The Politics of Energy Trade Between Iran and Pakistan

Pakistan and Iran are neighboring countries that have longstanding historical ties. However, there is little research available about Pakistan-Iran energy trade relations, especially with respect to the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline. This research is based on primary data collected through qualitative interviews with key policymakers, academicians, and social activists, from Australia, India, Pakistan, and the United States. Based on the analysis of the data, this paper argues that there are risks involved for Pakistan in either honoring United States’ sanctions on Iran or bypassing them. In the former, Pakistan is incurring a huge cost in terms of delayed energy import from Iran while in the latter Pakistan, its officials, and its relevant organizations may face heavy sanctions by the United States. The study concludes that Pakistan must adopt a safer policy to pursue energy import from Iran while conducting good relations with both U.S. And Iran. The participation of India in the Iran-Pakistan energy project can increase the likelihood of its success.

Polymorphism Detection and Genotyping of Salt Tolerant Rice Genotypes Using Next Generation Sequencing

Rice production is greatly limited by high level of soil salinity around the world. To overcome this major abiotic constraint, different strategies have been adopted for the development of salt tolerant rice varieties. In present study, tolerance potential of 63 rice genotypes was evaluated at seedling stage under different levels of salt stress. Among screened genotypes, six were found tolerant, 37 moderate tolerant and 20 were sensitive under tested levels of salt stress. Tolerant genotypes showed less reduction in root shoot length, fresh weight and dry weight, compared with FL478 (positive control). Sensitive genotypes showed ~ 90 % reduction in all growth parameters. Selected genotypes, were further assessed using 21 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, residing within SalTol QTL region on chromosome 1. Ninteen SSR markers were found polymorphic among salt tolerant and sensitive genotypes. Cluster analysis based on SSR markers, grouped genotypes into three clusters as sensitive, tolerant and moderate tolerant. However, population structure analysis combined tolerant and moderate tolerant genotypes in one set. To identify the genetic variation in stress-related genes in salt tolerant genotypes, we performed genotyping by sequencing (GBS) of seven rice lines with contrasting responses to salinity stress. Approximately 83 % reads were mapped to the rice reference genome (Nipponbare). We identified a total of 80,159 SNPs and 6,403 InDels among the seven rice genotypes. Of the SNPs 42 % were identified from the genic regions and out of these 27 % were observed in coding regions. Bioinformatics analysis was used to identify functional SNPs in the genes that changed the functions of proteins. We identified 116 abiotic stress related genes that contained 138 nsSNPs (between tolerant and sensitive) in coding regions, thus having effects on proteins. In other study, selected four BC1F5 populations derived by crossing a high yield recipient rice line (WTR-1) with four donors were used. These populations were sequenced by tGBS. Data analysis revealed presence of 99 non-synonymous deleterious SNPs in 62 loci. Of the 62 affected loci, 10 were predicted to be responsive towards salinity tolerance. Analysis indicated that these genes may contribute to salt stress phenotype in rice varieties, and the identified nonsynonymous deleterious SNPs are useful to distinguish tolerant and sensitive genotypes.