فصلنامه ایمنی زیستی
سال دهم شماره 2 (تابستان 1396)

Microbial communities are a key element of soil quality and fertility. This research aims to survey the effect of genetically modified cotton cultivar Coker, harbors an endochitinase gene (chi) from Phaseolus vulgaris (bean) on soil bacterial communities. The transgenic chi-resistant cotton (GM), line R8 was selfed for four generations and the corresponding original plant line 1011, wild-type (WT) were provided and planted in the transgenic greenhouse (Biosafety Level 2) at Agricultural Biotechnology Research Institute of Iran (ABRII). Samples of soil were collected from rhizosphere and bulk area of 30, 60 and 90 days old plants. Enumeration of total bacteria and Actinomycetes were carried out using TSA, Water Agar and ISP2 media. Soil DNA was extracted from 1-g samples by using an Ultra Clean soil DNA kit. PCR–DGGE (Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis) was performed to show diversity in different groups of bacteria. Total numbers of bacteria in soil samples was approximately 106 and 107 CFU/g of dried soil of rhizosphere and bulk soil respectively. Average number of total soil bacteria and Actinomycetes were higher in rhizosphere area of 30 and 60 days old GM plants compared to the control. Although, at the end of growth period (90 days) GM (transgenic) and non-GM plants were approximately equal in number of bacteria around their roots. Molecular analysis based on PCR-DGGE revealed similar microbial dynamics for both Actinomycetes and total batera. The data presented here showed no consistent statistically significant differences in the numbers of total bacteria and Actinomycetes between rhizosphere and bulk soil of chi and non-chi cotton at the end of the experiment. Furthermore, it seems that the growth stage of plant exerts a noticeable effect on the microbial community.

Plants can provide a sustainable supply of biodegradable plastics by means of (polyhydroxyalkanoate) PHAs production. PHAs are a class of polymers with some unique properties which make them functionally equivalent to many of the petroleum-based plastics that are currently in the market place. However, unlike most petroleum-derived plastics, PHAs can be attained from renewable feedstocks and easily degrade in most biologically active environments. Plant genetic engineering, on the other hands, has provided researches to new insights towards large scale for raw materials productions required for biodegradable plastics such as PHAs. This review highlights a brief introduction to biodegradable polymers and plant genetic engineering as proper alternative tools for production of these economically important raw materials.

Disease diagnosis is of crucial importance in making appropriate therapeutic decisions. Conventionally, diagnosis was based on isolation and identification of the causative agent that was followed in timeline by the development of serological tests. Nowadays, molecular tests credited with high sensitivity like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and its variants are replacing the older diagnostic techniques. Major obstacle in adoption of PCR based technique is the need for thermocycler and isothermal amplification system like Loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) test is a good alternative for it. LAMP, through its uniqueness has provided the world with a powerful molecular diagnostic tool. This innovative gene amplification technique, amplifies nucleic acid at a very rapid pace, maintaining high sensitivity, specificity and efficiency. The most innovative features of LAMP, is the simplicity of its protocol, and over all low cost of application. The standout features however, ranges from the strand displacement activity of the Bst and Bsm polymerase enzymes, to its ability to amplify gene in an unprocessed samples. The cheapness and user-friendliness of LAMP amongst other advantages made it an ideal diagnostic tool that provides solution to the odds of PCR and its likes, the outstanding qualities displayed by LAMP in various researches, have led to several modifications in the technique. Till date, LAMP tests have been developed for diagnosis of a large number of diseases including bacterial, fungal, viral, and parasitic diseases.

The VP35 protein in Ebola virus is one of the main pathogenic components interacting to host cells and interferes with natural cellular immune responses. This is done by antagonistic potential of the viral VP35 protein which inhibits interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF-3) protein in the infected cells and then induction of antiviral genes expression are disrupted. In the present in silico study, we have designed a novel recombinant IFNα/β receptor protein which can be secreted out by host cells and circulate in blood stream. When the body encounters the virus, the recombinant protein can binds to VP35 and inhibit its antagonistic effect on IRF-3 proteins. Evaluations made by bioinformatics softwares revealed that the novel recombinant protein show promise for ameliorating the virulence of Ebola. But the obtained results should be investigated in vitro and in vivo for further evaluation and possible approval as a therapeutic strategy.

This research is performed by library method in order to study the replacing fossil fuel by clean fuel to maintain energy and decrease greenhouse gases. Studying the results of different experiments and researches have showed that the sources of Biomass in the head of work programs are able to convert energy to three form: electricity, heat and biofuel. Ethanol prepared from non- edible biologic resources (agricultural wastes) as pure or combined with gasoline is one of the most important biofuels and the material emitted from car exhausts includes gas and water steam. Suitable bioethanol with high octane number is usually somewhat special used in transportation system by mixing in a special appropriation with gasoil or by increasing octane number that results in decreasing the emission of greenhouse gases. The results of present research show that it's possible to produce biofuel from agricultural wastes instead of product itself. It results in using cheap and available primary matters. Also it solves the problem of removing wastes and placing them in the environment. So, producing fuels with plant origin and renewing property is not only a choice but also an emergency.

