خسرو پیری

Rational use and protection of natural grasslands within legal frameworks to regulate rangeland management and prevent land degradation, especially in countries with extensive grasslands, are crucial. Land-use change from grasslands to hand-planted forests can negatively affect soil properties and biodiversity. This change may lead to a decrease in soil organic carbon reserves, an increase in apparent density, and a change in soil pH. It also has significant impacts on soil macroinvertebrates, leading to changes in their communities' structure and subsequent ecosystem functioning. Given the substantial role of soil macroinvertebrates in ecosystem performance, preserving biodiversity and food webs through their diverse ecological services, including pollination, pest suppression, and energy cycling, is essential. The reduction of soil macroinvertebrates can have negative effects on soil structure, decomposition processes, infiltration, and gas exchange, potentially resulting in land degradation and a decline in the quality of ecological services. Therefore, the preservation and enhancement of soil macroinvertebrates are of paramount importance and play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem balance and stability. They are also sensitive to human disturbances and are used as biological indicators for such interference with soil components. The overall aim of this study is to investigate the effects of land-use change on soil macroinvertebrates. Therefore, in this research, soil macroinvertebrates and their community structures were examined between rangelands and artificially planted forests.

Sampling was conducted from the Lavizan Forest Park and its surrounding rangelands in Tehran during the spring season using the quadrat sampling method. Two sites were selected for each reigon. Each site was examined using six quadrats (0.5 m × 0.5 m). In each quadrat, soil macroinvertebrates were collected from the soil surface and depth (0-10 cm). A total of 446 samples were collected and classified into 51 morphOTUs in the planted forest and 68 morphOTUs in the rangeland based on morphological characteristics. To compare the diversity between the planted and rangeland areas, richness and diversity indices (Shannon-Wiener, Margalef, and Evenness) were calculated. Soil physicochemical properties, including soil texture (sand, silt and clay), magnesium, calcium, organic carbon, total nitrogen, biomass, and pH, were evaluated to investigate their relationship with soil macroinvertebrates.

The results showed that abundance was higher in rangelands than in hand-planted forests. Also, Shannon-Wiener and Evenness indices for soil macroinvertebrates in the rangelands were higher than in the hand-planted forests, indicating a significant difference between diversity and richness indices. Additionally, the results of beta diversity methods showed that turnover between the two regions occurred. The findings of the canonical correlation analysis between the main taxonomic groups and physicochemical properties showed that different variables in rangelands and hand-planted forests had an impact on macroinvertebrate communities.     

The results of this study showed that land-use change from rangeland to planted forests can significantly affect the biodiversity and community structure of invertebrates. Many studies have demonstrated that land-use change can lead to changes in the density and species richness of invertebrates over time. In many cases, species sensitive to disturbance are lost and replaced by other species, resulting in a substitution between invertebrate communities. This study also found significant changes in the composition of macroinvertebrate communities following land-use change. In general, the conversion of rangeland to planted forest can lead to the restoration of biodiversity in macroinvertebrate communities over time. Despite the observed changes in community composition, forests that have been planted for many years have had enough time to recover. Given the significant increase in land-use change, especially in recent decades, comprehensive information on the impact of human disturbances on soil organisms is essential for addressing conservation issues.

However the role of water in sustainable development is vital, the launched infrastructure projects of Integrated Water Resources Management Plans in recent years have not been able to completely maintain the balance between human consumption for socio-economic activities and the water needs of natural ecosystems to guarantee the sustainable life for riverine ecosystems. In this regard, this research investigated the hydrological effects and ecological consequences of the construction of dams in the upstream basin of Jiroft Dam as the key water supply zone in the western Jazmurian watershed, which is also known as Halil-Rud River.

In this research, the significance of the long-term changes of the mean annual discharge in the rivers of the study area at the hydrometric stations of Solatni, Baft, Hanjan, Meydan, Qale-Rigi, Konarooiye and Hossein-Abad, as well as the alterations in the mean annual precipitation of rainfall gauges in the period of 38 years (1980-2018) have been analyzed by Mann-Kendall Test and then 33 hydrological parameters (based on the daily discharge of Hossein-Abad hydrometric station in the mentioned period) as indicators of ecological needs (which is affected by the Baft and Jiroft reservoir dams) have been analyzed by using the variability range approach and IHA software in two periods before and after the construction of the dams.

