banihashemi

In recent years, non-chemical control of common species of the root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), including soil enrichments by organic matters, animal manures and chemical fertilizers has received considerable attention. In 2014, in an experiment, effects of two levels (10 and 25 mg/kg) of sulfur fertilizers viz. ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate and zinc sulfate, and the levels of 25 and 50 mg/kg of elemental sulfur on the activity of the root-knot nematode M. incognita, in pasteurized soil were studied in greenhouse. Seedlings of cucumber cv. Negin at three or four-leaf stages were inoculated with two eggs or second stage juveniles of the nematode/g of soil. The results of two trials showed that magnesium sulfate 10 mg/kg caused 179% increase in the yield on average. The highest reduction was recorded in the number of eggs/g of root and reproductive factor in 25 mg/kg level of calcium sulfate with 71.6% and 58.6%, decrease followed by 25 mg/kg sulfur with 69.1% and 57.0% decrease respectively. The treatment of 50 mg/kg of sulfur was also in the next rank.

The Tang Sayyad protected area with an area of 27,000 hectares is one of several protected areas of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, located in the northeastern part of this province. from this area, 294 plant species, 181 genera and 39 families were collected and identified during the years 2013-2015. The genera of Astragalus (15 species) has the largest number of species in the genera. In this syudy, most of the species, 256 species, belong to dicotyledons and then 38 species belong to monocotyledons. The family Astraceae (59 species), Fabaceae (33 species), Labiatae (28 species), and Poaceae (27 species) are the largest families, according to species abundance, in this area, respectively. Grouping of species based on Rankaier biological classification showed that hemicryptophytes (52.54%), Therophytes (23.39%), Chamaephytes (11.9%), Geophytes (8.47%), And phanerophytes (4.41%) to allocate of the species in the area. Chorotype of the most species belonged to Irano-Turanian on the basis of Zohary’s criterion. Also in the production of medicine plant, of the 126 species identified, Astraceae families (25 genera) and Labiatae (19 genera) have the most abundance speicies

Cultivars of Cucumis melo L. are important economic crops planted in both saline and non-saline soils in Iran. Root rot on C. melo caused by Phytophthora melonis is one of the most devastating soil-borne diseases causing great loss. C. melo crops cultivated in saline soil adjacent to Maharloo Lake (salt lake) in Fars Province have been associated with diseases caused by Phytophthora species for many years. In this study, effect of salinity on Phytophthora root rot on C. melo under hydroponic system was investigated: Four-week-old plants of three cultivars, namely, Shahde-Shiraz, Dastanbo-Khorasan, and Kharbozeh-Mashhad grown in Nukaya solution were subjected to salinity stress for one week. A week later, all plants were inoculated with zoospore suspension of P. melonios. After 48 hours, inoculated solution was replaced by fresh nutrient solution and post-inoculation salt-stressed treatment was applied to some plants. Based on shoot dry weight and concentration of Na+, K+, and Cl-, cultivars Shahde-Shiraz and Dastanbo-Khorasan were sensitive and resistant to salinity and also with the highest and lowest colonization of roots by P. melonis, respectively. Interaction of salinity and infection by P. melonis reduced shoot dry weight in the salt-tolerant cultivar more than salt-sensitive plants. Salinity increased root colonization by P. melonis compared to non-saline condition. The increase in root colonization due to salinity was not significantly different in Shahde-Shiraz and Kharbozeh-Mashhad cultivars. In Dastanbo-Khorasan, due to its higher resistance to P. melonis, salinity resulted in significant increase in root colonization, indicating reduction of root resistance due to salinity stress.

