نشریه زیست شناسی کاربردی
سال سی و چهارم شماره 3 (پاییز 1400)

Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata are abundant species of Plantago in north of Iran which are recognized as valuable medicinal plants with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Therefore, in this study, eight populations of these two species were collected from different regions of the north of Iran and investigated in terms of phenols, flavonoids, anthocyanins, saponins, chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids, soluble sugars, total proteins. The results showed that P. lanceolata had more metabolites on average than P. major. The mean differences for phenols, anthocyanins, saponins, carotenoids and soluble sugars were statistically significant at the level of 0.05; so that the highest mean differences were for soluble sugars, saponins and phenols with 78.84±7.60, 3.83±0.68 and 3.55±0.85 mg/g dry weight, respectively. In addition, the results showed that both species of Lafur region had more phenols, saponins and soluble sugars compared to their other populations. Analysis of the essential oil of Masuleh populations showed that the metabolites in the essential oils of these two species were also different; the pulegon and palmitic acid were the main components of P. major whereas the D-carvone and adipic acid, dioctyl ester were the main components of P. lanceolata. It seems that phytochemical studies could probably be used in the taxonomy of these two species and other species of Plantago. These findings will help to select species and populations with higher metabolic content followed by optimal use in the food, pharmaceutical and health industries.

This study investigated tannase production by Trichoderma viride (Tv), Trichoderma harzianum (Th), Trichoderma longibrachiatum (Tl) and Trichoderma ressei (Tr) in the medium containing tannin as sole carbon and energy source. Morphologic characteristic of Trichoderma species (T) were determined in culture containing malt-yeast-glucose. Trichoderma species were cultured in Trichoderma fermentation medium (TFM) which contained 1% Tanic acid. The weights of proteins produced by T in TFM were determined by SDS PAGE. Trichoderma colonies were flat, and then gradually showed white unsmooth appearance and finally turned to green. The largest and smallest spores were belonged to Tl and Tr, respectively. The highest and lowest spore numbers in MYG were belonged Th (5.48 × 106) and Tv (12.26 × 106), respectively. The largest growth rate of mycelium was observed in Tl and the lowest in Tr (1.25 and 0.45 cm/d, respectively). The level of protein produced in TFM by Tr was lower (P<0.05) than the other species. The tannase production and its specific activity were similar across species. The enzyme specific activity in Tl was significantly more (P<0.05) than Tv (1.33 and 0.68 ul/mg protein). The molecular weight of the produced tannase was 131 kDa with two subunits weighing approximately 62 and 69 kDa. The results showed that Trichoderma species have the ability to grow and produce tannase in the medium containing tannin as the sole carbon and energy source.

Awareness of the density and canopy cover of Zagros forests is important for their preservation, restoration and expansion. The purpose of this study was to introduce the most appropriate estimator of distance sampling methods for estimating quantitative characteristics of these forests. For this purpose, trees and their two large and small crown diameters in 33 circular sample plots in Kermanshah province inventoried. Within each circular plots, seven distance sampling methods such as Nearest individual, Nearest neighbor, second nearest neighbor, Compound, T-square, Joint-point method and Point-centered quarter were sampled. After calculating the density and canopy cover of trees in circular method (true value) and distance sampling method estimators, the results of this estimators were compared with circular plots with using accuracy. The results showed that among 16 estimators of above distance sampling methods, the most suitable estimator for density and canopy cover of this forest was PCQ3 estimator.

In this study evaluate the effects of grapes cultivar on tolerance of vitis vinifera grown in drought stress conditions. Plants were grown in pots and exposed to 0, 40, 60 and 80 percent of fild capacity drought stress with three different cultivars (perlet, khaliliand ghizil ouzum). The physiological parameters such as MDA, H2O,EC and morphological paramaters such as dry and fresh weight and chlorophyll fluorescence Fo,Fv, Fm, Fv/Fm, Y(II) Y(NO) the contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and enzyme activities of (APX, GPX, and CAT) and prolin content and protein percent were determined. Grapes cultivars positively (ghizil ouzum) affected on growth and physiology statistically. The highest, proline content was significantly different under drought stress condition and ghizil ouzum treatments so that, enzyme activities of (APX, GPX, and CAT) are increased with enhancement of drought levels .interaction effects of drought and cultivars in CAT, APX and GPX activity were significantly different compared with control and increased with enhancement of stress levels so that most of the activity was in 60% fc concentration and ghizil ouzum cultivar. The amount of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters (Fm, and Fv, Fv/Fm, Yll, Y(N0) were significant changes in drought stress treatment and ghizil ouzum in 60% FC compared with control.

The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize phosphate-solubilizing bacteria from two phosphate mines and to investigate their soil phosphate solubility ability. Eighty five colonies with different morphologies were isolated and purified using the liquid Sperber culture medium enriched with Yazd’ Esphordi soil phosphate (YESP) and a form of diluents series in the Sparber solid culture medium enriched with YESP. Four out of 85 isolates (Rpy: from Esfordi mine and Tkd/4, Ggd/4 & Rpd/4 from Jiroud mine) with the highest amount of dissolved phosphorus in the Sperber liquid medium enriched with YESP as superior isolates were selected. With using 16S rRNA gene sequencing the isolates Tkd/4, Rpd/4, Rpy and Ggd/4 were recognized very closely (more than 99%) to Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens, Sphingobium yanoikuyae, Bacillus pumilus and Pantoaea aglomerans genera respectively. The multifold release of phosphorus by these isolates compared to the control from three phosphate sources showed that these bacteria can dissolve other phosphate sources.

