programme. Seedless grapes suffer from stenospermocarpy so, technique of embryo rescue employing in-ovulo culture has been adopted in grape breeding in western world which not only produce superior seedless cultivars but also curtails 7-8 years from entire breeding cycle. With respect to mean ovule age (days after pollination) and ovule-embryo growth (2.13 mm2), culturing of ovules 24 days after pollination was found to be the best. The concentration of IAA (4 mg/l) + GA3 (0.5 mg/l) proved to be most effective for germination (13.84 %). Among various media used for culturing, ovules on MS medium (1/2 macro + 1/1 micro) registered highest germination (13.75%). Chilling treatment was proved to be one of the important factors for embryo maturation and 60 days of chilling treatment at 4°C was found better than 45 days. With respect to the effect of different growth regulators on various rooting and shooting parameters IBA (1.0 mg/l) and NAA (1.5 mg/l) were found superior. While comparing different hardening strategies, glass jar with polypropylene cap (GPP) was found to be most effective as far as hardening success (66.67%) was concerned.

Indian Journal of Horticulture

Standardization of embryo rescue technique for grape hybrids under sub-tropical conditions

The domesticated apple (Malus x domestica Borkh) is one of the most widely cultivated fruit crop of the temperate world. Large number of commercial cultivars and varieties are available which need an accurate characterization to be used in the breeding programmes. Keeping this thing in mind, the genetic diversity among 46 genotypes was investigated using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. A total of 130 amplification products were detected with 21 ISSR primers of which 130 (100%) were reported to be polymorphic. Primers based on (AC)n and (AG)n repeats produced more polymorphic bands. The number of bands generated by 21 ISSR primers ranged from 4(UBC 840) to 10 (ISSR 3) with a mean of 6.19 bands per primer. The band size ranged from 300-1700bp. The Jaccard's similarity coefficient ranged from 0.435 to 0.822 suggesting that the 46 genotypes used in the study were highly divergent. Cluster analysis based on the UPGMA method and bootstrap analysis separated all the genotypes into three major clusters. Maximum Resolving Power (Rp) was computed to be 5.696 (ISSR 3) while the minimum was 1.174 (UBC 850). The highest Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) was recorded to be 3.946 (ISSR 3) while the lowest was 1.700 (UBC 850). The overall Heterozygosity Averages (H av) values of primers were 0.068 and 0.717 respectively for ISSR and UBC series. The present study has successfully distinguished morphologically similar genotypes that emphasize the use of molecular markers to the taxonomists.

Genetic diversity analysis of indigenous and exotic apple genotypes using inter simple sequence repeat markers

Several 2-aryloxymethyl-5-aryl-6-thioxo-[1,2,4]-triazolo [3,2-b] [1,3,4] thiadiazoles III have been synthesized from 2-amino-5-aryloxymethyl-[1,3,4] thiadiazoles I. The molluscicidal activity of few titled compounds has been evaluated against the snail Lymnaea acuminata. The LC50 slope, t-ratio heterogeneity and g-values have been determined and discussed.

Indian Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry

Synthesis and molluscicidal activity of 2-aryloxymethyl-5-aryl-6-thioxo-[1, 2,4]-triazolo-[3,2-b] [1,3,4] thiadiazoles

Heat shock proteins 70 (Hsp70) represent a ubiquitous and conserved family of molecular chaperones involved in a plethora of cellular processes. The dynamics of their ATP hydrolysis-driven and cochaperone-regulated conformational cycle are poorly understood. We used fluorescence spectroscopy to analyze, in real time and at single-molecule resolution, the effects of nucleotides and cochaperones on the conformation of Ssc1, a mitochondrial member of the family. We report that the conformation of its ADP state is unexpectedly heterogeneous, in contrast to a uniform ATP state. Substrates are actively involved in determining the conformation of Ssc1. The J protein Mdj1 does not interact transiently with the chaperone, as generally believed, but rather is released slowly upon ATP hydrolysis. Analysis of the major bacterial Hsp70 revealed important differences between highly homologous members of the family, possibly explaining tuning of Hsp70 chaperones to meet specific functions in different organisms and cellular compartments. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular Cell

