Diminishing water resources as a result of excessive use of water for irrigation and climate change posture a severe global threat to food security. Herein, an experiment was conducted to determine the selection criteria for drought-tolerant bread wheat genotypes at the seedling stage using morphological and photosynthetic pigmentation-related traits. A panel of 105 wheat landraces, historical Pakistani varieties, and advance breeding lines were evaluated under normal and drought stress using factorial completely randomized design. The root length, fresh weight, dry weight, cell membrane thermo-stability, and chlorophyll b were positively correlated among themselves under both normal and stress conditions. Hence, selection of any one of these traits enhances the performance of other traits. The shoot length was non-significant and negatively associated with all other studied characters except relative water content. The results suggested that selection for shoot length could not improve genetic gain for drought tolerance. Out of 10 principal components (PCs), the first three PCs were showed significant genetic variation under both conditions. The first three PCs showed 74.6% and 76% cumulative genetic variation under normal and drought conditions, respectively. Based on PCA, 10 drought-tolerant and five drought-susceptible genotypes were identified. Overall results suggested that selection for root length, fresh weight, dry weight, cell membrane thermo-stability, and chlorophyll b at the seedling stage would improve genetic gain for drought tolerance. The outperforming genotypes under drought stress conditions can be useful in future wheat breeding programs, and early selection for the traits recommended in this study will be effective for developing high-yielding and drought-tolerant wheat varieties.

Good quality deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the pre-requisite for its downstream applications. The presence of high concentrations of polysaccharides, polyphenols, proteins, and other secondary metabolites in mango leaves poses problem in getting good quality DNA fit for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) applications. The problem is exacerbated when DNA is extracted from mature mango leaves. A reliable and modified protocol based on the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) method for DNA extraction from mature mango leaves is described here. High concentrations of inert salt were used to remove polysaccharides; Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and β-mercaptoethanol were employed to manage phenolic compounds. Extended chloroform-isoamyl alcohol treatment followed by RNase treatment yielded 950-1050 µg of good quality DNA, free of protein and RNA. The problems of DNA degradation, contamination, and low yield due to irreversible binding of phenolic compounds and coprecipitation of polysaccharides with DNA were avoided by this method. The DNA isolated by the modified method showed good PCR amplification using simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers. This modified protocol can also be used to extract DNA from other woody plants having similar problems.

Water treaties have played an important role in peaceful resolution of water-related conflicts. Although the mode of negotiation to resolve water-related conflicts may vary from treaty to treaty, a number of structural falls make them unprepared for the future needs. The Indus water treaty is perhaps quoted as the most successful water-sharing mechanism in the recent times. Against all odds, the treaty has fulfilled its job descriptions of being a mechanism providing a moderately reliable framework for the peaceful resolution of water-related conflicts. However, the climate change is quickly eroding that trust. The water-sharing mechanism lacks guidelines to cater the issues related to climate change and basin sustainability which require integrated approach for their addressal. But the structural inflexibility does not encourage the riparian to collaborate and build mutual trust for common good. The riparian countries, within the framework of treaty, attempt to elevate their national interests by deliberately refusing to comply with the treaty clauses in letter and spirit, and even manipulate data to deprive the competing riparian of water. We propose and argue on the need of adopting structurally sound forum for solving water conflicts which will assist in comprehensive policymaking to ensure the sustainability of transboundary water resources. The forum will also provide an opportunity for the riparian to work together towards confidence-building through sharing of real-time hydrological data and further scientific analysis based on that. Conclusively, the shortcomings of the present conflict-resolution method are addressed by encouraging riparian to collaborate at various levels.npj Clean Water (2019) 2:22; https://doi.

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