Although Genetically Modified (GM (plants are cultivated on more than 180 million hectares, but considerations has been raised about them. Available impact studies GM crops show that these technologies are beneficial to farmers and consumers, producing large gains as well as positive effects for the environment and human health. Increased production of GM crops could significantly contribute to global food security and poverty reduction. However, widespread concerns about transgenic plants create a complex system of regulations that lead to a real threat to the increase of development and usage of the genetically modified product. GM technology has been part of the agricultural landscape for more than 20 years and has now been adopted on in both developed countries (47%) and developing countries (53%). In the past year, the direct global farm income benefit from GM crops was $17.7 billion and since 1996, farm incomes have increased by $150.3 billion. This article reviews the existing literature on cultivation and economic evaluation of transgenic plants by focusing on the global market of biotech crops has been discussed since 1996.

A cross F2 plan was used to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting growth on chromosome 2 of quail. In this study, a three-generation population was developed of reciprocal crosses of two strains of Japanese quail (white male layer × wild female broiler and wild male broiler × white female layer). Phenotypic records related to birds’ growth traits of F2 generation (422) were recorded. All three generations of birds for four microsatellite markers on chromosome 2 were genotyped. QTL analysis was performed with least squares interval mapping method based on regression in three various statistical models. In the first model, additive and dominance effects of QTL were fitted and body weight traits in four weeks (p

The advancement of nanotechnology, as a promising novel technology, have been associated with concerns about biosafety and bioenvironmental issues. Specially, since this technology raises the claim of material manipulation in cellular-molecular-level, and improving biological functions of biomaterials with medical and biotechnological aims. In this regard, the safety of nanostructures and sub-cellular components according to the biological observations, and accurate study of biological mechanisms at the nanometer scale is of critical importance. The advantage of optical microscopy as an important tool in development of science is the ability to observe the living sample models, with minimal disruption to their functions, flexibility, sensitivity, and specificity. However, the limitation is the diffraction of light and its effect on the resolution. Recently, improvement of novel super-resolution imaging methods relying on molecules consisting of a labeled structure as nanometer source of light, has led to a significant reduction of resolution gap between fluorescent and electron microscopy. The images obtained by superresolution technique contain valuable information in areas such as chromosome studies, genome mapping, membrane transport, cell division, viral infection and cytotoxicity. This article introduces the latest scientific achievements of optical microscopy resolution improvement to the nanoscale with hope to upgrade the general information in different field of biology and medicine.

Propolis has been used empirically for centuries and it was always mentioned as an immunomodulatory agent. In recent years, in vitro and in vivo assays provided new information concerning its mechanisms of action, thus a review dealing with propolis and the immune system became imperative. This review compiles data from our laboratory as well as from other researchers, focusing on its chemical composition and botanical sources, the seasonal effect on its composition and biological properties, its immunomodulatory and antitumor properties, considering its effects on antibody production and on different cells of the immune system, involving the innate and adaptive immune response. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated the modulatory action of propolis on murine peritoneal macrophages, increasing their microbicidal activity. Its stimulant action on the lytic activity of natural killer cells against tumor cells, and on antibody production was demonstrated. Propolis inhibitory effects on lymphoproliferation may be associated to its anti-inflammatory property. Since humans have used propolis for different purposes and propolis-containing products have been marketed, the knowledge of its properties with scientific basis is not only of academic interest but also of those who use propolis as well. This review opens a new perspective on the investigation of propolis biological properties, mainly with respect to the immune system.

Choline is a vitamin-like compound which can promote the lipid metabolism in the liver and kidneys and reduces the chronic inflammations. It also participates in the synthesis of the phospholipids and acetylcholine and is important for the integrity of the cell membrane. Its sufficient amount in the embryonic stage is necessary and, the relation between its concentration and the appearance of the signs of the diseases such as breast and prostate cancers is confirmed. It is usually necessary to supply choline through the food chain and nowadays choline is widely added to the certain foods and therefore its quantitative determination is very important in the clinical analysis and food industries. In the recent years, application of the enzyme sensors as the cheap and portable tools with high selectivity and sensitivity has attracted much attention as the alternatives for the chromatographic methods. In this review, the studies (from 2000 to present) in the field of the modification of metal electrodes and determination of choline and acetylcholine in the food and biological samples have been reviewed. Modification of the electrodes leads to more enzyme immobilization with better stability and bioactivity, improve the electron transfer and decrease the resistance, and consequently, enhancement in the figure of merits of the method. Downloaded from journalofbiosafety.ir at 15:54 +0430 on Tuesday May 14th 2019