Katoch, RajanSood, Surbhi2019-02-132019-02-132019-01-05http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810094879Tall fescue is one of the important forage crops of Himalayan region. The crop holds remarkable potential for high biomass production, but the poor palatability limits its efficient utilization in livestock feeding. Lignin is a major contributing factor responsible for low palatability and digestibility of Tall fescue. The present investigation entitled “Studies on the lignin biosynthetic gene of Tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) was carried out to clone and partially sequence the gene encoding Cinnamoyl-CoA-reductase (CCR) responsible for the catalyzation of the step committed to monolignol biosynthesis. Four Tall fescue varieties viz., Hima-1, Hima-4, Hima-5 and EC-178182 were evaluated for nutritional composition and digestibility. The grading of Tall fescue varieties revealed nutritional superiority of variety EC-178182 over others with 12.81 per cent CP, 8.01 per cent ash, 13.34 per cent total carbohydrates, low tannins (0.39%) and oxalates (1.26%) but with high lignin content (7.50%). The molecular study for gene cloning was carried out in variety EC-178182. An amplicon of approximately 207 bp of CCR gene was cloned and sequenced. The sequence analysis (BLASTn) revealed 96 per cent similarity of isolated gene fragment with perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne). In phylogenetic analysis, Tall fescue and ryegrass showed a very close evolutionary relationship by sharing same sub branch of monocotyledons clade. The sequencing of gene involved in lignin biosynthesis including CCR in Tall fescue would be helpful in designing strategies for altering the level of lignin in major forage species with advanced metabolic engineering approaches.ennullThesis