According to the Mann-Kendall test results, although the mean annual discharge in the rivers upstream of Jiroft dam has had a significant drop at the level 95 and 99% of discharge during the past 38 years, the trend of change in the mean annual precipitation in the same period, except one station (Hanjan), was not significant and this difference was due to the negative effects of dams construction and it was also confirmed by the output of the IHA model. It should be noted that based on the output of the mentioned model, 33 hydro-ecological features of Halil-Rud river flow showed fundamental alterations since the operation of Jiroft Dam (1992), but the operation of Baft Dam upstream of Jiroft Dam in 2008 has led to intense negative effects of flow characteristics (outside the acceptable range of ecological variability) in Halil-Rud River.

In order to prevent the magnification of the water crisis, the cumulative effects of the construction of chain dams should be considered using hydro-ecological approaches, as well as the water allocation programs, especially the environmental flows should be revised according to the upstream developments of each dam basin, so that the sustainable socio-economic needs as the goals of integrated water resources management would be provided and also the health and survival of the natural ecosystem would be guaranteed.

The presence of toxic compounds, including phenol, due to industrial development, poses a threat to the environment. Utilizing hairy roots has emerged as a potential method to remove these toxins. This review aims to explore the efficacy of hairy roots in absorbing phenol pollutants and the influencing parameters.

This study was conducted using a descriptive-review method based on existing literature gathered from databases such as Science Direct, PubMed, and Google Scholar. The focus of the study was on the purification of phenol using hairy roots. Keywords such as Phytoremediation, Hairy root, Phenol, and Transgenic roots were used for data collection.

Results show successful phenol removal by hairy roots, potentially attributed to abundant production of peroxidase enzymes. Various factors, such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), incubation time, pH, plant species, and pollutant concentration, impact phenol removal efficiency. Notably, plants like Brassica napus, rich in peroxidase enzymes, exhibit high efficiency in removing phenol pollution up to 500 mg/L, with H2O2 and within a pH range of 4-9.

In conclusion, hair roots possess significant adsorption capacity for phenol. However, phenol concentration, contact time, pH, and temperature influence their performance. Therefore, further research is required to explore optimal conditions for phenol removal.

The MSRT, as one of the key players in science and technology in Iran, has engaged in international cooperation as one of the most important features of its subordinate institutions. One of the projects that has been implemented since 2016 with the aim of organizing international cooperation. According to it, some educational centers have been designated as "references for international cooperation" . The present study, while reviewing the performance, was conducted with the aim of providing a model for improving the current situation in the field of international scientific cooperation of the MSRT. Globalization, the international network system, and structure-agent theory are the three vertices of the triangle on which the paper's theoretical foundations are based. The research method is a combination of documentary study methods, comparative study, case study, interview and panel of experts. Based on the challenges identified in the four policy areas, intra-ministerial, extra-ministerial and operational, three strategies based on "maintaining the status quo and improving it", "changing the status quo and eliminating national authorities" and "returning to the status quo ante" are designed and exposed. Experts evaluated and consulted. The result is that maintaining and improving the status quo has been identified as the final solution and a set of policy solutions has been proposed to improve it. These solutions are presented at two levels: solutions at the level of policy-making and governance of national authorities, and solutions at the level of operations of national authorities. Below each level is a set of policy strategies.

To evaluate the genetic variation in an in vitro culture of two samples of Hyoscyamus niger callus including new (one-month-old) and old (one-year-old) calli versus fresh leaves of the plant, the Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) marker was used. Using 10 primers, 6.49% polymorphism was observed in the three mentioned samples. Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) revealed 68% genetic variation among samples. Jaccard and Dice coefficients (similarity matrix) were also used by UPGMA and NJ methods. The best dendrogram to show genetic diversity (and distance or proximity of individuals) was known as the Jaccard similarity coefficient. The results of cluster analysis grouped the samples into two different groups. This classification was also confirmed by principal component analysis (PCoA). The first major group consisted of old calli and the second involved new calli and plant leaves. The result showed that the frequency of somaclonal variation in H. niger calli tended to increase with increasing the number of subculture times.