Nowadays, due to the advancement of technology, understanding the medicinal applications of seaweed products is an important issue. For this purpose, antioxidant activity of different organic extracts from Chaetomorpha antennina green algae of Oman Sea was investigated. Methanol, chloroform, hexane and dichloromethane used for extraction and diphenyl phiceryl hydrazyl free radical (DPPH) scavenging, iron ion chelation and reduction power were used to investigate antioxidant properties. The results showed that the highest antioxidant capacity based on DPPH test was related to hexane and methanolic extract (85.72±1.69 and 85.42±5.59%), in chelating activity test, methanolic extract (32.54±2.89%) and in reduction power test methanolic extract (0.254 ±0.01ʎ) had the maximum amount. Therefore, the present study showed the very good antioxidant effects of methanolic and dichloromethane compounds extracted from Chaetomorpha antennina green algae at a concentration of 1 mg/ml.

During the past decades, several plant species have been introduced to Iran wich there is no compiled data about them. Due to the lack of an ecological-geographical database on introduced plant species to Iran, a study to compile and analyze their information for management planning seems necessary. In this study, a databace related to mentioned plant taxa introduced to Iran was prepared using data from field studies and review of available resources. Dissemination maps using Arc-GIS ver. 10.3 was drawn. Also using 0.25° × 0.25° Grid cells in Diva-GIS software environment ver. 7.3 species richness maps was drawn. The results of this study showing that 28 introduced species of the index are found in Iran and the Hyrcanian geographical province has a higher richness. Therefore, this study, while introducing the management priorities of the introduced species, has introduced general strategies for their ecological management so that it can be used as a basic scientific resource for biodiversity management programs in Iran.

Nowadays, emergence and prevalence of drug-resistant pathogenic bacteria has become a great global concern. So, there is an urgent need to discover new antimicrobial agents. The mucus of mudskipper fish may be a new, untapped source for antibacterial agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the mucus of Periophthalmus waltoni, isolated from Musa estuary, against four pathogenic bacteria, including Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtillis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The effect of gender and seasonal variations on antibacterial activity of mucus was also evaluated. After preparation of the aqueous mucus extract, the antibacterial activity was assessed using disc diffusion method. Also, the minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of the mucus extract was determined against two more sensitive bacteria.The results revealed that tested bacteria were susceptible to the mucus extract. Bacillus subtillis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most susceptible and resistant bacteria to the mucus extract, respectively. The gender of the fish did not make a significant difference in the antimicrobial activity of mucus, However, female fish showed slightly higher antimicrobial activity (P>0/001). It was also found that fish’s mucus has the higher antibacterial property in the spring season (P<0/001).

Lactuca undulata Ledeb. is belongs to the family of Asteraceae. One of the most important compounds of this plant is chicoric acid. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of planting bed and conditions culture on cichoric acid production in different populations. For this purpose, collected seeds from regions (Cheshmeh Ali Damghan, Qom, Mirzabailo, Biarjamand and Firoozkooh) were planted in pots with two different kinds of soil (field soil and soil collected from natural habitat) and kept in either outdoor or growth chamber. The other group of seeds was planted in 1×2 m plots in the field. This experiment was conducted using completely randomized design. The current data revealed that the Mirzabailo population that was grown in the growth chamber had the highest growth rate compared to the other populations. Also, Cheshmeh Ali, Mirzabayloo and Firoozkooh entered the reproductive phase with a delay of one month compared to Qom and Biarjamand populations. Among the investigated populations, the amount of cichoric acid in plants grown in pots and outdoors was higher than the samples grown in the field or growth chamber. The highest amount of chicoric acid (1.24 mg/kg DW) was observed in Firoozkooh population which was grown in pots containing soil of the region. The highest amount of chlorogenic acid (0. 98 mg/g DW) and caffeic acid (0.50 mg/g DW) were also observed in Cheshmeh Ali population which grown in pots containing natural habit soil. The present results showed that there is high phytochemical diversity among the studied populations.

Fish species overexploited (overfished) level of Iran (Southern waters from 1997 to 2017) was assessed based on the catch maximum sustainable yield (CMSY), R-software, Bayesian approach and Monte-Carlo simulation. Average of demersal fish catch in Iranian southern waters during this period was 141221 tons (95% Confidence interval (C.I) = 141131 to 141612 tons) and mean catch was significantly increased over the past two decades (R = 0.90, P <0.05). Also, for this study period, average of demersal fish catch in the northern waters of the Oman Sea (Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan province) was 38776 tons (95% Confidence interval (C.I) = 38845 to 38706 tons) and mean catch significantly increased over the past two decades (R = 0.94, P <0.05). Total overfished (weight) level of southern water was more than 31 percent. Demersal fish overfished in Iranian southern water and in the northern waters of the Oman Sea (total weight level) were exceeded 45 percent and 75 percent, respectively. Due to the existing situation, it seems that the amount of overexploited (overfished) is not in favorable condition and further decrease in exploitation ratio and fishing effort are proposed.