The increased occurrence and severity of drought stress have led to a high yield decline in rice in recent years in drought-affected areas. Drought research at the International Rice Research ...Institute (IRRI) over the past decade has concentrated on direct selection for grain yield under drought. This approach has led to the successful development and release of 17 high-yielding drought-tolerant rice varieties in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. In addition to this, 14 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) showing a large effect against high-yielding drought-susceptible popular varieties were identified using grain yield as a selection criterion. Six of these (qDTY1.1, qDTY2.2, qDTY3.1, qDTY3.2, qDTY6.1, and qDTY12.1) showed an effect against two or more high-yielding genetic backgrounds in both the lowland and upland ecosystem, indicating their usefulness in increasing the grain yield of rice under drought. The yield of popular rice varieties IR64 and Vandana has been successfully improved through a well-planned marker-assisted backcross breeding approach, and QTL introgression in several other popular varieties is in progress. The identification of large-effect QTLs for grain yield under drought and the higher yield increase under drought obtained through the use of these QTLs (which has not been reported in other cereals) indicate that rice, because of its continuous cultivation in two diverse ecosystems (upland, drought tolerant, and lowland, drought susceptible), has benefited from the existence of larger genetic variability than in other cereals. This can be successfully exploited using marker-assisted breeding.
•Genetic gain for rice grain yield for International Rice Research Institute drought breeding program was estimated.•Positive trend of 0.68 %, 0.87 %, 1.9 % under irrigated control, moderate and ...severe drought achieved.•Superiority of new rice varieties over currently grown demonstrated on farmers’ fields.•International Rice Research Institute developed rice varieties can protect farmers from crop losses under drought conditions.
The complexity of genotype × environment interactions under drought reduces heritability, which determines the effectiveness of selection for drought tolerance and development of drought tolerant varieties. Genetic progress measured through changes in yield performance over time is important in determining the efficiency of breeding programmes in which test cultivars are replaced each year on the assumption that the new cultivars will surpass the older cultivars. The goal of our study was to determine the annual rate of genetic gain for rice grain yield in a drought-prone rainfed system in a series of multi-environment trials conducted from 2005 to 2014 under the Drought Breeding Network of Indian sites in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Our results show a positive trend in grain yield with an annual genetic yield increase of about 0.68 % under irrigated control, 0.87 % under moderate reproductive stage drought stress and 1.9 % under severe reproductive stage drought stress due to breeding efforts. The study also demonstrates the effectiveness of direct selection for grain yield under both irrigated control as well as managed drought stress screening to improve yield in typical rainfed systems. IRRI's drought breeding programme has exhibited a significant positive trend in genetic gain for grain yield over the years under both drought stress as well as favorable irrigated control conditions. Several drought tolerant varieties released from the programme have outperformed the currently grown varieties under varied conditions in the rainfed environments on farmers’ fields.
Background
Climate extremes such as drought and flood have become major constraints to the sustainable rice crop productivity in rainfed environments. Availability of suitable climate-resilient ...varieties could help farmers to reduce the grain yield losses resulting from the climatic extremities. The present study was undertaken with an aim to develop high-yielding drought and submergence tolerant rice varieties using marker assisted introgression of
qDTY
1.1
,
qDTY
2.1
,
qDTY
3.1
and
Sub1.
Performance of near isogenic lines (NILs) developed in the background of Swarna was evaluated across 60 multi-locations trials (MLTs). The selected promising lines from MLTs were nominated and evaluated in national trials across 18 locations in India and 6 locations in Nepal.
Results
Grain yield advantage of the NILs with
qDTY
1.1
+ qDTY
2.1
+
qDTY
3.1
+
Sub1
and
qDTY
2.1
+
qDTY
3.1
+
Sub1
ranged from 76 to 2479 kg ha
− 1
and 396 to 2376 kg ha
− 1
under non-stress (NS) respectively and 292 to 1118 kg ha
− 1
and 284 to 2086 kg ha
− 1
under reproductive drought stress (RS), respectively. The NIL, IR96322–34-223-B-1-1-1-1 having
qDTY
1.1
+ qDTY
2.1
+
qDTY
3.1
+
Sub1
has been released as variety CR dhan 801 in India. IR 96321–1447-651-B-1-1-2 having
qDTY
1.1
+
qDTY
3.1
+
Sub 1
and IR 94391–131–358-19-B-1-1-1 having
qDTY
3.1
+
Sub1
have been released as varieties Bahuguni dhan-1′ and ‘Bahuguni dhan-2’ respectively in Nepal. Background recovery of 94%, 93% and 98% was observed for IR 96322–34-223-B-1-1-1-1, IR 96321–1447-651-B-1-1-2 and IR 94391–131–358-19-B-1-1-1 respectively on 6 K SNP Infinium chip.