Type2 Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycemia that results from deficiency of insulin secretion, becoming the third leading cause of death in the world. Reactive oxygen species result in extensive oxidative damage that in turn leads to serious damages in the cells including apoptosis and diabetic. Considering to side effect of synthetic medicines, there has been increased interest in using of natural medicines. In the present investigation, in vitro antioxidant and antidiabetic activity of methanolic, ethyl acetate and n-hexane extracts of two macroalgae species Sargassum angostifolium and Palisada perforata from the Persian Gulf were analyzed. Algae samples collected from Persian Gulf coasts were extracted by Percolation method. -amylase inhibition activity of samples was analyzed using the DNSA method and also their antioxidant activity was analyzed using the ABTS radical scavenging and FRAP reducing activity methods. The ethyl acetate extracts of S. angostifolium and P. perforata showed the highest and lowest enzyme inhibition activity, respectively (P<0.05). Also the highest ABTS+ scavenging and FRAP reducing were observed in the ethyl acetate extracts of S. angostifolium and P. perforata, respectively (P<0.05). Generally, polar and semi polar extracts of two macroalgae species significantly showed the higher antioxidant activity comparing to their nonpolar extracts. Also S. angostifolium exhibited the highest activity in both free radical scavenging and -amylase inhibition assays. However, enzyme inhibition and antioxidant activity of two edible studied algae revealed that these macroalgae species can be used directly in human diet and also indirectly in medical and pharmaceutical application.

The tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) is an ornamental plant related to the agaves, planted around the word. The main purpose of this study was to investigation of various concentrations of Thymus vulgaris L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., and benzyl adenine on longevity and durability of tuberose cut flowers. After extracting herbal extract and GC analysis, cut flowers were transferred to vessels containing preservative solutions. Then flowers were located in the controlled room. A factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with three replications was carried out in this research. Design include effects of treatments on quality of flowers, percent of total dissolved solids, water absorbance, stem bending, flower diameter, fresh weight and dry weight. GC analysis indicated that there were some compounds in the extracts increasing the shelf life of cut flowers. The most longevity (13.75 days) was related to treatment of interaction of thymus extract (10%) and 50mg/l benzyl adenine. In conclusion, treatments of benzyl adenine and thymus extract inhibited the growth of microorganisms in preservative solutions that resulted in increased post-harvest longevity.

Medical Plants like Salix alba are potential sources of natural antioxidants and produce various antioxidative compounds to counteract reactive oxygen species.
The aim of the present study was to determine total phenol and flavonoid and antioxidant activity of four various extracts of stem and branch barks of Salix alba from Hamedan.
In this study Phenol and flavnoid tests were done To determine antioxidant compounds. 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to determine the free radical quenching capacity.The collected data was analyzed by SPSS software.
The highest value of total phenol were relevant to ethanolic extracts of branch and stem barks that 60.87± 1.19 and 69.98 ± 1.41 mg Gallic acid/g dw was measured, respectively and the lowest value of total phenol were determined to chloroformic extracts. The highest level of total flavnoid in branch and stem barks were relevant to ethanolic extract amount 71.20± 4.08 and 60.87± 1.19 respectively and also the lowest level were determined to chloroformic extracts of stem and branch barks amount 12.56± 0.29 and 13.80± 0.57 respectively. Furthermore the most activity of the free radical quenching capacity DPPH after Ascorbic Acid were determined to ethanolic extracts of branch and stem bark 0.129 and 0.130 mg /ml. There were significant differences between means of total flavnoid and total phenol of stem and branch barks.In conclusion,The best antioxidant activity were relevant to ethanolic extracts of branch and stem barks.

tPA is a fibrinolitic agent that cause dissolves of blood clots and used in stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Cuscutain is a stable and highly active protease in plants such as dodder, and parasite plants using this enzyme to penetrate into host. Although produced cost of recombinant proteins in plants is 10-50 times less than bacteria, but production of recombinant proteins in plants has problems such as difficulty of downstream process, low stability and activity of purified recombinant proteins. To increase stability and activity of tPA using protein engineering, dodder-cuscutain active site was spliced to tPA. DNA was extracted from dodder plants and desired segments of cuscutain amplified using specific primers. Then, the segment of cuscutain was shuffled to tPA by SOEing PCR method. Constructed chimeric tPA was cloned under control of CaMV 35S promoter and NOS terminator. Kozak enhancer sequence and signal peptide sequence (KDEL) were added to amino and carbocyclic terminus, respectively. Construct of pBI(tPA) was transferred to tobacco plants using agrobacterium method and transgenic plants selected on kanamycin medium. Analysis of transgenic plants was performed by PCR, RT-PCR, SDS-PAGE, western blotting and zymography. Results of PCR showed that chimeric tPA was constructed using SOEing PCR. Analysis of transgenic plants using RT-PCR, SDS-PAGE and western blotting demonstrated that chimeric tPA is expressed. Moreover, zymography test showed that compared to normal tPA, produced chimeric tPA has more activity and stability. In conclusion increasing activity and stability of recombinant drugs using plant genes is promising.

