Allium cepa is a major vegetable crops in Asia but rapid seed viability loss severely constrains seed chain continuity between successive planting seasons. To identify markers associated with Allium seed longevity a panel of storage induced aged seeds of 96 Allium cepa genotypes, was used for genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using 10 NAC-transcription factor-derived simple sequence repeats, mined from Allium cepa and Allium sativum, 10 previously reported Allium cepa intron-length polymorphic (AcILP) markers, and 7,734 GBS based SNP markers. The NAC-derived SSR markers had a prevalence of hexanucleotide repeats (81.8

Tomato Leaf Curl New Delhi Virus (ToLCNDV), a bipartite begomovirus transmitted by whiteflies, is a major threat to cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), a major vegetable crop. RNA-sequencing of samples collected at 0, 7, and 14 days after inoculation (DAI) with ToLCNDV virus, from resistant (DC-61) and susceptible (DC-773) genotypes, grown in the whitefly rearing facility, revealed 4022 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). More than 50% of the DEGs pertained to DC-773- 14 DAI. Defence-related pathways, including various transcription factors (TF), salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signalling, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis were found to be enriched among the DEGs. Integration of DEGs with known quantitative trait loci (QTLs) showed 13, 24, 12 and 7 DEGs on the QTLs of chromosomes 1, 2, 6 and 7, respectively. Of these, 9, 21, 8 and 6 DEGs were found to be differentially regulated between DC-61 and DC-773. DNA, amino acid, and cis-element variations of these DEGs, identified based on the resequencing data of DC-773 and DC-61, unravelled major candidate genes. CsLRR like protein kinase, serine/threonine-protein kinase SRK2E-like, CsGDSL esterase/lipase 1-like, CsWRKY51 and CsWRKY71 TF, CsWAT1-related protein, CsMYB TF and the DNA primase large subunit (CsPRiL) were the key candidate genes contributing to ToLCND resistance in cucumber. Eight InDel-based markers from the four QTL regions were designed and validated in the segregating population of DC-61/DC-773 by selective genotyping. This is the first study to integrate transcriptomic, genomic, and genetic data in cucumber, identifying chromosome 2 followed by chromosome 1 as the primary resistance hubs, providing markers and candidate genes for breeding of ToLCNDV-resistant varieties.

The majority of the dehydration industries require onion with high total soluble solid (TSS) content (> 15°Bx) to produce high-quality processed products. An effort has been made to identify genes associated with total soluble solids content using genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) and transcriptome sequencing. A total of 7734 filtered SNPs were mined, and GWAS models (GLM, MLM, MLMM, FarmCPU, and BLINK) were applied. An SNP at locus SCAJJJL010074204.1_52690 was found to be strongly associated with TSS content, which was able to explain up to 65

