A Short Review on Gynocardia odorata R. Br

Gynocardia odorata R. Br (Achariaceae) is an important medicinal plant. It is indigenous to Indian subcontinent and grows extensively in the tropical forests of Western Ghats and Hilly regions of North Eastern India. The plant has long been used in the traditional system of medicine to treat various cutaneous and subcutaneous diseases. The chapter deals with the different scientific studies and reports available in different aspects of this plant in the areas like morpho-taxonomy, ethnobotany, phytochemistry, and pharmacognosy.

Description of eleven new species of phytoseiid mites (Acari: Mesostigmata) from Meghalaya state, north eastern India

A survey was done in the state of Meghalaya, India covering East Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts during May to July, 2019. During the survey 350 specimens were collected from which 11 new species are described—Amblyseius azaliae sp. nov., Amblyseius meghalayensis sp. nov., Euseius fascae sp. nov., Euseius dwakiensis sp. nov., Okiseius jainticus sp. nov., Okiseius unisetatus sp. nov., Phytoseius clavus sp. nov., Phytoseius aonlae sp. nov., Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) barapanicus sp. nov., Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) campana sp. nov., and Typhlodromus (Anthoseius) cherrapunjiensis sp. nov.

Genotypic and phenotypic dissection of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae on Indica rice cultivars for bacterial blight resistance

Aim: To evaluate the level of virulence of different Xoo isolates/ pathotypes of Eastern and North-eastern India and to identify the suitable donors in rice cultivars having various R-gene combination against virulent Xoo races of Bacterial Blight disease of rice. Methodology: Thirty six Xoo isolates were collected from different places of Eastern and North-eastern India and genetic diversity/ similarity was examined by genotyping of pathotypes using JEL1/JEL2 markers. The 34 Indica rice cultivars carrying different R-gene combination were selected and grown in net house and inoculated artificially with Xoo inoculants from these races/ isolates bacterial of blight disease. Results: The selected 36 Xoo isolates of Eastern and North-eastern India were grouped into seven different isolates/ races based on their genetic diversity using JEL1/JEL2 markers. Among 34 Indica rice cultivars, three or more R-gene combination (xa5 + xa13 + Xa21 and/or Xa4 + xa5 + xa13 + Xa21) cultivars exhibited highly resistant as compared to cultivars with single and double gene combination cultivars against most of the Xoo isolates/ races. Interpretation: The cultivars may determine different level of resistance due to complementary effect of inheritance of suitable R-gene combination. Identified donors may be used for rice resistance breeding programme for Eastern and North-eastern India.

Recent trends and impacts of climate change in North-Eastern region of India-A review

The economy of North-Eastern (NE) region of India predominantly depends on farming, where only 12% of geographical area is available for cultivation out of which more than 85% is rain fed. Climate change has become a major concern in agriculture today, as farmers in many regions are struggling to cope with changing temperatures and rainfall pattern. Moreover, extreme weather situations like droughts, floods, heat and cold waves pose serious threat to food security, especially for small and marginal farmers. This review paper discusses the climate change in North-Eastern India based on the available climatic data from various published sources. Most of the analysis was performed on time series meteorological data recorded at different locations across the states of North-Eastern India namely, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura. The increase in mean annual maximum temperature varied from 0.1°C per decade in Imphal (Manipur) to about 1.4°C per decade in Jharnapani (Nagaland). The changes were significant for all the states, except Sikkim. This region is one of the highest rainfall receiving regions of the world, but during February-March it faces water scarcity. The rainfall is projected to increase in 57 districts out of 78 districts, with some districts expected to experience almost 25% more rainfall than usual. The North-Eastern region of India has experienced notable changes in the pattern of major climatic variables such as rainfall and temperature. Average temperatures are projected to increase in almost all the districts of the region while annual rainfall is also reported to increase in almost 3/4th of the districts. The climate-induced natural disasters like drought, flood and hailstorms are the major threats of climate change and the incidence of these natural disasters are increasing in the recent years over the region.

Development of EST-SSR markers based on transcriptome and its validation in ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.)

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is an economically important and valuable spice crop around the world. It is used as food, spice, condiment, and medicine. A considerable extent of genetic diversity in ginger occurs in the Western Ghats and North-Eastern India. However, genetic diversity studies at the molecular level in ginger is limited due to limited availability of genetic and genomic information. In the present study, for the first time, we have identified and validated expressed sequence tag (EST)-simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers from ginger. We obtained 16,790 EST-SSR loci from 78987 unigenes, and 4597 SSR loci in the predicted 76929 coding sequences from RNA-Seq assembled contigs of ginger through Illumina paired-end sequencing. Gene ontology results indicate that the unigenes with SSR loci participate in various biological processes such as metabolism, growth, and development in ginger. One hundred and twenty-five primer pairs were designed from unigenes and coding sequences. These primers were tested for PCR optimization, characterization, and amplification and identified 12 novel EST-SSR markers. Twelve flanking polymorphic EST-SSR primers were validated using 48 ginger genotypes representing North-Eastern India and different eco-geographical adaptations by PCR amplification and allele sizing through capillary electrophoresis. Twelve EST-SSR primers generated a total of 111 alleles with an average of 9.25 alleles per locus and allele sizes ranging between 115-189bp. This study implies that the SSR markers designed from transcriptome sequences provides ample EST-SSR resources, which are helpful for genetic diversity analysis of Zingiberaceae species and molecular verification of ginger genotypes.

Homologous autoimplantation; an effective modality in the treatment of multiple warts; a non-randomized interventional study at a tertiary care hospital in North-Eastern India

<p class="abstract"><strong>Background: </strong>Although there are multiple treatment options, viral warts are known for their persistence and recurrence. Surgical autoimmunization is believed to work by inducing a cell-mediated immune response to clear verrucae-inducing human papillomavirus from the body.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Methods:</strong> The study was conducted as a non-randomized interventional study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in North Eastern India. All patients above 18 years of age attending the Dermatology Clinic who were diagnosed as having multiple warts were included in the study. Autoinoculation was performed after taking patient’s consent and patients were followed up monthly for 3 months. Photographs were taken at each visit to have an objective comparison, and results assessed at the end of 3 months.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Results:</strong> Out of 65 patients, 18 patients were lost to follow up and 47 patients completed the study. Complete resolution was found in 17 patients and 10 patients had partial resolution at the end of the study. The response was higher in those from the rural population compared to those from the urban areas and also in those with a short duration of the disease.</p><p class="abstract"><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Autoinoculation is an effective and safe treatment modality especially in palmoplantar warts. Early intervention is required as the response was better in patients with a short duration of the disease, which was statistically significant. Further studies should be done in other clinical variants of warts to see for significant response.</p>