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Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur

The history of agricultural education in Kerala can be traced back to the year 1896 when a scheme was evolved in the erstwhile Travancore State to train a few young men in scientific agriculture at the Demonstration Farm, Karamana, Thiruvananthapuram, presently, the Cropping Systems Research Centre under Kerala Agricultural University. Agriculture was introduced as an optional subject in the middle school classes in the State in 1922 when an Agricultural Middle School was started at Aluva, Ernakulam District. The popularity and usefulness of this school led to the starting of similar institutions at Kottarakkara and Konni in 1928 and 1931 respectively. Agriculture was later introduced as an optional subject for Intermediate Course in 1953. In 1955, the erstwhile Government of Travancore-Cochin started the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy, Thrissur for imparting higher education in agricultural and veterinary sciences, respectively. These institutions were brought under the direct administrative control of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Animal Husbandry, respectively. With the formation of Kerala State in 1956, these two colleges were affiliated to the University of Kerala. The post-graduate programmes leading to M.Sc. (Ag), M.V.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees were started in 1961, 1962 and 1965 respectively. On the recommendation of the Second National Education Commission (1964-66) headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, the then Chairman of the University Grants Commission, one Agricultural University in each State was established. The State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) were established in India as an integral part of the National Agricultural Research System to give the much needed impetus to Agriculture Education and Research in the Country. As a result the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) was established on 24th February 1971 by virtue of the Act 33 of 1971 and started functioning on 1st February 1972. The Kerala Agricultural University is the 15th in the series of the SAUs. In accordance with the provisions of KAU Act of 1971, the Agricultural College and Research Institute at Vellayani, and the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, were brought under the Kerala Agricultural University. In addition, twenty one agricultural and animal husbandry research stations were also transferred to the KAU for taking up research and extension programmes on various crops, animals, birds, etc. During 2011, Kerala Agricultural University was trifurcated into Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU), Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS) and Kerala Agricultural University (KAU). Now the University has seven colleges (four Agriculture, one Agricultural Engineering, one Forestry, one Co-operation Banking & Management), six RARSs, seven KVKs, 15 Research Stations and 16 Research and Extension Units under the faculties of Agriculture, Agricultural Engineering and Forestry. In addition, one Academy on Climate Change Adaptation and one Institute of Agricultural Technology offering M.Sc. (Integrated) Climate Change Adaptation and Diploma in Agricultural Sciences respectively are also functioning in Kerala Agricultural University.

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20111
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Subject: Plant Biotechnology × Author: Bankar Ashok, Dnyandeo × End date: 2011 × Start date: 2011 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    Isolation and characterization of water stress activated protein kinase gene from black pepper(Piper nigrum L.) var. Kalluvally.
    (Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology, College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, 2011) Bankar Ashok, Dnyandeo; KAU; Nazeem, P V
    Water stress is identified as one of the main constraint for enhancing the productivity in black pepper. To survive stress, plants employ a complex set of distinct signaling pathways that trigger stress-specific tolerance or avoidance in the organism as a whole. An important biochemical mechanism for regulating such pathways is reversible protein phosphorylation which is mediated by protein kinases. Gaining an understanding of the mechanisms that regulate the expression of these genes and functional annotation of their transcripts will be necessary for the genetic improvement of plants cultivated in extreme environments. Genotypic variations for drought tolerance have been reported in black pepper and the variety Kalluvally is one of the drought tolerant genotype of black pepper (Thankamani, 2003). In the previous studies at the Centre, water stress specific cDNA library of Kalluvally was constructed by suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) (Kushwah, 2008). Several protein kinase genes were found to be up-regulated during the study. The present investigation was undertaken to obtain full length coding sequence information on the partial clones of protein kinase genes available in the cDNA library by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The clones named PNK21 and PNK49 were selected from the library. The clones were revived on LB/ampicillin media and subjected to full length sequencing. Degenerate primers were designed based on protein kinase gene sequences of various crops, obtained from NCBI database to amplify the unknown ends of the transcripts by RT- PCR. Plants raised under greenhouse were screened for revival after water stress with different interval and frequency under open condition. The total RNA was isolated using TRI® reagent from stressed plants and subsequently cDNA was synthesized. The PCR amplification was carried out using degenerate primers designed for all three clones. Amplicons of size of ~600 bp for PNK21 clone and ~600 bp for PNK49 clone were obtained. Direct sequencing of PCR product of PNK21 clone was done. The sequence data obtained was merged and analysed using bioinformatics tools. Blastn analysis revealed ~50 per cent coverage with the cDNA sequences for protein kinase from database. So, further primers were designed to amplify the full length cDNA sequence by RNA ligase mediated-RACE. The 3’ end of the PNK21 cDNA was successfully amplified using RLM-RACE PCR with amplicon size of ~400 bp. The purified PCR product was ligated in pGEMT plasmid vector and cloned. The recombinant E. coli cells were selected based on blue white screening on LB agar containing ampicillin with X-gal and IPTG. After confirmation of the insert by colony PCR, the clones were sequenced. The finally enriched sequence was analysed using bioinformatics tools. Blastn and Blastx revealed maximum similarity with Ricinus communis APK1B protein kinase. The sequence indicated open reading frame and conserved domains for protein kinase and polyadenylation signal site TATAAA was found just upstream of the polyA tail at 3’ end when analysed with different Bioinformatics tools.