Plants respond with changes in their pattern of gene expression and protein products when exposed to low temperatures. Thus ability to adapt has an impact on the distribution and survival of the plant, and on crop yields. Many species of tropical or subtropical origin are injured or killed by non-freezing low temperatures, and exhibit various symptoms of chilling injury such as chlorosis, necrosis, or growth retardation. In contrast, chilling tolerant species are able to grow at such cold temperatures. Conventional breeding methods have met with limited success in improving the cold tolerance of important crop plants involving inter-specific or inter-generic hybridization. Recent studies involving full genome profiling/ sequencing, mutational and transgenic plant analyses, have provided a deep insight of the complex transcriptional mechanism that operates under cold stress. The alterations in expression of genes in response to cold temperatures are followed by increases in the levels of hundreds of metabolites, some of which are known to have protective effects against the damaging effects of cold stress. Various low temperature inducible genes have been isolated from plants. Most appear to be involved in tolerance to cold stress and the expression of some of them is regulated by C-repeat binding factor/ dehydration-responsive element binding (CBF/DREB1) transcription factors. Numerous physiological and molecular changes occur during cold acclimation which reveals that the cold resistance is more complex than perceived and involves more than one pathway. The findings summarized in this review have shown potential practical applications for breeding cold tolerance in crop and horticultural plants suitable to temperate geographical locations.

The nature and magnitude of heterosis and combining ability was studied in 18 F 1 rice hybrids involving three CMS lines and six testers using line × tester analysis. The analysis of variance for combining ability of all the traits showed that variances due to treatments, parents, hybrids were highly significant. The line 'CRMS 32A' and testers viz. 'Super rice-8' , 'R 1099-2569-1-1' and 'Jitpiti' were identified as good general combiners. The significant differences between lines x testers interaction indicates that SCA attributed heavily in the expression of these traits and demonstrates the importance of dominance or non additive variances for all the traits. The hybrid 'CRMS 32A'/'R 1099-2569-1-1' and ' APMS 6A'/'Super rice-8' were promising for grain yield. The magnitude of relative heterosis, heterobeltiosis and standard heterosis were also estimated for different characters. A high degree of relative heterosis was observed for grain yield (20.45-82.37%) in the hybrids viz.,

Heterosis and combining ability estimates were worked out through Line x Tester analysis of 36 hybrids developed by crossing 18 lines (Males) with two cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines (Females) to know the genetic architecture of various agro-morphological traits in rice for development of hybrids under temperate conditions. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among genotypes, crosses, lines, testers and line x tester interactions for all the studied traits. Preponderance of non-additive gene effects was realized by higher values of specific combining ability compared to general combining ability, ratio of variances of SCA to GCA and average degree of dominance. The proportional contribution of testers was observed to be lower than that of line x tester interactions thus higher estimates of SCA variances.

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The present study was carried out in Kashmir (India) to assess the genetic variability for grain yield and component traits among 14 red rice ecotypes from temperate region (locally known as Zag for its coloured kernels) and correlation and path coefficients were also studied for fifteen agro-morphological characters. Genotypic and phenotypic coefficients of variation were high for grain yield, secondary branches per panicle and panicle weight; moderate for grain number per panicle, grain length:breadth (L:B) ratio and panicle density. High heritability accompanied by high to moderate genetic advance for panicle density, days to 50% flowering, plant height, grain number indicated the predominance of additive gene action for the expression of these characters. Grain yield was found to be positively and significantly correlated with number of tiller per plant, panicle density m-2 and number of grain per panicle at both genotypic and phenotypic levels indicating the importance of these characters for yield improvement in this material. The results of genotypic path analysis revealed that panicle density had the highest positive direct effect followed by plant height and days to flower. The overall results indicated that selection favouring higher panicle density, test weight and panicle weight and medium plant height with a reasonable balance for moderate grain number would help to achieve higher grain yield in this population of red rice ecotypes.

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a commercially important crop, vulnerable to fungal disease red rot caused by Colletotrichum falcatum Went. The pathogen attacks sucrose accumulating parenchyma cells of cane stalk leading to severe losses in cane yield and sugar recovery. We report development of red rot resistant transgenic sugarcane through expression of β-1,3-glucanase gene from Trichoderma spp. The transgene integration and its expression were confirmed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in first clonal generation raised from T0 plants revealing up to 4.4-fold higher expression, in comparison to non-transgenic sugarcane. Bioassay of transgenic plants with two virulent C. falcatum pathotypes, Cf 08 and Cf 09 causing red rot disease demonstrated that some plants were resistant to Cf 08 and moderately resistant to Cf 09. The electron micrographs of sucrose storing stalk parenchyma cells from these plants displayed characteristic sucrose-filled cells inhibiting Cf 08 hyphae and lysis of Cf 09 hyphae; in contrast, the cells of susceptible plants were sucrose depleted and prone to both the pathotypes. The transgene expression was up-regulated (up to 2.0-fold in leaves and 5.0-fold in roots) after infection, as compared to before infection in resistant plants. The transgene was successfully transmitted to second clonal generation raised from resistant transgenic plants. β-1,3-glucanase protein structural model revealed that active sites Glutamate 628 and Aspartate 569 of the catalytic domain acted as proton donor and nucleophile having role in cleaving β-1,3-glycosidic bonds and pathogen hyphal lysis.

Development of crop varieties which are resistant against many economically important diseases is

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