High total soluble solids (HTSS) and high sulfur-containing compounds like allicin are highly demanded by industry due to their variety of pharmaceuticals, and ecologically friendly alternatives to synthetic preservation agents. Compared to wild Alliums, cultivated Alliums are a rich source of HTSS and allicin. For introgression of HTSS trait-related genes in wild Alliums and identification of HTSS containing Allium cepa genotypes, we mined 1178 AcSSR markers and evaluated 200 AcSSR in ten Alliums for polymorphism and cross-transferability. Out of 200 AcSSRs, 72 were polymorphic and cross-transferable in Alliums. Moreover, 96 Allium cepa has been used to identify HTSS-containing genotypes and validate the aforementioned 10 AcSSR markers. Using DNA genotyping based Jaccard dissimilarity-based NJ tree, these 96 Allium cepa were grouped into high total soluble solids (HTSS) and low total soluble solids (LTSS) groups. In addition, 96 Allium cepa populations have been divided into six (K = 6) and three (K = 3) groups based on a Bayesian model. From 96 Allium cepa populations, we identified diverse 9 subsamples of Alliums cepa, by application of the bioinformatics tool "power core". Surprisingly, out of 9 Alliums cepa subsamples, 6 genotypes have LTSS, and 3 genotypes have HTSS traits. Since we were particularly interested in identifying genes coding for sulphur metabolism also, so we selected 50 differentially expressed genes based on their high expression in Allium sativum compared to Allium cepa. Of the 50 selected genes, 27 were found to be allinase and cystine metabolism genes, 15 were related to glutathione metabolis and 8 were involved in sulphur metabolism. Among 27 genes associated with allinase and cystine metabolism, 25, 18, and 24, as well as genes related to sulphur metabolism, 8, 7, and 8, and glutathione metabolism, 15, 11, and 10 transcripts of Allium sativum showed upregulation in relation to Allium cepa, Allium fragrance, and Allium fistulosum respectively. Real-time PCR expression profiling with a selected 10 sulfur metabolism-related coding genes confirms the authenticity of the RNA-Seq results. Therefore, Allium cepa genotypes which have HTSS, and Allium sativum which has high sulphur-containing compound-like allicin traits might be introduced into wild Allium using these AcSSR markers and genetic engineering approach. (c) 2024 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Small RNA sequencing analysis in two chickpea genotypes, JG 62 (Fusarium wilt-susceptible) and WR 315 (Fusarium wilt-resistant), under Fusarium wilt stress led to identification of 544 miRNAs which included 406 known and 138 novel miRNAs. A total of 115 miRNAs showed differential expression in both the genotypes across different combinations. A miRNA, Car-miR398 targeted copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase (CCS) that, in turn, regulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity during chickpea–Foc interaction. Fusarium wilt (FW) of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris (Foc) is a destructive soil-borne disease that severely reduces the chickpea yield and quality globally. In the present study, we have investigated microRNAs and the microRNA/target gene crosstalk involved in chickpea resistance to FW. The control and stress samples from two genotypes, JG 62 (FW-susceptible) and WR 315 (FW-resistant), collected at 10 days post-inoculation (dpi), were selected for small RNA sequencing. A total of 12 libraries were constructed and sequenced using Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. The sequencing and in silico analyses revealed the identification of 544 miRNAs which included 406 known and 138 novel miRNAs. A total of 50 miRNAs were physically co-localized with Foc-resistance QTLs present on chromosome 2 (also known as Foc hotspot). A total of 115 miRNAs showed differential expression in both the genotypes across different combinations. Prediction and functional annotation of miRNA targets revealed their role in transcription regulation, disease resistance, defense response, metabolism, etc. Ten miRNAs and their targets were validated using poly(A)-based qRT-PCR in two genotypes grown under lab and field conditions. Many miRNAs and their targets showed genotype-specific expression. The expression profiling also highlighted, both, similar and different expression patterns for the same sets of miRNA and mRNA at different stages of Foc infection. A high correlation in expression patterns of the miRNAs and their targets in lab- and field-grown plant samples was observed. Interestingly, Car-miR398 targeted copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase (CCS) that, in turn, regulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity during chickpea–Foc interaction. The cleavage site in targets was mapped for three miRNAs by analyzing publicly available degradome data for chickpea. The study, for the first time, provides novel insights into microRNA-mediated regulation of resistance and susceptibility mechanisms in chickpea against FW and opens up avenues for the development of the wilt-resistant cultivars in chickpea.

Brassica juncea is an important oilseed crop that contributes to the agricultural economy worldwide. The huge yield loss caused by Lipaphis erysimi drew attention to mine its vital gene and develop aphid-resistant Brassica. This is the first report of the L. erysimi draft genome sequence and its functional annotation. A 203 vital target genes of L. erysimi were identified by subtractive genomics approach and were screened for the conserved domains to design the knockdown construct. The gene ontology (GO) analysis and key targets identified in L. erysimi revealed a high abundance of sequences associated with macromolecule metabolic processes (MMP). The plant-based insecticidal genes chickpea lectin (Accession: HM235917.1) and Urdbean protease inhibitor (Accession: KU382735.1) target the MMP of L. erysimi. Further, the Brassica rapa, B. nigra and B. juncea genomes were mined for candidate genes containing CHPL and UPI genes. Only one CHPL ortho-group was present in Brassica species but in a different clade whereas UPI orthologs were absent in Brassica sp. With this confirmation, two transgenic parental lines (T3) were crossed and advanced to the F3 population by progeny-to-row testing to get homozygous lines. The information derived from identified vital genes of aphids could be used to develop aphid-resistant crops. The infestation of the sap-sucking insect pest Lipaphis erysimi is severe on Brassica juncea, leading to great loss in the quality and yield. The first draft genome sequence of L. erysimi and their subtractive genomics analysis led to the identification of vital genes that could be targeted to prevent aphid infestation.

