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Mangrove forests are natural protectors of several tropical deltas but are severely degraded, and their restoration often fails due to the lack of a holistic approach. Here, we share lessons from the recent Indian Sundarban delta mangrove plantation program and discuss potential solutions to remove barriers for successful mangrove restoration.

Despite global pledges to end deforestation, forest loss continues. Focusing on mangrove forests in South and Southeast Asia, we advocate placing indigenous peoples and local communities at the heart of implementation of the COP26 Deforestation Pledge and provide five recommendations for how this can be achieved.

River deltas globally are highly exposed and vulnerable to natural hazards and are often over-exploited landforms. The Global Delta Risk Index (GDRI) was developed to assess multi-hazard risk in river deltas and support decision-making in risk reduction interventions in delta regions. Disasters have significant impacts on the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, despite the strong interlinkage between disaster risk reduction and sustainable development, global frameworks are still developed in isolation and actions to address them are delegated to different institutions. Greater alignment between frameworks would both simplify monitoring progress towards disaster risk reduction and sustainable development and increase capacity to address data gaps in relation to indicator-based assessments for both processes. This research aims at aligning the GDRI indicators with the SDGs and the Sendai Framework for Disaster and Risk Reduction (SFDRR). While the GDRI has a modular indicator library, the most relevant indicators for this research were selected through a delta-specific impact chain designed in consultation with experts, communities and stakeholders in three delta regions: the Red River and Mekong deltas in Vietnam and the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) delta in Bangladesh and India. We analyse how effectively the 143 indicators for the GDRI match (or not) the SDG and SFDRR global frameworks. We demonstrate the interconnections of the different drivers of risk to better inform risk management and in turn support delta-level interventions towards improved sustainability and resilience of these Asian mega-deltas.

Using a suite of morphological traits and neutral molecular markers, we have reevaluated the origins of the two cultivated jute species. The nine Corchorusspecies, which are restricted to both Africa and Asia, were phenotyped for bast fibre yield- and quality-linked traits, morpho-phenetically classified based on those traits’ similarities, genotyped by nuclear microsatellites and haplotyped by chloroplast microsatellites. The two cultivated jute species contain ~70% of the neutral genetic diversity present in their wild relatives. Phylogenetic analyses using 38 highly polymorphic nuclear microsatellites identified C. aestuansas the common ancestor to both the cultivated jute species. C. urticifoliusis the nuclear progenitor of C. olitorius(dark jute), but no close nuclear progenitor of C. capsularis(white jute) could be identified. Although either C. aestuansor C. pseudo-olitoriusor both appear to be the possible cytoplasmic progenitors of white jute, the matrilineal ancestry of dark jute remains obscure. However, the presence of a single, unique chloroplast haplotype in each of the two cultivated species indicates the involvement of other unknown wild relatives. Taken together with archaeobotanical evidence, our results suggest that dark jute had its origin in equatorial region of east Africa, but was domesticated in India. We could not support an Indo-Myanmar origin of white jute, and possibly it also originated in Africa, but was domesticated in Asia.Using a suite of morphological traits and neutral molecular markers, we have reevaluated the origins of the two cultivated jute species. The nine Corchorusspecies, which are restricted to both Africa and Asia, were phenotyped for bast fibre yield- and quality-linked traits, morpho-phenetically classified based on those traits’ similarities, genotyped by nuclear microsatellites and haplotyped by chloroplast microsatellites. The two cultivated jute species contain ~70% of the neutral genetic diversity present in their wild relatives. Phylogenetic analyses using 38 highly polymorphic nuclear microsatellites identified C. aestuansas the common ancestor to both the cultivated jute species. C. urticifoliusis the nuclear progenitor of C. olitorius(dark jute), but no close nuclear progenitor of C. capsularis(white jute) could be identified. Although either C. aestuansor C. pseudo-olitoriusor both appear to be the possible cytoplasmic progenitors of white jute, the matrilineal ancestry of dark jute remains obscure. However, the presence of a single, unique chloroplast haplotype in each of the two cultivated species indicates the involvement of other unknown wild relatives. Taken together with archaeobotanical evidence, our results suggest that dark jute had its origin in equatorial region of east Africa, but was domesticated in India. We could not support an Indo-Myanmar origin of white jute, and possibly it also originated in Africa, but was domesticated in Asia.

Abstract: Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was conducted to investigate the level of polymorphism in four jute genotypes including two genotypes (JRC 321 and CMU 010) of Corchorus capsularis (the white jute) and two genotypes (JRO 524 and PPO4) of Corchorus olitorius (the tossa jute). Out of 1024 primer combinations that were tried, as many as 281 combinations of selective primers (13 EcoRI and 64 MseI) were selected, which produced a total of 9092 amplicons, including 752 (8.3%) polymorphic bands in C. capsularis and a total of 8856 amplicons including 1477 (16.7%) polymorphic bands in C. olitorius. The average number of bands/primer combination was 32.3 for C. capsularis and 31.5 for C. olitorius. For C. capsularis, highest polymorphism of 56.6% was shown by primer combination E35M50, while for C. olitorius highest polymorphism of 50% was shown by E41M91. In C. olitorius, 30–50% polymorphism was observed with 27 primer combinations, but in C. capsularis only 3 primer combinations gave this level of polymorphism. Similarly, in C. capsularis <10% polymorphism was detected by 115 primer combinations while in C. olitorius, <10% polymorphism was shown by only 56 primer combinations. These results indicate a higher level of polymorphism in C. olitorius relative to that in C. capsularis. The occurrence of such a large number of polymorphic AFLP markers will facilitate preparation of molecular maps and QTL analysis in jute.

