In the present cross-sectional study, an attempt has been made to report the prevalence of overweight and obesity in school-going children of the affluent families of Punjab. A total of 1000 children (490 boys and 510 girls) were measured for height and weight. Overweight and obesity were assessed using age and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) cut-off points. In the present study, 12.24% boys and 14.31% girls were overweight, and 5.92% boys and 6.27% girls were obese. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among the affluent school children of Punjab was as high or higher as in some developed countries.

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A set of 96 Brassica juncea – Erucastrum cardaminoides introgression lines (ILs) were developed with genomic regions associated with Sclerotinia stem rot ( Sclerotinia sclerotiorum ) resistance from a wild Brassicaceous species E. cardaminoides . ILs were assessed for their resistance responses to stem inoculation with S. sclerotiorum , over three crop seasons (season I, 2011/2012; II, 2014/2015; III, 2016–2017). Initially, ILs were genotyped with transferable SSR markers and subsequently through genotyping by sequencing. SSR based association mapping identified six marker loci associated to resistance in both A and B genomes. Subsequent genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) of 84 ILs recognized a large number of SNPs associated to resistance, in chromosomes A03, A06, and B03. Chromosomes A03 and A06 harbored the maximum number of resistance related SNPs. Annotation of linked genomic regions highlighted an array of resistance mechanisms in terms of signal transduction pathways, hypersensitive responses and production of anti-fungal proteins and metabolites. Of major importance was the clustering of SNPs, encoding multiple resistance genes on small regions spanning approximately 885 kb region on chromosome A03 and 74 kb on B03. Five SNPs on chromosome A03 (6,390,210-381) were associated with LRR-RLK (receptor like kinases) genes that encode LRR-protein kinase family proteins. Genetic factors associated with pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and effector-triggered immunity (ETI) were predicted on chromosome A03, exhibiting 11 SNPs (6,274,763-994). These belonged to three R-Genes encoding TIR-NBS-LRR proteins. Marker trait associations (MTAs) identified will facilitate marker assisted introgression of these critical resistances, into new cultivars of B. juncea initially and, subsequently, into other crop Brassica species.

Sclerotinia stem rot caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a major disease of crop brassicas, with inadequate variation for resistance in primary gene pools. We utilized a wild Brassicaceae species with excellent resistance against stem rot to develop a set of B. juncea - B. fruticulosa introgression lines (ILs). These were assessed for resistance using a highly reproducible stem inoculation technique against a virulent pathogen isolate. Over 40% of ILs showed higher levels of resistance. IL-43, IL-175, IL-215, IL-223 and IL-277 were most resistant ILs over three crop seasons. Sequence reads (21x) from the three most diverse ILs were then used to create B. juncea pseudomolecules, by replacing SNPs of reference B. juncea with those of re-sequenced ILs. Genotyping by sequencing (GBS) was also carried out for 88 ILs. Resultant sequence tags were then mapped on to the B. juncea pseudomolecules, and SNP genotypes prepared for each IL. Genome wide association studies helped to map resistance responses to stem rot. A total of 13 significant loci were identified on seven B. juncea chromosomes (A01, A03, A04, A05, A08, A09 and B05). Annotation of the genomic region around identified SNPs allowed identification of 20 candidate genes belonging to major disease resistance protein families, including TIR-NBS-LRR class, Chitinase, Malectin/receptor-like protein kinase, defensin-like (DEFL), desulfoglucosinolate sulfotransferase protein and lipoxygenase. A majority of the significant SNPs could be validated using whole genome sequences (21x) from five advanced generation lines being bred for Sclerotinia resistance as compared to three susceptible B. juncea germplasm lines. Our findings not only provide critical new understanding of the defensive pathway of B. fruticulosa resistance, but will also enable development of marker candidates for assisted transfer of introgressed resistant loci in to agronomically superior cultivars of crop Brassica.

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Timely transition to flowering, maturity and plant height are important for agronomic adaptation and productivity of Indian mustard (B. juncea), which is a major edible oilseed crop of low input ecologies in Indian subcontinent. Breeding manipulation for these traits is difficult because of the involvement of multiple interacting genetic and environmental factors. Here, we report a genetic analysis of these traits using a population comprising 92 diverse genotypes of mustard. These genotypes were evaluated under deficient (N75), normal (N100) or excess (N125) conditions of nitrogen (N) application. Lower N availability induced early flowering and maturity in most genotypes, while high N conditions delayed both. A genotyping-by-sequencing approach helped to identify 406,888 SNP markers and undertake genome wide association studies (GWAS). 282 significant marker-trait associations (MTA's) were identified. We detected strong interactions between GWAS loci and nitrogen levels. Though some trait associated SNPs were detected repeatedly across fertility gradients, majority were identified under deficient or normal levels of N applications. Annotation of the genomic region (s) within ± 50 kb of the peak SNPs facilitated prediction of 30 candidate genes belonging to light perception, circadian, floral meristem identity, flowering regulation, gibberellic acid pathways and plant development. These included over one copy each of AGL24, AP1, FVE, FRI, GID1A and GNC. FLC and CO were predicted on chromosomes A02 and B08 respectively. CDF1, CO, FLC, AGL24, GNC and FAF2 appeared to influence the variation for plant height. Our findings may help in improving phenotypic plasticity of mustard across fertility gradients through marker-assisted breeding strategies.

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