No abstract

Work on improvement of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) using tools of biotechnology is limited. Development of a reliable in vitro plant regeneration procedure for this important cereal is a prerequisite for its improvement by genetic transformation. Here, we report the effects of three growth regulators (GRs), 2,4‐D (2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), picloram (4‐amino‐3,5,6‐trichloropicolinic acid), and dicamba (3,6‐dichloro‐o‐anisic acid), on callus induction and plant regeneration from scutellum cultures of four commercial durum cultivars: Ben, Maier, Munich, and Lebsock. Callus induction was obtained from isolated scutella cultured on modified Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium. After 4 wk of callus induction, all calli were plated on MS basal medium for regeneration. The regenerated plantlets were fertile, maintained the normal chromosome number (2n = 4x = 28) and structure as revealed by fluorescent genomic in situ hybridization (fl‐GISH), and showed no apparent somaclonal variation. Genotype and callus induction medium played a dominant role in plantlet regeneration. Dicamba proved the best GR for inducing compact callus and also gave the highest proportion (0.16) of regenerated plants across the four cultivars. Overall, Maier gave the highest proportion (0.27) of plantlet regeneration when dicamba at 2.0 mg L−1 concentration was used for initial callus induction. These results will facilitate genetic transformation work with durum wheat.

Rice is a staple and widely grown crop endowed with rich genetic diversity. As it is difficult to differentiate seeds of various rice varieties based on visual observation accurately, the harvested seeds and subsequent processed products are highly prone to adulteration with look-alike and low quality seeds by the dishonest traders. To protect the interests of importing countries and consumers, several methods have been employed over the last few decades for unambiguous discrimination of cultivars, accurate quantification of the adulterants, and for determination of cultivated geographical area. With recent advances in biotechnology, DNA based techniques evolved rapidly and proved successful over conventional non-DNA based methods to purge the problem of adulteration at commercial level. In the current review, we made an attempt to summarize the existing methods of adulteration detection and quantification in a comprehensive manner by providing Basmati as a case study to enable the traders to arrive at a quick resolution in choosing the apt method to eliminate the adulteration practice in the global rice industry.

Recent advances in modern technology have led to the understanding that not all genetic information is coded into protein and that the genomes of each and every organism including insects produce non-coding RNAs that can control different biological processes. Among RNAs identified in the last decade, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a repertoire of a hidden layer of internal signals that can regulate gene expression in physiological, pathological, and immunological processes. Evidence shows the importance of lncRNAs in the regulation of host–pathogen interactions. In this review, an attempt has been made to view the role of lncRNAs regulating immune responses in insects.