Hemorrhagic septicemia (HS) is principally an infectious disease of respiratory tract caused by Pasteurella multocida in ruminants and birds resulting in huge economic repercussions. In the mid 1930s and early 1980s the Iranian buffalo (Pm Razi0001) and chicken (Pm Razi0002) strains of Pasteurella multocida were collected respectively from diseased animals. These strains have been used ever since for preparation of pasteurellosis vaccine at Razi institute. Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) analysis is a standard method of genotyping for P. multocida. This was conducted to assess genomic structure of the vaccine P. multocida strains at Razi institute. Genomic material was prepared from freshly cultured strains through a simplified boiling protocol. KMT1-PCR was used to authenticate identity of strains as P. multocida. The Australian RIRDC-MLST typing system targeting 7 housekeeping genes of adk, est, pmi, zwf, mdh, gdh and pgi loci with few modifications was performed on strains. The Sequence Type (ST) and the corresponding clonal complex of the strains was determined by consulting the RIRDC-MLST database. Two STs were identified with ST352 (a subgroup of clonal complex CC122) and ST129 (a subgroup of clonal complex CC129) assigned for the buffalo (Pm Razi0001) and fowl (Pm Razi0002) strains, respectively. If using these strains as vaccine for all the past consecutive decades has had major impacts in population and epidemiology of P. multocida in this country, much more work is required.

The high temperature-tolerant oomycete Phytophthora parsiana was considered to be limited to woody plants. In the preliminary study, the host range of the pathogen on annual herbaceous plant species using six isolates of P. parsiana including type strains from different sources was examined under greenhouse conditions. Among herbaceous species including cucurbits, pepper, pulse and oil crops, two isolates were pathogenic to pepper. Then three cultivars of pepper were used to discriminate pepper cultivars to sixteen isolates of P. parsiana. Results showed P. parsiana were pathogenic to red pepper (‘Anheim’ and ‘Casabel’cultivars) but not bell pepper. This is the first report of an herbaceous host of P. parsiana (sensu lato). Phylogenetic relationships of the pathogenic isolates of P. parsiana from pistachio to pepper and two isolates of the species from pistachio from Rafsanjan and Yazd were not pathogenic to pepper were examined. Based on sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal RNA, isolates pathogenic to pepper and one from Rafsanjan were in a group of P. parsiana belonging to clade 10 but the Yazd isolate had no genetic similarity to P. parsiana, being placed in clade 6 of the ITS tree, closely matching that of Phytophthora taxon Walnut (99-100 nucleotide identity). This is the first report of Phytophthora taxon Walnut from pistachio in Iran.

The effects of inoculum density and temperature on the disease intensity of Phytophthoraparsiana on almond seedlings were investigated. Almond seeds (Rabie and Kaghazi cultivars) were placed in moist vermiculite at 4°C for 45 days. Germinated seeds were sown in a soil: sand mixture (2:1 v/v) and grown in greenhouse (18°C-25°C). One-month-old seedlings were transferred from the greenhouse to the growth chambers set at 15, 18, 20, 25,30 and 32°C. The seedlings were subsequently inoculated either with mycelium of P. parsiana grown for 4-6 weeks on vermiculite amended with hemp seed extract or with zoospore (103, 104, 105 and 106 ml-1) by root dip method. The effect of temperature, inoculum density and their interaction on seedling mortality was measured. The results indicated that all three factors had significant effects on seedling mortality. While the highest disease incidence (100% mortality in almond seedlings) occurred at 30°C and 32°C, no mortality was observed at 15°C and18°C. Increasing temperature from 20°C to 30°C and inoculum rate from 103 to 106 zoospores ml-1 increased disease incidence significantly. Higher temperatures and inoculum densities also caused significant increases in the colonization level of the crown, main and lateral roots as well as reductions in the fresh and dry root weights of the seedlings.