Conclusion
The drought and submergence tolerant rice varieties with pyramided multiple QTLs can ensure 0.2 to 1.7 t ha
− 1
under reproductive stage drought stress and 0.1 to 1.0 t ha
− 1
under submergence conditions with no yield penalty under non-stress to farmers irrespective of occurrence of drought and/or flood in the same or different seasons.
Abstract
Drought and phosphate availability are two major abiotic factors limiting productivity of rice in rainfed upland areas. There has been a constant need for new improved donor with tolerance ...to multiple abiotic stress conditions for rainfed rice breeding. In the present study, a set of 32 popular rice varieties and landraces were evaluated for drought and low-phosphorus (P) tolerance, and also characterized using grain yield under reproductive drought QTLs (DTY QTLs) and
Pup1
linked/specific molecular markers. Twenty-seven genotypes were identified as tolerant to moderately tolerant to drought. The SSR markers linked to ten DTY QTLs classified the genotypes into two groups corresponding to
aus
and
indica
. The tolerant genotypes were distributed under both groups. Based on the core markers of
Pup1
locus, complete tolerant haplotype was recorded in nine genotypes other than the tolerant check Dular. Nine more genotypes showed the incomplete tolerant haplotypes. The rice genotypes showed significantly high genetic variability for low-P tolerance in hydroponic study. A few genotypes revealed non-
Pup1
type tolerance which needs further confirmation.
Radio galaxies are known to go through cycles of activity, where phases of apparent quiescence can be followed by repeated activity of the central supermassive black hole. A better understanding of ...this cycle is crucial for ascertaining the energetic impact that the jets have on the host galaxy, but little is known about it. We used deep LOFAR images at 150 MHz of the Lockman Hole extragalactic field to select a sample of 158 radio sources with sizes > 60″ in different phases of their jet life cycle. Using a variety of criteria (e.g. core prominence combined with low-surface brightness of the extended emission and steep spectrum of the central region) we selected a subsample of candidate restarted radio galaxies representing between 13% and 15% of the 158 sources of the main sample. We compare their properties to the rest of the sample, which consists of remnant candidates and active radio galaxies. Optical identifications and characterisations of the host galaxies indicate similar properties for candidate restarted, remnant, and active radio galaxies, suggesting that they all come from the same parent population. The fraction of restarted radio galaxies is slightly higher with respect to remnants, suggesting that the restarted phase can often follow after a relatively short remnant phase (the duration of the remnant phase being a few times 10
7
years). This confirms that the remnant and restarted phases are integral parts of the life cycle of massive elliptical galaxies. A preliminary investigation does not suggest a strong dependence of this cycle on the environment surrounding any given galaxy.
Photoacoustic Spectroscopy (PAS) is a potential method for the noninvasive detection of blood glucose. However random blood glucose testing can help to diagnose diabetes at an early stage and is ...crucial for managing and preventing complications with diabetes. In order to improve the diagnosis, control, and treatment of Diabetes Mellitus, an appropriate approach of noninvasive random blood glucose is required for glucose monitoring. A polynomial kernel-based ridge regression is proposed in this paper to detect random blood glucose accurately using PAS. Additionally, we explored the impact of the biological parameter BMI on the regulation of blood glucose, as it serves as the primary source of energy for the body's cells. The kernel function plays a pivotal role in kernel ridge regression as it enables the algorithm to capture intricate non-linear associations between input and output variables. Using a Pulsed Laser source with a wavelength of 905 nm, a noninvasive portable device has been developed to collect the Photoacoustic (PA) signal from a finger. A collection of 105 individual random blood glucose samples was obtained and their accuracy was assessed using three metrics: Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Difference (MAD), and Mean Absolute Relative Difference (MARD). The respective values for these metrics were found to be 10.94 (mg/dl), 10.15 (mg/dl), and 8.86%. The performance of the readings was evaluated through Clarke Error Grid Analysis and Bland Altman Plot, demonstrating that the obtained readings outperformed the previously reported state-of-the-art approaches. To conclude the proposed IoT-based PAS random blood glucose monitoring system using kernel-based ridge regression is reported for the first time with more accuracy.
