Medicinal Plants: Future Thrust Areas and Research Directions
Amit Baran Sharangi, K. V. Peter in Medicinal Plants, 2023
Different types of markers like restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR), simple sequence repeats (SSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers are used for validation purpose in MAPs. DNA barcodes using second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region are used for discriminating medicinal plant species (Pang and Chen, 2014). RAPD analysis was used for evaluation of genetic relationships in several medicinal plant species. ISSR markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity in many of the medicinal plants. Molecular markers can be employed to characterize any phenotypic trait, biochemical, and/or physiological mechanisms. The direct measurement of such traits can be simultaneously mapped. The number of loci controlling genetic variation of any important agronomic trait(s) in segregating population can be estimated, and the map positions of these loci in the genome be determined by means of molecular linkage genetic maps and QTL mapping technology.
The Heritability of Alcoholism
Edith S. Lisansky Gomberg in Current Issues in Alcohol/Drug Studies, 2019
Careful study of Jellinek’s 1944 lecture should convince readers that the admittedly undogmatic Jellinek believed firmly that no matter what weight was assigned to hereditary factors, the mental hygienist was, in fact, “not faced by implacable fate” (p. 110). Having worked for many years as a statistician concerned with plant breeding, Jellinek was well aware that even a perfectly heritable trait could be substantially changed by environment. How tangled the web that, on the one hand, the creator of the “disease concept” of alcoholism (Jellinek, 1960) is criticized as a dogged opponent of the hereditary nature of alcoholism (Goodwin, 1982), while, on the other hand, Peele (1984), who favors a social explanation, notes, The disease theory of alcoholism has the merit of bringing troubled people into the care of hospitals and doctors, an advantage appreciated particularly by physicians themselves, who tend to see human problems in terms of the medical model: disease, treatment, cure. Yet it posits an inborn organic cause, a bodily deficiency, where there may be none, and for this reason the theory is troubling. Alcoholism may at its roots be a social and cultural problem, not a medical one. (p. 15-16)
Impact of Integrated Omics Technologies for Identification of Key Genes and Enhanced Artemisinin Production in Artemisia annua L.
Tariq Aftab, M. Naeem, M. Masroor, A. Khan in Artemisia annua, 2017
There has been significant progress in molecular plant breeding techniques using various molecular tools such as DNA markers (e.g., restriction fragment length polymorphism [RFLP], RAPD, amplified fragment length polymorphism [AFLP], SSRs, SNPs, sequence tagged microsatellite sites [STMS], SCAR, etc.) and functional markers (ESTs, microarray, qRT-PCR, etc.), which can be variously used to speed up the selection/recognition of desired genotypes for high-yielding traits at an early stage of development (Figure 10.5). Although these marker-assisted molecular breeding techniques are being applied in various crops, there is relatively little information on molecular marker–based approaches in medicinal plants, in which secondary metabolism is of great importance. One such effort was made in A. annua by CIMAP (India) for developing the high-AN variety CIM‑Arogya through marker-assisted selection breeding. For the production of high-yield varieties of A. annua, a fast-track molecular breeding project, led by CNAP’s Director Dianna Bowles and Deputy Director Ian Graham, was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. With the aim of producing a better non-GM variety of A. annua, about 23,000 parental lines were screened for desired high-yielding traits, and several hybrid crosses were made. After a rigorous selection procedure aided by molecular tools, the two best-performing hybrids, Hyb1209r (Shennong) and Hyb8001r (Zenith), with enhanced AN production have been commercially released.
Early flowering, good grain quality mutants through gamma rays and EMS for enhancing per day productivity in rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2021
Vinithashri Gautam, Manonmani Swaminathan, Manoharan Akilan, Anand Gurusamy, Meena Suresh, Bhuvaneswari Kaithamalai, A. John Joel
Both genotypic differences and modes of action of different mutagens contribute to variation in the spectrum of mutants generated. Kharkwal (2000) quoted the differences in frequency and spectrum of viable mutations induced by various mutagens due to genetic differences in varieties. Putting forth in a theoretical way, any gene responsible for an agronomic trait is mutable, hence a wide spectrum of viable mutations can be generated in a mutation experiment. The occurrence of these macro-mutations can be attributed to chromosomal aberrations. Mutations in recessive genes occur when there are deficiency, duplications, or point mutations due to mutagens. Chlorophyll mutants and morphological mutants show up in M2 generation while they are not observed in M1 generation and this explains the recessive nature of those mutations. Mutagenic effectiveness and efficiency represent the features of mutagens and sheds light on their utility in crop improvement. Mutagenic effectiveness gives the measure of the frequency of mutations induced by a unit dose of mutagen and efficiency gives the info on biological damage (Konzak, 1965; Nilan, 1965). The results of gamma rays and combination treatments in M2 and M3 generation revealed that the combination treatments were found more effective and efficient in causing variability than gamma rays alone.
Gamma irradiations induced morphological and biochemical variations in in vitro regenerated ginger (Zingiber officinale rosc.)- an invaluable medicinal spice
Published in International Journal of Radiation Biology, 2021
Gamma radiations have been considered as a rapid and effective method for influencing the physiological and biochemical process in many plant species. They are reported as an important physical agents being implemented in plant breeding programs aimed for agronomical characters and productivity improvement in many crops under both normal and stress conditions (Borzouei et al. 2013). Various previous reports revealed that moderate doses of ionizing irradiation can boost cell proliferation, rate of germination, cell growth, enzyme activity, resistance to various stresses and agricultural yields (Kiong et al. 2008). Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is a herbaceous rhizomatous perennial herb of Zingiberaceae family which grows commercially in most of the tropical and sub-tropical regions including India, China, Nepal, Nigeria, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Japan (Khatun et al. 2016). It is grown vegetatively via rhizomes, which are valued not only as a spice but also even as a herbal supplement throughout the world. Ginger breeding is challenging because of very poor flowering and seed set, making genetic improvement very difficult. Therefore, elite germplasm is selected and clonally propagated through healthy rhizomes (Kambaska and Santilata 2009) which is cumbersome and time-consuming. In vitro culture of ginger offers mass multiplication and disease-free planting material, beside a potential for crop improvement (Smith and Hamil 1996; Nayak and Naik 2006).
Comment on “how many premature deaths from pesticide suicide have occurred since the agricultural green revolution”
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2020
S. Eliza Dunn, Katherine A. Karberg, John Vicini, John Swarthout
We are writing to address some of the issues raised in the article “How Many Premature Deaths from Pesticide Suicide Have Occurred Since the Agricultural Green Revolution [1].” The success of the Green Revolution is unprecedented in human history. Scientific advances in plant breeding, improved germplasm and farming practices prevented the mass famine predicted by many academics in the 1960s. Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution, won the Nobel Prize, Presidential Medal of Freedom and Congressional Gold Medal for his innovations in wheat breeding and is credited with feeding close to 1 billion people [2]. While fertilizer and pesticides contributed to the advances in agriculture, advances in plant breeding have had a far bigger impact on global food production.
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