International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
ICRISAT Open Access RepositoryNot a member yet
12134 research outputs found
Sort by
Enhancing nutrient content of Chickpea grains through plant growth-promoting actinobacteria
Get PDFThis study highlights the potential of 26 diff erent strains of benefi cial microorganisms, including 19 Streptomyces sp. (CAI-13, CAI-17, CAI-21, CAI-24, CAI-26, CAI-68, CAI-78, CAI-85, CAI93, CAI-121, CAI-127, CAI-140, CAI-155, KAI-26, KAI-27, KAI-32, KAI-90, KAI-180 and MMA-32) and 7 system of rice intensifi cation (SRI) bacterial isolates (SRI-156, SRI-158, SRI-178, SRI-211, SRI-229, SRI-305, and SRI-360), in enhancing the nutrient content of chickpea grains. These beneficial microorganisms have been found to be effective in various crops such as chickpea, pigeonpea, sorghum, rice, pearl millet, tomato, and chili. The field experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of these plant growth-promoting actinobacteria on seed nutrition in chickpea. The results showed that inoculating the seeds with these microorganisms significantly improved the nutritional values of the chickpea seeds compared to the un-inoculated control. All the Streptomyces sp. were found to enhance the crude protein (up to 12.4%), crude fiber (up to 46.3%), crude fat (up to 33.3%), and total ash (up to 25%) contents of the seeds over the uninoculated control seeds. The bacterial strains also improved the crude protein (up to 13.8%), crude fi ber (up to 49.4%), crude fat (up to 19.3%), and total ash (up to 14.3%). Hence, it is concluded that beneficial microbes can serve as a complementary sustainable tool for the existing biofortification strategies
A pearl millet plasma membrane protein, PgPM19, facilitates seed germination through the negative regulation of abscisic acid-associated genes under salinity stress in Arabidopsis thaliana
No full textMain conclusion
The pearl millet gene PgPM19 inhibits seed dormancy by negatively regulating the ABA biosynthesis and ABA signaling pathways in response to salinity stress in Arabidopsis.
Abstract
Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a pivotal role in orchestrating plant stress responses and development. However, how the ABA signal is transmitted in response to stresses remains primarily uncertain, particularly in monocotyledonous plants. In this study, PgPM19, a gene whose expression is induced by drought, salinity, heat, and ABA in both leaf and root tissues, was isolated from pearl millet. The expression of PgPM19 in yeast cells did not influence their growth when subjected to mannitol, sorbitol, or NaCl stress. However, Arabidopsis plants overexpressing PgPM19 (PgPM19_OE plants) exhibited increased germination rates, greater fresh weights and longer roots under salinity stress during germination, compared to wild-type (WT) plants. Conversely, the pm19L1 (SALK_075435) mutant, featuring a transfer DNA insertion in a closely related PgPM19 homolog (AT1G04560) in Arabidopsis, demonstrated reduced germination rates and smaller fresh weights under salinity-stressed condition than did WT and PgPM19_OE plants. A pivotal ABA biosynthesis gene, NCED3, ABA signaling pathway genes, such as PYL6 and SnRK2.7, alongside downstream ABI genes and stress-responsive genes RAB28 and RD29, were downregulated in PgPM19_OE plants, as evidenced by both transcriptome analysis and quantitative reverse transcription-PCR. These findings raise the possibility that PgPM19 is involved in regulating seed germination by mediating ABA biosynthesis and signaling pathway in response to salinity stress in Arabidopsis. This study contributes to a better understanding of PgPM19 in response to salinity stress and establishes a foundation for unraveling the crosstalk of stress responses and ABA in Arabidopsis and other plant species
An Agri-Food Systems Analysis to Establish a Supportive Environment for Kenya’s Flour Blending Policy
Get PDFKenya’s forthcoming national flour blending policy mandates the incorporation of at least 10% of traditional high-value crops, such as sorghum and millet, into maize flour. This policy represents a significant shift in the country’s food system, with the potential to drive increased demand for these drought-tolerant crops, promote agricultural diversification, and enhance food security. Taking an agri-food systems perspective, this study provides a critical analysis of the policy, identifying key constraints, knowledge gaps, and leverage points necessary for its successful implementation
Response to oxalic acid: an important supplement screening against stem rot resistance in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.)
