Persian walnut populations have tremendous morphological and allelic diversity in their germplasm due to heavy outcrossing and years of seed multiplication. These variations are assessed by morphological, cytological, biochemical and molecular markers. Various researchers have used different tree, foliage, flower, nut, and kernel traits to evaluate morphological/phenotypic diversity. In walnut, morphological indices are considered the first to describe and classify the germplasm, but the environment influences them. In comparison, DNA-based markers can detect genetic diversity at any stage of plant development and have been shown to be a potential tool for assessing variation at the DNA level and deciphering genetic relationships within and between species. Microsatellites are very powerful and informative among DNA-based markers in studying genetic relationships and genetic identity at different levels. They are neutral, highly frequent, uniformly distributed, hypervariable, codominant, highly reproducible, produce many alleles per locus, and require a small amount of DNA for analysis. Current breeding objectives can be achieved by selecting superior genotypes from the germplasm, supplemented by molecular characterization in the selection of parents for each breeding program. Therefore, the use of morphological and molecular markers is recommended for efficient exploration and utilization of germplasm resources and to improve diversity among genetic resources. The published literature on morphological and molecular markers, especially SSRs, is presented in this review to provide current insights into the level of genetic diversity in walnut.
The present study was undertaken at Experimental Orchard of the Division of Fruit Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Udheywalla, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, J & K, India. The study was undertaken in seven guava (Psidium guajava L.) cultivars at three different developmental stages, viz. green mature stage (GMS), half ripe stage (HRS) and full ripe stage (FRS). The results of the present study revealed that with the advancement of fruit maturity at different stages, the total soluble solids (TSS), sugar (total sugars, reducing and non-reducing sugar), ascorbic acid contents increased significantly while, during fruit ripening acidity and pectin decreased. Of all the cultivars studied, L-49 showed highest TSS (12.250B) followed by Allahabad Safeda (10.750B). However, total sugar (8.50%) and ascorbic acid (265.09%) were also maximum in L-49 followed by Allahabad Safeda at FRS, L-49 showed minimum acidity (0.26%) and maximum pectin content (0.77%) followed by (0.23 and 0.73%, respectively) in Allahabad Safeda. Pectin methyl esterase (PME) activity increased progressively in all the cultivars up to HRS and subsequently decreased at FRS. Maximum PME activity was found in L-49 (56.25 units/g.f.wt) at HRS whereas, it showed a decrease at FRS (52.25 units/g fresh weight (FW) followed by Allahabad Safeda and Lalit. It is thus concluded that L-49 was superior among all the commercial cultivars of guava grown under sub-tropic condition followed by Allahabad Safeda and Lalit.
Recent studies have reported that Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) can be the cause of peripheral facial paralysis and neurological symptoms may be the only manifestation of the disease. Hereby, the authors report an interesting case of a pregnant COVID-19 positive female with Bell's palsy, in third trimester of pregnancy. A 33-year-old female, G3P0L0A2, presented with left-side deviation of angle of mouth, excessive lacrimation and redness of right eye for the past three days. She had involuntary drooling on right and left side labial commissural deviation, absence of forehead frowning, inability to close her right eye (positive Bell’s phenomena), and ipsilateral lagophthalmos. No lesions were seen on the external ear and otoscopy was normal. She was confirmed to have right-sided facial nerve palsy. She had an uneventful course of pregnancy till term and underwent caesarean section at 40 weeks, in view of foetal distress. Pregnancy and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, both are immunocompromised state, and hence could be a risk factor for Bell’s palsy. But larger studies with more cases are required to prove the causal association.
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