فهرست مطالب foad fatehi

One of the most harmful pests of Zagros forests is the Tortrix viridana (Lep. Tortricidae). Genetic diversity of Tortrix viridana host plant populations in the oak forests of northwestern Iran and the northern Zagros region was investigated using 28s gene sequence. The samples were collected from the forest areas of west Azarbaijan, Lorestan, Kurdistan and Kermanshah provinces. They were in the larval stage, were kept in laboratory conditions until they turned into pupa and then into a complete insect. DNA extraction was done by CTAB method. Also, in order to amplify the 28s region, the 28s gene sequence of Tortrix genus was used from NCBI for primer design. The desired region was amplified using the PCR method and the PCR products were sequenced. 21 samples were selected to investigate genetic diversity using the 28s gene, and 18 sequences DNAs were of suitable quality for further investigations. The DNA sequences were edited using Bioedit software and aligned using MegaX software, and the phylogenetic tree was drawn by UPGMA method with 1000 sampling repetitions. The evaluation of the genetic structure of populations showed that the diversity between populations is greater than within populations. The results of the phylogenetic tree also showed that different samples of the Tortrix viridana have genetic diversity based on geographical distance. Therefore, the time of appearance of the pest, their behavior and their type of control and management are also different.

The increase in the earth temperature is one of the latest problems threatening the earth ecosystem. Insects as poikilothermic organisms have a high dependence on their environment's temperature so increasing global temperature makes impressions on their distributions, activity, and biological parameters. Trichogramma brassicae (Hymenoptera.: Trichogrammatidae) wasp is one of the most important biological control agents in Iran used to control many species of lepidopterans. In this study, the effect of temperature changes on biological parameters and the expression of two heat shock genes, HSP70 and HSP90, in T. brassicae was studied under laboratory conditions. At first, the main T. brassicae colony was divided into two groups, each of them was separately reared for 20 generations at 30 and 33° C. Then, biological parameters, such as the rate of parasitism, appearance rate, and sex ratio, beside two heat shock gene expressions were assessed. The results indicated that at 33°C, the HSP90 and HSP70 expressions were 2.45 and 1.9 times more than 30°C, respectively, suggesting significant differences at a 99% confidence level. Furthermore, the parasitism rate of T. brassicae at 30 and 33°C were 53.5±2.09 and 40.7±2.14 (from 200 initial eggs), respectively. The obtained results showed that rearing at higher temperature caused to affect the sex ratio, adult appearance rate, and preadult development time. The results of the current study show that increasing global temperature could be result in reducion of the natural enemies efficacy, which will lead to an increase in the probability of pest outbreaks.

Dichondra repens is a low growing, creeping perennial that spreads by underground runners. This plant is usually planted instead of lawn in warm areas and is also suitable as a cover to fill the gap between the pavements and for planting in rock gardens. Soil drought is one of the major abiotic factors that limit crop growth and productivity worldwide. Drought stress triggers production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause oxidative damage to proteins, membrane lipids and other cellular components. Silicon (Si) is the second most prevalent element after oxygen in the soil. The beneficial effect of the silicon is well documented for several agricultural crops.

The present study was conducted to assess the effect of potassium silicate on growth characteristics of Dichondra repens under water deficit as factorial in a completely randomized design in 2018. Water deficit was applied in three levels (100%, 66% and 33% Field capacity) and potassium silicate in four levels (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg/l). Data analysis was performed with SAS software. Mean data were compared with Duncan test at 5% level. Plant height was measured from the collar to the tip of the plant with a caliper. To measure the fresh weight of the shoot, the plant was weighed after harvesting with a digital scale. To measure the roots, the roots were gently removed from the soil and weighed with a digital scale. Leaf chlorophyll was measured by Arnon (1949) method at 480, 663 and 645 nm with a spectrophotometer. Catalase activity was measured by Eising and Gerhardt (1989) method. Measurement of superoxide dismutase activity by Dhindsa et al. (1982) was performed. Potassium concentration was measured by flame photometry. Elliott and Snyder (1991) method was used to measure leaf silicon concentration.