Jute is an important crop of the Indian subcontinent and comprises tossa jute (Corchorus olitorius) and white jute (C. capsularis). The yield and fiber quality of this crop remained stagnant for many years and could not be improved through conventional plant breeding. Also, no effort has been made to develop molecular markers on a scale required for marker‐assisted selection (MAS) to supplement conventional plant breeding. As a first step toward deploying MAS for jute improvement, 2469 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were developed in tossa jute (JRO 524) using four SSR‐enriched genomic libraries. A random subset of 100 SSRs (25 SSRs from each library) was used to detect polymorphism between the parental genotypes of each of the two recombinant inbred line (RIL) mapping populations. The RILs are being developed from JRO 524 × PPO4 (for fiber fineness) and JRC 321 × CMU 010 (for lignin content) crosses to prepare molecular maps and conduct quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses. Both SSR length polymorphism and ± polymorphism (null alleles, i.e., presence and absence of specific SSR) were detected; 50 SSRs detected polymorphism between the two genotypes of tossa jute, whereas 45 SSRs detected polymorphism between the two genotypes of white jute. This SSR allelic polymorphism in jute is higher than that reported in other crops and is adequate for construction of genetic maps for QTL analysis. The large‐scale SSRs will also prove useful in studying genetic diversity, population structure, and association mapping.

Components of the extract of pollen grains of Ambrosia elatior (Ambrosia), Fraxinus americana (White ash), Alnus rugosa (Tag alder) and Phleum pratense (Timothy grass) and fungal spores of Alternano and Cladosporium were electrophoretically separated, transferred to nitrocellulose membranes and probed with sera from allergic patients and goat-anti-human IgE. The pollen and fungi IgE-binding bands on nitrocellulose were successfully identified by immuno enzyme staining. The technique allows simple, efficient and rapid identification of specific IgE antibodies directed against each of the allergenic components in an extract. Results indicated or revealed numerous allergenic components over a wide range of molecular weight while the patterns of IgE-binding with two patients' sera demonstrated diversity of IgE-antibody response. With this technique, it would be useful to screen a large number of allergic individuals, in order to identify the major allergens, prior to preparative fractionation studies.

Gravity settling culture (GSC) plate collections of endogenous fungi were made at four homes in Durham, North Carolina. During frost-free periods (May-August), the most frequently isolated genera included Mucor, Cladosporium (Hormodendrum), Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Alternaria, Cunninghamella, Aureobasidium, Fusarium, Heterosporium, Amblyosporium, and other (unidentified) fungi. Higher numbers of mold isolates were associated with high shade and high levels of organic debris near the home and poor landscaping and landscape maintenance. Lower concentrations of mold isolates were associated with the presence of a central electrostatic filtration system and good compliance with dust controls. The viable mold spore levels were lower in homes where the electrostatic filtration unit was operated continuously rather than intermittently. These findings reflect the ease with which outdoor spore clouds may penetrate structures and obscure evidence of internal fungus source. The data also imply that because of size-related undersampling, open plates can exclude abundant types of recovery. No statistically significant correlations could be made between indoor mold isolates and any of the following: number and age of the occupants, age and size of home, month of survey or the presence of plants. Attempts have been made to facilitate the diagnosis of fungal allergy by gathering together examples of places and materials which are most likely to be a risk for mold sensitive patients.

ISOPROPYL-n-PHENYL carbamate (IPC), a pre-emergent herbicide1, decreases growth of roots, shoots and leaves2and induces micronuclei. On the ultrastructural level, low concentrations of IPC in dividing Haemanthus endosperm cells disorient microtubules involved in spindle formation3. Shed-regenerating stentors, known to be producing ciliary microtubules (see ref. 4 for discussion of complete band and in situ stentor oral cilia regeneration), are reversibly sensitive to colchicine5. The mechanism of action of IPC is thought to involve inhibition or disorientation of microtubules, so, by analogy with colchicine, IPC should interfere with regenerating cilia. These experiments were designed to compare the effects of IPC on cilia regeneration, growth and macronuclear morphology with the known effects of colchicine on these parameters5,6.

In Stentor coeruleusgrowth of new daughter ciliates and experimentally induced regeneration of oral membranellar cilia are reversibly inhibited by low, nontoxic concentrations of colchicine. However, if the culture medium containing colchicine (or Colcemid) is made up in tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane buffer, growth of ciliated daughters and regeneration of oral cilia proceed normally. The evidence suggests that the mechanism of this reversal of the effects of colchicine (or Colcemid) is due to a chemical reaction between tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (or its hydrochloride, or both) and colchicine (or Colcemid), which reduces the effective concentration of these mitotic spindle inhibitors reaching the stentors.