نشریه زیست شناسی کاربردی
سال سی و پنجم شماره 3 (پاییز 1401)

Drought stress is one of the most important environmental stresses in Iran. Teucrium polium is a medicinal plant from family of lamiaceae that grows in the rocky regions of Europe and southwestern Asia, including Iran.

In order to investigate the effect of drought stress on Tulip plants, an experimental design was designed in a completely randomized design and performed in a pot with three replications. Treatments of 100, 70 and 40% of field capacity were applied, essential oil was collected by Clevenger apparatus and essential oil was analyzed and identified by GC / MS apparatus.

By analyzing the essential oil, it was found that this plant is rich in antibacterial metabolites such as beta-pinene and beta-carbophylline, which are of great importance in pharmacy. Also, the plant cultivar resists drought stress by using some drought tolerance mechanisms such as increasing root length, increasing proline and protein. Therefore, it is a very suitable medicinal plant for planting in dry and waterlogged areas of Iran.

With the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, sequence data is collected at a high rate and their functional annotation remains a major challenge. The ATXN2 gene encodes a protein with an unknown function in rice (Oryza sativa). The aim of this study was to determine the structure of the domain and predict the function of this protein. So the sequence motif phylogenetic tree with 164 ATAXIN-2 amino acid sequences from 45 plant species was analyzed by MEME Suite and Phylip software. The results revealed two general classes of ATAXIN-2 proteins. The absence of the LsmAD domain in one class may confer distinct functional characteristics compared to another ATAXIN-2 class. In this study, the function of ATAXIN-2 was found to be RNA binding protein that plays a role in the regulation of cytoplasmic mRNA in rice embryogenesis. Findings from this study could be the basis for research on the function of this protein in targeting separate subsets of mRNA to subcellular locations in plants, which are recruited by embryonic bipolar cells to establish specific functional compartments.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) is a valuable medicinal plant. This study aimed to compare the chemical composition and antimicrobial effects of rosemary metabolic extract and essential oil against plant and human pathogens.

The compounds of methanolic extract and rosemary leaf essential oil were identified by GC-Mass and the antibacterial effects of essential oil and extract were measured by disk diffusion method and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of rosemary essential oil and extract was measured. Analysis of variance and Duncan's test were used for statistical evaluation of data.

Alpha-Pinene, Verbonone, Bornyl acetate, Camphor, Limonene, Caryophyllene, beta-pinene, beta-Myrcene, L-borneol, Camphene are the main constituents of extract and alpha-pinene, camphor, bornyl acetate and eucalyptol, Camphene, Caryophyllene, Limonene, beta-pinene were the main essential oil of rosemary leaf. Rosemary extract showed the highest and lowest inhibitory effect against Escherichia coli and Xanthomonas compestris. In the case of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas syringe, and Xanthomonas compestris, the results show that the essential oil has the same inhibitory ability against these three strains, and the ability of the extract to inhibit human pathogens is significantly higher than that of plant pathogens. Rosemary extract and essential oil can be used as a solution to eliminating plant and human diseases.

In the present epoch, extensive, diverse and increasing studies of behavioral genetics, biology, neurophysiology and even neurophilosophy as well as comprehensive applications of empirical tools for describing the foundations of spirituality and faith in religions of human beings have posed serious questions and ambiguities about the origin and nature of religion and even faith. Dean Hamer (1951-) aimed to identify meaningful correlations between behavioral genetics, molecular genetics as well as psychological studies and profound experiences (spirituality and faith). According to Hamer, vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) - aka God gene- plays a quintessential role in spiritual and faith experiences. The present paper seeks to measure and evaluate the theory of God gene. In doing so, it first argues that the information contained in genes and gene polymorphisms cannot possibly provide a complete explanation of the processes of spirituality and faithism and do not unveil human faith and logical revelation of human belief. Thus, answering this question more accurately warrants more extensive research. Second, such physicalism is confined to the physical aspects of human beings, and the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of human existence fall largely outside of this realm. Third, there are competing theories set forth against Hamer's theory, proving that basic beliefs and faiths are not genetically rooted nor inherited whatsoever. However, the role of matter (genes and their products) in the functioning of the mind in the occurrence of semantic and faith actions can not be denied and gave it a zero degree role.

Influence of Bio Aqua probiotic was evaluated on quality indices of silver carp and some water parameters in pond culture. Fish weighting 1±0.1g were reared in different ponds include 3 doses of Bio Aqua in each one during 4 month. The treatments were Control, (T1:250 g/ha), (T2:350 g/ha) and (T3:450 g/ha). The obtained results showed that SGR(Specific Growth Rate , DGR( Daily Growth Rate ), WG( Weight Gain ), FCR( Feed Conversion Ratio ) and ( Survival Rate ) were significantly higher in T3 (p>0.05). Also, the result showed best condition of water quality (TTS, BOD, COD). Body composition analysis of fish (Crude protein) and hematological factors in T3 Treatment increased significantly.

Cinnamic acid, coumaric acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid are of hydroxy-cinnamic acid derivatives with strong antioxidant properties. A few reports are available on the content and types of phenolic acids in endophytic fungi. The present study has been focused on the isolation of endophytic fungi from hazel (Corylus avellana L.), identification and measurement of their phenolic acids. Molecular identification of the fungi was achieved based on ITS primers and the presence of cinnamic acid derivatives was studied by HPLC method. Twelve phenolic acid-producing endophytic fungi were isolated and intracellular and extracellular amounts of above-mentioned compounds was monitored. Among the isolated endophytes, Alternaria sp. showed the highest amount of cinnamic acid (303µg / g Fw) and caffeic acid (17 µg / g Fw). It was also noteworthy that one hundred percent of phenolic acids produced by Fusarium sp. and Stemphylium sp., was released into the media of these fungi. Regarding to the cost effective and fast growth of endophyes, they can be introduced as alternative resources for commercial-scale production and extraction process of phenolic acids.

