Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a rapid, isothermal amplification method with high specificity and sensitivity. In this study, an assay was developed and evaluated for the detection of banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) in infected banana plants. Three oligonucleotide primer pairs were designed from the replicase initiator protein gene sequences of BBTV to function both in RPA as well as in polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 133 symptomatic as well as asymptomatic banana leaf samples from various cultivars were collected from the different regions of India and evaluated for BBTV infection using the RPA assay. BBTV was efficiently detected using crude leaf sap in RPA and the results obtained were consistent with PCR-based detection using purified DNA as template. To our knowledge, this is the first report of reliable diagnosis of BBTV infection by RPA using crude leaf sap as a template.

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A highly regioselective, carbazole based electron donor acceptor (EDA) catalyzed synthesis of biaryl and aryl–heteroaryl compounds is described.

The potential applications of self-assembled supramolecular gels based on natural molecules encouraged the researchers to develop a versatile synthetic method for their structural analogues. Herein, we report a facile synthesis of glycolipid from renewable resources, cashew nut shell liquid,d and d-glucose in good yield. Gelation behavior of these glycolipids were studied in a wide range of solvents and oils. To our delight, compound 5b formed a hydrogel with Critical gelator concentration (CGC) of 0.29% w/v. Morphological analysis of the hydrogel depicts the formation of twisted fibers with an entangled network. Formation of a twisted fibrous structure was further identified by CD spectral studies with respect to temperature. The molecular self-assembly assisted by hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic, and π–π stacking interactions were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR studies. Rheological analysis depicted the mechanical strength and stability of the hydrogel, which is crucial in predicting the practical applications of supramolecular soft materials.