Nutritional, pharmaceutical, and healthcare properties of macroalgae are the most investigated subjects in macroalgae. In this study, nutritional and physicochemical properties of two important green macroalgae, Ulva intestinalis and Ulva linza, collected from the Persian Gulf, were investigated. In all analyses, we followed the reference methods with some modification. Results revealed that U. intestinalis contained higher protein content (15.79%) as compared with U. linza (9.90%) while U. linza had higher content of lipid (2.30%), ash (26.66%), phenol (2.16 mgGA/g) and flavonoid (11.7 mgQE/g) as compared with U. intestinalis with 1.98% lipid 22.50% ash, 1.02 mgGA/g phenol and 8.2 mgQE/g flavonoid. The two species did not show any significant differences about all analyzed compositions (P

Licorice is one of the most important medicinal plants in the world. Licorice root contains active triterpene saponins. Glycyrrhizin and its hydrolysis products are important in the pharmaceutical industry and food products. Many higher plants are sensitive to Agrobacterium rhizogenes and their inoculation lead to hairy roots induction. Plant secondary metabolite levels may be enhanced by hairy root culture. Composite plants are an alternative to tissue culture-derived hairy roots cultures for transgenic studies. In this study, licorice composite plants using Agrobacteriumrhizogenes strain AR15834 carrying the binary vector PBI121 with GUS reporter gene were obtained. 14-day-old seedlings grown in pots and sterile seedlings 3-5 days of Glycyrrhiza glabra were cut from internodes and were inoculated with bacterial suspensions. 50-60% of 14-day pot seedlings and 80-90% of 3-5 day seedlings produced hairy roots. Hairy roots of appeared from Rock wool pieces 3-4 weeks after inoculation. The hairy roots were tested using a histochemical GUS assay. GUS gene expression was demonstrated in some of hairy roots but in non-transgenic hairy root GUS gene activity was not observed.

The fungal genus Paecilomyces comprises numerous pathogenic and saprobic species, which are regularly isolated from insects, nematodes, soil, air, food, paper and many other materials. Some of the Paecilomyces species have been known to exhibit capabilities for curing human diseases. Here, bioactivities of metabolites from some soil inhabitant and invertebrate pathogenic Paecilomyces species were explored against a panel of target prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms. First, Petri plate assays indicated that all tested Paecilomyces species were capable of producing diffusible metabolites and volatile compounds with antifungal activities against Pyricularia oryzae and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Subsequently, the metabolites of the Paecilomyces species were extracted and the growth inhibitory and antimitotic effects of extra-cellular metabolites were shown using the yeast S. cerevisiae as a model. Further research indicated some antibacterial activity of extra-cellular metabolites from Paecilomyces species against human pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus pyogenes (G) and Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhi (G-). These findings indicate that the Paecilomyces species, either saprobic or pathogenic, have a strong arsenal of bioactive metabolites which show inhibitory or cytotoxic effects against other microorganisms, with a potential for application in agroforestry and medicine.

Previous studies have shown an anti-tumoral effect for different species of plant having similar component with Elaeagnus angustifolia L.and Nepeta crispa L. on cancer cells. This study was performed to evaluate the anti-tumural effects of Elagnus angustifolia and Nepeta crispa extracts on leukemia cancer cells. Cancer cells, grown in DMEM/F12 culture medium, were supplemented with fetal calf serum, 100U/ml penicillin and 100μg/ml streptomycint, then incubation at 37°C in a 5% CO2. The fractions of Hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform and aquesse at 10-160 μg/ml concentration were applied on K562 leukemic cells, and their effects were evaluated on proliferation and viability of cells by cell counter and LDH kits, respectively. Result showed that chloroform (chf), ethylacetate (EA) fractions of Elaeagnus angustifolia and Nepeta crispa showed an important cytotoxic effect on K562 cells. Isolated extracts from E. angustifolia flower and N. crispa caused a significant decrease in lukemia cancer cell growth. Therefore, this plant could be candidate for therapeutic or preventive activity against cancer-related disorders. Isolation and purification of effective compound/s from this extract and determination of their mechanisms of action are suggested.

