Purpose of the study is to analyse financial hardships faced by students in pursuing of management post graduate programs from Tier 2 Business Schools in India. Compounding and discounting techniques ...are used for estimation of program expenses and program returns. Study concluded that high opportunity cost, uncontrolled personal expenses and low pay packages are the major reasons for longer reclaim tenure or payback period. This study should help to society in determining more realistic financial expectations of pursued from specific category of management private institutions in India.
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•R1 type MYB TF, OsMYB-R1, is upregulated during Chromium(VI) and PEG stress.•OsMYB-R1 expressing lines are tolerant of chromium toxicity and drought stress.•Stress tolerance is due ...to improved lateral roots and strong antioxidant system.•Wound inducible OsMYB-R1 gene showed tolerance against fungal infection.•OsMYB–R1 mediated auxin-salicylic acid cross-talk enhances the defense response.
The MYB TF family is an immensely large and functionally diverse class of proteins involved in the regulation of cell cycle, cell morphogenesis to stress signaling mechanism. The present study deciphered the hormonal cross-talk of wound inducible and stress-responsive OsMYB-R1 transcription factor in combating abiotic Cr(VI) and drought/PEG as well as biotic (Rhizoctonia solani) stress. OsMYB-R1 over-expressing rice transgenics exhibit a significant increase in lateral roots, which may be associated with increased tolerance under Cr(VI) and drought exposure. In contrast, its loss-of-function reduces stress tolerance. Higher auxin accumulation in the OsMYB-R1 over-expressed lines further strengthens the protective role of lateral roots under stress conditions. RNA-seq. data reveals over-representation of salicylic acid signaling molecule calcium-dependent protein kinases, which probably activate the stress-responsive downstream genes (Peroxidases, Glutathione S-transferases, Osmotins, Heat Shock Proteins, Pathogenesis Related-Proteins). Enzymatic studies further confirm OsMYB-R1 mediated robust antioxidant system as catalase, guaiacol peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities were found to be increased in the over-expressed lines. Our results suggest that OsMYB-R1 is part of a complex network of transcription factors controlling the cross-talk of auxin and salicylic acid signaling and other genes in response to multiple stresses by modifying molecular signaling, internal cellular homeostasis and root morphology.
Rice followed by wheat is the dominant cropping system in the middle Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP). Lower productivity (4.8 t ha
−1
) of this cropping system in Bihar, compared to the national average ...(6.8 t ha
−1
) due to several climate- and production-related issues, is a matter of concern for the farmers and the policymakers. Keeping all these in view, an experiment with rice–wheat cropping system was carried out during 2020–21 and 2021–22 in 17 adopted villages of 13 districts of Bihar under the Project “Climate Resilient Agriculture Program (CRAP)” to evaluate the feasibility of early transplanting of rice in the month of June with the aim of achieving higher system productivity by early harvesting of rice and subsequent timely sowing of wheat before 15 November with the provision of assured irrigation. In this study, the concept of an innovative community irrigation approach and single-phase 3-hp submersible pump was employed. Long-duration rice variety (150 days) Rajendra Mahsuri-1 was sown during 20–25 May in the nursery and transplanted through puddling operation during 15–20 June in 17 locations. Under delayed conditions, the nursery sowing and transplanting window were 10–15 June and 10–15 July, respectively. Timely sown rice grown with the provision of a community irrigation system achieved a grain yield of 5.2 t ha
−1
and 85.8% higher water productivity, compared to late-sown crops. Following the harvest of rice, the HD-2967 variety of wheat was planted in the first fortnight of November and harvested in the first week of April, yielding 4.9 t ha
−1
with the application of 2–3 irrigations based on soil type and evaporative demand. Timely harvesting of wheat facilitated farmers of the region to take an additional crop of summer green gram. With an assured irrigation system and shifting planting dates and thereby managing climatic risks, the overall productivity of the rice–wheat cropping system was achieved to the tune of 10.1 t ha
−1
with a cropping intensity of 300% for better adaptation and sustainable production.
Community-based direct observed treatment (DOT) providers are an important bridge for the national tuberculosis programme in India to reach the unreached. The present study has explored the ...knowledge, attitude, practice and barriers perceived by the community-based DOT providers.
Mixed–methods study design was used among 41 community-based DOT providers (Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHAs)) working in 67 villages from a primary health center in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh, India. The cross-sectional quantitative component assessed the knowledge and practices and three focus-group discussions explored the attitude and perceived barriers related to DOT provision.
‘Adequate knowledge’ and ‘satisfactory practice’ related to DOT provision was seen in 14 (34%) and 13 (32%) ASHAs respectively. Only two (5%) received any amount of honorarium for completion of DOT in last 3years. The focus-group discussions revealed unfavourable attitude; inadequate training and supervision, non-payment of honorarium, issues related to assured services after referral and patient related factors as the barriers to satisfactory practice of DOT.
Study revealed inadequate knowledge and unsatisfactory practice related to DOT provision among ASHAs. Innovations addressing the perceived barriers to improve practice of DOT provision by ASHAs are urgently required.