To understand the genetic control of resistance against yellowing variant of fusarium wilt of melon (FOM 1.2y) in Iranian melon landraces, seven commercial landraces were studied in a half diallel model ( including F1s and parents) using Gardner- Eberhart Analysis II. Parents included: Magasi, Jalali, Sooski, Khaghani, Chapalizi, Semsori and Shadegani. Eighteen seedling of each genotype (totally 36 plants in the experiment) were evaluated using randomized complet block design with three replications. Indices including: area under disease progress curve (AUDCP), disease severity index (DSI) and latent period (LP) were calculated to evaluate the reaction of genotypes. Magasi had the lowest positive difference with resistant check in AUDPC and DSI, and had the lowest negative difference with the resistant check, therefore, identified as the highly resistant parent in this experiment. All genetic variances and their components including additive and dominance (non- additive) were estimated as significant at least at P < 0.05 followed by corresponding significant additive and dominant coefficients of variation. The highest GCA/SCA ratio (0.86) was calculated for DSI which showed the highest significant broad sense and narrow sense heritability ( 0.82 and 0.71, respectively). The results showed the higher importance of additive variance comparing with non-additive (dominance) variance for DSI. Magasi and Chapalizi were identified as the best resistance parents according to estimated GCA. Considering significant broad sense and narrow sense heritability for LP (h2b=0.66, h2n=0.47) followed by significant additive and non-additive variances, it is concluded that LP can be used as a reliable index in breeding programs for improving resistance against FOM 1.2y.

Recent global climate changes due to human activities on misuse of fossil energy, deforestation and greenhouse effects have caused global warming and environmental changes and consequently air pollution and unsustainability in agriculture. At present time, gas, oil and charcoal are the main sources of energy which their misuses are responsible partially to global warming and air pollution which must be reduced and replaced to some extend by renewable energy like wind power and solar energy. Use of renewable energy is environmentally safe, very low cost and accessible in remote rural and wild life locations to generate electricity and heat. This review updates the use of renewable energy emphasizing on solar energy in agriculture for soil disinfestations from pathogen, pests and weeds under field and greenhouse conditions. For economical application of renewable energy in sustainable agriculture there is great need on research and technology.

To assess the genetic diversity of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and A.vitis , during 2013 and 2014, samples of grapevine, rose and sugar beet with gall symptoms on crown and roots were collected from different areas of southern (Fars and kohgiluye and Boyerahmad) and western (Kurdistan and Kermanshah) provinces of Iran. Based on phenotypic characteristics, biochemical and pathogenicity tests as well as using the generic primers virD2A/virD2C the isolates were identified as Agrobacterium. Furthermore, species-specific primer pairs VCF/VCR for A. tumefaciens, as well as PGF/PGR for A. vitis were used to determine the identity of the causal agent.For detection of opine type among A. vitis isolates, a PCR assay was carried out using primer pairs VisF/VisR and VisFF1/ R2. Genetic diversity of A. tumefaciens and A.vitis isolates were investigated by random amplified polymorphic DNA technique using 11 random primers. The A.tumefaciens isolates clustered in three groups at 73% level of similarity and A.vitis clustered in two groups. Based on the results, A. tumefaciens and A.vitis isolates showed high genetic diversity even in a same geographical region. In conclusion, no correlation was observed between genetic diversity and geographical origins or their host plants. For detection of opine genes among A. vitis isolates, a PCR assay was carried out using primer pairs VisF/VisR and VisFF1/R2. Our results revealed that 57.9% of A. vitis isolates produced vitopine and 26.3% of them produced octopine or nopaline, whereas 15.8% of isolates were unable to amplify specific fragment.

Studies on the evolutionary history of ascomycetes in terms of time scale will help to understand historical patterns that shape their biodiversity. Until now most of dating studies of ascomycetes have focused on major events in fungal evolution but not on divergence events within smaller groups of fungi e.g. within Sordariomycetes. We used molecular dating to estimate the time of separation of Polystigma from other groups of Sordariomycetes with a Bayesian approach using a relaxed clock model and secondary calibration. Sequences from ITS region and SSU gene of rDNA were used for this purpose. We inferred evolutionary dates in Sordariomycetes particularly for Xylariomycetidae. Dating analyses showed that Polystigma diverged from Xylariales approximately 90 Million years ago in the late Cretaceous in which most other diversification events occurred. Our results also suggest that Polystigma amygdalinum and P. rubrum diverged in early Eocene concurrently with the divergence of their hosts, also providing a base for speculation on the location of evolution of these pathogens.