Plant height decreased by 38% in 33% field capacity and non-use of potassium silicate interaction in comparison of 100% field capacity and 200 mg/l potassium silicate interaction. Potassium silicate 200 and 100 mg/l increased chlorophyll content in 100 and 66% of field capacity. Catalase and superoxide dismutase enzymes showed the highest activity in 33% field capacity and 200 mg/l potassium silicate interaction and 33% field capacity and no potassium silicate interaction, respectively. The lowest relative leaf water content was observed in 33% field capacity and no potassium silicate interaction and there is no significant difference between it and potassium silicate at 50 mg/l. The highest amount of potassium was observed in the treatment of 66% of field capacity and 50 mg/l of potassium silicate, which was not significantly different from the interaction of 100% of field capacity and 100 mg/l of potassium silicate. The highest amount of silicon was observed in treatment of 100% of field capacity and 200 mg/l of potassium silicate, which was significantly different from other treatments.

Treatment of 100% field capacity and potassium silicate at 200 mg/l was identified as the most efficient treatment in improving the growth characteristics of dichondra. So with proper management 66% field capacity and 100 mg potassium silicate treatment can be replaced with 100% field capacity potassium silicate at 200 mg/l.

Wheat is a strategic product in the world's food security, as it occupies one-sixth of the world's cultivated area. It is the main food crop in Iran, and at the same time, most of the cultivated areas of this crop face environmental stresses such as drought, which leads to a decrease in its yield. Drought stress causes a wide range of plant reactions, including growth and yield changes. Therefore, to achieve maximum adaptability and yield in drought conditions, the present experiment was conducted in Karaj's climatic conditions on eight important wheat genotypes (obtained from the National Plant Gene Bank of Iran).
The experiment was conducted as a split-plot design based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates during the 2016-2017 cropping season in Karaj. The main factor was the irrigation regime at two levels, including control (irrigation based on the water requirement of the plant during the growth period until physiological maturity) and water deficit stress (interruption of irrigation from the beginning of spike appearance until physiological maturity) in the main plots and eight different bread wheat genotypes (Star, Sirvan, Roshan, Mehrgan, 2019, 3737, 3729, and 4228) in the sub-plots. Seed yield and physiological traits, including leaf relative water content, leaf photosynthetic pigment content, leaf proline content, and the activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase) were measured at the end of grain filling stage; then, data analyzed using principal component analysis and cluster analysis.
According to the results, a significant difference was observed between different genotypes of wheat in terms of reduced biological yield and grain yield under water deficit stress compared to the control treatment. In these conditions, the highest and lowest decrease in grain yield was observed in genotypes 3737 (47%) and 4228 (24%), respectively. Also, the content of photosynthetic pigments and the relative water content of the studied genotypes decreased under water deficit condition. Despite the decrease in "chlorophyll a" content in genotypes 4228 and 3729, there was no significant difference with the control treatment under water deficit conditions. The most changes in these conditions were related to Genotype 3737, with a 25% decrease compared to the control treatment. Contrary to plant performance, leaf proline content increased as an important factor in water deficit conditions. The highest accumulation of proline in leaves was observed in Genotype 4228 at 9.1 times under water deficit conditions and the lowest amount in Genotype 3729 at 2.5 times compared to normal irrigation conditions. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that Genotypes 4228 and 3729 had a negative and significant relationship with Mehregan and Star. The results of agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) demonstrated that Genotypes 3729 and 4228 were placed in Cluster 1, genotypes 1399, 3737 and Sirvan were grouped together in Cluster 2, and Genotypes Star, Mehrgan and Roshan were located in Cluster 3.
Physiological responses of bread wheat genotypes to water deficit stress at the end of the growing season were different, which caused different alternations in the growth and yield of plants under water deficit conditions.

