Sugarcane bacilliform virus (SCBV), which causes leaf freckle in sugarcane, is a member of the genus Badnavirus. Studies were conducted to characterize SCBV in Saccharum officinarum germplasm and cultivated varieties in India by sequencing the complete genomes of five isolates. Genome lengths ranged from 7,553 to 7,884 nucleotides. Duplications in ORF3 and insertions in the RNase H-domain in some of the isolates were found to contribute to the large size of their genomes. The Indian SCBV isolates share identities of 69-85 % for the complete genomic sequence, indicating wide genetic diversity among them, and share 70-82 % identity with Sugarcane bacilliform Ireng Maleng virus (SCBIMV) and Sugarcane bacilliform Morocco virus (SCBMV), as well as 43-46 % identity with Banana streak virus (BSV) and BSV-related SCBV species from Guadeloupe, indicating that the Indian SCBV isolates are distinct from SCBV isolates reported to date. Irrespective of the region compared, SCBV isolates from India, Australia, and Morocco clustered together. BSV and BSV-related SCBV isolates from Guadeloupe formed another cluster. A phylogenetic analysis based on the partial RT/RNase H-sequence separated SCBV and BSV-related SCBV sequences into 11 SCBV groups viz. SCBV-A to -K. Among the 11 groups, the SCBV sequences separated under H, I, J, and K are newly identified in this study, representing three new species and are tentatively named as SCBBBV, SCBBOV, and SCBBRV. Thus, the PASC and phylogenetic analyses evidenced that the symptoms associated with badnaviruses in sugarcane in India are caused by at least three new species, SCBBBV, SCBBOV, and SCBBRV, besides SCBIMV and SCBMV represented by SCBV-BT and SCBV-Iscam, respectively.

Sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV), a member of the family Potyviridae, is an important viral pathogen affecting sugarcane production in India. The variability in the nucleotide (nt) and amino acid (aa) sequences of helper component proteinase (HC-Pro) of SCSMV isolates from India was investigated and compared with those of previously published virus isolates from different Asian countries. Comparison of all of the sequenced virus isolates revealed a high level of diversity in the HC-Pro gene (72-97% nt sequence identity; 83-99% aa sequence identity), and the Indian isolates were found to be the most divergent (up to 12% variation at the amino acid level). Phylogenetic analysis revealed clustering of 16 SCSMV isolates into two groups. Group I included isolates from India and Pakistan, and group II consisted of isolates from Japan and Indonesia. Recombination analysis revealed nine potentially significant recombination events, and putative recombination sites were identified throughout the HC-Pro gene. Analysis of selection pressure indicated that the HC-Pro gene of SCSMV is under strong negative selection. It is likely that recombination, along with strong negative selection, enhances the speed of elimination of deleterious mutations in the HC-Pro gene.

The present study was carried out to find the effect of fruit harvesting stage (October, November and December) on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties in five kiwi cultivars (Abbot, Bruno, Allison, Hayward, Monty). Results showed that soluble solid content (SSC) and pH increased while ascorbic acid (Vit C), titrated acidity (TAD) and SSC/TAD decreased in all the cultivars with delay in harvesting. Total polyphenols (TP) were decreased while total flavonoids (TF) increased in all tested

Red rot is a serious disease of sugarcane caused by the fungus Colletotrichum falcatum imposing a considerable economic loss annually in all sugarcane-producing countries. In this study, we analyzed the early resistance response of sugarcane to red rot fungus by comparing the differences between control and inoculated stalk tissues. Differential display reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (DD-RT-PCR) was employed to identify altered expression of genes in disease-resistant cv Co 93009, in response to pathogen infection. DD-RT-PCR identified 300 differentially expressed transcripts of which 112 were selected for further analysis. Cloning and sequence analysis of the isolated cDNA fragments resulted in functional categorization of these clones into five categories, of which the defense/stress/signaling group was the largest, with clones homologous to genes known to be actively involved in various pathogenesis-related functions in plant species. This group showed overexpression of several transcripts related to ethylene-mediated and jasmonic acid pathway of plant defense mechanisms. Of the 112 expressed sequence tags, validation of expression was carried out for five important genes whose role in plant defense mechanisms is well established. This is the first report of Colletotrichum-mediated gene regulation in sugarcane which has provided a set of candidate genes for detailed molecular dissection of signaling and defense responses in tropical sugarcane during the onset of red rot resistance.

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Small-scale agro-based pulp and paper mills are characterized as highly polluting industries. These mills use Kraft pulping process for paper manufacturing due to which toxic lignified chemicals are released into the environment. Lack of infrastructure, technical manpower, and research and development facilities restricts these mills to recover these chemicals. Therefore, the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the emanating stream is quite high. For solving the above problem, four bacteria were isolated from the premises of agro-based pulp and paper mill which were identified as species ofPseudomonas, Bacillus, Pannonibacter, andOchrobacterum. These bacteria were found capable of reducing COD up to 85%–86.5% in case of back water and 65-66% in case of back water : black liquor (60 : 40), respectively, after acclimatization under optimized conditions (pH 6.8, temperature 35°C, and shaking 200 rpm) when the wastewater was supplemented with nitrogen and phosphorus as trace elements.

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) that causes yellow leaf disease (YLD) in sugarcane belongs to Polerovirus. The disease expression is commonly observed during 6 to 8 months stages of the crop and there is a need to diagnose the disease before the symptom appearance. We have standardized RT-PCR technique with a new set of primers to detect SCYLV in sugarcane in pre-symptomatic stages of YLD. During presymptomatic stage 33 of the 44 varieties studied tested positive to SCYLV in RT-PCR. During eighth month stage all the 44 varieties have shown characteristic disease symptoms and except one all of them tested positive to the virus in RT-PCR. The two RT-PCR assays performed separately during pre-and post-symptom expression stages in 44 varieties clearly revealed that most of the varieties have detectable level of the virus in asymptomatic stage. Expression of disease symptoms and presence of the virus in all the varieties except one very clearly indicated the severe virus infection in the tested varieties. The studies also proved the diagnostic efficiency of the new set of primers to detect SCYLV in asymptomatic plants.

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