International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
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Unravelling Aflatoxin Resistance in Groundnut: Metabolomic and Genetic Mechanisms of Secondary Cell Wall Reinforcement
No full textAflatoxin contamination caused by Aspergillus flavus presents a significant challenge to groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) production, endangering food safety and human health. Despite extensive research, the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to aflatoxin contamination remain unclear. This study conducted a comparative metabolomics analysis on two contrasting groundnut genotypes-resistant (55-437) and susceptible (TMV-2)-to identify key metabolites
and biochemical pathways associated with resistance. Metabolite profiling using liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) revealed significant
metabolic differences between the two genotypes. Notably, resistance-related metabolites, particularly hydroxycinnamic acid amides (HCAAs) and lignins, were highly enriched in the
resistant genotype. These compounds contribute to secondary cell wall thickening, acting as a physical barrier against fungal penetration. Histochemical staining confirmed increased lignin and HCAA deposition in the resistant genotype upon pathogen infection. In addition to metabolite profiling, gene expression analysis was conducted to understand the molecular basis of resistance. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) demonstrated significant pregulation of key phenylpropanoid biosynthetic genes in the resistant genotype, including PAL, 4CL, CCR2, CAD1, ACT, CHS, DFR, and FLS. The higher expression of these genes correlated with
increased accumulation of secondary metabolites that reinforce structural barriers against A. flavus infection. Furthermore, flavonoids, fatty acids, alkaloids, and terpenoids also exhibited differential accumulation, suggesting their potential role in enhancing resistance. These findings indicate a genotype-specific metabolic reprogramming that strengthens groundnut defense mechanisms against fungal invasion and aflatoxin contamination. This study highlights secondary cell wall thickening as a crucial mechanism conferring resistance to A. flavus in groundnut. The enhanced deposition of lignins and HCAAs, along with the activation of key biosynthetic pathways, strengthens the plant’s structural defenses, limiting pathogen entry and
aflatoxin production. Additionally, the involvement of flavonoids, fatty acids, and alkaloids in resistance suggests that multiple biochemical pathways contribute to aflatoxin defense. These insights provide a foundation for developing groundnut cultivars with improved resistance
through targeted breeding and genetic engineering strategies. By integrating metabolomics and gene expression analyses, this research advances the understanding of aflatoxin resistance mechanisms and offers new avenues for enhancing groundnut resilience and food safety
Biophysical effects of land cover changes in West Africa: a systematic review
Get PDFWest Africa is undergoing rapid agricultural intensification driven by population growth, leading to significant anthropogenic land use and land cover change (LCC), including both deforestation and afforestation. These changes can profoundly affect the regional climate system by altering the surface energy balance, moisture fluxes, and atmospheric circulation, potentially exacerbating the vulnerability of human, ecological, and economic systems. Despite the ability of climate models to simulate LCC impacts, considerable uncertainties remain, particularly in simulations of precipitation and temperature responses. This study provides the first multidisciplinary systematic review of LCC impacts in West Africa. Data from 26 selected publications were eventually synthesized from an initial pool of nearly 6000 studies. Results indicate that deforestation generally contributes to regional warming, with significant historical temperature increases of +0.26 ± 0.12 °C and projected increases of +0.88 ± 0.25 °C under the future scenarios. Conversely, afforestation could have significantly cooled the climate, lowering temperatures by −0.24 ± 0.14 °C historically and −0.22 ± 0.14 °C in future scenarios, without even accounting for carbon sequestration. Deforestation decreases regional precipitation by 80 ± 58 mm yr−1 historically and −55 ± 102 mm yr−1 in future scenarios, while large-scale afforestation could substantially reduce droughts with increased precipitation, averaging +40 ± 67 mm yr−1 historically and 80 ± 58 mm yr−1 in future scenarios. These results emphasize the need to integrate LCC-induced climate effects into land-based mitigation strategies, climate policy, and assessment frameworks
Science based approach for translating water hyacinth menace into wealth for agricultural sustainability: Empirical evidence from rural India