There is a long history of using physical activities and herbal medications to cure psychological diseases such as stress and anxiety. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of training، extract of Althaea kurdica flower and noise stress on the anxiety of Wistar male rats. Thirty-five male rats were randomly divided into five groups: the noise group (n=7)، training+noise group (n=7)، extract+noise group (n=7)، training+noise +extract group (n=7)، and the control group (n=7). The aerobic training was performed 5 days per week، for a 60-day period. The noise stress included exposure to traffic noise 5hrs/per day over a 60-day period (range: 95±15 dB). The althaea kurdica extracts (IP) (500mg/per kg of body weight) were injected 30 min prior to the plus maze test. The control group (n=7) was not exposed to any noise or exercise، and was kept away from the sources of stress; the rats were kept under the same conditions. For the statistical data analysis، one-way ANOVA and LSD tests were used (p≤0. 05). The results showed that in the (noise+training+extract) and (training+extract) groups، the anxiety was less than and the noise group was higher than that of the control group (p<0. 01). It seems that aerobic training and extract injections had eliminated the effect of noise stress، and apparently the effect of aerobic training was more significant than that of the extracts.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of training, and noise stress on serotonin plasma level of Wistar rats. for many years, physical activity have been used for the treatment of different neuropsychological dieases.Twenty -One male witar rats(9-10 weeks old and 170/82±20/57g weight) were randomly divided into three groups: the noise group (n=7), training+noise group(n=7), and the control group (n=7). The aerobic training was performed 5 days per week, for a 60-day period. The noise stress included exposure to traffic noise 5hrs/per day over a 60-day period (range:85-110 dB).The control group was not exposed to any noise or exercise, and was kept away from the sources of stress; the rats were kept under the same conditions.At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected and plasma serotonin concentrations were determined.For the statistical data analysis, one-way ANOVA and Tukey post-hoc tests were used (α≤0.05). Plasma serotonin concentration significantly decreased in noise groups, in comparison with the controls (21.9±2.1, vs.40.8±7.3 μmol/ml) respectively; p<0.000). The plasma serotonin levels in the noise +training groups(36.2±3.1) were apparently near to the controls; however, resistance training could significantly increase plasma serotonin concentration in the noise+training group rats. Increased serotonin level following resistance exercises might reduced stress in subjects.

The effect of salicylic acid and methyl jasmonate elicitors on the growth speed and the secondary metabolites production was investigated in G.glabra hairy roots. Considering the importance of the Glycyrrhizin and Isoliquiritigenin secondary metabolites in the roots of this plant, a method of the induction of transformed hairy roots was used in this study. Hairy roots culture was established by Inoculated leaf and stem explants with Agrobacterium rhizogenes of the three-week old seedlings. The presence of T-DNA in the hairy root lines was performed by PCR. The effect of Salicylic acid was caused an increase in the production of Glycyrrhizin. Correlation of test results showed an inverse relationship between dry weight and amount of Glycyrrhizin in the treatment with salicylic acid. The highest amount of Glycyrrhizin and the lowest dry weight was obtained in 500 micro-molar concentration. Treatment of the hairy roots with salicylic acid was caused a significant decrease in Isoliquiritigenin. Also results showed, methyl jasmonate reduces the production of Glycyrrhizin and Isoliquiritigenin.

Burdock (Arctium lappa L.) is an important medicinal plant containing arctiin and arctigenin، which are important secondary metabolits used as anticancer reagents. Due to the existence of important secondary metabolites in this plant، development of a reliable in vitro tissue culture and regeneration methods to facilitate genetic transformation in this plant is important. In the current study، for optimization of the callus induction، leaf، petiole and root explants of A. lappa were cultured in solid MS medium، which was supplemented with 0. 5% PVP (as an anti-oxidant) and different concentrations and combinations of BA and 2،4-D hormones. This study revealed that the petiole explants induced highest callus rate comparing to the other tested explants. In addition، two hormones combined concentrations of 0. 5 mg/L BA + 1. 0 mg/L 2،4-D and 1. 0 mg/L BA + 2. 0 mg/L 2،4-D، produced the highest amount of callus and were the most suitable treatments for the callus induction.