Tomatoes are an important agricultural crop grown for food, industrial, and pharmaceutical needs Identification of high-yielding tomato germplasms is crucial to achieving the goal of doubling farmer's income. Our study aimed to select the germplasm with a smaller number of fruits and high weight so that, in a single harvest, maximum yield could be achieved. In the present study, tomato germplasms were evaluated based on agro-morphological traits, molecular markers and Cytokinin Oxidase/Dehydrogenase 2 (CKX2) gene expression. Inter simple sequence repeat markers (ISSRs) harbouring multiple allelic variations were used to study the genetic diversity. Among the markers used, UBC 820 exhibited the highest polymorphism, with eight alleles, an amplicon size range of 650-1800 bp and a polymorphic information content (PIC) value of 0.3001. Based on morphological observation and CKX2 gene expression analysis by qRTPCR, the genotype KS-8105 was found to be the best performer. The mean number of fruits/plants was 79, while the mean weight of fruits/plants was 3.2 kg/plant in the tomato germplasm KS-8105. In future, introgress ion of desirable traits like weight of fruits/plants may be intro gressed from KS-8105 to the elite cultivars with the help of molecular markers.

Glycolipid transfer protein (GLTP) genes are recognized for their role in stress adaptation in animals. In this study, for the first time, seventy-four GLTP genes were identified across ten Oryza species, with each species containing 6-9 genes. These genes exhibited strong synteny and collinearity, maintaining conserved chromosomal positions across all Oryza species. Gene duplication events were frequent, accounting for 61.9 % of the GLTP genes, and their Ka/Ks ratios (<1) suggested purifying selection and evolutionary conservation. All identified genes encoded proteins with a single GLTP domain and clustered into three major clades: two clades containing distinct sets of GLTP genes and the third comprising ACD11-like genes. Notably, the GLTP2-miR414 regulatory module was supported by both bioinformatic predictions and experimental validation. Structural and functional analyses revealed ACD11 and GLTP3 as the most promising candidate genes for stress responses. Functional validation of GLTP3 by candidate gene analysis using a rice minicore diversity panel revealed 14 significant marker-trait associations, including two markers specifically associated with malondialdehyde content-a key indicator of lipid peroxidation-under heat stress conditions. This is the first report on the GLTP genes in rice with promising leads for their utilization in stress breeding.

Allium cepa (onion) suffers significant yield losses due to anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Current control methods, such as biocontrol agents, have limited effectiveness, while agrochemical applications pose risks to human health and the environment. Genomics-assisted breeding can be useful in getting a diverse genetic pool of wild Allium species to improve disease resistance in cultivated varieties. In this study, we used 42 intron length polymorphic and 22 chloroplast-based SSR markers to identify wild Alliums for anthracnose resistance. Genetic analysis using the marker data showed that two wild types, 6AfistAKO-17 and 15Afistul, are very different from the cultivated types. Immunomodulator benzo-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester evoked a long-lasting immune response in wild Alliums. Transcriptome profiling showed that 131 immune-related genes were more than twice as active in wild Alliums compared to cultivated ones. These included MAPKs (7 genes), WRKY transcription factors (10), R genes (19), MYB transcription factors (28), cytochrome P450s (46), transcriptional activators (14), and other immune-associated genes (7). The results from the anatomical analysis showed that wild Alliums have more callose in their vascular bundles, thicker wax on their leaf surfaces, and closed stomata, which were confirmed by fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, indicating that wild Alliums have a stronger immune system than the cultivated Alliums. Our findings suggest that wild Alliums possess both immunity and immune memory-related genes. This study suggests that molecular markers could help transfer the immunity-related genes from wild Alliums to cultivated Alliums to protect them from anthracnose infestation.

