Abstract. Kumar R, Tapwal A, Pandey S, Borah RK, Borah DP, Borgohain J. 2013. Macro-fungal diversity and nutrient content of some edible mushrooms of Nagaland, India. Nusantara Bioscience 5: 1-7. The northeast region of India abounds in forest wealth, including variety of flora and fauna. The high humidity during monsoon period provides ideal atmospheric conditions for the growth of diverse group of macrofungal fruit bodies. Nagaland, the northeastern state of India is rich in biodiversity and encompasses large numbers of edible and non-edible mushroom species. Young and matured carpophores of 15 wild edible mushroom species were collected from 12 locations in different districts of Nagaland. Out of these four species belongs to family Agaricaceae, two belongs to Tricholomataceae and rest belongs to Boletaceae, Cantharellaceae, Russulaceae, Sarcoscyphaceae, Auriculariaceae, Polyporaceae, Schizophyllaceae, Pleurotaceae, and Lyophyllaceae. The selected species were analyzed for proximate analysis of nutritional values. The protein content varies from 22.50-44.93% and carbohydrates were recorded 32.43-52.07% in selected species. The documentation of wild edible mushrooms is very scanty in Northeast India. The key objective of the present study was to generate a database on macrofungal diversity, ecology, ethnomycology, utilization and nutrient status of important wild edible mushroom species of Nagaland, which forms a part of the food culture of the native peoples.

Shoots were induced from axillary and nodal buds of Magnolia punduna on MS supplemented with 0.1 μm of BAP. Out of five basal media tested (MS, ½ MS, ¼ MS, LS and WP), MS was found to be most effective for shoot and callus initiation. Different plant growth regulators (0.1 ‐ 1.0 μm) induced shoot formation in different proportions. The combination of 0.1 μm IBA and 0.5 μm BAP was found optimum for shoot elongation with minimal necrosis of the explants. Half strength of MS supplemented with 8.0 μm IBA was found suitable for rooting.Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 27(2): 153-159, 2017 (December)

Background Illicium griffithii is an aromatic medicinal tree species that has been listed in the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. Dried seed pods of I. griffithii have a good market potential in the spices and pharmaceutical industries. Fruits are the potential source of shikimic acid and used for the production of oseltamivir (a drug against bird flu). However, in recent years, unscientific harvesting and rampant exploitation of the species has caused a negative and adverse effect on its natural population. Proper knowledge of genetic diversity and population structure is crucial to understand the population dynamics, adaptation, and evolutionary pattern of a particular species for conservation. It was from this view point that the present study was undertaken so as to compare the various types of DNA-based molecular markers namely RAPD, ISSR, DAMD, and SCoT by their efficiency and SPAR approach to evaluate the genetic diversity of I. griffithii as well as to analyze population genetic structure for conservation purpose. Result A total of 250 discernible bands were generated with 246 bands (98.40 %) being polymorphic in nature. All the primers in combination gave a mean polymorphic information content (PIC) of 0.81 and Rp value (resolving power) of 4.32. Nei’s, Gst, and AMOVA analysis showed similar values of genetic differentiation among populations (Gst = 0.396, FST = 0.30, respectively), revealing a low level of genetic differentiation among the eight sampled populations. I. griffithii with an estimated gene flow value of Nm = 0.761 was significantly low among populations. Clustering pattern obtained with Bayesian structure and PCoA diagram revealed that intermixing of genetic material across populations is only possible when the populations lie close to each other. This is further validated with UPGMA clustering method where a positive correlation of genetic variability with geographical distance among closely related populations could be clearly seen. Conclusion The result aids in the identification, collection, and preservation of diverse germplasm of I. griffithii from Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya of Northeast India. This would further help in understanding the population structure and genetic diversity among other Illicium species in order to formulate effective conservation strategies for the improvement of this endangered taxa.

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Acacia mangium Willd. is one of the major tree species used in plantation forestry programs throughout Asia and the Pacific. The tree legume is prone to various seedling and foliage diseases found in nurseries and while in nurseries. This paper reports the incidence of powdery mildew caused by Oidium sp. on seedlings of A. mangium, maintained in root trainers and nursery seed beds of the Rain Forest Research Institute situated in Jorhat, Assam (India). This is the first report of powdery mildew on A. mangium from India.