Among various abiotic stresses, water deficit hit the first in the list followed by heavy metal stresses as a serious environmental growth-limiting factor that restricts the global crop yield. ...Molecular approaches will help us to trace key regulators which are involved in stress-related phenomenon to enhance crop productivity. The present study functionally characterized one of the key regulators, OsMYB-R1 in Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that OsMYB-R1 had a close relationship with Sorghum bicolour and Zea mays. Ectopic expression of OsMYB-R1 in Arabidopsis resulted in improved tolerance to PEG/drought and chromium stress in addition to conferring no tolerance to salinity stress. Further RNA seq. data revealed that OsMYB-R1 regulates the expression of key genes that improve the root architecture and maintain the cellular homeostasis of transgenic lines through an efficient anti-oxidant system. It also reveals the differential gene expression of stress-responsive and hormone-responsive genes, which indicate the intricate network of defense regulatory machinery activated in transgenic lines. Additionally, salicylic acid (SA) plays a significant role in promoting the growth of the OsMYB–R1 over-expressing plants and increased GUS intensity in SA treated OsMYB–R1 promoter plants demonstrate the explicit role of SA signaling in overcoming stress tolerance. Whereas no significant change was observed in OsMYB–R1 over-expressing plants after ABA and MeJA treatment. Overall, OsMYB-R1 is a promising gene resource for improving abiotic stress tolerance in other crops, especially in dicotyledon plants.
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•Rice OsMYB-R1 is closely related to Sorghum bicolour and Zea mays.•Over-expression of OsMYB-R1 in Arabidopsis confers drought and chromium stress tolerance.•OsMYB-R1 modulates the differential regulation of stress-responsive marker genes.•OsMYB-R1 and SA interplay play a significant role in promoting growth and defense response.
Rice (Oryza sativa L.), being a paddy crop, is particularly susceptible to drought, reducing its yield drastically. Abscisic acid stress-ripening proteins (Asr) are a family of plant-specific ...ABA-induced low molecular weight hydrophilic proteins encoded by the stress-regulated gene. This work substantiates the biological role of rice Asr6 against drought stress by its overexpression in rice. The Asr6 overexpressing (OE) lines showed better overall growth than wild-type (WT) plants reflected by their longer shoot length with higher biomass and enhanced density of the lateral roots. The decreased level of MDA and electrolyte leakage, higher proline content, less ROS accumulation, and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, APX, and CAT) were observed in OE lines as compared to WT plants during drought stress. The OE lines showed better recovery than WT plants after drought stress at the reproductive stage, in the terms of the increased number of panicles and total grain yields. The transcriptome analysis revealed that Asr6 regulates the expression of a wide spectrum of genes related to hormone metabolism, stress (abiotic and biotic), transcription factors, antioxidant activity, photosynthesis, signalling, transport and secondary metabolites. Interestingly, the genes related to jasmonic acid biosynthesis (up-regulation of LOX and AOS) and signalling (up-regulation of COI1 and down-regulation of JAZ proteins) were differentially expressed in OE lines, which were further validated by qRT-PCR analysis. Our findings demonstrate, Asr6 to be a positive regulator commonly involved in tolerance to drought stress and may regulate a novel JA-dependent signalling pathway in rice for drought tolerance.
•Overexpression of Asr6 can improve drought stress tolerance in rice.•Asr6 promotes lateral root growth leading to higher root biomass as compared to wild type plants under drought condition.•Asr6 transgenic rice maintains redox homeostasis on exposure to drought.•Asr6 alters the expression of jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signalling pathway genes.
Despite many serious efforts, tuberculosis (TB) is still a recognized public health problem. The Government of India has adopted the Directly Observed Treatment, Short-Course (DOTS) strategy for the ...entire country through the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) for the treatment of TB. In this report, we have presented the trajectories for care seeking of two TB cases who suffered from either "patient level delays" or "health system-related delays" in seeking DOTS for the treatment of TB.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are one of the most critical epigenetic regulators of gene expression which modulate a spectrum of development and defence response processes in plants. Chromium (Cr) contamination ...in rice imposes a serious concern to human health as rice is used as staple food throughout the world. Although several studies have established the differential response of miRNAs in rice during heavy metal (arsenic, cadmium) and heat or cold stress, no report is available about the response of miRNAs during Cr stress. In the present study, we identified 512 and 568 known miRNAs from Cr treated and untreated samples, respectively. Expression analysis revealed that 13 conserved miRNAs (miR156, miR159, miR160, miR166, miR169, miR171, miR396, miR397, miR408, miR444, miR1883, miR2877, miR5072) depicted preferential up- or down-regulation (> 4-fold change;
P
value < 0.05). Target gene prediction of differentially expressed miRNAs and their functional annotation suggested the important role of miRNAs in defence and detoxification of Cr though ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABC transporters), transcription factors, heat shock proteins, auxin response, and metal ion transport. Real-time PCR analysis validated the differential expression of selected miRNAs and their putative target genes. In conclusion, our study identifies and predicts miRNA-mediated regulation of signalling pathway in rice during Cr stress.
Flowers of fragrant roses such as Rosa bourboniana are ethylene-sensitive and undergo rapid petal abscission while hybrid roses show reduced ethylene sensitivity and delayed abscission. To understand ...the molecular mechanism underlying these differences, a comparative transcriptome of petal abscission zones (AZ) of 0 h and 8 h ethylene-treated flowers from R. bourboniana was performed. Differential regulation of 3700 genes (1518 up, 2182 down) representing 8.5% of the AZ transcriptome was observed between 0 and 8 h ethylene-treated R. bourboniana petal AZ. Abscission was associated with large scale up-regulation of the ethylene pathway but prominent suppression of the JA, auxin and light-regulated pathways. Regulatory genes encoding kinases/phosphatases/F-box proteins and transcription factors formed the major group undergoing differential regulation besides genes for transporters, wall modification, defense and phenylpropanoid pathways. Further comparisons with ethylene-treated petals of R. bourboniana and 8 h ethylene-treated AZ (R. hybrida) identified a core set of 255 genes uniquely regulated by ethylene in R. bourboniana AZ. Almost 23% of these encoded regulatory proteins largely conserved with Arabidopsis AZ components. Most of these were up-regulated while an entire set of photosystem genes was prominently down-regulated. The studies provide important information on regulation of petal abscission in roses.
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