Epistatic interactions of QTLs with the genetic background and QTL-QTL interaction plays an important role in the phenotypic performance of introgression lines developed through genomic-assisted ...breeding (GAB). In this context, NIL pairs developed with various drought QTL (qDTY) combinations in the genetic background of IR64, TDK1-Sub1 and Savitri backgrounds were utilized to study the interactions. Multi-season phenotyping of NIL pairs harboring similar qDTY combinations provided contrasting performance for grain yield under drought (RS) (classified as high and low yielding NILs) but nearly similar performance under non-stress(NS) conditions. Genome wide genotyping data revealed a total of 16, 5 and 6 digenic interactions were detected under RS conditions in low yielding NILs of IR64, TDK1-Sub1 and Savitri respectively while no significant interaction was found in high yielding NILs under RS and NS conditions in any of the genetic backgrounds used in this study. It is evident from this study that existence of epistatic interactions between QTLs with genetic background, QTL-QTL interaction and interactions among background markers loci itself on different chromosomes influences the expression of a complex trait such as grain yield under drought. The generated information will be useful in all the GAB program of across the crops for precise breeding.
It has long been suspected that powerful radio sources may lower the efficiency with which stars form from the molecular gas in their host galaxy, however so far, alternative mechanisms, in ...particular related to the stellar mass distribution in the massive bulges of their host galaxies, have not been ruled out. We present new, arcsecond-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) CO(1−0) interferometry, which probes the spatially resolved, cold molecular gas in the nearby (
z
= 0.08), massive (
M
stellar
= 4 × 10
11
M
⊙
), isolated, late-type spiral galaxy 2MASSX J23453269−044925, which is outstanding for having two pairs of powerful, giant radio jets, and a bright X-ray halo of hot circumgalactic gas. The molecular gas is in a massive (
M
gas
= 2.0 × 10
10
M
⊙
), 24 kpc wide, rapidly rotating ring, which is associated with the inner stellar disk. Broad (
FWHM
= 70−180 km s
−1
) emission lines with complex profiles associated with the radio source are seen over large regions in the ring, indicating gas velocities that are high enough to keep the otherwise marginally Toomre-stable gas from fragmenting into gravitationally bound, star-forming clouds. About 1−2% of the jet kinetic energy is required to power these motions. Resolved star-formation rate surface densities derived from Galaxy Evolution Explorer and Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer fall by factors of 30−70 short of expectations from the standard Kennicutt–Schmidt law of star-forming galaxies, and near gas-rich early-type galaxies with signatures of star formation that are lowered by jet feedback. We argue that radio Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) feedback is the only plausible mechanism to explain the low star-formation rates in this galaxy. Previous authors have already noted that the X-ray halo of J2345−0449 implies a baryon fraction that is close to the cosmic average, which is very high for a galaxy. We contrast this finding with other, equally massive, and equally baryon-rich spiral galaxies without prominent radio sources. Most of the baryons in these galaxies are in stars, not in the halos. We also discuss the implications of our results for our general understanding of AGN feedback in massive galaxies.
Characterizing the physiological mechanisms behind major-effect drought-yield quantitative trait loci (QTLs) can provide an understanding of the function of the QTLs—as well as plant responses to ...drought in general. In this study, we characterized rice (Oryza sativa L.) genotypes with QTLs derived from drought-tolerant traditional variety AdaySel that were introgressed into drought-susceptible high-yielding variety IR64, one of the most popular megavarieties in South Asian rainfed lowland systems. Of the different combinations of the four QTLs evaluated, genotypes with two QTLs (qDTY2.2
+ qDTY4.1
) showed the greatest degree of improvement under drought compared with IR64 in terms of yield, canopy temperature, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Furthermore, qDTY2.2
and qDTY4.1
showed a potential for complementarity in that they were each most effective under different severities of drought stress. Multiple drought-response mechanisms were observed to be conferred in the genotypes with the two-QTL combination: higher root hydraulic conductivity and in some cases greater root growth at depth. As evidenced by multiple leaf water status and plant growth indicators, these traits affected transpiration but not transpiration efficiency or harvest index. The results from this study highlight the complex interactions among major-effect drought-yield QTLs and the drought-response traits they confer, and the need to evaluate the optimal combinations of QTLs that complement each other when present in a common genetic background.
•Room temperature weak ferromagnetism in polycrystalline Bi0.85Gd0.05La0.1FeO3.•Plausible multiferroic properties at room temperature in polycrystalline Bi0.85Gd0.05La0.1FeO3.•Magneto-electric ...coupling in polycrystalline Bi0.85Gd0.05La0.1FeO3.
The structural, magnetic and magneto-electric (ME) properties of polycrystalline BiFeO3 and Bi0.9–xGdxLa0.1FeO3 (x = 0.00 and 0.05) samples have been investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the formation of single phases in all the samples with ‘R3c’ space group. Magnetic anisotropy and ferroelectric hysteresis behaviour are observed in Bi0.85Gd0.05La0.1FeO3 through magnetization and polarization measurements respectively. In addition, the same compound shows weak ferromagnetism at room temperature with a significantly enhanced remnant magnetization of ~ 23.6emu.mol−1, concomitant with an exchange bias. ME measurements on the compound show a non-linear dependence of magnetic and electric vectors.