In summer 2015, cucumber and tomato plants with collaps and decline symptoms were collected from fields in Bajgah and Kaftarak regions in Fars province and transported to the laboratory. After isolation of the causal agent, single spore colonies were derived prior to morphological identification. Colonies on PDA plates were buff or salmon pink; the mycelium was slimy with sparse or absent aerial hyphae. Conidiophores were solitary, unbranched or rarely irregularly branched and the conidiogenous cells could be described as phialidic, hyaline and smooth. Occasionally the conidiogenous cells showed one septa near the base. Conidia were aggregated in slimy heads, hyaline, ellipsoidal, tapering gradually to rounded apex and base, septate or aseptate. These characteristics are typical of Plectosphaerella cucumerina (Lindf.) W. Gams. (anamorph: Plectsporium tabacinum). The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the isolates was amplified using primers ITS1 and ITS4 and sequenced. Blast analysis of the sequences showed identity of the isolates to P. cucumerina. Based on sequence analysis of ITS region, the fungal isolates showed nucleotide variation. Bajgah and Kaftarak isolates were identified as two molecular subgroups. Pathogenicity tests were also conducted on tomato, cucumber, pepper, watermelon and melon plants. 3-4 weeks after inoculation, 70% inoculated plants showed symptoms including wilting, root and collar rot, dwarfing of stem and root and death of seedling. This is the first report of P. cucumerina causing tomato and cucumber collapse in Iran with characterization of the fungus based on morphological, pathogenicity and molecular data.

Global climate has changed since pre-industrial time. Atmospheric CO2 a major greenhouse gas has increased by nearly 30% and temperature has risen by 0.3-0.6C. It is predicted that with current emission scenario, global mean temperature would rise between 0.9 and 3.5C by the year 2100. The impact of climate change would be felt in three areas: in losses from plant diseases, efficacy of disease management strategies and in the geographical distribution of plant diseases. Climate change would have positive, negative or no impact on individual plant diseases. Doubling CO2 has been shown to increase crop yield by 30% but whether these benefits would still be realized in the presence of pests and disease is unknown. Climate change has great effect on overwintering and over summering of the pathogen, pest and vectors. This will affect on survival, movement and reproduction. In many cases temperature increases are predicted to lead to the geographic expansion of pathogen and vector distribution bringing pathogen into contact with more potential hosts and providing new opportunities for pathogen hybridization. The effect of climate change on plant diseases has not been studied much and most of the information is from recent years. In this review attempts were made to collect recent information on pathogen-host -interaction due to climate change. New strategies will be required for disease management under climate change. If consumption of fossil fuel continues and results in CO2 accumulation and also land use by deforestation, we expect more detrimental effects on climate change in the future.

Phytophthora root and crown rot caused by various species Phytophthora are the major threat to agricultural crops in Iran. Phytophthora melonis and P. capsici are reported on cucurbits in Iran but major species in cucurbits considered to be P.melonis and the importance of P.capsici in cucurbits has not been much investigated. In the present study the reactions of different cucurbits were compared to both species under greenhouse conditions. Two months old of 36 cucurbit species and cultivars were inoculated with vermiculite hempseed extract inoculums. The production of zoospore in drained water and reactions of cultivars were monitored during two months after inoculation. The results showed that cantaloupe and long melon were more susceptible to P. melonis and reacted differently to P.capsici. Pumpkin was resistant to both species but squash and water melon were more susceptible to P.capsici than P. melonis.