Get PDFBackground
Stem rot, caused by the soil-borne pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii, pose a serious challenge in the groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L) cultivation. Although this disease is widespread globally but had most adverse impact in groundnut growing regions of United States, India, and Australia. The pathogen primarily targets the crown region of the plant, resulting in systemic collapse and potentially leading to yield losses up to 80%. Effective genetic control measures are essential to mitigate the impact of this disease on groundnut production. Realizing the time and resource-consuming complex field-based phenotyping, the availability of easy and repeatable phenotyping methods may fasten the process of donor and gene discovery efforts.
Results
Multi-season phenotyping was performed for stem rot on 184 minicore germplasm accessions, including checks, under two conditions: sick field screening and response to oxalic acid assay. This study demonstrated medium to high heritability (52–63% broad-sense heritability) and significant environmental influence (36%). The response to the oxalic acid assay showed a high proportion of similarity (approximately 80%) with the percent mortality observed in the sick field indicating an easy way of performing precise phenotyping. Notably, seven genotypes—ICG163, ICG721, ICG10479, ICG875, ICG11457, ICG111, and ICG2857—exhibited stable resistance, with less than 30% mortality against stem rot disease. Among these, ICG163, ICG875, and ICG111 displayed low mortality and consistent stability across multiple seasons in both the sick field and controlled conditions of the oxalic acid assay.
Conclusions
The oxalic acid assay developed in this study effectively complements field phenotyping, as a reliable method for assessing stem rot resistance. Seven resistant genotypes identified through this assay can be utilized for the introgression of stem rot resistance into elite genotypes. Given the significant influence of the environment on stem rot resistance, it is essential to implement multi-season phenotyping to obtain precise results. Furthermore, the response to oxalic acid serves as a valuable supplement to traditional field phenotyping, since maintaining uniform disease pressure during field screenings is often challenging
Resistance to stem rot disease in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in inter-specific derivatives of wild Arachis species
Get PDFStem rot of groundnut, caused by a necrotrophic pathogen Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc., is an important soil-borne disease that can cause a pod yield loss of 20–80% depending on severity. Stem rot disease reaction of 160 groundnut genotypes was assessed by employing sick field screening at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT, Patancheru, India) and Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Directorate of Groundnut Research (ICAR-DGR) (under natural and high humidity conditions), pot screening under controlled conditions at ICRISAT and through oxalic acid assay. In the sick field at ICRISAT, percent mortality (PM) of the genotypes ranged from 13 to 80%, clearly discriminating the genotypes, while it was 8–58% at ICAR-DGR under natural conditions. The disease pressure was high in pot screening and under high humidity conditions at ICAR-DGR. Owing to a discrimination ability among the genotypes, ICRISAT sick field results were considered in selecting the resistant genotypes. Out of 160 genotypes, ten were found to be resistant (13–19% PM) and fourty were moderately resistant (20–29.43% PM) at ICRISAT sick field. Fourty four of these lines, (9 resistant and 35 moderately resistant) were developed from the wild Arachis species A. villosa, A. correntina, A. helodes, A diogoi, A. cardenasii, A. stenosperma, A. paraguariensis, A. kempff-mercadoi, A. hoehnei. The other 6 lines are not interspecific-derivatives to our best knowledge; one resistant and four moderately resistant lines are breeding lines derived from cultivated species at ICRISAT (4) and USA (1), and one moderately resistant is a land race from Nigeria. Interestingly, the stem rot resistant interspecific derivatives identified in the study, except A. paraguariensis (EE), originate from the AA genome of the wild Arachis species. The potential genotypes for stem rot disease resistance are three interspecific derivative lines, ICGR 161939, ICGR 162044, ICGR 162032, and two advanced breeding lines, ICGV 10342 and ICGV 181045. Oxalic acid assay further confirmed the resistance of the three inter-specific derivatives, ICGR 161939, ICGR 162044 and ICGR 162032 with a low wilting score (1–2) and less lesion length (1–3 cm).The study suggests the use of comprehensive screening protocols employing both lab and sick field screening for assessing the components of host resistance to stem rot disease and find their use in breeding programs to develop stem rot resistant cultivars
Exploration of the pearl millet phospholipase gene family to identify potential candidates for grain quality traits
