An Update on Genetic Modification of Chickpea for Increased Yield and Stress Tolerance

Chickpea is a highly nutritious grain legume crop, widely appreciated as a health food, especially in the Indian subcontinent. The major constraints on chickpea production are biotic (Helicoverpa, bruchid, aphid, ascochyta) and abiotic (drought, heat, salt, cold) stresses, which reduce the yield by up to 90%. Various strategies like conventional breeding, molecular breeding, and modern plant breeding have been used to overcome these problems. Conventionally, breeding programs aim at development of varieties that combine maximum number of traits through inter-specific hybridization, wide hybridization, and hybridization involving more than two parents. Breeding is difficult in this crop because of its self-pollinating nature and limited genetic variation. Recent advances in in vitro culture and gene technologies offer unique opportunities to realize the full potential of chickpea production. However, as of date, no transgenic chickpea variety has been approved for cultivation in the world. In this review, we provide an update on the development of genetically modified chickpea plants, including those resistant to Helicoverpa armigera, Callosobruchus maculatus, Aphis craccivora, as well as to drought and salt stress. The genes utilized for development of resistance against pod borer, bruchid, aphid, drought, and salt tolerance, namely, Bt, alpha amylase inhibitor, ASAL, P5CSF129A, and P5CS, respectively, are discussed.     

Study of uranium level in groundwater of Balod district of Chhattisgarh state,India and assessment of health risk

Uranium contamination in groundwater at Balod district of Chhattisgarh state was measured by laser fluorimetric technique. Most of the samples were found under safe limit for uranium contamination as recommended by WHO and USEPA (<30 µg l^?1) except Deur Tarai village (78.93 µg l^?1).The excess lifetime carcinogenic risk and chemical risk due to ingestion of groundwater were calculated using USEPA recommendations.     

Determination of Degradation Kinetics and Effect of Anion Exchange Resin on Dissolution of Novel Anticancer Drug Rigosertib in Acidic Conditions

Rigosertib is a novel anticancer drug in clinical development by Onconova therapeutics, Inc. Currently, it is in pivotal phase III clinical trials for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. Chemically, it is a sodium salt of weak acid with low solubility in lower pH solutions. In the preliminary studies, it was found that rigosertib is unstable in acidic conditions and forms multiple degradation products. In this research, drug degradation kinetics of rigosertib were studied in acidic conditions. Rigosertib follows pseudo-first-order general acid catalysis reaction. Cholestyramine, which is a strong anion exchange resin, was used to form complex with drug to improve stability and dissolution in acidic conditions. Drug complex with cholestyramine showed better dissolution profile compared to drug alone. Effect of polyethylene glycol was investigated on the release of drug from the drug resin complex. Polyethylene glycol further improved dissolution profile by improving drug solubility in acidic medium.     

Diverse water quality responses to extreme climate events: an introduction

We synthesize and summarize main findings from a special issue examining the origins, evolution, and resilience of diverse water quality responses to extreme climate events resulting from a Chapman Conference of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Origins refer to sequences of interactive disturbances and antecedent conditions that influence diversification of water quality responses to extreme events. Evolution refers to the amplification, intensification, and persistence of water quality signals across space and time in watersheds. Resilience refers to strategies for managing and minimizing extreme water quality impacts and ecosystem recovery. The contributions of this special issue, taken together, highlight the following: (1) there is diversification in the origins of water quality responses to extreme climate events based on the intensity, duration, and magnitude of the event mediated by previous historical conditions; (2) interactions between climate variability and watershed disturbances (e.g., channelization of river networks, land use change, and deforestation) amplify water quality ‘pulses,’ which can manifest as large changes in chemical concentrations and fluxes over relatively short time periods. In the context of the evolution of water quality responses, results highlight: (3) there are high intensity and long-term climate events, which can generate unique sequences in water quality, which have differential impacts on persistence of water quality problems and ecosystem recovery rates; and (4) ‘chemical cocktails’ or novel mixtures of elements and compounds are transported and transformed during extreme climate events. The main findings regarding resilience to extreme climate events are that: (5) river restoration strategies for reducing pollution from extreme events can be improved by preserving and restoring floodplains, wetlands, and oxbow ponds, which enhance hydrologic and biogeochemical retention, and lengthen the distribution of hydrologic residence times; and (6) the biogeochemical capacity for stream and river ecosystems to retain and transform pollution from landscapes can become “saturated” during floods unless watershed pollution sources are reduced. Finally, the unpredictable occurrence of extreme climate events argues for wider deployment of high-frequency, in situ sensors for monitoring, managing, and modeling diverse water quality responses. These sensors can be used to develop robust proxies for chemical cocktails, detect water quality violations following extreme climate events, and effectively trace the trajectory of water quality recovery in response to managing ecosystem resilience.     

Identification,characterization, expression profiling,and virus-induced gene silencing of armadillo repeat-containing proteins in tomato suggest their involvement in <Emphasis Type="Italic">tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus</Emphasis> resistance

Armadillo repeat family is well-characterized in several plant species for their involvement in multiple regulatory processes including growth, development, and stress response. We have previously shown a three-fold higher expression of ARM protein-encoding in tomato cultivar tolerant to tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) compared to susceptible cultivar upon virus infection. This suggests the putative involvement of ARM proteins in defense response against virus infection; however, no comprehensive investigation has been performed to address this inference. In the present study, we have identified a total of 46 ARM-repeat proteins (SlARMs), and 41 U-box-containing proteins (SlPUBs) in tomato. These proteins and their corresponding genes were studied for their physicochemical properties, gene structure, domain architecture, chromosomal localization, phylogeny, and cis-regulatory elements in the upstream promoter region. Expression profiling of candidate genes in response to ToLCNDV infection in contrasting tomato cultivars showed significant upregulation of SlARM18 in the tolerant cultivar. Virus-induced gene silencing of SlARM18 in the tolerant tomato cultivar conferred susceptibility, which suggests the involvement of this gene in resistance mechanism. Further studies are underway to functionally characterize SlARM18 to delineate its precise role in defense mechanism.     