In the SAR image processing, with the use of computers, it is important to choose the algorithm with regard to the type of data. The previously used algorithms in this field, lacked acceptable recognition and had inappropriate speed. The main purpose of this paper is to present an appropriate algorithm to recognize the targets in SAR images which is used by aircrafts, planes, and satellites that observe the target on the ground. It is tried to choose an algorithm that is more adaptive to the distribution of local optima and the proportion of the public data. With regard to the distribution of data, PSO algorithm is relatively suitable considering the point that the most important shortcoming of PSO is to get stuck at local optimum. Accordingly, to remove this shortage GAPSO algorithm is presented in this paper. The results show that the suggested method enjoys more speed and accuracy in comparison with the other suggested methods.

Comprehensive methods must be used for portfolio optimization. For this purpose, financial data of stock companies, inputs and outputs variable, the risk measure and investor’s preferences must be considered. By considering these items, we propose a method for portfolio optimization. In this paper, we used financial data of companies for screening the stock companies. We used Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR) as a risk measure, because of its advantages. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) can be used to calculate the efficiency of stock companies. Conventional DEA models assume non-negative data. However, many of these data take the negative value, therefore we propose the MeanSharp- CVaR (MSh CV) model and the Multi Objective MeanSharp- CVaR (MOMSh CV) model base on Range Directional Measure (RDM) that can take positive and negative values. By using Multi Objective Decision Making (MODM) model, investors can allocate their capital to the stocks of portfolio as they like. Finally, a numerical example of the purposed method is applied to Iran’s financial market.

Anthrax, a zoonotic disease caused by Bacillus anthracis, has affected humans since ancient times. For genomic characterization of Razi B. anthracis Sterne 34F2 substrain, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping method developed by Van Erth, variable-number tandem-repeat (VNTR)-8 analysis proposed by Keim, and multiple-locus VNTR analysis (MLVA)-3 introduced by Levy were employed. In the SNPs typing system, where the nucleotide content of the genome at 13 evolutionary canonical loci was collectively analyzed, the originally South African 34F2 substrain was categorized in the A.Br.001/002 subgroup. In the VNTR-8 analysis, fragments with lengths of 314, 229, 162, 580, 532, 158, and 137 bp were identified at the following loci: vrrA, vrrB1, vrrB2, vrrC1, vrrC2, CG3, and pxO1, respectively. In addition, application of Levy's MLVA-3 genotyping method revealed that the genome of this strain carried 941, 451, and 864 bp fragments at AA03, AJ03, and AA07 loci, respectively. The present findings are undoubtedly helpful in meeting the requirements set by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and World Health Organization (WHO) for anthrax vaccine manufacturers including Razi Institute. However, further similar studies are required to promote the current epidemiological knowledge of anthrax in Iran.

High temperature oomycete Phytophthora parsiana is one of the causal agent of pistachio gummosis in Iran which originally was isolated from fig in Iran. Phytophthora hydropathica and P. irrigata two newly described high temperature species similar to P. parsiana were recently isolated from irrigation streams and some ornamental plants from USA .In the present study all three species produced chlamydospores in infected crown and root tissues of apricot.. No morphological differences were observed among species. Among woody plants inoculated Pistacia vera cv Sarakhs, almond and apricot were highly susceptible to all species. Pistacia mutica, P. khinjuk, walnut, fig and mango were susceptible to P. parsiana and P. hydropatica but P.vera cv Qazvini was infected only by P. hydropathical. Loquat ( Eriobotryae japonica) and Christ,thorn jupube (Zizyphus spina-christi) were not infected by all species. All annual herbaceous plant species used none were infectd with all species.