Russian wheat aphid (RWA, Diuraphis noxia Kurdjumov), a common pest on barley around the world, can severely damage barley yield and grain quality. The present study aimed to identify simple sequence repeat markers associated with RWA resistance in wild barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. spontaneum). A panel of 30 wild barely accessions was selected from the ICARDA gene bank and Iran to represent 10 Asia countries scattered along the natural geographic distribution of the species for RWA resistance. Five traits including leaf chlorosis, leaf rolling, chlorophyll a, b, and total chlorophyll concentration were evaluated. Fourteen SSR markers were used to study genetic diversity. The relationship of 52 polymorphic SSR markers with the associated RWA resistance traits was tested using general linear model (GLM) and mixed linear model (MLM) approaches. The population structure analysis revealed seven subpopulations in the entire collection (K=7). Eleven trait marker-trait associations (MTA) were identified on chromosomes 1H, 2H, 3H, 4H, and 7H. Markers Bmag007, Bmag6, Bmac0399, Bmag0125, and EBmac0701 which exhibited significant associations with RWA resistance traits. All five markers were associated with traits in both GLM and MLM analyzes. This study identified novel genomic regions putatively linked with RWA resistance traits, which could be further investigated for shedding light on the genetic architecture of RWA resistance in barley. The findings could be useful for using the RWA resistance accessions of H. spontaneum as parents for breeding barley cultivars.

The genetic diversity of wild species associated with the early barley gene pool is crucial for exploitation in breeding programs. Barley (H. vulgar) and its ancestor (H. spontaneum) are excellent and economical model systems for genetic research, exploration and exploitation. In the study of the genetic diversity of 114 native barley populations collected from the west of the country, the EST-SSR molecular marker has been used to aim at the degree of genetic diversity of these native genotypes and evaluate the efficiency of these native genotypes and evaluate Is. There is genetic diversity in genotypes.

First, seeds were cultured in pots for DNA extraction. DNA extraction was performed by modified CTAB method for each genotype. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed in a volume of 20 μl. The PCR product was injected in 4% agarose gel with 1% TBE reaction buffer and Safe View dye to show the strips. In order to perform statistical analysis, the data were prepared in the form of a matrix and the parameters related to primers and populations were evaluated.

The number of amplified alleles varied from 2 to 4 alleles for markers and the studied primers reproduced a total of 40 alleles in the studied genotypes with an average of 2.85 per marker. The average percentage of polymorphisms for the studied primers was 96.42%. The content of polymorphic information (PIC) ranged from 0.397 to 0.189. The results showed that there is the highest level of diversity in the populations of Lorestan province and the lowest level of diversity in the populations of Kurdistan province. The dendrogram obtained from the cluster analysis of genotypes was divided into 14 groups, which according to the grouping of genetic diversity were partially adapted to the geographical distribution. Also, the results of the analysis to the original coordinates were somewhat consistent with the cluster analysis.

The results showed that there was good diversity among the studied populations. Also, suitable polymorphisms were observed among the primers. The primers GBM1221 with 3 alleles, GBM1461 with 3 alleles and SCSSR04163 with 4 alleles, which had the best polymorphism, are introduced as superior primers for use in future atmospheric research. The presence of high genetic diversity in natural populations of H. spontaneum wild barley indicates that the germplasm of this plant can be preserved in natural habitats. This diversity is also a valuable resource for identifying molecular markers informative for different phenotypic traits.

In recent years, in the world and in Iran as well, attention to Lisianthus flowers has been such that its production has increased significantly. With the increase in the production of Lisianthus cut flowers, attention to nutrition and application of treatments to improve the growth and storability of this flower is felt more than ever. For this purpose, the effect of karrikin, salicylic acid and humic acid on the morphological and biochemical characteristics of Lisianthus was investigated in a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications. The studied treatments included application of karrikin (0, 1 and 2 mg.l-1) as irrigation, salicylic acid (0, 100 and 200 mg.l-1) and humic acid (0, 50 and 100 mg.l-1) as foliar application. The results showed that the application of salicylic acid 100 mg.l-1 had the greatest effect on morphological and biochemical parameters, meanwhile, in some traits such as shoot dry weight and leaf area, a concentration of 200 mg.l-1 was more effective. Also, the use of humic acid increased the leaves and roots fresh and dry weight by increasing root expansion. karrikin treatment 1 mg.l-1 increased the number of leaves, stem length and diameter and number of flowering stems, fresh and dry weight of roots, number of seed capsules and number of buds per branch. karrikin in combination with humic acid and especially salicylic acid with synergistic effect improved some parameters such as number of roots and leaves and flowering stems and the activity of phenylalanine ammonialyase (PAL). Concomitant use of salicylic acid 100 mg.l-1 with humic acid 50 mg.l-1 as foliar application and application of Karrikin 1 mg.l-1 as a plant solution is recommended to improve growth parameters and the quality of lisianthus flowers.