Preservation of plant genetic resources is of particular importance. Using ultra-cold seed storage techniques, seeds can be stored for a long time at a much lower cost. In the present study, the cryopreservation of millet seeds by a verification method was investigated. The experiment in factorial format (with two factors, the first factor in two levels of dewatering solution (PVS2 and PVS3) and the second factor in dewatering times in five- time levels (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 minutes) and with a completely randomized design and it was done with three repetitions. The results of the analysis of variance showed that all traits (root length, stem length, and germination percentage) were significant in terms of treatment time at the level of 1% probability. Also, the type of solution was significant for root length and shoot length and the interaction effect of treatment time in solution type was significant only for shoot length at the level of 1% probability. Treatment of millet seeds with protective solutions for 60 minutes showed the highest germination rate compared to other treatments. The results showed that seeds treated with PVS3 solution had shorter stem length but longer root length than PVS2 solution. In general, cryopreservation can be considered as a suitable method to protect the germplasm of millet. PVS3 solution had the highest average germination percentage at 60 minutes, which is the best treatment composition for long-term storage of millet.

Despite a long history of medicinal use of Lepdium vesicarium, the phenolic compounds and biological activity studies have not been performed on different organs of the plant. So, after obtaining methanolic extract of the different organs (root, leave, stem, branch, and seed), the total phenolic and flavonoid contents were assayed by spectrophotometric methods, and antioxidant and cytotoxic properties were evaluated by DPPH and MTT methods, respectively, and then free and esterified phenolic acids were analyzed by HPLC. According to the results, the methanolic extracts of seed and leaf had the highest total phenolic content, and the maximum flavonoid content was related to the stem and seed extracts. The investigation of antioxidant and cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cells showed that the highest antioxidant activity was related to the methanolic extract of seed, and the extracts of stem and seed had the highest cytotoxic activity. The results of phenolic acids analysis indicated that caffeic acid with the amounts of 1.44±0.16 and 1.11±0.09 mg/g dry weight was the main free phenolic acids in the leaf and branch extracts, respectively. Also, salycilic acid and m-coumaric acid with the amounts of 0.98±0.07 and 0.95±0.07 mg/g dry weight were the predominant esterified phenolic acid in the root and branch extracts, respectively. Therefore, based on the results, the seeds have the highest phenolic compounds, including caffeic, ferulic and gallic acids and due to its high antioxidant potential and cytotoxicity, it can be used in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation is an efficient technology for induction of hairy roots in plants. In the present study, the effect of Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains and explant type on hairy root induction in alfalfa was investigated.

A factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in Islamic Azad University, Sabzevar Branch. The studied factors were Agrobacterium rhizogenes strains at four levels (A13, 318, 15834 and A4) and explant type at two levels (leaf and hypocotyl).

The highest percentage of hairy root induction was obtained in leaf explants inoculated with bacterial strain A4, which was significantly higher than other strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Inoculation with bacterial strain 318 caused the least induction of hairy roots in leaf explants and hypocotyl. Bacterial strains A13 and 15834 produced the highest number of hairy roots per leaf and hypocotyl explants, respectively. The lowest number of hairy roots in leaf explants was produced under inoculation with 318 strain. The highest and lowest hairy root length in leaf explants, were observed under inoculation with bacterial strains A4 and 318, respectively. In hypocotyl explants, there was no significant difference between strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes in terms of number and length of hairy roots. The results of separation of PCR products using gel electrophoresis, confirmed the presence of rolB gene in the genome of hairy root cells. According to the results, inoculation of leaf explants with A4 strain of Agrobacterium rhizogenes is recommended to produce hairy roots in alfalfa.

The growth-promoting endophytic bacteria are highly regarded as bio-fertilizers. The aim of this study was to identify safflower endophytic bacteria and to detect their effects on seed germination and plant growth. Endophytic strains were isolated from safflower roots and their auxin production and phosphate solubility were evaluated. The effects of isolates were evaluated on the safflower seed germination and growth. Then, the activity of enzymes produced by the selected isolates were investigated. The antifungal effects of endophytic isolates were also evaluated by pour plate method. Endophytic bacteria including Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas corrugata, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas brassicacearum, and Bacillus megatrium were isolated from safflower roots. In treatment with Bacillus megatrium NMR isolate, the mean of germinated seeds by exposure to the concentration of 105 cfu/ml was significantly higher than concentration of 108 cfu/ml. Coleoptile length and root length in the control group were significantly shorter than the treatment groups. There was a direct relationship between the amount of auxin produced by endophytic isolates and their ability for phosphate solubility with increasing safflower coleoptile and root length, and germinated seeds. Pseudomonas brasicacearum NMR isolate produced all the four enzymes, pectinase, amylase, protease and xylanase. The Pseudomonas fluorescence NMR with the most effectiveness inhibited the growth of Aspergillus niger by 30.76%. The isolated endophytic bacteria in the present study are suggested as stimulants of plant growth in the field due to their ability to produce auxin and to dissolve phosphate and their direct effect on safflower growth factors.