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) are one of the main pests of cucumber production in greenhouses and farms. Applications of chemical and organic fertilizers are effective in reducing the damages caused by these nematodes. For this purpose, during 2013-2014, in an experiment, effects of 25, 50 and 100 mg/kg of elemental sulfur at planting time and 45 days before planting, in sterilized and non-sterilized soil were studied in two turns in greenhouse. First, two eggs or second stage juveniles of the nematode/g of soil and sulfur levels were mixed with the soil. Then cucumber seeds cv. Negin were sown immediately in the half of the pots and in the other half after 45 days. In order to evaluate the effect of sulfur evaporates on the initial nematode population, one half of 45 days pots were placed in plastic bags. The results of two trails showed that sulfur 50 mg/kg of soil in 45 days pots, filled with non-sterilized soil and placed inside plastic bags caused 36% increase in the shoot dry weight and 114% in the yield, on average. In addition, sulfur 100 mg/kg of soil caused 70% and 69% decreases in the final population and reproduction factor of the nematode, respectively.

Ascospore germination was examined in Polystigma amygdalinum, incitant of red leaf blotch of almond with the goal of more detailed study of the biology and disease phases of this biotroph. Appressorium development is described for a species of Polystigma for the first time. Temperature had marked effect on ascospore germination and appressorium formation process. Germination and appressorium formation occurred in a temperature range of 5 to 20°C. Germination percentages were highest at 5 to 10°C. Ascospores at 25°C showed abnormal swellings and distortion of the cell content. Light had no effect on ascospore germination. The highest germination of ascospores was obtained on potato dextrose agar medium.

During May 2011 to September 2012 soil samples from Shiraz landscape were collected,air dried and passed through a 2-mm sieve and baited with sugarbeet seeds. Twenty seven isolates of Rhizoctonia were isolated from soil, which 20 isolates belonged to Rhizoctonia solani AG2 (6 isolates), AG4 (7 isolates), AG2.2, AG7 and AG13 (each one isolate) and 7 isolates of binucleate Rhizoctonia (BNR). Also eleven isolates ofR. solani were isolated from organic matter contained of AG2 (3 isolates), AG4 (4), and AG7 (1). Anastomosis group of some isolates of R. solani and all isolates of BNR due to unavailability of tester isolates could not be identified.

Phytophthora drechsleri, P. cryptogeaand P. erythroseptica are phylogenetically closely related Oomyceteous plant pathogens which are morphologically similar. In order to discriminate these taxa from each other and from species with convergent morphological characteristics a simple as well as a nested-PCR based method was developed. A collection of isolates of each species from different hosts representing world-wide diversity of species were examined for unique regions of nuclear as well as mitochondrial genes. Six candidate PCR primers were designed and calibrated for species-specific amplification of P. drechsleri based on the DNA sequences of rDNA internal transcribed spacer regions and the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, and also three candidate PCR primers specific for P. cryptogeaand P. erythroseptica were designed and calibrated based on cytochrome c oxidase subunit I. Studies showed that the best primer set for identification of P. drechsleri was the combination of ITS-DF2 and ITS-DR2, which amplified a 567 bp band. The combination of COX-CF1 and COX-CR2 was the best set for discrimination of P. cryptogea/P. erythroseptica from other species which amplified a 415 bp product from both species. A restriction map analysis of P. cryptogea/P. erythroseptica indicated that the non-palindromic Mnl I enzyme restriction site was unique to amplicons of P. erythroseptica isolates and could be employed to distinguish this species from P. cryptogea. Based on this study, nested-PCR was at least 100 times more sensitive than conventional PCR for detection of these species.

This study investigates the efficiency of IRS-p6 LISS-III data to discriminate the vegetative forms in Nojmeh rangeland of Mazandaran. The data of soil surface cover were collected based on dominant plants using quadrate (25×25 m2) and randomized sampling techniques. Then, the canopy cover of each species was extracted for all plants including grasses, forbs, shrubs, bushy trees, as well as the percentage of bare soil and gravel. To correct the LISSIII images, ETM+ fusion image was used as data-base with 18 selected points, extracted with 0.54 pixels RMSE. After that, vegetation indices were calculated from each bands and their digital number (DN) were extracted from the sampling points. The results of data analysis confirmed that among the plant groups (grasses, forbs, shrubs, and bushy trees) only grasses cover and bare soil had significant relationships with LISSIII data. Among the extracted indices of vegetation, the highest correlation belonged to the bare soil with MND (r= 0.41), GI (r=0.40) and OSAVI with grasses cover (r=0.38), respectively.

