The polyploidy induction using mutagenic chemicals is one of the breeding approaches to improve enhancing productivity of yield and secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. In the present research, to induce polyploidy in Stevia rebaudiana plants, the seeds were treated with four concentrations of colchicine (control, 0.05%, 0.1% and 0.2%) for 12, 24, 36 and 48?h in a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replicates. The morphological and phytochemical traits of plants were measured before the flowering stage. The results indicated that different concentrations of colchicine had a significant effect on the plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, mean of leaf length, stomata size and stomata

The polyploidy induction using mutagenic chemicals is one of the breeding approaches to improve enhancing productivity of yield and secondary metabolites in medicinal plants. In the present research, to induce polyploidy in Stevia rebaudiana plants, the seeds were treated with four concentrations of colchicine (control, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.2) for 12, 24, 36 and 48 h in a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design with three replicates. The morphological and phytochemical traits of plants were measured before the flowering stage. The results indicated that different concentrations of colchicine had a significant effect on the plant height, number of leaves, number of branches, mean of leaf length, stomata size and stomata den

Pomegranate, Punica granatum L., is one of the oldest cultivated fruit species. This study used morphological data and a set of simple sequence repeat markers to investigategenetic diversity among 202 Iranian pomegranate accessions during the 2010 and 2011 growing seasons at Saveh Research Station, Saveh, Iran. Principal component analysis showed that leaf traits were predominant in the first and second component during both years, indicating that these traits are not only useful in assessing genetic diversity, but also for characterizing pomegranate germplasm. There was high correlation between the length of style and flower shape, implying that these traits are directly associated with tree performance. There was also close correlation be

The objective of the present study was to develop a bioprocess for fast production of enriched biocompost from municipal solid wastes using a native microbial cocktail and cheap lignocellulosic biomass i.e. wood chips. The open-windrow composting experiments included (1) only municipal solid waste (C), (2) municipal solid waste?+?wood chips at 3:1 ratio (CW), and (3) municipal solid waste?+?wood chips?+?a microbial cocktail (108?cells/kg), containing 11 native mesophilic and thermophilic bacterial strains (CWM).The microbial cocktail led to the fastest rise in the starting temperature (up to 73??C after two weeks) and maximum carbon/nitrogen ratio decrease (40%) and organic matter reduction in the CWM compost. The CWM compost contained the

Dwarfing apple rootstocks are essential in modern apple production for the control of vigour, increased disease resistance, precocity, and predictability in orchard management. Such rootstocks also decrease the cost of production by lowering the costs of pruning, spraying, and harvesting. In this study, 18 new microsatellite (simple sequence repeat; SSR) markers were isolated and identified from a repeat sequence-enriched genomic library of Iranian dwarfing apple rootstocks using a modified Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing Repeats (FIASCO) procedure. GA/GT and AG repeat motifs were the most abundant di-nucleotides isolated. Nineteen microsatellite markers from previous work were also chosen for analysis in this study. Thirty-s

Dwarfing apple rootstocks are essential in modern apple production for the control of vigour, increased disease resistance, precocity, and predictability in orchard management. Such rootstocks also decrease the cost of production by lowering the costs of pruning, spraying, and harvesting. In this study, 18 new microsatellite (simple sequence repeat; SSR) markers were isolated and identified from a repeat sequence-enriched genomic library of Iranian dwarfing apple rootstocks using a modified Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing Repeats (FIASCO) procedure. GA/GT and AG repeat motifs were the most abundant di-nucleotides isolated. Nineteen microsatellite markers from previous work were also chosen for analysis in this study. Thirty-s

Streptomyces strain C-2012 is a salt tolerant biocontrol PGPR that has been isolated from Iranian soil. The main aim of current study was finding strain C-2012 taxonomic position and to find the genes which are potentially involved in salt tolerance phenotype. Strain C-2012 chemotaxonomic, morphological and molecular characteristics indicate that this strain is a member of the genus Streptomyces. Phylogenetic analyses based on an almost complete 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that this strain is closely related to Streptomyces rimosus JCM 4667T. Also, DNA–DNA hybridization test estimated 74% relatedness between two strains and confirmed that C-2012 is a strain of S. rimosus. In order to find novel genes that are differentially expressed