Get PDFBackground Phospholipases constitute a diverse category of enzymes responsible for the breakdown of phospholipids. Their involvement in signal transduction with a pivotal role in plant development and stress responses is well documented. Results In the present investigation, a thorough genome-wide analysis revealed that the pearl millet genome
contains at least 44 phospholipase genes distributed across its 7 chromosomes, with chromosome one harbouring
the highest number of these genes. The synteny analysis suggested a close genetic relationship of pearl millet
phospholipases with that of foxtail millet and sorghum. All identified genes were examined to unravel their gene
structures, protein attributes, cis-regulatory elements, and expression patterns in two pearl millet genotypes
contrasting for rancidity. All the phospholipases have a high alpha-helix content and distorted regions within the
predicted secondary structures. Moreover, many of these enzymes possess binding sites for both metal and nonmetal
ligands. Additionally, the putative promoter regions associated with these genes exhibit multiple copies of
cis-elements specifically responsive to biotic and abiotic stress factors and signaling molecules. The transcriptional
profiling of 44 phospholipase genes in two genotypes contrasting for rancidity across six key tissues during pearl millet growth revealed a predominant expression in grains, followed by seed coat and endosperm. Specifically,
the genes PgPLD-alpha1-1, PgPLD-alpha1-5, PgPLD-delta1-7a, PgPLA1-II-1a, and PgPLD-delta1-2a exhibited notable
expression in grains of both the genotypes while showing negligible expression in the other five tissues. The
sequence alignment of putative promoters revealed several variations including SNPs and InDels. These variations
resulted in modifications to the corresponding cis-acting elements, forming distinct transcription factor binding sites suggesting the transcriptional-level regulation for these five genes in pearl millet. Conclusions The current study utilized a genome-wide computational analysis to characterize the phospholipase gene family in pearl millet. A comprehensive expression profile of 44 phospholipases led to the identification of five grain-specific candidates. This underscores a potential role for at least these five genes in grain quality traits including the regulation of rancidity in pearl millet. Therefore, this study marks the first exploration highlighting the possible impact of phospholipases towards enhancing agronomic traits in pearl millet
Water use and yield response of rainfed safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) in Vertisols with varying soil depths
Get PDFSafflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is an edible oilseed crop mainly cultivated in marginal lands. This study evaluates safflower crop water requirements to understand its feasibility to cultivate under rainfed ecosystem through a field experiment undertaken at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semiarid Tropics research farm, India. Eight improved and stress-tolerant safflower cultivars (five spiny and three non-spiny) were evaluated in Vertisols at three soil depths, that is, shallow: 50%) occurred in shallow soils and also during a rainfall deficit year. Spiny cultivars produced 10%–50% higher seed yield compared to non-spiny cultivars. Growing safflower in medium and deep Vertisols provides opportunities for crop intensification
An assessment of future climatic and anthropogenic impacts on the hydrological system of a semi-arid catchment
Get PDFClimate and catchment characteristics, particularly land and water use and management, may vary according to the population growth rate, future food habits and water demands. Three climate simulations corresponding to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (A1B) were downscaled using the ‘Providing Regional Climates for Impact Studies’ (PRECIS) for the period 1961–2098, and bias correction was performed using the quantile mapping (QM) method. A semi-distributed integrated model (Modified Soil and Water Assessment Tool, SWAT) was used to predict the impacts of dynamic changes in catchment characteristics in the Himayat Sagar (HS) catchment and the effects of future climate change on future streamflow and groundwater storage. Simulations predicted that if this trend continues in the future, future climate and anthropogenic changes will lead to a more than 50% reduction in streamflow and a 50% increase in actual evaporation in the HS catchment. This would reduce groundwater storage to a depth of 15 m compared to current conditions, and by the end of the century, there would be no contribution from the base flow to the streamflow. Overall, unless current policies are modified to stabilize land and water management practices, anthropogenic changes will have greater importance than climate change
Cytoplasmic male sterility-based hybrids: mechanistic insights
Get PDFMain conclusion A comprehensive understanding of the nucleocytoplasmic interactions that occur between genes
related to the restoration of fertility and cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) provides insight into the development of
hybrids of important crop species. Modern biotechnological techniques allow this to be achieved in an efficient and
quick manner.
