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Molecular Biology Research Communications - Volume:2 Issue: 3, Sep 2013

Molecular Biology Research Communications
Volume:2 Issue: 3, Sep 2013

  • تاریخ انتشار: 1392/08/15
  • تعداد عناوین: 6
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  • Hajar Zamani, Ali Moradshahi* Pages 47-55
    Plant phenolics have high reducing capacity which can be exploited in the synthesis of nanomaterials. In the present study, phytoreductant vanillic acid is used to produce and coat silver nanoparticles. The effects of Ag nanoparticles on the unicellular green algae D. Salina were then investigated. Under optimum pH and temperature, silver ions were reduced to silver metal by vanillic acid. The absorption spectra of the silver nanoparticles showed a maximum band of 410 nm, which is characteristic of the surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed a narrow distribution size with an average of 52 nm. High concentrations of Ag nanoparticles reduced growth, total carotenoids, chlorophyll content, phenolics and antioxidant activity of the algae. Based on these results, phytoreductant vanillic acid can be used for synthesis and coating of nanosilver. Due to the projected increase in quantities and types of nanomaterials which leads to their elevated release into the environment and also because of the toxicity of nanomaterials, an urgent need to evaluate the impacts of nano-sized particles on the environment and living organisms is felt.
    Keywords: Green Chemistry, Phenolic compounds, Ag nanoparticles, Dunaliella salina
  • Mehdi Manoochehri, Mojgan Bandehpour, Bahram Kazemi* Pages 57-61
    Methylated and un-methylated control DNA is an important part of DNA methylation studies. Although human and mouse DNA methylation control sets are commercially available, in case of methylation studies on other species such as animals, plants, and bacteria, control sets need to be prepared. In this paper a simple method of generating methylated and un-methylated control DNA is described. Whole genome amplification and enzymatic methylation were performed to generate un-methylated and methylated DNA. The generated DNA were confirmed using methylation sensitive/dependant enzymes, and methylation specific PCR. Control reaction assays confirmed the generated methylated and un-methylated DNA.
    Keywords: Epigenetics, DNA methylation, Control DNA
  • Massumeh Aliakbari, Hooman Razi* Pages 63-71
    Manipulation of stress related transcription factors to improve plant stress tolerance is a major goal of current biotechnology researches. MYC2 gene encodes a key stress-related transcription factor involved in Jasmonate (JA) and abscisic acid (ABA) signaling pathways in Arabidopsis. Brassica napus, as a globally important oilseed crop, is a close relative of Arabidopsis. In the present study, a 960bp cDNA fragment of B. napus MYC2 (BnMYC2) was isolated, cloned and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of the BnMYC2 cDNA fragment showed high homology with Arabidopsis thaliana MYC2 and the putative Brassica oleracea MYC2, implying the conserved functions among these orthologous genes. The expression analysis by a semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) revealed that BnMYC2 is a drought inducible gene. A different expression profile of BnMYC2 was observed between drought tolerant and sensitive B. napus cultivars. The drought tolerant cultivar showed a higher accumulation of BnMYC2 transcript in response to water deficit stress during the studied time course. This result indicates that BnMYC2 may contribute to drought tolerance in B. napus.
    Keywords: Brassica napus, MYC2 transcription factor, Semi, quantitative RT, PCR, Water deficit stress
  • Keramatollah Nikookar, Lahya Rowhani, Sasan Mohsenzadeh*, Bahman Kholdebarin Pages 73-79
    The microalgae, Dunaliella salina was isolated from Maharlu Salt Lake, south east of Shiraz, Iran. The isolated strain was identified by both morphological and physiological markers. The complete ITS region (ITS1 + ITS2) including the 5.8S rDNA gene used as molecular marker confirmed our identification. Growth and cell proliferation, total chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were determined in the presence of 0.125, 0.25, 0.50, 1.0 and 2.0 mM ammonium nitrate. After five weeks, a maximum cell density of about (4.4 ±0.21)×106 mL-1 was observed in the growth medium containing 1mM NH4NO3. Increasing NH4NO3 concentrations up to mM, resulted in an increase in the cells total chlorophyll contents. The highest amount of cell carotenoid contents was produced in media containing the least amount of NH4NO3 0.125 mM). Manipulating the type and amount of external nitrogen sources to induce the synthesis of the highest amounts of carotenoid compounds in this microalgae strain can be of great commercial values to food industries.
    Keywords: Key words: Dunaliella salina, ITS, Ammonium nitrate, Carotenoid synthesis
  • Ali Shabani, Ghasem Askari*, Amin Moradi Pages 81-85
    Six highly variable microsatellite loci were used to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of the Garra rufa in Kermanshah and Bushehr provinces, Iran. All of the 6 microsatellite loci screened in this study showed polymorphism. A total of 90 individual fish from 3 populations were genotyped and 60 alleles were observed in all loci. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 6 to14. The average allelic number of these polymorphic markers was 10. The averages of observed (Ho) and expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.529 and 0.826, respectively. The genetic distance values ranged between 0.235-0.570. The UPGMA dendrogram based on genetic distance resulted in three clusters: Gamasiab population alone was classified as one and the other two populations as the second cluster. This study revealed a fairly high level of genetic variation in the microsatellite loci within the three populations, and identified distinct population groups of Garra rufa. This study gains significance for the analysis of the populations’ genetic diversity as well as the management of this important fish resource.
    Keywords: Key words: Garra rufa, Genetic diversity, Population, Kermanshah, Bushehr
  • Parastoo Karimian, Gholamreza Kavoosi*, Zahra Amirghofran, Fatholla Kalantar Pages 89-100
    Zataria multiflora (ZM) is a thyme-like aromatic plant in the Lamiaceae family that grows in central and southern Iran. ZM is extensively used as a flavor ingredient in a wide variety of foods and is used as part of popular traditional folk remedies. In the present study, ZM essential oil (ZMO) was obtained from ZM leaves via hydro-distillation and then analyzed by GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry). The anti-inflammatory activity of ZMO was determined via measures of NADH oxidase (NOX), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-, and interleukin (IL)-1β mRNA expression in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated murine macrophages using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). GC-MS analysis indicated that the main components in the ZMO were carvacrol (29.4%), thymol (25.7%), p-cymene (11.2%), linalool (9.3%), and γ-terpinene (8.0%). ZMO significantly reduced NOX, iNOS, TNF, and IL-1β mRNA expression in cells at concentrations of 0.1-1 μg/mL, indicating a capacity for this product to potentially modulate/diminish immune responses. ZMO has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and could be potentially used as a safe effective source of natural anti-oxidants in therapy against oxidative damage and a number of inflammatory conditions associated with stress.
    Keywords: Macrophages, Zataria Multiflora, NADH Oxidase, NO Synthase, TNF, IL, 1β