Streptomyces commonly produce ectoines as compatible solutes to prevent osmotic stresses. Fine structure of the genes producing ectoine (ectC) and hydroxyectoine (ectD) enzymes in Streptomyces rimosus C-2012 as a slightly halophilic bacterium is reported in this study. Deduced amino acid sequences of ectC and ectD genes from strain C-2012 and some other related species were compared and 72–90% and 13–81% identities were detected for ectC and ectD, respectively. High similarity of ectC between closely or distantly related Streptomyces to the strain C-2012 may indicate horizontal transfer of this gene. However, phylogenetic relationships of ectD were correlated with phylogenetic affiliation of the strains. It suggests that the ability of

Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is an important horticultural crop with valuable nuts. So far, only a limited number of microsatellite (simple sequence repeat; SSR) markers have been developed for members of the genus Pistacia, among which, only a few have shown polymorphism among genotypes of Iranian pistachio. This limits precise genotyping and diversity studies on this commercially valuable species. In the present study, we report the development of 12 novel microsatellite (SSR) markers isolated from a repeat sequence-enriched genomic library of P. vera L. We assessed genetic structure and diversity among 45 commercially important Iranian cultivars using these 12 markers. Polymorphic information contents (PIC) varied from 0.19 – 0.56, wit

Piriformospora indica is a root-interacting mutualistic fungus capable of enhancing plant growth, increasing plant resistance to a wide variety of pathogens, and improving plant stress tolerance under extreme environmental conditions. Understanding the molecular mechanisms by which P. indica can improve plant tolerance to stresses will pave the way to identifying the major mechanisms underlying plant adaptability to environmental stresses. We conducted greenhouse experiments at three different salt levels (0, 100 and 300 mM NaCl) on barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivar “Pallas” inoculated with P. indica. Based on the analysis of variance, P. indica had a significant impact on the barley growth and shoot biomass under normal and salt str

Infection of Mexican lime trees (Citrus aurantifolia L.) with the specialized bacterium “CandidatusPhytoplasma aurantifolia” causes witches’ broom disease. Witches’ broom disease has the potential to cause significant economic losses throughout western Asia and North Africa. We used label-free quantitative shotgun proteomics to study changes in the proteome of Mexican lime trees in response to infection by “Ca. Phytoplasma aurantifolia”. Of 990 proteins present in five replicates of healthy and infected plants, the abundances of 448 proteins changed significantly in response to phytoplasma infection. Of these, 274 proteins were less abundant in infected plants than in healthy plants, and 174 proteins were more abundant in infect

The objective of the present study was to enhance silymarin production in hairy root cultures of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn using fungal elicitors. The effects of different concentrations of the fungal elicitors (0, 10 and 20 mg/50 ml culture), including Fusarium proliferatum, Aspergillus niger, and Rhizoctonia solani, were studied on silymarin production in the S. marianum hairy root cultures. The hairy roots were harvested 0, 24, 48 and 72 h after inoculations. Detection and identification of flavonolignans was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography method. The maximum silymarin production for each of the fungi treatments were as follow: 10 mg A. niger/50 ml culture (0.18 mg/g DW) after 48 h, 20 mg/50 ml culture F. prolif

Background Witches’ broom disease of Mexican lime (Citrus aurantifolia L.), which is associated to the phytoplasma ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’, is a devastating disease that results in significant economic losses. Plants adapt to biotic stresses by regulating gene expression at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a recently identified family of molecules that regulate plant responses to environmental stresses through post-transcriptional gene silencing. Methods Using a high-throughput approach to sequence small RNAs, we compared the expression profiles of miRNAs in healthy Mexican lime trees and in plants infected with ‘Ca. P. aurantifolia’. Results Our results demonstrated the

The goal of this study was to determine micropropagation system for a mass production of Tuna (Opuntia ficus–indica). For this reason, explants dissected from strilled young cladodes successfully established on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5 mg l-1 Benzyl amino purine (BAP). MS medium containing different combinations of BAP (5 mg l-1) and Indole acetic acid (IAA)(0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 mg l-1), BAP (5 mg l-1) and Naphtalene acetic acid (NAA)(0, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2 mg l-1) and BAP (0.5 and 1 mg l-1) and Kinetin (0.5 and 1 mg l-1) were tested for shoot development. The best results for shoot development and elongation were obtained in media containing 5 mg l-1 and 0.25 mg l-1 NAA. The highest multiplication rate (3.9) was obse