With climate change intensifying global temperatures, developing heat-resilient rice varieties has become a critical challenge for future food security. In this study, we explored the allelic variation of a Glycolipid Transfer Protein (GLTP) gene in rice and its role in physiological adaptation to heat stress. A diverse panel of 96 rice genotypes was evaluated over two seasons under both control and heat-stress environments for five key traits: relative water content, membrane stability index, malondialdehyde content, antioxidant activity, and chlorophyll concentration. Sequence analysis of the GLTP gene and its promoter revealed 172 mutations, including 14 coding SNPs that defined 9 haplotypes and 6 protein isoforms. Association mapping identified several significant SNP-trait linkages, particularly in intronic and promoter regions, with strong effects on oxidative stress indicators. Notably, a rare haplotype, Hap4, comprising a single genotype (NERICA Line 44) exhibited superior physiological performance under heat stress. The poor haplotype, Hap9, was found to be structurally distinct at the C-terminal domain, as predicted by the AlphaFold3 modelling. These findings highlight the functional importance of natural non-coding variation and demonstrate how specific GLTP3 alleles can enhance thermo-tolerance. This work provides novel molecular insights and valuable allelic resources to accelerate the breeding of climate-smart rice cultivars.

Allium cepa is a widely grown crop for its spice and culinary properties. For molecular breeding of Allium cepa, mining and utilization of various sequence-based markers have been widely reported. Unfortunately, none has reported its molecular breeding using potential intron polymorphism (PIP) markers. Due to advantage of intron positioning prediction and practical utility, the PIP markers used for screening the possible polymor-phism and cross-transferability in the Alliums. Screening results showed that among 500 Allium cepa poten-tial intron polymorphism (AcPIP) markers, 275 are cross-transferable and polymorphic. Among the 275 AcPIP, 111 polymorphic markers were physically mapped on to 1st to 8th chromosomes of the Allium cepa. Out of the 275 AcPIP containing functionally significant markers, 118 were mapped in onion with Arabidop-sis proteome. A set of 10 Alliums were utilized to interpret the polymorphic possibilities of the 500 AcPIP markers. In totality, 55 % AcPIP markers were polymorphic and cross-transferable among the Alliums. The polymorphic information content (PIC) of AcPIP markers ranged from 0.03 to 0.47 and heterozygosity index (H) varied between 0.16 and 0.80. The constructed phylogenetic tree based on the AcPIP markers of 10 Alliums revealed different clusters due to differences in their taxonomic positions. Out of 275 AcPIP markers, 10 AcPIP markers genotyping based Jaccard dissimilarity-based NJ tree of 96 individuals of Allium cepa showed two distinct groups (high total soluble solid; HTSS and low total soluble solid; LTSS). NJ tree and dis-similarity matrix reveal that group I genotypes are distinct, and dissimilar from group II and III genotypes hence it seems that group II and III genotype evolve from group I genotypes. Further we identified nine diverse Allium cepa subsample among which, genotype number 74 has HTSS and could be used for identifica-tion and introgression of HTSS coding genes in elite cultivars. Further DNA fingerprint of Alliums with 20 AcPIP markers suggested geographical reach of the released onion varieties. Hence results suggest that 275 AcPIP markers may be useful for accelerating the breeding programme of the Alliums and other species.(c) 2023 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

