Renewable energy sources represent the potential fuel alternatives to overcome the global energy crises in a sustainable and eco-friendly manner. In future, biofuels may replenish the conventional non-renewable energy resources due to their renewability and several other advantages. Lignocellulosic biomass offers the most economical biomass to generate biofuels. However, extensive research is required for the commercial production of an efficient integrated biotransformation process for the production of lignocellulose mediated biofuels.
Crop improvement through transgenic technologies is commonly tagged with GMO (genetically-modified-organisms) where the presence of transgene becomes a big question for the society and the legislation authorities. However, new plant breeding techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 system [clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated 9] can overcome these limitations through transgene-free products. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) being a major food crop has the potential to feed the rising world population. Unfortunately, the cultivated potato suffers considerable production losses due to several pre-and post-harvest stresses such as plant viruses (majorly RNA viruses) and cold-induced sweetening (CIS; the conversion of sucrose to glucose and fructose inside cell vacuole). A number of strategies, ranging from crop breeding to genetic engineering, have been employed so far in potato for trait improvement. Recently, new breeding techniques have been utilized to knock-out potato genes/factors like eukaryotic translation initiation factors [elF4E and isoform elF(iso)4E)], that interact with viruses to assist viral infection, and vacuolar invertase, a core enzyme in CIS. In this context, CRISPR technology is predicted to reduce the cost of potato production and is likely to pass through the regulatory process being marker and transgene-free. The current review summarizes the potential application of the CRISPR/Cas9 system for traits improvement in potato. Moreover, the prospects for engineering resistance against potato fungal pathogens and current limitations/challenges are discussed.
The differential growth response and nickel (Ni) accumulation by two rice varieties grown in Ni-contaminated soil are investigated. Soil is contaminated with Ni at different levels viz. control (0), 7, 15, 22, 30, and 38 mg kg −1 soil. Two rice varieties viz. Basmati-2000 (fine variety) and KSK-133 (coarse variety) are grown in pots containing Ni-contaminated soil. The plants are harvested at four growth stages with an interval of 15 days. Harvested plants are washed with distilled water to remove aerial deposition. Harvested plants are oven-dried, weighed, grinded, and digested with di-acid mixture. The digested samples are analyzed for Ni, zinc (Zn), and manganese (Mn) concentration. The results indicate that the maximum level of Ni (38 mg kg −1 ) inhibits the shoot and root growth. The maximum shoot and root dry weights are observed at lower level of Ni, that is, 7 mg kg −1 . The concentration of Ni in plants increases with increasing Ni levels compared to control while the concentration of Zn and Mn decreases with increasing Ni levels. The maximum concentrations of all elements are recorded at the first harvest which gradually decrease in the subsequent harvests. It is concluded that Basmati-2000 is tolerant to Ni toxicity compared to KSK-133.
Lignocellulosic biomass from agricultural waste seems promising feedstock for biofuel production; however, its degradation to fermentable sugars is challenging. Interestingly, fungi have shown substantial potential for the breakdown of lignocellulosic biomass and thus could be employed in lignocellulose-based biorefinery. Aiming at this, the current study was focused on screening the novel cellulolytic fungi from the surrounding environment. The preliminary molecular/morphological screening of 107 samples narrowed the experiment to 5 different fungi, designated: Aspergillus tubingensis AKF2, Aspergillus flavus AKF3, Pyricularia oryzae AKF4, Aspergillus nominus AKF5, and Aspergillus oryzae AKF6. The selected fungi were evaluated for their cellulolytic potential utilizing wheat straw, corn cob, and rice husk. The highest enzyme activity
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