Nowadays, fertilizers are one of the factors affecting the yield of plants, but their high use, especially when combined with inappropriate management practices such as burning of plant residues, drastically reduce soil organic matter. Long-term use of chemical fertilizers also results in the leaching and contamination of groundwater. Using biofertilizers to reduce chemical fertilizer use and increase crop yields is an important strategy to move towards sustainable agriculture. So far, no research has been conducted on the effect of vermicompost and vermiwash on the growth and development of African daisies. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effects of vermicompost and vermiwash on growth and development of African daisies plant.

The present study was conducted to assess the effect of vermicompost and vermiwash on morphological and physiological properties of African daisies (Gazania rigens L.) in 2018. For this purpose, vermicompost was applied at 4 levels (control, 20, 40, and 60 % V/V), and vermiwash was applied at 4 levels (control, 50, 100, and 200 mg/l) as a factorial based on randomized block design. Plant height, number of flowers, flower diameter, root volume, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root, chlorophyll content, insoluble sugar, K, N and P concentration were studied. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SAS software version 9.1 and comparison of means by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at 5% probability level.

Vermicompost and vermiwash treatments had significant effects on morphological and physiological properties of African daisies. Interaction effect of vermicompost and vermiwash was significant for all studied traits except P concentration. The highest number of flowers (10) was observed in 60% vermicompost and vermiwash treatment at 100 mg/l. There were no significant differences between 40 and 60% vermicompost volume and also between 100 and 200 mg/ l vermiwash in flower number and diameter. Therefore, increasing the amount of vermicompost and vermiwash to some extent increase the reproductive properties of the plant and higher than that amount can even reduce related traits. By increasing the volume of vermicompost from 20% to 40%, the root volume of African daisies significantly changed. The fresh and dry weight of shoots also showed a similar response to vermicompost and vermiwash treatments. By increasing vermicompost volume from 20 to 40%, the soluble sugar increased significantly in African daisies. Vermicompost and vermiwash increased chlorophyll content in African daisies. The highest amount of chlorophyll b was observed in vermicompost treatment at 60% volume and 50 mg/ l vermiwash.

According to the results of the experiment, vermicompost and vermiwash, with effective nutrient absorption and high water absorption and storage capacity, increased the reproductive traits of African daisies. The effect of vermicompost was higher than vermiwash on studied traits. Treatment of 40% vermicompost and 200 mg/l vermiwash was the best treatment for improvement of African daisies growth

In order to investigate the effect of Hana extract and sodium nitroprusside on antioxidant properties and vase life of chrysanthemum, an experiment as factorial in a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted. The first factor was Hana leaf extract at three levels (0, 100 and 200 ppm), the second factor was sodium nitroprusside at three levels (0, 0.5 and 1 mM) and the third factor was sampling time at three levels (1, 6 and 12 day). The results showed that with increasing sampling time, flower diameter, chlorophyll content, relative water content and relative fresh weight decreased and the activity of antioxidant enzymes increased significantly. The extract of hana and sodium nitroprusside at high concentrations reduced the activity of antioxidant enzymes and improved chrysanthemum quality parameters, indicating their positive effects on the elimination of free radicals. The Hana extract treatment on sixth day of sampling time was the best treatment for improving the parameters of chrysanthemum flower. The Hana leaf extract and sodium nitroprusside treatments suppressed reduction of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll leaf content. The results of this study showed that hana extract and sodium nitroprusside had positive effect on vase life of chrysanthemum cut flower.

Despite the significant benefits of transgenic crops, there is a general concern that if these crops, like their non-transgenic counterparts, are safe for human and animal nutrition. One way to investigate the food safety of these crops is to compare the molecular properties of transgenic crops with their natural parents as well as crops resulted from conventional breeding which have a history of safe use. This research pursued to determine whether the set of changes that occurred in the two transgenic events of rhizomania-resistant sugar beet is comparable to the parental non-transgenic plants and was within the range of natural changes? Whether genetic engineering led to the generation of compounds that are not safe for humans and animals? Investigations have shown that proteomic alterations in both transgenic lines were minimal and within the range of natural variations. Metabolomic changes in a selected S6 event were very low while there were remarkable alterations in the metabolome of S3 event, although these were within the range of natural deviations too.

