Three hundred and twenty-six Escherichia coli isolates recovered from 326 human faecal specimens from sporadic cases of diarrhoea in Kashmir valley, India, were investigated for the presence of stx(1), stx(2), eaeA, hlyA and lt virulence genes. None of the samples was positive for stx genes or Shiga toxins by PCR or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Twenty-three E. coli isolates showed the presence of the eaeA gene, whereas three isolates harboured the lt gene. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) belonged to 10 different serogroups. Out of 23 EPEC isolates, the majority (78.26%) were atypical while five (21.73%) were typical. Only one of the typical EPEC harboured the EAF plasmid. Subtyping of the eaeA gene showed the presence of eaeA-alpha(1), eaeA-beta, eaeA-xi and eaeA-eta in one, two, four and two isolates, respectively. None of the E. coli isolates possessed eaeA-delta, eaeA-epsilon and eaeA-zeta. This study further upholds the opinion that Shiga toxin-producing E. coli do not pose a major threat to human health in India and eaeA-alpha(1), eaeA-beta, eaeA-xi and eaeA-eta could be common EPEC subtypes prevalent in humans with diarrhoea in India. The present study appears to be the first report of subtype analysis of the eaeA gene from India and also records the isolation of EPEC with the eaeA-xi gene from humans.

Common bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume crop of north-western (NW) Himalayan region and the major disease that causes catastrophic loss to the crop is anthracnose, which is caused by Colletotrichum lindemuthianum . The pathogen is highly diverse and most of the commercial cultivars are susceptible to different races prevalent in the region. The lack of information on the genomic regions associated with anthracnose resistance in NW Himalayan common bean population prompted us to dissect Quantitative Resistance Loci (QRLs) against major anthracnose races. In this study, 188 common bean landraces collected from NW region were screened against five important anthracnose races and 113 bean genotypes showed resistance to one or multiple races. Genotyping by sequencing (GBS) was performed on a panel of 192 bean lines (4 controls plus 188 Indian beans) and 22,589 SNPs were obtained that are evenly distributed. Population structure analysis of 192 bean genotypes categorized 188 Indian beans into two major clusters representing Andean and Mesoamerican gene pools with obvious admixtures. Many QRLs associated with anthracnose resistance to Indian C. lindemuthianum virulences (race 3, 87, and 503) are located at Pv04 within the gene models that encode typical resistance gene signatures. The QRLs associated with race 73 are located on Pv08 and overlaps with Co-4 anthracnose resistance gene. A SNP located at distal end of Pv11 in a gene model Phvul.011G202300 which encodes a LRR with a typical NB-ARC domain showed association with race 73 resistance. Common bean genomic regions located at Pv03, Pv09, and Pv11 showed association with resistance to anthracnose race 2047. The present study showed presence of many novel bean genomic regions associated with anthracnose resistance. The presence of Co-4 and Co-2 genes in our material is encouraging for breeding durable anthracnose resistant cultivars for the region.

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Aims:  To determine the subtypes of stx and eae genes of Shiga toxin‐producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) from calves and to ascertain the typical and atypical nature of EPEC. Methods and Results:  One hundred and eighty‐seven faecal samples from 134 diarrhoeic and 53 healthy calves were investigated for the presence of stx, eae and ehxA virulence genes by polymerase chain reaction and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Subtype analysis of stx1 exhibited stx1c in 13 (31·70%) isolates, while that of stx2 revealed stx2c in eight (24·24%) and stx2d in two (6·06%) isolates. Subtyping of eae gene showed the presence of eae‐β, eae‐η and eae‐ζ in two, three and four isolates respectively. None of the E. coli isolates possessed stx2e, stx2f, eae‐α, eae‐δ, eae‐ε and eae‐ξ. All EPEC isolates were atypical. Conclusions:  stx 1 , stx1c, stx2, stx2c, stx2d, eae‐β, eae‐η and eae‐ζ subtypes are prevalent in STEC and EPEC isolates in India. Significance and Impact of the Study:  This is the first subtype analysis of stx2 and eae genes of animal E. coli isolates in India and emphasizes the need to investigate their transmission to humans.

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A B S T R A C T Apple scab caused by a fungus Venturia inaequalis cause enormous losses to growers both qualitatively and quantitatively. In order to manage the crop, farmers routinely spray 8-12 fungicides from pink bud till harvest. Hence, the best strategy to manage the disease is planting apple scab resistant cultivars. In the present study, four races viz., (0), (1), (2) and (1, 2) were reported from various commercial apple growing regions of Kashmir. Apple scab races were spatially distributed in all apple growing regions of Kashmir. Race 1 was most prevalent among the four races. Screening of 31 apple genotypes under controlled conditions revealed majority of commercial cultivars susceptible. Genotypes carrying RVi3 to RVi13 scab resistance genes along with the cultivars American Apirouge, H27, Shireen and Firdous (latter two contain RVi6 scab resistance gene) were found resistant to all the four races present in Kashmir. Resistant genotypes reported in the present study can easily be exploited by breeders for management of apple scab resistance using marker assisted selection approach.

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