Portulaca oleracea L. as a medicinal plant، having valuable secondary metabolites، such as noradrenaline، dopamine and omega-3، is used as anti-cancer، antioxidant، and blood purifier factor. Callus inducted from hairy roots of some medicinal plants are used to increase the production of secondary metabolites، cell suspension culture، protoplast culture، induction of embryonic callus and gene transfer agents. In this experiment، various concentrations of two hormones of BA and 2،4-D were examined on transgenic hairy roots of P. oleracea to produce callus. Hairy roots transgenic of P. oleracea were induced by Agrobacterium rhizogene، 15834 strain. Hairy roots produced by Agrobacterium rhizogenes15834 strain، were transferred to 1/2MS medium containing different concentrations of BA and 2،4-D hormones. BA and 2،4-D hormones were used، both at three levels of 0، 0. 5 and 1 mg per liter and in three replications. Our results indicated that BA and 2،4-D hormones alone as well as without hormone treatment (control) did not show any callus formation. The treatments containing different ratios of BA and 2،4-D hormones، caused callus formation in varying degrees. The medium containing 1mg/L BA and 1 mg/L of 2،4-D hormones showed the higher production of callus.

Medicinal plants are valuable natural resources، so recently; attention has focused on phytochemicals as new sources of natural antioxidants. Nepeta crispa and Elaeagnus angustifolia، which were used as medicinal plants from Hamedan Province in traditional medicine screened for total phenols، flavonoids، and free radical scavenging activity. In this study، flowers and aerial parts of N. crispa and E. angustifolia were extracted using methanol and hydroalcoholic solvents after drying and then total phenolic compounds were measured using Folin-Ciocalteu. Flavonoid content was determined using aluminum chloride and antioxidant properties were measured using DPPH free radical scavenging The results showed that the total contents of phenols and flavonoids in the methanolic extracts were more than of both hydroalcoholic extracts. Inhibition of DPPH free radicals increased with increasing concentration of plant extracts. The most inhibition of free radical DPPH measured by methanol extracts of N. crispa in 0. 137 mg/ml، and then in E. angustifolia in 0. 142 mg/ml. Results from the study indicate that the antioxidant activities of these plants may be related with total phenols and flavonoids.

Production of secondary metabolite using biotechnological technique on cell and organ culture is a benefit alternative method for utilizing of plant compounds. In tissue culture (such as organ culture)، quality and quantity of secondary metabolite could be improved by changing hormone concentrations. Stachys lavandulifulia Vahi. is an important and native medicinal plant that is widely distributed in different regions of Iran. In this study، effect of different levels of BA hormone alone or in combination with NAA hormone on shoot regeneration، total phenol and flavonoid content in vitro shoot culture were evaluated. The shoot culture results showed that mean number of shoots per explants in media containing BA+ NAA were significantly more than those with only BA. The highest shoot regeneration was achieved by media containing 0. 6 mg/l BA + 0. 1 mg/l NAA. Effect of NAA and interaction BA and NAA on total phenol on level of 1% were significant. The highest amount of phenol was achieved in 0. 9 BA treatment that was 1. 04mg Gallic acid equivalent/g fresh weight. In evaluation of Mean of Total flavonoid contents significantly different between BA and BA+NAA mediums was observed، the more flavonoid content (1. 66 mg quersitin equivalent/g fresh weight) was achieved in medium without NAA.

Arctium lappa is a medicinal plant, which natively grows in Iran. Arctiin and arctigenin are two of the most important secondary metabolites produced in this plant and used as anticancer reagents. Application of biotechnological methods for increasing the production of these metabolites is very essential. Recently, induction of hairy roots in plants to improve the production of desirable secondary metabolites has been considered. In this study, hairy roots were induced in Arctium lappa using Agrobacterium rhizogenes, strain AR15834. The leaf explants and seedlings of Burdock were used for the hairy roots induction. The leaf explants were turned brown and died when cultured in vitro. To improve the viability of these explants, different antioxidants including ascorbic acid (ASC), citric acid (CIT), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and L-cysteine were added to the MS medium, in different concentrations either alone or in combination with each other. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for rolB gene confirmed the morphological identification of the transformed hairy roots. Although the best antioxidant reagent was PVP 0.5% (w/v), it did not stop tissues browning of the leaf explants when they were co-cultured with A. rhizogenes for the hairy roots induction. When the two or three weeks old seedling were used for the hairy roots induction, the roots were observed 2 weeks after the bacterial infection with 5% frequency. In this study, A. rhizogenes induced hairy roots in Burdock. To the best of our knowledge, this is a first report on the hairy roots induction in Arctium lappa.

