In paddy fields, overuse of nitrogen fertilizer to maximize yields can lead to excessive economic loss and degradation of the environment. Therefore, studying the effects of urea–chitosan nanohybrid as a slow released source of nitrogen fertilizer on rice cultivation was the aim of our study. The effects of fertilization applications, namely: CU: control treatment; U1: application of a full recommended dose of classical urea (165 kg N ha⁻¹); U2: adding recommended dose of classical urea by 80% + exogenous urea–chitosan nanohybrid 250 mg N/L; U3: adding recommended dose of classical urea by 80% + exogenous urea–chitosan nanohybrid 500 mg N/L; U4: adding recommended dose of classical urea by 60% + exogenous urea–chitosan nanohybrid 250 mg N/L; U5: adding recommended dose of classical urea by 60% + exogenous urea–chitosan nanohybrid 500 mg N/L; U6: adding recommended dose of classical urea by 40% + exogenous urea–chitosan nanohybrid 250 mg N/L; and U7: adding recommended dose of classical urea by 40% + exogenous urea–chitosan nanohybrid 500 mg N/L on growth indicators, yield-related components, grain productivity, and N uptake status of rice plants were investigated during two successive seasons. As a result, significant achievements concerning growth, yield and yield-related traits were obtained when rice plants were fertilized with exogenous urea–chitosan nanohybrid (i.e., 500 mg N/L) + 60% classical urea without a significant decline in the studied traits compared to the full recommended dose of classical urea. Accordingly, this investigation revealed that chitosan nanohybrid at 500 mg N/L as a compensatory alternative can be used in saving 40% of classical urea requirement.

Understanding codon usage patterns and their shaping factors in members of the Solanaceae family may reflect important features of their evolutionary history. Here, we investigated codon usage bias (CUB) over the whole genome of tobacco, tomato and potato. Analyzing the effective number of codons (ENc) revealed a weak CUB over the whole genome of the three genomes. The correlation analysis between the ENc and the nucleotide content at the third codon position indicated that genes with high ENc have high A/T and low G/C contents. Analyzing nucleotide composition and the relative synonymous codon usage confirmed that the three genomes are AT-rich and favor codons ending with T and/or A. Comparing CUB in each of the three genomes revealed that approximately 50% and 45% of the genes were dominated by mutational and natural selection, respectively. The remaining 5% of the genes were affected by combined factors of mutation and translation selection. The first four axes of the correspondence analysis (CA) were the major contributors to the variation within the codon sequences (CDS) of the three genomes. Results of a multi-regression analysis between the 4 axes and the CUB indices verified the fact that natural selection and directional mutation for base composition along with other factors could describe the variations in the CUB within the CDS of the three genomes. In conclusion, the CUB of the three species showed the same weak trend and that mutation and natural selection were the main factors influencing the nuclear genes of the three genomes.

Increasing wheat grain yield while ignoring grain quality and metal accumulation can result in metal deficiencies, particularly in countries where bread wheat accounts for the majority of daily dietary regimes. When the accumulation level exceeds a certain threshold, it becomes toxic and causes various diseases. Biofortification is an effective method of ensuring nutritional security. We screened 200 spring wheat advanced lines from the wheat association mapping initiative for Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Cd concentrations. Interestingly, high-yielding genotypes had high essential metals, such as Mn, Fe, Cu, and Zn, but low levels of toxic metals, such as Ni and Cd. Positive correlations were found between all metals except Ni and Cd, where no correlation was found. We identified 142 significant SNPs, 26 of which had possible pleiotropic effects on two or more metals. Several QTLs co-located with previously mapped QTL for the same or other metals, whereas others were new. Our findings contribute to wheat genetic biofortification through marker-assisted selection, ensuring nutritional security in the long run.

Fenugreek as a self-pollinated plant is ideal for genome-wide association mapping where traits can be marked by their association with natural mutations. However, fenugreek is poorly investigated at the genomic level due to the lack of information regarding its genome. To fill this gap, we genotyped a collection of 112 genotypes with 153,881 SNPs using double digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing. We used 38,142 polymorphic SNPs to prove the suitability of the population for association mapping. One significant SNP was associated with both seed length and seed width, and another SNP was associated with seed color. Due to the lack of a comprehensive genetic map, it is neither possible to align the newly developed markers to chromosomes nor to predict the underlying genes. Therefore, systematic targeting of those markers to homologous genomes of other legumes can overcome those problems. A BLAST search using the genomic fenugreek sequence flanking the identified SNPs showed high homology with several members of the Trifolieae tribe indicating the potential of translational approaches to improving our understanding of the fenugreek genome. Using such a comprehensively-genotyped fenugreek population is the first step towards identifying genes underlying complex traits and to underpin fenugreek marker-assisted breeding programs.

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an important temperate fruit crop worldwide. The availability of wild apricot germplasm and its characterization through genomic studies can guide us towards its conservation, increasing productivity and nutritional composition. Therefore, in this study, we carried out the genomic characterization of 50 phenotypically variable accessions by using SSR markers in the erstwhile States of Jammu and Kashmir to reveal genetic variability among accessions and their genetic associations. The genetic parameter results revealed that the number of alleles per locus (Na) ranged from 1 to 6 with a mean Na value of 3.89 and the mean effective number of alleles (Ne) per locus 1.882 with a range of 1.22 to 2. Similarly, the polymorphic information content (PIC) values ranged from 0.464 to 0.104. The observed heterozygosity (Ho) (0.547) was found to have higher than expected heterozygosity (He) (0.453) with average heterozygosity of 0.4483. The dendrogram clustered genotypes into three main clades based on their pedigree. The population structure revealed IV sub-populations with all admixtures except the III sub-population, which was mainly formed of exotic cultivars. The average expected heterozygosity (He) and population differentiation within four sub-populations was 1.78 and 0.04, respectively, and explained 95.0% of the total genetic variance in the population. The results revealed that the SSR marker studies could easily decrypt the genetic variability present within the germplasm, which may form the base for the establishment of good gene banks by reducing redundancy of germplasm, selection of parents for any breeding program.