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Matching the global food demand by 2050 and to ensure the stability of food security in over than 99 countries, it is necessary to scale up the production of food such as sorghum, wheat, rice, maize and sugarcane which are however natural hosts of Cochliobolus species. Cochliobolus species major epidemics such as the Great Bengal famine, Southern corn leaf blight, and Northern leaf spot blight were associated with substantial economic losses in the past decades. Thus, there is an urgent need to establish a specific coordinated global surveillance program for the migration of invasive Cochliobolus species, planning contextual control programs engaging all agricultural stakeholders and information sharing in real time for prevention of disastrous Cochliobolus disease outbreak effects. We discuss pertinent outcome of interactions of cash crops with Cochliobolus species having devastating impact on the livelihood of farmers and food security. While post-genomic era elucidated prominent differences among Cochliobolus heterostrophus, C. carbonum, C. victoriae, C. lunatus and C. miyabeanus, their destructive potentials and implications in food losses remained unearthed. Intriguingly, the annual colossal losses caused by Cochliobolus species in the production perspective of sorghum, wheat, rice, maize, cassava and soybean is estimated over 10 billion USD worldwide. This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the invasive Cochliobolus species distribution and diversity, evolving pathogenicity, persistent diseases, threats and epidemics, consequences on food crops production and increasing global food insecurity issues.

Entomopathogenic fungi produces endochitianses, involved in the degradation of insect chitin to facilitate the infection process. Endochitinases ( Chit1 ) gene of family 18 glycosyl hydrolyses were amplified, cloned and characterized from genomic DNA of two isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae. Catalytic motif of family 18 glycosyl hydrolyses was found in Chit1 of M. anisopliae , while no signal peptide was found in any isolate, whereas substrate-binding motif was found in Chit1 of both isolates. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the evolutionary relationship among the fungal chitinases of Metarhizium . The Chit1 amplified were closely related to the family 18 glycosyl hydrolyses. Transient expressions of Chit1 in cotton plants using Geminivirus-mediated gene silencing vector of Cotton Leaf Crumple Virus (CLCrV) revealed the chitinase activity of Chit1 genes amplified from both of the isolates of M. anisopliae when compared with the control. Transformed cotton plants were virulent against fourth instar nymphal and adult stages of Bemisia tabaci which resulted in the mortality of both fourth instar nymphal and adult B. tabaci. Thus, the fungal chitinases expressed in cotton plants played a vital role in plant defence against B. tabaci . However, further studies are required to explore the comparative effectiveness of chitinases from different fungal strains against economically important insect pests.

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Though Catharanthus roseus (Madagascar periwinkle) is an ornamental plant, it is famous for its medicinal value. Its alkaloids are known for anti-cancerous properties, and this plant is studied mainly for its alkaloids. Here, this plant has been studied for its viral diseases. Complete DNA sequences of two begomoviruses infecting C. roseus originating from Pakistan were determined. The sequence of one begomovirus (clone KN4) shows the highest level of nucleotide sequence identity (86.5 %) to an unpublished virus, chili leaf curl India virus (ChiLCIV), and then (84.4 % identity) to papaya leaf curl virus (PaLCV), and thus represents a new species, for which the name "Catharanthus yellow mosaic virus" (CYMV) is proposed. The sequence of another begomovirus (clone KN6) shows the highest level of sequence identity (95.9 % to 99 %) to a newly reported virus from India, papaya leaf crumple virus (PaLCrV). Sequence analysis shows that KN4 and KN6 are recombinants of Pedilanthus leaf curl virus (PedLCV) and croton yellow vein mosaic virus (CrYVMV).