Get PDFDespite numerous reports on valorization of water hyacinth biomass, its wide-scale adoption has not been realized. In Puri district there are about 2100 water hyacinth infested rural ponds and harvested water hyacinth biomass remain unutilized on the banks of these ponds. The work presented is an attempt to evaluate techno-economic viability of aerobic composting of water hyacinth biomass as an alternative livelihood option. A rural enterprise undertaking aerobic composting of water hyacinth biomass was established in the Nimapada block of the Puri district of Odisha, involving rural women SHG members. The nutrient rich harvested biomass was used for aerobic (windrow method) composting along with suitable quantities of paddy straw and cow dung by women self-help group members. A commercially available enriched microbial consortia was used at the rate of 1 kg per ton of mixed biomass to facilitate efficient aerobic composting. Our study found that freshly harvested water hyacinth biomass, paddy straw and fresh cow dung mixed in the ratio of 7:2:1 is optimal for aerobic composting. The C/N ratio and organic carbon content for the optimum biomass mixture was 16.94 and 14.1 mg/kg respectively. The cost of production of this compost was found to be Rs.8 per kg considering all cost components such as raw material cost, local transport cost, labour cost, fuel cost (shredding of fresh biomass and sieving of final compost), weighing and packaging cost etc. A total of 600 tons of compost was prepared involving trained women SHGs in the Puri district
Critical reflections on transforming smallholder irrigation systems from dysfunctional to functional climate smart agricultural systems
Get PDFSmallholder irrigation schemes are complex socio-ecological systems and critical components of agri-food systems. However, they are often driven by political objectives, including the production of staple food for food security and sovereignty, and therefore contrary to individual farmers’ aspirations of developing profitable farming enterprises that can adequately support scheme maintenance. This has resulted in dysfunctional schemes with rehabilitation efforts focused on infrastructure refurbishment, which neglect other critical aspects required for successful functioning such as strong market linkages and improved social dynamics. The poor performance of smallholder schemes represents a failure to enhance the livelihoods and food security of households and the development of local economies (Pittock et al., Citation2020). This failure creates an imperative to transform schemes using multiple interventions as leverage across the system to improve farmers’ adaptive capacity and enable schemes to become climate smart agricultural systems. This imperative is made more important because of the significant investment being made by governments and donors in irrigated agriculture
Factors driving Climate-Smart Agriculture adoption: a study of smallholder farmers in Koumpentum, Senegal
Get PDFClimate change significantly threatens agriculture and food systems in developing countries, especially in Senegal, where agriculture is vital for livelihoods and economic advancement. A study investigated the factors influencing the adoption of Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) innovations among smallholder farmers in Koumpentum, Senegal. Through comprehensive research and multistage random sampling, 270 smallholder farmers were interviewed using structured questionnaires. The results indicated that 56.3% of the farmers have adopted CSA practices. Household size, perceived climate change, and access to climate advisory information positively influenced 70.4% of farmers to adopt crop rotation. Additionally, the farmer's experience (in years) and perception of climate change influenced the adoption of conservation tillage. The study highlights how smallholder-specific characteristics and external influences interact to determine CSA adoption. Moreover, it underscores the need for targeted interventions to promote CSA practices, emphasizing the importance of farmer education, access to climate advisory services, and capacity building. Based on our findings, the policy recommendations include aligning CSA innovations with smallholder preferences and local conditions to enhance adoption rates and strengthen climate resilience in agricultural systems. Policymakers should integrate CSA into Senegalese agricultural policy and develop innovative financing mechanisms to encourage the adoption of adaptation technologies tailored to local contexts to address current and future climate risks
Development of a cost-effective high-throughput mid-density 5K genotyping assay for germplasm characterization and breeding in groundnut
Get PDFGroundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.), also known as peanut, is an allotetraploid legume crop composed of two different progenitor sub-genomes. This crop is an important source for food, feed, and confectioneries. Leveraging translational genomics research has expedited the precision and speed in making selections of progenies in several crops through either marker-assisted selection or genomic selection, including groundnut. The availability of foundational genomic resources such as reference genomes for diploid progenitors and cultivated tetraploids, offered substantial opportunities for genomic interventions, including the development of genotyping assays. Here, a cost-effective and high-throughput genotyping assay has been developed with
5,081 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) referred to as “mid-density assay.” This multi-purpose assay includes 5,000 highly informative SNPs selected based on higher olymorphism information content (PIC) from our previously developed
high-density “Axiom_Arachis” array containing 58,233 SNPs. Additionally 82 SNPs associated with five resilience and quality traits were included for marker-assisted selection. To test the utility of the mid-density genotyping (MDG) assay, 2,573 genotypes from distinct sets of breeding populations were genotyped with the 5,081 SNPs. PIC of the SNPs in the MDG ranged from 0.34 to 0.37 among diverse sets.
