Morphological parameters and genetic diversity of progenies from seed production areas and unimproved stands of teak(Tectona grandis L.f.)in India

We compared morphological and genetic attributes of prog- eny obtained from three seed production areas （SPAs） and three corre- sponding unimproved stands （UIS） of teak （Tectona grandis L.f） at three broad teak growing regions in the state of Karnataka, India. In general, seed morphological parameters such as seed weight, seed size and seed emptiness were significantly superior in SPAs compared to UISs. Seed germination percentage was also higher in seeds from SPAs. Seedling performance measured at two monthly intervals for six months was ob- served to be superior in SPAs at two of the three regions compared. Although the genetic diversity of progeny of SPAs was lower than UIS at all regions, the values were moderately high. Germination percent was positively correlated with fruit weight and kernel weight per seed, while diversity indices were negatively correlated with fruit weight, fruit di- ameter and kernel weight per seed. SPAs proved important as a source of moderately improved planting material with no severe threat to the ge- netic diversity of future plantations.

The amazing potential of fungi:50 ways we can exploit fungi industrially

Fungi are an understudied,biotechnologically valuable group of organisms.Due to the immense range of habitats that fungi inhabit,and the consequent need to compete against a diverse array of other fungi,bacteria,and animals,fungi have developed numerous survival mechanisms.The unique attributes of fungi thus herald great promise for their application in biotechnology and industry.Moreover,fungi can be grown with relative ease,making production at scale viable.The search for fungal biodiversity,and the construction of a living fungi collection,both have incredible economic potential in locating organisms with novel industrial uses that will lead to novel products.This manuscript reviews fifty ways in which fungi can potentially be utilized as biotechnology.We provide notes and examples for each potential exploitation and give examples from our own work and the work of other notable researchers.We also provide a flow chart that can be used to convince funding bodies of the importance of fungi for biotechnological research and as potential products.Fungi have provided the world with penicillin,lovastatin,and other globally significant medicines,and they remain an untapped resource with enormous industrial potential.

WATER USE IN HUMAN CIVILIZATIONS: AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ANALYSIS OF A PERPETUAL SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL CHALLENGE

Since the onset of human societies, settlement patterns and social structures have been shaped by access to water. This review covers historical and recent examples from Cambodia, Central Asia, India, Latin America and the Arabian Peninsula to analyze the role of water resources in determining the rise and collapse of civilizations. Over recent decades increasing globalization and concomitant possibilities to externalize water needs as virtual water have obscured global dependence on water resources via telecoupling, but rapid urbanization brings it now back to the political agenda. It is foremost in the urban arena of poorer countries where competing claims for water increasingly lead to scale-transcendent conflicts about ecosystem services. Solutions to the dilemma will require broad stakeholder-based agreements on water use taking into account the available data on water resources, their current and potential use efficiency, recycling of water after effective treatment, and social-ecological approaches of improved governance and conflict resolution.