At present, the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria has been considered as a suitable alternative to the use of chemical fertilizers to improve wheat growth. The objectives of this study was to identify the best and most effective rhizobacteria on wheat growth. First, Bacillus strains were isolated from wheat rhizosphere and their ability to produce IAA was assayed. Then, Triticum aestivum (Roshan) plants were treated in a completely randomized design by eight heighest IAA-producing bacterial strains at three different bacterial concentrations. By examining morphological traits, the best treatment was selected and the expression of genes involved in the auxin pathway was studied by RT-qPCR technique. Here, twenty Bacillus strains were isolated. The amount of IAA production varied among the strains (the minimum and maximum IAA production were 0 and 95.89 μg/ml, respectively). Twenty strains were isolated, eight strains with the highest levels of IAA production were selected for applying to the plants. Results of morphological traits demonstrated that strain C6 at concentration 1 (OD=1) had a significantly greater positive effect on Roshan plants. This strain was chosen for genes expression analysis. Analysis of expression of TaTAR2.1 and TaTAR2.4 genes showed that these genes have been influenced by strain C6 and they were significantly down-regulated as compared to the control.

Soil salinity is one of the most crucial agricultural problems that in addition to having negative effects on crop production, causes hormonal imbalance and growth reduction in the plant. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) are a range of bacterial strains from different groups that live in plant roots and rhizospheres and can cause the plants to withstand stress by causing complex alterations in their growth and development. PGPR alters plant metabolism, signaling, and hormone homeostasis. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of two auxin-producing Bacillus strains on vegetative traits and the relative expression of the ARF15 gene of two genotypes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) (MCC77 and MCC68) under salinity stress of 50 and 100 mM sodium chloride in greenhouse conditions. The number of sub-branches of MCC68 has been significantly increased in the inoculation of strains at the concentrations of 0.5 and 1 in the presence of 50 mM sodium chloride. Moreover, the inoculation of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (FZB42) and Bacillus. cereus at a concentration of 0.5 and 1 led to a significant increase in the fresh weight of MCC77 root. In addition, FZB42 at the concentration of 1 caused a significant increase (28.20%) in the height of MCC77 plants in the presence of 100 mM sodium chloride. In the inoculation of Bacillus sp. at the concentration of 0.5 and the presence of 50 mM sodium chloride, the relative expression of the ARF15 gene of MCC68 genotype showed a 9-fold increase. Both FZB42 and B. cereus strains affected the vegetative traits of MCC68 and MCC77 genotypes, which indicated the role of PGPR in increasing the supply of enzymatic and non-enzymatic metabolites, and the expression of plant genes in response to abiotic stresses.

Drought is one of the major environmental constraints that limits plant growth and productivity more than any other environmental factors. Recent Mycorrhizal arbescular application to affeviate drought stress in many plants has been reported. Vermiwash can be used in two forms of foliar application or drench. It contains several enzymes, plant growth hormones, vitamins and macro and micro nutrients which can enhance plants tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress, as well as crop yield efficiency.

In order to investigate Mycorrhizal arbuscular fungi and Vermiwash foliar application on Gazania (Gazania rigens L.) growth and flowering characteristics under drought stress a greenhouse experiment with factorial design was conducted based on complete randomized blocks by considering three factors including MA fungi in two levels (incubation with MA and non- incubated plants), Vermiwash foliar application in four levels (0, 50, 100 and 200 ppm) and imposing drought stress in three levels (irrigation based on 40, 70 and 100% field capacity) with three replications in the greenhouse and laboratory of the Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources of Tehran University in 2018. Studied traits involved plant height, number and leaf area, flower diameter and number, aerial fresh and dry weight, chlorophyll and carotenoid amount, N, P and K quantity of leaves. Analysis of variance’s results indicated that the influence of main effect of droughtt stress, MA and Vermiwash on the measured traits were considerably functional.