The Conformational Dynamics of the Mitochondrial Hsp70 Chaperone

Genetic diversity among 63 mango genotypes (Mangifera indica L.) was investigated using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. A total of 334 scorable amplification products were detected with 28 ISSR primers of which 331 (99.10%) were polymorphic. Most of the primers (89.29%) exhibited 100% polymorphism. Primers UBC-812 and UBC-891 identified with the highest number of genotypes with unique fingerprints (53). The highest number of different fingerprints (58) was obtained with primer UBC-812, while the lowest number of different fingerprints (17) was obtained with primer ISSR-5. Primers UBC-812, UBC-891, UBC-808 and UBC-836 were found to be of high value for fingerprinting in mango as they were able to resolve 58, 57, 55 and 55 of 63 mango genotypes selected for the study, respectively. The Jaccard's similarity values ranged from 0.25 (between 'Cambodiana' and 'Mombasa') to 0.79 (between 'K-1' and 'K-3') with a mean of 0.53. UPGMA tree constructed on ISSR data on the basis of Jaccard's similarity coefficient clustered 55 of 63 mango genotypes into six major groups, however eight mango genotypes remained unclustered. The Cluster 1 comprised of mainly south Indian genotypes, while Cluster 2 comprised of mainly man-made hybrids and genotypes from the Northern and Eastern regions of India. Genotypes indigenous to Western parts of India grouped in Cluster 3. Cluster 4 had the exotic genotypes introduced from Brazil, while Clusters 5 and 6 comprised of Floridan mango genotypes. UPGMA clustering of ISSR data showed good correspondence with pedigree, geographical separation and embryo types, i.e. mono-orpoly-embryonic.

Assessment of genetic diversity in mango using inter-simple sequence repeat markers

The real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) data requires normalization with an internal control gene expressed at constant levels under all the experimental conditions being analyzed for accurate and reliable gene expression results. In this study, the expression of 12 candidate internal control genes, including ACT1, EF1α, GAPDH, IF4a, TUB6, UBC, UBQ5, UBQ10, 18SrRNA, 25SrRNA, GRX and HSP90, in a diverse set of 18 tissue samples representing different organs/developmental stages and stress conditions in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) has been validated. Their expression levels vary considerably in various tissue samples analyzed. The expression levels of EF1α and HSP90 are most constant across various organs/developmental stages analyzed. Similarly, the expression levels of IF4a and GAPDH are most constant across various stress conditions. A set of two most stable genes is found sufficient for accurate and reliable normalization of real-time PCR data in the given set of tissue samples of chickpea. The genes with most constant expression identified in this study should be useful for normalization of gene expression data in a wide variety of tissue samples in chickpea. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications

Validation of internal control genes for quantitative gene expression studies in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

In this paper, discrete VLF chorus emissions recorded at low latitude ground station Jammu (geomag. Lat. 22° 26/ N, L 1.17) are reported and their characteristics based on complete spectral analysis have been carried out. These discrete chorus emissions are generated during a strong geomagnetic storm period of 2-7 May, 1998. We have computed the sweep rate, repetition period, source region, and drift rate of the individual chorus elements. It is observed that the sweep rate increases with time. To explain the various temporal and spectral features of these emissions, a possible generation mechanism has been presented based on the backward wave oscillator (BWO) regime in the magnetospheric cyclotron maser. On the basis of this model, we have computed some discrete chorus emission parameters as well as magnetospheric parameters relevant to the generation process. A comparison of the computed and observed magnetospheric parameters has been presented. These results show a good agreement with the BWO model. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Journal of Physics: Conference Series

A generation mechanism of chorus emissions using BWO theory

Very low frequency (VLF) hiss emissions were observed for the first time at the Indian Antarctic Station, Maitri (geographic lat. 70°46′S, long. 11°50′E, geomagnetic lat. 66°.03′S, long. 53°.21′E) with the modulating intensity variations. Various spectrograms of modulating VLF hiss emissions clearly show band limited spectra regularly modulating its intensity with almost equal period of the order of few seconds in the frequency range of 9-12.8 kHz. To explain these modulating characteristics of VLF hiss, we propose that the hiss emissions are generated through Doppler-shifted cyclotron interactions near the geomagnetic equator and propagate towards the Earth in the whistlermode. Further, the micropulsations propagating along the geomagnetic field lines could modulate the growth rate of the wave. The growth rates of the waves are also computed.