This review discusses the Finger millet's rich nutritional profile, bioactive potential, and industrial applications, combined with its climate resilience, which make it a promising crop for enhancing food security and promoting sustainable agriculture. This review also highlights its significant potential to address malnutrition and mitigate climate change impacts. The emergence of Finger millet from “poor man’s staple food” to “a nutrient rich cereal” has encouraged the need to explore this crop at a wider scale. It is a highly significant crop due to its rich nutritional and bioactive profile, diverse biological activities, and promising industrial applications, along with the high climate resilience. This comprehensive review evaluates its nutritional composition by comparing favorably with other cereals and millets and emphasizing its potential to address malnutrition and enhance food security. Furthermore, it explores the phytochemical/bioactive potential and strategies to enhance their bioavailability followed biological activities of Finger millet by highlighting its various health-promoting properties. The review also discusses industrial potential of finger millet including its role in nutraceutical and functional food production, as well as bioenergy generation. In addition, role of Finger millet as a climate-resilient crop; specifically, the available genetic resources and identification of genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with major stress tolerance traits have also been discussed. By providing a comprehensive synthesis of existing knowledge, this study offers valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders engaged in efforts to promote sustainable agriculture, enhance food and nutrition security, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

To combat drought stress, the major abiotic stress in rice, major genomic regions governing stress tolerance under field conditions have been identified and exploited, though their molecular basis remains elusive till date. We have recently reported the miRNAs/mRNA modules important for drought stress response in these genomic regions. To further understand this secondary regulation by miRNA/mRNA modules in a mega variety, Swarna, which is sensitive to drought stress at reproductive stage, we generated sRNA-seq data. Our analysis identified 9 putative novel miRNAs and 27 differentially expressed known miRNAs at booting stage under drought stress. The major miRNA/transcript modules, identified through degradome analysis and transcript abundance studies, that had an impact on drought stress response of plant and yield included osa-miR169a/LOC_Os07g41720, Osa-miR171b/f, Osa-miR172d-3p/5p, Osa-miR1876/ LOC_Os11g38330, Osa-miR397a and Osa-miR530-3p. The results indicated a basis for the low spikelet fertility and high grain chalkiness of the mega variety Swarna under drought stress through the modulation of expression of Osa-miR397a/ LOC_Os03g03510 and LOC_Os03g51220 and Osa-miR530-3p/ LOC_Os10g40510 modules. This study provides the potential target genes for improving Swarna, a globally important variety, so as to ensure food security under climate change scenario.

The 21st century is considered to be an era of global climate change while recurring drought causes severe yield losses, challenging crop production, and raising serious concerns about sustainable food production/security. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as a new candidate for improving/modulating developmental processes in plants, including grain yield, productivity, and response to various abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, and salinity. miRNA can regulate expression of genes either by translation repression or by mRNA cleavage. To regulate expression of gene(s), it targets transcription factors and/or the stress-associated gene responsible for enhancing adaptive potential of plant. For example, miR159-MYB, miR169-NFYA, and miR160-ARF are well-known conserved miRNA-target combinations which regulate drought stress responses in plants. Stress-responsive miRNAs have been demonstrated to modulate physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes, thus serving as key regulators for genetic modification of plants for enhanced drought tolerance. The present review provides insights on the miRNAs involved in drought stress response in rice and their role in regulation of critically important biological processes including photosynthesis, respiration, phytohormone signaling, osmotic stress, and senescence. In addition, the current limitations in using miRNA-based strategies and future perspectives have also been discussed. We envisage that this review would help understanding the role of miRNAs as a part of gene regulatory network for genetic improvement of rice towards enhancing yielding potential under water-deficiency stress.