The maximum value of leaf’s carbohydrate was achieved in drought stress with the high severity in 40% of FC witch was 32.46 mg/gr. MA caused elevation in macro elements amount of the leaves. Foliar application of Vermiwash increased flower number and dimention and macro elements amounts as well. Among the Vermiwash treatments, foliat application of 200 ppm treatment reduced the negative effects of drought stress on plants. Comparison of the mean of dual effect of vermicompost in drought stress showed that the highest plant height in 200 ppm Vermiwash was 100% irrigation and the lowest value was in 50 ppm Vermiwash in irrigation 40% of field capacity. The lowest amount of chlorophyll a was observed in 40% water capacity and no Mycorrhizal fungi application. The highest leaf carbohydrate content was observed in irrigation treatments with 40% and 200 ppm Vermiwash.

vegetative growth decreased with increasig drought stress intensity from optimal irrigation level to severe stress. The use of Mycorrhiza and Vermiwash was positive compared to the control (Non-use), consumption of 100 and 200 ppm Vermiwash has better performance than other levels. Gazania responds to intense stress with more intensity than mild stress. It is recommended to prevent severe stress during the plant growth period. In this regard, the use of symbiotic fungi as well as Vermiwash foliar application (100 and 200 ppm) can help maintain plant growth by increasing plant tolerance to increasing stress intensity.

Thymus daenensis Celak. is a perennial plant belonging to the family Lamiaceae that contains various monoterpenes such as thymol and carvacrol. In order to investigate the effect of salinity stress on growth, the content of thymol and carvacrol compounds and the expression of genes involved in the biosynthetic pathway of these compounds, an experiment was conducted in the research greenhouse in the form of a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that salinity stress had a significant effect on the studied traits at a 1% probability level. Salinity stress at the level of 150 mM NaCl caused a significant reduction in plant height, fresh and dry weight and increasing of total phenol, flavonoids contents, PAL enzyme activity. The content of thymol and carvacrol in salinity stress significantly increased. Study of the genes expression involved in the biosynthesis of these compounds indicated that the genes expression of DXR, terpenes synthase, α-terpinene synthase and ү-terpinene synthase increased in comparison to control. These increments of increase in gene expression of DXR compared with other studied genes were much higher. Therefore, it can be concluded that the increase of secondary metabolites in Thymus daenensis, thymol and carvacrol, in salinity stress conditions due to increased expression of DXR key gene. It is expected to increase these metabolites in the future with its engineering.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is xerophytes plant that can tolerat against drought and water loss stress easily. Most important secondary metabolites in Thyme are Thymol that have medicinal, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. No research has carried out so far on the effects of cold stress on the synthesis of Thymol pathway genes and on the physiological and biochemical characteristics. This study was designed to investigate the effect of low temperature stress (4 °C) on the expression Thymol pathway genes such as TPS2 and TPS5 genes using RT-PCR in the time period of 0, 3, 12, 24 and 48 hours after treatment. To evaluate the levels of relative expression of these genes for the synthesis of Thymol (MVA, MEP) t-test was used. TPS2 gene has highest expression within the 3 hours after treatment (3.46 times) compared to the control.

Water deficiency is one of the most important factors limiting canola production in arid and semi-arid regions in Iran. In order to investigate the effect of drought tension through irrigation cut at the end of the season and application of vermicompost on some morphophysiological characteristics of rapeseed, a factorial-split experiment in the form of a randomized complete blocks design with three replications was carried out at Karaj Seed and Plant Improvement Research Institute in 2015 and 2016. Experimental factors include irrigation regime at three levels (full irrigation during the season, irrigation cut from the podding stage to the end of the season and irrigation cut from the flowering stage to the end of the season) and vermicompost at two levels (non-application and application of 20 tons per hectare) as the factorial in the main plot and genotype at 6 levels (RGS003, Zafar, Julius, Jerry, Zabol10 and Hyola4815) in the subplots. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of year, irrigation, vermicompost and cultivar on the measured traits was significant at the level of 1 percent probability. Mean comparison showed that the plants in the second year had higher height, stem diameter, number of pods and chlorophyll content than the first year, but the amount of soluble carbohydrates, stomata resistance and canopy temperature of the plant in the first year was higher than the second year. The highest height, number of pods, leaf chlorophyll and stem diameter belonged to Zafar cultivar under normal irrigation conditions and the lowest value was observed in Zabol10 cultivar under irrigation cut conditions from flowering stage. Plant height, number of pods, stomatal resistance and canola leaf chlorophyll in vermicompost application conditions were higher than non-vermicompost application conditions, but the values of soluble carbohydrates and canopy temperature were higher in vermicompost application conditions. The highest amount of soluble carbohydrates in leaves belonged to Zabol10 cultivar in the conditions of irrigation cut from flowering stage and the lowest amount of soluble carbohydrates in Zafar cultivar was observed in normal irrigation conditions. The highest stomatal resistance belonged to Zafar cultivars in irrigation cut-off treatment at flowering stage and the lowest in Zabol10 cultivar in normal irrigation conditions. The lowest and highest canopy temperatures were observed in normal irrigation conditions and irrigation cut from flowering stage, respectively.