The first three principal components collectively explained 82.08% of the variance among these genotypes. The mid-density assay demonstrated a proficient ability to distinguish between the genotypes, offering a high level of genome-wide nucleotide diversity. This assay holds promise for possible deployment in the identification of varietal seed mixtures, genetic purity within gene bank germplasms and seed systems, foreground and background selection in backcross breeding programs, genomic selection, and sparse trait mapping studies in groundnut.
Plain Language Summary
A cost-effective, high-throughput, mid-density genotyping assay was developed and validated for large-scale genomic breeding applications as well as for detecting genetic purity and duplication in genebank and seed system. This newly developed mid-density assay, with 5,081 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in groundnut now provides opportunities for deployment in applications mentioned above on a large scale. Being dynamic, AgriSeq genotyping-by-sequencing (T-GBS) assay can be easily modified in future by adding informative SNPs to further increase the utilization of this assay in regular breeding programs of groundnut globally. The deployment of this assay in groundnut will help in enhancing, and achieving high precision and accuracy in gene banks, breeding, pre-breeding, and seed system
Comprehensive Project on Rice-Fallow Management (2023-2024)
Get PDFThe Comprehensive Project on Rice-Fallow Management (CPRFM) in Odisha continues to exploit the potential of rice-fallow lands for the production of pulses and oilseeds. The project focuses on promoting short-duration and climate-resilient varieties of green gram, black gram, chickpea, lentil, and mustard, leveraging residual soil moisture to optimize yields. GIS-based mapping and remote sensing technology is
used to identify suitable areas for intervention, ensuring efficient targeting. Farmers received high-quality seeds of improved varieties and other critical inputs, alongside training on advanced agricultural practices
and other crop management systems.
Beneficiary farmers reported cultivating 46.1% of their agricultural land in Rabi, significantly higher than
control (27.8%) with considerable yield improvements in green gram (214.8 kg/acre, +28.1%), black gram
(248.4 kg/acre, +32.7%), mustard (344.0 kg/acre, +33.9%), chickpea (279.2 kg/acre, +34.9%), and lentil
(215.2 kg/acre, +35.3%), compared to control groups. Non-beneficiary farmers from the project villages,
also recorded yield gains, with productivity increase of up to 13.7%. A comparative analysis between shortduration
and longer-duration traditional varieties of green gram and black gram across land types revealed
that short-duration varieties performed best in midlands and uplands, where black gram yielded 258.3
kg/acre and greengram 224.9 kg/acre in mid & upland ecology, outperforming their respective yields in
lowlands (214.4 kg/acre for black gram and 190.6 kg/acre for green gram). On the other hand, chickpea
and mustard were more suitable for lowlands, where they recorded higher yields compared to midlands
and uplands. This underlines the need for a targeted dissemination of short-duration varieties in mid and
upland rice fallow ecosystems through detailed area characterization using earth science approaches
Evidence from simulated climatic conditions indicates rising CO2 levels impact pearl millet yield and nutritional traits
Get PDFRising atmospheric CO2 significantly impacts crop productivity and nutritional quality, posing challenges to global food security. Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.), a climate resilient nutri-cereal, plays a vital role in food and nutrition security particularly in arid and semi-arid regions of India and sub-Saharan African countries. However, its response to changing climate conditions such as elevated CO2 are not well known. This study assessed the response of various pearl millet genotypes, including hybrids and inbred lines to elevated CO2 (550 and 700 ppm) from the current level of 420 ppm. Elevated CO2 resulted in enhanced plant height, chlorophyll content, and nitrogen balance index. However, average grain yield recorded 1.2 % reduction at 550 ppm and 28.8 % at 700 ppm. Flavonoid concentration increased at 550 ppm (5.1 %) but decreased at 700 ppm (14.5 %). Average grain Fe and Zn content increased at 550 ppm by 4.25 % and 6.12 %, respectively but declined at 700 ppm by 4.01 % and 7.04 %; however in ICMB 92111, ICMB 92888, HHB67Imp and NBH 4903 increased Fe accumulation was recorded at 700 ppm) Grain protein content decreased significantly (1.12 % at 550 ppm, 13.4 % at 700 ppm), while fodder protein increased (16.01 % at 550 ppm, 15.19 % at 700 ppm). These findings highlight the complex effects of CO2 fertilization on pearl millet's productivity and nutritional profile; the crop remains relatively resilient up to 500 ppm CO2 but becomes more susceptible to negative impacts at 700 ppm. Therefore, large-scale germplasm evaluation and targeted breeding efforts are essential to develop climate-resilient genotypes with stable yields and enhanced nutrient content under future CO2 conditions
Systems for Heterosis Breeding and Hybrid Seed Production in Pigeon Pea
No full textMale sterility has provided new avenues for exploitation of heterosis and hybrid seed production in pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan L. Millspaugh). Finding of genic male sterility laid the foundation of commercial hybrid seed making in pigeon pea, resulting in commercial release of five hybrids in India. However, the Genetic Male Sterility (GMS) system was soon abandoned due to its high production cost. Later, identification of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) overcame crucial bottlenecks associated with the GMS system. The latest pigeon pea hybrids based on CMS system are IPH 15-03 and IPH 09-5, which are suitable for deployment in pigeon pea-wheat rotation system. The seed of newly released superior hybrid varieties should be available at the farmers doorstep before the onset of cropping season to ensure maximum benefits to the farming community. Multiplication of hybrid seed and its parental lines remains a herculean task. Successful seed production relies on several factors, and the present chapters describe crucial aspects of quality seed production of pigeon pea including floral biology, good agronomic practices, management of biotic and abiotic stresses, breeding behaviour, classes of seed and their requirement and post-harvest management and packaging of seed
Genomic analysis reveals the interplay between ABA-GA in determining dormancy duration in groundnut
Get PDFGroundnut is an important leguminous crop however; its productivity and seed quality are frequently reduced due to lack of fresh seed dormancy (FSD). To address this challenge, a mini-core collection of 184 accessions was phenotyped to identify donors in each agronomic type, in addition to analysing data on whole genome re-sequencing and multi-season phenotypic evaluations to identify stable marker-trait associations (MTAs) associated with FSD. Phenotypic analysis revealed substantial variability in dormancy durations, with days to 50% germination (DFG) ranging from 1 to 30 days. Multi-locus genome-wide association studies (ML-GWAS) identified 27 MTAs in individual seasons and 12 MTAs in pooled seasons data, respectively. Key candidate genes identified included Cytochrome P450 superfamily proteins, protein kinase superfamily proteins, and MYB transcription factors involved in the Abscisic acid (ABA) pathway, as well as F-box interaction domain proteins, ATP-binding ABC transporters, associated with the Gibberellic acid (GA) pathway. SNP-based KASP (Kompetitive Allele-Specific Polymerase chain reaction) markers for 12 SNPs were developed and validated, of these 6 markers (snpAH00577, snpAH00580, snpAH00582, snpAH00585, snpAH00586 and snpAH00588) showed polymorphism between dormant and non-dormant lines. Incorporating favourable dormant alleles into breeding strategies could enable the development of high-yielding cultivars with a dormancy period of 2-3 weeks