Journal of Genetic Resources
Volume:2 Issue: 1, Winter-Spring 2016

In this experiment, the possibility of growth promoting of exogenous salicylic acid during two growth stages on chlorophyll content, yield and yield components of canola plant was investigated. For the purpose of improving above traits, salicylic acid was applied in four concentrations (0, 100, 200 and 400 µM) during two different growing stages (first time; when temperature was close to 7-10 °C and second time; when temperature was close to 7-10 °C at the end of winter) on two canola cultivars (Licord and RGS). The total chlorophyll content was higher when 100 µM was applied at the second stage of the application on Licord cultivar. Salicylic acid foliar application led to increase in seed yield of both cultivars. The highest plant height, seed weight, and plant biomass were obtained from Licord cultivar. The greatest pod number per plants was observed in Licord which was treated with 100 µM salicylic acid at the first time while the highest seed number per pod was observed in the former cultivar which was treated with 200 µM salicylic acid at the first time. In general, our results revealed that salicylic application increased canola growth and productivity of grain yield in both cultivars.

Flower morphology of 10 Fritillaria species of subgenera Theresia and Fritillaria growing wild in Iran is studied using seventy morphological characters. Qualitative and quantitative datasets separated taxa into subgenera, sectional and groups. Three enigmatic species F. caucasica, F. zagrica (endemic to Zagros Mountains) and F. pinardii (recently reported from Zagros Mountains) appeared as closely related, distinct taxa. F. chlorantha (endemic to central Zagros Mountains) was put in an intermediate position between members of sections Trichostyleae and Olostyleae. Two distinct groups of taxa corresponding to Caucasian group and sect. Trichostyleae, were clustered in subgenus Fritillaria, mainly by three quantitative characters, i.e. lengths of the petal, sepal, and the stamen. Exploratory analyses of both quantitative and qualitative characters produced consistent results and showed the application of quantitative characters of flower in refining the taxonomy of this genus.

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) as a member of the Apiaceae family is one of the most important medicinal plants in Iran. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of plant growth regulators and explant type on callus induction in cumin. For this purpose the cumin seeds (Kuhbanan accession) were disinfected with sodium hypochlorite and alcohol and cultured on MS basal medium. Leaf and hypocotyl explants were prepared from sterile seedlings and used to produce callus on MS medium containing 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mg/l NAA with 0.0 and 0.5 mg/l BAP. The experimental was as completely randomized factorial design with three replications. The results of callus induction showed that the explants type, hormone, and their interactions have non-significant effects on the callus induction percentage. Also, explants showed significant effect on callus growth rate (CGR). However hormones and hormone- explant interactions did not have a significant effect on CGR. The results showed that the medium containing 1 mg/l NAA and 0.5 mg/l BAP was known as the best callus growth rate medium for cumin (0.238 mm/d). Comparing the mean interactions of the explants in hormone on CGR showed that 0.5 mg/l of NAA + 0.5 mg/l of BA in leaf explant has the highest effect (0.248 mm/d).

Flora of Jahanbin mountain area in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, located between Shahrekord and Hafshejan cities, with 12’187 hectares and 2’150 to 3’300 m elevation above sea level, is investigated. Vegetation of this area comprises of 273 species, 189 genera and 42 families. Asteraceae (37 species, 13.5%), Poaceae (31 species, 11.3%) and Fabaceae (25 species, 9.1%) were the most important families regarding the number of species. The largest genera were Astragalus (9 species), Euphorbia (8 species), Silene, Hordeum, Ranunculus, Salvia (5 species each) and Galium, Centaurea, Scorzonera, Bunium (4 species each). Dominant life forms in this area were Hemicryptophytes and Therophytes. 149 species (55%) were native to Irano-Turanian region, 77 species (28%) pluri-regional, and 41 species (15%) shared elements between IT and neighboring regions (Euro-Siberian, Mediterranean, or Saharo-Sindian). This study reports also results of the first multivariate analysis of presence/absence data of floristic data in Iran, for a 14 flora x 1541 species matrix. Three main clusters of local floras emerged in resultant plots, separating the floras in western and eastern hillsides of Zagros, and based also on the climatic differences in northern and southern parts of the province in the eastern hillside. Our study demonstrated the applications of multivariate technics for comparative floristic analyses.

This study was carried out to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of different extracts from aerial parts of six Salvia species including Salvia ceratophylla, Salvia chorassanica, Salvia leriifolia, Salvia macrosiphon, Salvia chloroleuca and Salvia virgata. The effect of the extracts against 3 Gram positive and 3 Gram negative bacteria was tested by the micro dilution method. The amounts of total phenolic contents (TPC) extracted from plants in different solvent systems were in the ranges of 11.28- 23.82 (mg GAE/g). All extracts showed excellent radical scavenging activity, with IC50 in the ranges 27.38-469.78 μg/ml. The results indicated that methanol extract had the highest total phenolic contents (23.82± 0.16mg GAE/g). N-hexane showed maximum IC50 (469.78±5.97μg/ml) value while its antioxidant was lower than the other extracts. Among the tested plants, S. chloroleuca, S. virgata and S. ceratophylla have the most active radical scavengers while, S. leriifolia, S. chorassanica and S. macrosiphon were the weaker ones. S. macrosiphon, S. chloroleuca and S. ceratophylla were the most active plants against the growth of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Moreover, it was revealed that aerial parts of the some species belonging to the genus Salvia possess some antibacterial as antibiotics principles. These results showed that methanol was the most effective extract with the lowest MIC (1.25 mg/ml) against gram positive bacteria. The results of antioxidant activity showed there was not a perfect correlation between total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Our finding scientifically validate the use of Salvia species in traditional medicine and may serve as a source of drugs useful in some infections caused by bacteria and also as an antioxidant agent. Keywords: Salvia species, Antioxidant activity, Antibacterial activity

Micro-RNAs are a large group of non-coding RNAs of 18-25 nucleotides in length. Polymorphisms in the human pre-mir-RNAs could change the efficiency of target cell and can also play a role in cell cycle regulation and cancer. The aim of this study is to investigate the association of rs11614913 T/C polymorphism with gastric cancer risk in Ardabil Province. In a case-control study, this polymorphism was evaluated by PCR-RFLP method. For this purpose, the genomic DNA was extracted from blood samples of 50 subjects with gastric cancer and 50 healthy controls. The 149-bp amplified fragments in PCR were treated with MspI. In tumor samples, the frequencies of CC, TC, and TT genotypes were 14%, 40%, and 46%, respectively whereas these ratios were 8%, 28%, and 64%, respectively. The frequency of CC genotype in case group was somewhat different from the control group (14% vs. 8%), But this difference was not statistically significant (p-value = 0. 18). In this study, we did not find any significant association between rs11614913 T/C polymorphism and gastric cancer risk in Ardabil Province.

Cadmium as a heavy metal is also considered as a serious threat for the environment. This element is accumulated in soil through industrial processes as well as phosphate fertilizers and aggregates into the food chain. This study was conducted in order to investigate the different levels of cadmium effects on growth features of rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) plants. Root and shoot weight and height, contents of chlorophyll a and b, total chlorophyll, carotenoid and peroxidase enzyme activity were measured after one month of planting. Generally, an increase in cadmium concentration showed a significant effect on morphological characteristics of root and shoot but revealed no significant effect on chlorophyll a and b as well as on carotenoid contents, though it caused a significant decline in peroxidase activity level specially for concentrations above 90 µM of cadmium treatment.