In order to investigate effect of humi-forthi biostimulator and L-arginine amino acid on growth, physiological and biochemical characteristics of marigold (Tagetes erecta) under drought stress, a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications was carried out. The first factor was humi-forthi at three levels (0, 2.5 and 5 mg/l), the second factor was L-arginine at three levels (0, 1.5 and 3 mM), and the thirs factor was drought stress at three levels (100%, 70%, and 40% FC). Traits including the number of flowers, flower diameter, total chlorophyll content, SOD enzyme activities, andNPK concentrations were measured. The results indicated that drought stress, especially 40% FC, significantly influenced all morpho-physiological traits of marigold. There was observed a reduction flower diameter and number, chlorophyll content, and NPK under drought stress, whereas an increase was recorded for SOD activity and carotenoid. In most traits, 5 mg/l humi-forthi was more effective in respect to 2.5 mg/l and control. In addition, 3 mM L-arginine significantly had greater impact in respect to control and 1.5 mM. The interaction of humi-forthi, L-arginine and drought stress was significant on total chlorophyll, SOD activity, P and K (P≤0.05). The treatment of 5 mg/l humi-forthi + 3 mM L-arginine is the most effective treatment for alleviating the adverse effect of drought stress particularly 40 % FC.

Water stress is one of the most important environmental factors that regulate plant growth and development, and limit production. Plants can respond and adapt to water stress by altering their cellular metabolism and invoking various defense mechanism. Manipulating the levels of antioxidative defence system may affect yield. Therefore, the aim of this study was to find out the relationship between gene expression of antioxidant enzymes and proline as an osmotic regulator in wheat cultivars under drought stress. For this purpose, a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design was carried out with three replications. Treatments were two Iranian wheat cultivars (Pishtaz and Niknejad) and three levels of drought stress. Drought stress resulted in a reduction of Chl a, Chl b, total Chl and yield in both cultivars. This reduction was lower in tolerant cultivar Niknejad. Drought stress led to an enhancement in proline content, the activity of CAT (Catalase), APX (Ascorbate Peroxidase) and SOD (Superoxide Dismutase) enzymes. The tolerance of Niknejad cultivar under drought stress is associated with high chlorophyll (Chlorophyll), proline contents which is closely related to its enzymatic antioxidants activity (including CAT, APX and SOD). Our results showed that drought stress resulted in an increase in the gene expression of CAT, APX and SOD enzymes as well as enhanced the expression of gene for enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of proline (P5C5). Therefore, antioxidant enzymes and compatible osmolytes regulate plant yield mainly by modulating ROS with different mechanism.

Through the exponential development in the specification of sequences and structures of proteins by genome sequencing and structural genomics approaches, there is a growing demand for valid bioinformatics methods to define these proteins function. In this study, our objective is to identify the function of unknown proteins from UCB-1 pistachio rootstock and specify their classification using bioinformatics tools. In previous research, we recognized 5 HPs in proteomic profile of the University of California at Berkeley I pistachio rootstock leaf under salinity stress. Two of them had 2.95 and 2.29-fold up-regulation under salinity stress. In this study, the probable function and characterization of these HPs were recognized using different statistical methods and programs. According to our analyses, these HPs have similarities with reverse transcriptase enzyme as well as helicase enzyme and some responsive proteins to salt stress. These observations suggest a close relationship between the overexpression of these enzymes and plant responses to salinity stress. These stress-responsive proteins could provide a novel plant defense strategy in response to salinity.