Abstract Heterosis is paramount for increasing the yield and quality of a crop. The development of hybrids for achieving
heterosis has been well-studied and proven to be robust and efficient. Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) has been explored extensively in the production of hybrids. The underlying mechanisms of CMS include the role of cytotoxic proteins, PCD of tapetal cells, and improper RNA editing of restoration factors. On the other hand, the restoration of fertility is caused by the presence of restorer-of-fertility (Rf) genes or restorer genes, which inhibit the effects of sterility-causing genes. The interaction between mitochondria and the nuclear genome is crucial for several regulatory pathways, as observed in the CMS–Rf system and occurs at the genomic, transcriptional, post-ranscriptional, translational, and post-translational levels. These CMS–Rf mechanisms have been validated in several crop systems. This review aims to summarize the nucleo-mitochondrial interaction mechanism of the CMS–Rf system. It also sheds light on biotechnological interventions, such as genetic engineering and genome editing, to achieve CMS-based hybrids
Influence of landscape position on sorghum yield response to different nutrient sources and soil properties in the semi-arid tropical environment
Get PDFUnderstanding the response of crops to nutrient applications in undulating landscapes is imperative to improve nutrient use efficiency and crop yield. This study aimed to identify sorghum yield-limiting nutrients and characterize soil properties targeting landscape positions. The field experiments were conducted across 52 sites in four districts, covering three distinct landscape positions during the 2020 and 2022 cropping seasons. The treatments were All-blended, All- compound, All- individual, 150% of
All- blended, All- blended-K, All- blended-S, All-blended-Zn, All -blended-B, recommended NP, 50% of All -blended, and control (no fertilizer). Treatment sequencing was randomized using a complete block design under foot slope (FS), mid-slope (MS), and hillslope (HS) positions. Results revealed that landscape position significantly affected the growth and yield of sorghum. Significantly higher yields were obtained from foot slopes than mid-slope and hillslope positions. Yield response to the application of nutrients significantly decreased with increasing slope. Overall, yield among all landscape positions was in the decreasing order of FS>MS>HS. The application of nutrients at different rates significantly improved sorghum total biomass and grain yield. Raising the all-blended treatment rate by 50% increased sorghum yield by 44% and 147% over the application of 50% of all nutrients and the unfertilized control treatment, respectively. Statistically significant yield differences were not observed among blended, compound, and separate applications of nutrients. The omission of K, S, Zn, and B did not show a significant variation in yield over the recommended NP fertilizer. The results of soil analysis
results revealed that N and P are the most commonly deficient nutrients in sorghum-growing areas. The mean average volumetric soil moisture content ranged from 5.9-28.7% across landscape positions, with the highest at the foot slope and lowest at the hillslope position. Further research is suggested to determine economically optimum N and P rates across the three landscape positions