MicroRNAs are key players involved in stress responses in plants and reports are available on the role of miRNAs in drought stress response in rice. This work reports the development of a database, RiceMetaSys: Drought-miR, based on the meta-analysis of publicly available sRNA datasets. From 28 drought stress-specific sRNA datasets, we identified 216 drought-responsive miRNAs (DRMs). The major features of the database include genotype-, tissue- and miRNA ID-specific search options and comparison of genotypes to identify common miRNAs. Co-localization of the DRMs with the known quantitative trait loci (QTLs), i.e., meta-QTL regions governing drought tolerance in rice pertaining to different drought adaptive traits, narrowed down this to 37 promising DRMs. To identify the high confidence target genes of DRMs under drought stress, degradome datasets and web resource on drought-responsive genes (RiceMetaSys: DRG) were used. Out of the 216 unique DRMs, only 193 had targets with high stringent parameters. Out of the 1081 target genes identified by Degradome datasets, 730 showed differential expression under drought stress in at least one accession. To retrieve complete information on the target genes, the database has been linked with RiceMetaSys: DRG. Further, we updated the RiceMetaSys: DRGv1 developed earlier with the addition of DRGs identified from RNA-seq datasets from five rice genotypes. We also identified 759 putative novel miRNAs and their target genes employing stringent criteria. Novel miRNA search has all the search options of known miRNAs and additionally, it gives information on their in silico validation features. Simple sequence repeat markers for both the miRNAs and their target genes have also been designed and made available in the database. Network analysis of the target genes identified 60 hub genes which primarily act through abscisic acid pathway and jasmonic acid pathway. Co-localization of the hub genes with the meta-QTL regions governing drought tolerance narrowed down this to 16 most promising DRGs. Database URL: http://14.139.229.201/RiceMetaSys_miRNA Updated database of RiceMetaSys URL: http://14.139.229.201/RiceMetaSysA/Drought/.

Population explosions, environmental deprivation, and industrial expansion led to an imbalanced agricultural system. Non-judicial uses of agrochemicals have decreased agrodiversity, degraded agroecosystems, and increased the cost of farming. In this scenario, a sustainable agriculture system could play a crucial role; however, it needs rigorous study to understand the biological interfaces within agroecosystems. Among the various biological components with respect to agriculture, mycorrhizae could be a potential candidate. Most agricultural crops are symbiotic with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In this study, beetroot has been chose to study the effect of different AMFs on various parameters such as morphological traits, biochemical attributes, and gene expression analysis (ALDH7B4 and ALDH3I1). The AMF Gm-Funneliformis mosseae (Glomus mosseae), Acaulospora laevis, and GG-Gigaspora gigantean were taken as treatments to study the effect on the above-mentioned parameters in beetroot. We observed that among all the possible combinations of mycorrhizae, Gm+Al+GG performed best, and the Al-alone treatment was found to be a poor performer with respect to all the studied parameters. This study concluded that the more the combinations of mycorrhizae, the better the results will be. However, the phenomenon depends on the receptivity, infectivity, and past nutrient profile of the soil.

To combat drought stress in rice, a major threat to global food security, three major quantitative trait loci for 'yield under drought stress' (qDTYs) were successfully exploited in the last decade. However, their molecular basis still remains unknown. To understand the role of secondary regulation by miRNA in drought stress response and their relation, if any, with the three qDTYs, the miRNA dynamics under drought stress was studied at booting stage in two drought tolerant (Sahbaghi Dhan and Vandana) and one drought sensitive (IR 20) cultivars. In total, 53 known and 40 novel differentially expressed (DE) miRNAs were identified. The primary drought responsive miRNAs were Osa-MIR2919, Osa-MIR3979, Osa-MIR159f, Osa-MIR156k, Osa-MIR528, Osa-MIR530, Osa-MIR2091, Osa-MIR531a, Osa-MIR531b as well as three novel ones. Sixty-one target genes that corresponded to 11 known and 4 novel DE miRNAs were found to be co-localized with the three qDTYs, out of the 1746 target genes identified. We could validate miRNA-mRNA expression under drought for nine known and three novel miRNAs in eight different rice genotypes showing varying degree of tolerance. From our study, Osa-MIR2919, Osa-MIR3979, Osa-MIR528, Osa-MIR2091-5p and Chr01_11911S14Astr and their target genes LOC_Os01g72000, LOC_Os01g66890, LOC_Os01g57990, LOC_Os01g56780, LOC_Os01g72834, LOC_Os01g61880 and LOC_Os01g72780 were identified as the most promising candidates for drought tolerance at booting stage. Of these, Osa-MIR2919 with 19 target genes in the qDTYs is being reported for the first time. It acts as a negative regulator of drought stress tolerance by modulating the cytokinin and brassinosteroid signalling pathway.