Drought is a major abiotic stress that limits agricultural crop production. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant which is very important for the herbal industry. This study was aimed to investigate the variation some of the secondary metabolites and morphological traits as well as changes in expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of thymol (including HMGR and TPS2) by real-time PCR. One of the main goals of the present study was to find out the relationship between the transcript of these genes and related metabolites in thyme. This study was conducted in the greenhouse of Iranian Institute of Medicinal Plants of Jahad Daneshgahi (Karaj, Iran) in 2016. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with 5 replication and 4 water deficit stress treatments, including 100% (T1, control), 70% (T2, mild stress), 40% (T3, moderate stress), and 20% (T4, severe stress) of field capacity (FC). Total RNA was extracted from leaves using TRIzol reagent following the manufacturer’s instructions. First strand synthesis of cDNA was performed immediately using 1 µg of total RNA with simultaneous use of oligo-dT (50 µM) primers and random hexamer and reverse transcriptase enzyme following the manufacturer protocol. In order to examine gene expression by real-time PCR, the method of fluorescence dye SYBR green (Fermentase, USA) was used. The amount of thymol and carvacrol were measured by HPLC. Results of morphological traits showed that increasing the water deficit stress caused a decrease in root biomass, shoot fresh weight, plant height, root length, and the number of side branches. Results of gene expression profiling showed that the highest expression of TPS2 and HMGR genes and the highest amount of thymol and carvacrol was obtained in treatment T2 (70% FC). TPS2 and HMGR gene expression changes were similar to the changes of monoterpenes thymol and carvacrol in all treatments and the highest number of monoterpenes and gene expression were obtained in mild water deficit stress treatment in comparison with control, moderate, and severe stresses. Altogether, according to the results of this study, mild stress had a significant effect on increasing the expression of HMGR and TPS2 and led to a higher production of monoterpenes.

Determining the level of genetic diversity and relationships among genotypes is necessary to identify the parents for different breeding purposes. In the present study, genetic diversityof 55 samples of wild barley germplasm, Hordeum spontaneum, collected from different regions of the world was evaluated using 14 microsatellite (SSR) markers. A total of 52 alleles were amplified with an average of 5.2 alleles per locus and average frequency of the major allele was 0.51. Polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.37 to 0.81 with an average of 0.629 and gene diversity or expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.38 to 0.82 with an average of 0.635. Results of the measured diversity parameters in the studied markers showed that Bmag007, EBmac0701 and Bmac134 were the most appropriate markers to separate genotypes. Cluster analysis based on SSR data and UPGMA method using simple matching similarity matrix assigned the genotypes into six groups. The genotypes belonging to each group were generally collected from a specific geographical region. In many cases, a mismatch between the genotypes and its geographical region was observed. Based on these results, the highest similarity was observed between Syria and Jordan genotypes and the samples from Kazakhstan had lowest similarity to the genotypes collected from these two countries. The result of this research showed that there is considerable genetic diversity in the studied wild barley samples which can be used to improve the cultivated barley after the identification of their useful genes.

A proteomic approach was conducted to further understand the mechanism of plant responses to salinity in Hordeum bulbosom. Three-week-old seedlings were treated with 300 mM of NaCl for 21 days. Total proteins of fourth leaf were extracted and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. More than 500 protein spots were reproducibly detected, including 46 spots that were up-regulated and 16 spots down-regulated. Using MALDI-TOF-TOF MS, 20 proteins involved in many cellular functions were identified. These proteins include: oxygen-evolving enhancer protein, rubisco, putative glycine decarboxylase, ribosomal protein, profilin, germin-like protein or oxalate oxidase-like protein, proxyredoxin, translationally-controlled tumor protein homology, nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK), thioredoxin, dehydroascorbate reductase, 2-cys peroxiredoxin, replication factor c, and sucrose synthase. Identified proteins are involved in different metabolic pathway, such as; energy metabolism, photosynthesis, redoxin, translation, transcription, signaling, osmolite synthesis, cell wall and replication factor.