Occurrence of Banana bract mosaic virus on Musa ornata Roxb based hybrids in India.

Musa ornata, wild species of banana is being used as a cut flower, potted plants and for landscape gardening etc., They are also being utilized in banana hybridization programmes for introgressing pest and disease tolerant traits into banana cultivars in addition to the development of inter specific ornamental banana hybrids. Symptoms of banana bract mosaic virus (BBrMV) was observed in the bracts of interspecific M. ornata based hybrid developed using another wild species i.e., Musa rubra Kurz at ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), Tiruchirapalli. Presence of the virus in the bracts, leaves and roots of symptomatic plants was confirmed through triple antibody sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay with BBrMV monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. BBrMV HC-Pro (1370 bp), CP (900 bp) and VPg (570 bp) genes were amplified from the infected bracts using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with BBrMV respective gene primers. The amplicons of these three genes were cloned and sequenced. Blastn analysis revealed that HC-Pro, VPg and CP gene sequences has 97.67%, 97.72% and 99.67% similarity with the respective gene sequences of BBrMV infecting banana. Phylogenetic analysis clustered the test isolate with other BBrMV isolates of banana and other hosts based on CP and HC-Pro and VPg gene sequences. The virus is transmitted through Pentalonia nigronervosa and the transmitted plants expressed symptoms under glass house conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of BBrMV on ornamental M. ornata hybrid in India and its transmission occurs through Pentalonia nigronervosa. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13337-022-00788-6.

Characterization of Anthocyanins and Their Antioxidant Activities in Indian Rose Varieties (Rosa × hybrida) Using HPLC.

The present study was designed to explore the anthocyanin profile and antioxidant activities in Indian rose varieties (Rosa × hybrida). Among fifty varieties, Ashwini recorded the highest total phenolic content (427.59 ± 3.47 mg GAE/100 g) along with the highest FRAP (397.15 ± 0.82 µmol trolox/g) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity (93.47 ± 0.19%) on a fresh weight basis. A significant positive correlation was observed between total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activities. Four distinct clusters were formed according to total anthocyanins, total phenols, and antioxidant activities; white- and yellow-colored varieties were most distant from red ones. Principal component analysis revealed that variable total anthocyanin content contributed to the maximum variation among the fifty rose varieties studied. Highly anthocyanin-rich rose varieties were characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array detector (HPLC-PAD), which identified two major components of anthocyanins, i.e., cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside and pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside. Cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside was the predominant anthocyanin in red- and pink-colored varieties, whereas pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside was the major one in the orange variety. The maximum cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside content was recorded in variety Ashwini (497.79 mg/100 g), whereas the maximum pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glucoside content was recorded in Suryakiran (185.43 mg/100 g). It is suggested that the rose varieties with high anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity can be exploited as a potential source of nutraceuticals in the food industry.

Genetic diversity of phytoplasma strains infecting chrysanthemum varieties in India and their possible natural reservoirs.

Symptoms typical of phytoplasma infection such as phyllody, virescence, witches' broom and yellowing were observed in 12 varieties of Chrysanthemum morifolium in floral nurseries and experimental fields at New Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, India, during surveys made from 2015 to 2017. Disease incidence ranged from 15 to 30%. Phytoplasma presence was confirmed in all symptomatic chrysanthemum varieties by molecular identification assays. Sequence comparison, phylogenetic and in silico RFLP analyses of 16S rDNA sequences allowed the identification of the chrysanthemum infecting phytoplasma strains into different ribosomal groups and subgroups, namely 16SrI, 16SrII-D, 16SrVI-D and 16SrXIV. Detection of phytoplasma strains of 16SrII-D subgroup were also confirmed in symptomatic Chenopodium album and Parthenium hysterophorus plants grown in and around the surveyed chrysanthemum fields at New Delhi, whereas 16SrVI-D phytoplasma strains were detected in symptomatic Cannabis sativa weed and leafhopper Hishimonus phycitis individuals collected from the symptomatic chrysanthemum fields at New Delhi. This is the first report on the presence of 16SrVI and 16SrXIV groups of phytoplasmas in chrysanthemum plants. Studies on genetic diversity of phytoplasmas infecting the major chrysanthemum varieties in India and their epidemiological aspects had previously not been reported. The detection and identification of phytoplasmas in different chrysanthemum varieties could contribute to increase the awareness among farmers in the management of these diseases.

Psychosocial factors associated with reverse smoking: A qualitative research.

OBJECTIVES: Reverse smoking is a peculiar form of smoking in which the smoker puts the lit end of the cigarette into the mouth and then inhales the smoke. There may be many predisposing factors that influence an individual to cultivate this habit, of which psychosocial habits could be the predominating factor. Hence, the present study was undertaken to evaluate the psychosocial factors that influence an individual to undertake this peculiar habit of reverse smoking. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 128 habitual reverse smokers were included in the study, out of which 121 were females and 7 were males. A pretested open-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. Data was collected by direct interview method. Snowball sampling technique was employed in collecting the information regarding regular reverse smokers. Interviews were continued until new information did not provide further insights into the categories. The people who could not understand verbal commands and questions and who did not give an informed consent were excluded from the study. Statistical analysis was done using MS Office Excel using Chi-square test of Goodness of fit. RESULTS: In contrast to the conventional smokers, various new reasons were identified for starting reverse smoking, of which the most important was that they had learned this habit from their mothers. This was followed by other reasons such as peer pressure, friendship, and cold climatic conditions. CONCLUSION: This study provided an insight into the various factors that could influence an individual to take up this peculiar habit of reverse smoking.

Note: A novel and robust circuit for jitter reduction in copper vapor laser system.

A novel circuit scheme is presented to improve timing jitter performance of high voltage pulse power supply utilizing semiconductor switches and magnetic pulse compressors, for pumping pulsed copper vapor lasers. The circuit effectively handles reflected energy from the laser load and achieves better jitter performance. The proposed circuit scheme had typical jitter value of ±2 ns whereas the standard circuit used earlier had jitter of more than ±10 ns under similar conditions. Performance of the circuit scheme is studied on a copper vapor laser operating at average laser power of 40 W.