Many reports have demonstrated that many medicinal valuable secondary metabolites such as Phenolic compounds can be produced and accumulated by in plants in vitro culture. Polyphenols or phenolic compounds have potentially antioxidant activity. In past few years, pharmacological studies have confirmed that components and extracts of plants belong to the genus Stachys exert significant antibacterial, antitoxidant, antinephritic, antihepatitis, hypotencive and anxiety effects. Stachys lavandulifulia Vahi, popularly named "Chai Koohi" is widely distributed in different regions of Iran. In this study, effect of different concentrations of 2,4-D, on callus induction and effect of two elicitors (metyl jasmonate and salisylic acid) in different time points(2, 10 and 20 days after culture) on the level of total phenol were evaluated in callus. The results showed that, the best concentration of callus induction and growth was at the 1 and 2 mg/l 2,4-D. Also the effects of elicitors were significant in total phenol production.Cultivation time indicate significant difference on total phenol production, whereas interaction between time and elisitore was not significant. The highest total phenol concentration was found in the treatment with 10 μm of metyl jasmonate, after 10 days of culture.

Atropa belladonna is one of the medicinal plants used in widespread in Iranian traditional medicine. The hydroponic, method was successfully used in Datura innoxia to increase the secondary metabolite production. In this study. Atropa belladonna plants were cultivated in hydroponic condition before being permeabilized with Tween 20. After 30 days the seedlings were transferred to hydroponics, solution containing different concentrations of Tween 20. High concentration of scopolamine (9.29 mg/1) and atropine (Tropane's alkaloid) were detected in the nutrient solution containing 7% of Tween 20 while the control solutions with no Tween 20 showed lowest levels of scopolamine and atropine. After having their roots rinsed, all the plants were able to survive. These results indicated that hydroponic solutions containing up to 7% of Tween 20 could facilitate release of secondary metabolites from the roots..

During plant infection, fungal pathogens secret polygalacturonase (PG) that are capable of degrading cell wall of susceptible plant tissues. Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) are able to specifically inhibit fungal polygalacturonases (PGs) activity. The inhibition of fungal PGs by PGIPs suggests that PGIPs have a role in plant tolerance to fungal infections. In this study bean (Daneshjoo cultivar) pgip1 gene was overexpressed under the control of the CaMV 35S constitutive promoter in Brassica napus, R line Hyola 308. Transformation of cotyledonary petioles was achieved via Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404. After infection with Agrobacterium, the explants were transferred to selected regeneration medium. The transformed explants were screened in kanamycin containing media. The explants were excised and rooted using appropriate growth regulator. Putative transgenic lines obtained from independent transformation events transferred to the greenhouse for hardening. The presence of pgip1 in putative transgenic lines confirmed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific primers. Also, the results of bioassay demonstrated that the lesion sizes occurred on leaves of transgenic canola by Sclerotina sclerotiorum (causal agent of canola stem rot) were significantly retarded in compared to non transgenic canola plant using leaf detached assay.

In order to study the effect of different amounts of nitrogen and plant density on growth, yield, the percentage of essential oil in leaf and essential oil yield of peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), an experiment was conducted in 2008 at the Experimental Field of the Agricultural Faculty of Bu-Ali Sina University. The experiment was split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications over two cuts. The main plots included the amounts of 100, 150 and 200 kg nitrogen/ha in which half of fertilizer were used for the first cut and another half for the second. The sub-plots were consisted of plant densities as 8, 12 and 16 plants/m2. Morphophysiological characteristics including plant height, node and leaf number per plant, leaf area index, fresh and dry yield, essential oil percentage in leaf and essential oil yield over two cuts, and also the growth of dry matter, leaf area index and crop growth rate in the first cut were measured. The results showed that, nitrogen treatment significantly affected the properties measured, so that, their highest rates were obtained with the application of 100 and 200 kg nitrogen/ha from the first and the second cut, respectively. In addition, total dry matter, leaf area index and crop growth rate increased with increasing the amounts of nitrogen. Plant density also affected the plant height; node number, leaf number and leaf area index, essential oil percentage in leaf and essential oil yield in the first cut significantly, and in the second cut, plant density effect on leaf number and leaf area index was significant as well.