Iranian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Apr 2018

The aim of this investigation was micropropagation of Quercus brantii L. via culture of terminal and lateral buds for mass production of this plant. The plant materials were collected from Fars province Iran in spring and summer seasons. After surface sterilization and the removal of phenol materials from the explants, they were transferred into different culture media containing different concentrations of Indole-3-butyric acid and 6-benzyladenine as plant growth regulators. The results showed that 90 seconds sterilization with HgCl2 (0.1% concentration) was suitable for contamination control. In order to remove phenol materials, floating explants in 100 mg ascorbic acid solution and 100 ml distilled water showed, the best result. The results also showed that the Woody Plant Medium (WPM) containing 0.1 mg/l 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 0.01 mg/l Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) was suitable to establish this species with the highest survival rate. The highest number of proliferation was obtained in the Woody Plant Medium culture containing 0.7 mg/l 6-benzyladenine and 0.01 mg/l Indole-3-butyric acid. Also, the best rooting treatments were successfully achieved by using Woody Plant Medium containing 1 mg/l Indole-3-butyric acid. All experiments were carried out under growth chamber conditions with light intensity of 2500-3000 lux with 8 hours of dark period at 24-25 ºC. Totally, the results of this study showed an adequate potential of Persian oak for mass production by tissue culture in order to reconstruct Zagros oak forests and also for breeding tasks.

Food legumes are a central part of the diet for many communities around the world and lentil could be an excellent choice to provide more nutritious foods. Lentil breeding program aims to develop adapted, high yielding, biotic and abiotic tolerant varieties. The success of any breeding program is dependent on the availability of genetic materials with sufficient diversity. In order to investigate the genetic diversity in elite germplasm of lentil, a total of 138 genotypes received from ICARDA were evaluated in research field of Seed and Plant Improvement Institute during 2015-2016 cropping season. These materials were studied in an observatory design by evaluating 28 quantitative and qualitative traits according to the Bioversity international descriptor. Results indicated that the highest Shannon index belonged to ground color of testa (1.33), testa pattern (0.85) and color of testa pattern (0.8). The traits seed weight per plant (CV=111.23%), grain yield (CV=81.58%) and pod weight per plant (CV=72.55%) had the highest coefficient of variation. The highest 100-seed weight and grain yield were recorded for genotypes 118 and 69, respectively. Genetic relatedness of genotypes was investigated by their pedigrees and values of genetic distance. Analysis of proximity values based on quantitative traits showed that genotypes 6 and 114 had the highest similarity and genotypes 42 and 130, had the highest genetic distance. The results of discriminant analysis of principal components indicated a successful classification based on quantitative traits in differentiating groups of genotypes. Totally, results indicate the presence of a valuable genetic diversity which could be used in advanced breeding programs.

It is possible to use transgenic plants, as bioreactors, for the production of recombinant inexpensive chemicals and drug components. Transient gene expression is an appropriate alternative to stable transformation because it allows an inexpensive and rapid method for expression of recombinant proteins in plant tissues. In recent years, plant viral vectors have been increasingly developed as successful biotechnological tools for the expression of a wide range of foreign proteins in plants. Plant viruses-based vectors are useful because of the autonomous replication and the high level of gene expression in a short time. Here, we have used a vector derived from an infectious turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) for transient expression of the jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP), as a model heterologous protein, in radish plant. The GFP ORF was inserted between NIb and CP sites under control of CAMV35S promoter. The leaves were inoculated using surface scratch by carborundum and harvested 14 days after inoculation for analysis. The visualization of GFP fluorescence in leaf disks from inoculated plants using fluorescence microscopy demonstrated gene transformation and systemic infection. Expression of the desired protein were confirmed by RT-PCR, SDS-PAGE and Dot blotting analysis. The quantitative values of GFP in different inoculated leaves were compared by ELISA assay using an anti-GFP antibody. The results showed high level of expression of GFP protein in leaves of inoculated plants compared with wild type. The results demonstrated that the TuMV-based vector has high efficiency for the expression of the foreign protein in the radish plant. This is the first examination of TuMV-based vector in radish.

Olive tree is one of the most important oleaginous crops in the world, and known for having large genetic variability. Application of molecular markers is a suitable tool to investigate the genetic pool in crops. Therefore, in the current study 29 olive cultivars were tested by ten primers constituted by inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR). Plant materials were obtained from the collection of Tarom Agricultural Research Center in 2015. Genomic DNA was extracted from fresh leaves of 29 cultivars by a modified CTAB method. Ten ISSR primers were used and obtained data were scored. An analysis of primer informativeness showed that all primers were productive and effective in separating olive cultivars. Nevertheless, some of them were more effective such as UBC 855 and UBC 825 primers. According to cluster analysis and genetic distance, the olive cultivars were separated into three major clusters. Majority of the cultivars from southern and central Mediterranean such as; Italian, Spanish and Grecian olive cultivars clustered in one group. Results of the current study suggest that Mediterranean olive germplasm were structured into two main gene pools, which strongly matched two distinct geographic areas, i.e. western and central as well as eastern Mediterranean regions.

In order to study the adaptation of rice lines to drought stress and to identify the tolerant and sensitive lines, 150 pure lines in RIL population each derived from a cross between two Iranian rice varieties Gharib and Sepidroud were investigated. Augment design based on the randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used with 6 check cultivars and 4 replications in 2013-2014 growing season. In this study, based on correlation analysis geometric mean productivity (GMP), stress tolerance index (STI), mean harmonic (HM) and mean productivity (MP) were the most suitable indices for the selection of cultivars and lines under stress and non-stress conditions. The result of PCA showed that the first two PCs explained 98% of the total variance. Cluster analysis showed five distinct groups. In addition, according to results three-dimensional scatter plot and cluster analysis, Alikazemi, Gharib, Hashemi, Tarommahali, 1, 3, 7, 14, 22, 26, 27, 40, 49, 64, 65, 67, 68, 75, 98, 99, 120, 124, 126, 127, 133, 134, 138, 139, 141, 146, 147, 153, 157, 159, 162 and 163 were determined as the high yielding and the most tolerant cultivars and lines under drought stress condition which could be used in breeding programs.

Induced hairy roots by Agrobacterium rhizogenes are suitable organs for the production of secondary metabolites, due to the stability and high production of roots without phyhormones in a short time. Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum– graecum L.) is one of the most important medicinal plants with valuable medicinal compounds. For optimizing the hairy root induction of T. foenum-graecum L., six strains of A. rhizogenes ATCC15834, ATCC11325, K599, A7, A4 and A13 (MAFF-02-10266) and three explant ages (7, 14 and 21 day old seedlings) were tested. The explants were cultured in B5 in a completely randomized design with 4 replications. Hairy roots appeared after 3 to 4 weeks. Transgenic status of the roots was confirmed by PCR using rolB specific primers. The results revealed that all strains were able to induce hairy roots after 3-4 weeks. The maximum percentage of hairy root induction (87.5%) was obtained from A7 and ATCC11325 strains and 7-day-old explants. Among the strains, ATCC11325 strain showed the highest hairy root number (4.25) and root length (2.1 cm) using 14-day-old explant. Also, the highest fresh (0.203 g) and dry weights (0.029 g) were observed in the A4, A7 and ATCC11325 strains. The highest total phenolic and flavonoid contents were found at 74.05 mg g-1 DW and 11.80 µg g-1 DW in hairy roots induced by A7 strain.