Dietary nutraceuticals as backbone for bone health

Bone loss or osteoporosis, is a slow-progressing disease that results from dysregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The FDA has approved number of drugs for bone loss prevention, nonetheless all are expensive and have multiple side effects. The nutraceuticals identified from dietary agents such as butein, cardamonin, coronarin D curcumin, diosgenin, embelin, gambogic acid, genistein, plumbagin, quercetin, reseveratrol, zerumbone and more, can modulate cell signaling pathways and reverse/slow down osteoporosis. Most of these nutraceuticals are inexpensive; show no side effect while still possessing anti-inflammatory properties. This review provides various mechanisms of osteoporosis and how nutraceuticals can potentially prevent the bone loss.     

Effect of vermicompost leachate in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratotheca triloba</Emphasis> under nutrient deficiency

Ceratotheca triloba (Bernh.) Hook.f. commonly known as an African foxglove is an indigenous plant which occurs in most parts of South Africa. The species is commonly consumed as a leafy vegetable and utilized for its medicinal properties. Although the high nutritional value of the species and medicinal properties are well documented, information related to critical aspect of cultivation is currently limited. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of vermicompost leachate (VCL) on growth, nutritional, phytochemical, and antioxidant levels in C. triloba at different growth stages under nutrient-deficient conditions. After in vitro germination, seedlings were grown in the greenhouse for 2 and 4 months under nitrogen (–N); phosphorus (–P); and potassium (–K) deficiency conditions, and were treated with VCL. Vermicompost leachate did not improve the growth of C. triloba plants under the nutrient-deficient conditions. Although –N-deficient plants with or without VCL caused a decline in growth parameters, they significantly enhanced phytochemicals in 2-month-old plants. In most cases, the application of VCL to –P- and –K-deficient plants improved the photosynthetic pigments, protein, and phenolic, as well as flavonoid accumulation. Harvesting time was also found to play a crucial role in the accumulation of evaluated parameters in nutrient-deprived plants. From these findings, it can be deduced that VCL has a potential to minimize the effect of nutrient deficiency especially under –P and –K deficiency in C. triloba plants.     

The futuristic applications of transition metal dichalcogenides for cancer therapy

The second-most common cause of death resulting from genetic mutations in DNA sequences is cancer. The difficulty in the field of anticancer research is the application of the traditional methods, which also affects normal cells. Mutations, genetic replication alterations, and chromosomal abnormalities have a direct impact on the effectiveness of anticancer drugs at different stages. Presently, therapeutic techniques utilize nanotechnology, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), and robotics. TMDCs are being increasingly employed in tumor therapy and biosensing applications due to their biocompatibility, adjustable bandgap, versatile functionality, exceptional photoelectric properties, and wide range of applications. This study reports the advancement of nanoplatforms based on TMDCs that are specifically engineered for responsive and intelligent cancer therapy. This article offers a thorough examination of the current challenges, future possibilities for theranostic applications using TMDCs, and recent progress in employing TMDCs for cancer therapy. Currently, there is significant interest in two-dimensional (2D) TMDCs nanomaterials as ultrathin unique physicochemical properties. These materials have attracted attention in various fields, including biomedicine. Due to their inherent ability to absorb near-infrared light and their exceptionally large surface area, significant efforts are being made to prepare multifunctional nanoplatforms based on 2D TMDCs.     

N‐glycan maturation mutants in Lotus japonicus for basic and applied glycoprotein research

Studies of protein N‐glycosylation are important for answering fundamental questions on the diverse functions of glycoproteins in plant growth and development. Here we generated and characterised a comprehensive collection of Lotus japonicusLORE1 insertion mutants, each lacking the activity of one of the 12 enzymes required for normal N‐glycan maturation in the glycosylation machinery. The inactivation of the individual genes resulted in altered N‐glycan patterns as documented using mass spectrometry and glycan‐recognising antibodies, indicating successful identification of null mutations in the target glyco‐genes. For example, both mass spectrometry and immunoblotting experiments suggest that proteins derived from the α1,3‐fucosyltransferase (Lj3fuct) mutant completely lacked α1,3‐core fucosylation. Mass spectrometry also suggested that the Lotus japonicus convicilin 2 was one of the main glycoproteins undergoing differential expression/N‐glycosylation in the mutants. Demonstrating the functional importance of glycosylation, reduced growth and seed production phenotypes were observed for the mutant plants lacking functional mannosidase I, N‐acetylglucosaminyltransferase I, and α1,3‐fucosyltransferase, even though the relative protein composition and abundance appeared unaffected. The strength of our N‐glycosylation mutant platform is the broad spectrum of resulting glycoprotein profiles and altered physiological phenotypes that can be produced from single, double, triple and quadruple mutants. This platform will serve as a valuable tool for elucidating the functional role of protein N‐glycosylation in plants. Furthermore, this technology can be used to generate stable plant mutant lines for biopharmaceutical production of glycoproteins displaying relative homogeneous and mammalian‐like N‐glycosylation features.