Septoriosis is one of the most important disease in pistachio tree worldwide and is incited by several species of Septoria among which S. pistacina islimited to Mediterranea regions and recently reported on Pistacia vera in Golestan province of Iran (Aghajani et al. 2009. Austr. Plant Dis. Notes 4: 29-31). Leaf samples of P. vera from Ghazvin (Fig. 1) collected in October 2013, and samples from P. mutica (Baneh) (Fig. 2) collected also in October 2009 from Darab in Fars province showed various sizes of discolored leaf spots with many pycnidia embedded in leaf tissue extruding dark cirri. Pycnidiospores were filiform, curved, hyaline with one septum measuring 2.5 x 30 µm in Ghazvin and 2.5 x 31.6 µm from Darab samples. Single spore conidia from both locations exhibited yeast like growth on PDA. Based on morphological and growth pattern and host the fungus was identified as Septoria pistacina (Chitzandis 1956. Anna. Inst.Phyto. Ben. 10: 29-44). The species has recently been proposed to be transferred to Pseudocercospora pistacina (Crous et al. 2013. IMA Fungus 4: 187-199) which needs further support. Pycnidiospores from P.mutica samples maintained low germination after 4 years in dry leaf under laboratory conditions. This is the first report on the presence of the fungus in Ghazvin on P. vera and based on available information for the first time on P. mutica in world.

Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida)، A Gram-negative facultative anaerobic bacterium، is a causative animal pathogen in porcine atrophic rhinitis and avian fowl cholera. The outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria contains of many different protein in very high copy numbers. One of the major outer membrane، the H proteins have functional as high immunogenicity and antigenicity. In this study to increase information about epidemiology of ovine and bovine P. multocida، the 24 isolates from sheep and nine isolates from cattle were investigated by PCR-RFLP analysis of the ompH gene. In all 33 isolates، digestion of the amplified fragment of ompH gene by using EcoRI، cfoI and HindIII produced 3، 5 and 3 different restriction patterns respectively. Sixteen RFLP patterns were found among 33 investigated P. multocida isolates. This study showed that، the PCR RFLP based on ompH gene is potentially a useful method for typing of P. multocida isolates from sheep and cattle. The RFLP patterns of this gene exhibited extensive restriction site heterogeneity، which may be particularly suitable for fingerprinting of P. multocida isolates. Considering ompH protein as a protective immunogenic moiety of P. multocida، the results of this study showed a heterogenic bacteria and this means the possibility to produce a multivalent vaccine to be protective against diseases caused by this organism in sheep and cattle in Iran.

Theplant pathogenic Phytophthora drechsleri is morphologically similar to some other non-papillate Phytophthora spp., especially P. melonis, and it is difficult to discriminate these convergent taxa. It seems that the Iranian putative P. drechsleri isolates from different cucurbit species have been generally misidentified and their characteristics do not match with P. drechsleri. In order to compare these two groups, authentic P. drechsleri isolates and isolates from different cucurbits were assessed for morphological, physiological (cultural, temperature relations, mating type), and molecular traits. Multiple gene genealogy analysis were performed on regions of nuclear (ITS, β-tubulin, translation elongation factor 1α, elicitin) and mitochondrial (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) gene sequences. Congruence was observed in different phylogenetic data sets. The present study demonstrated that putative P. drechsleri isolates from cucurbits and pistachio trees were a distinct species and belonged to P. melonis. Data showed that P. melonis was a homogenous species and there were no considerable molecular intraspecific variations between isolates from cucurbits and isolates from other hosts. Design of a molecular species-specific identification tool for P. melonis isolates is under investigation.