Alliums are the most popular for their culinary usage and nutraceutical benefits. Their productions are greatly affected by the multiple biotic and abiotic stresses. Poor characterizations of genetic resources are the major bottleneck in genetic improvement of alliums. Chloroplast derived simple sequence repeat (cpSSR) have recently gained much popularity due to their maternal inheritance and low recombination along with their hypervariable nature. In this study, 22 chloroplast-derived SSR markers were produced from chloroplast genomes of A. cepa and A. sativum. Repeat comparison revealed tri nucleotide repeats were in higher proportion (50%) compared to other repeat motifs. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 4, heterozygosity from 0.009 to 0.540, and PIC from 0.007 to 0.427. The polymorphism survey and clustering of twenty-two cpSSR markers of twenty-five alliums, lead to three groups (groups I, II, and III), indicated the usefulness of these cpSSR markers. This demonstrated that cultivated A. cepa and A. sativum belong to different groups II than most wild alliums, confirming the usefulness of the AccpSSR and AscpSSR markers that will allow introduction of desirable biotic and abiotic tolerance traits from various wild alliums to selected cultivated alliums. In addition, these cpSSRs were validated in 79 alliums, divided them into three groups using Jaccard dissimilarity and Bayesian model-based structure analysis. Subsequent clustering allowed us to identify diverse alliums, for constructing core collection of germplasm resource. The study will be useful for molecular breeding and genomic selection based crop improvement.

Pigeonpea (Cajanuscajan L.) is a legume crop that contains high levels of polyphenolic compounds and polysaccharides that become a hindrance in extracting good-quality and enough amount of RNA from its tissues. With the existing methods of RNA isolation, the phenolic compounds may co-precipitate or bind to the RNA giving false results. Therefore, in the present study, we have modified conventional CTAB and Trizol-based methods which resulted in good quality with the absorbance A260/A280 ratios in the range of 1.83 to 1.98 and A260/230 ratios in the range of 2.0-2.23, revealed RNA to be of high purity and free of contaminants. Both of the proposed protocols yielded a good quantity of RNA ranging from 289 to 422μg per gram of tissue. Distinctly visible bands of 28S and 18S rRNA were observed without degradation or smear, which indicated the presence of intact RNA. RT-PCR analysis showed that isolated RNA was quantitatively sufficient and compliant for the subsequent gene expression analysis.

The population of the world is increasing nearly exponentially over time. To feed this population following the environment conservation protocol, it is essential to enhance the agricultural productivity even in the synchronizing agrarian land use pattern. To enhance the quality and productivity in agriculture sector, introducing the cutting edge technology is need of the hour.From ancient times, traditional approaches like selective breeding, adoption of agronomic management practices and application of indigenous technical knowledge have been used to attain resilience against various abiotic and biotic stresses. However, these traditional approaches are not sufficient to tackle the increasing repercussions of climate change and feed quality food to the expanding population. Therefore, in order to address these issues of climate change, population explosion and malnutrition, biotechnological interventions can be a promising approach. In the past, biotechnology based approaches have given successful products like Herbicide-resistant Soybean, Pusa Basmati 1, Bt Cotton, Bt Brinjal, Flavr-Savr tomato, a therapeutically significant product of Lithospermum erythrorhizon and Panax ginseng. Besides that many more need based products are in pipeline which is under scrutiny of regulatory bodies, policymakers and environmentalists. It is profoundly expected that in the coming day's agricultural biotechnology applications will bring revolutionary changes to existing agricultural scenario. Therefore, in this review, we have summarized the achievement of agricultural biotechnology that is assisting to enhance the agricultural produce to double the income of farmers. However, this much is not enough; hence full utilization of all the sustainable agricultural biotechnological tools must come into the existence that definitely will boost the agricultural productivity.