مجله پژوهشهای گیاهی (زیست شناسی ایران)
سال سی و چهارم شماره 3 (پاییز 1400)

In order to evaluate the taxonomy of seven species of the genus Verbascum L. (Scrophulariaceae) morphological data (quantitative and qualitative) of 15 populations from Iran, were selected to reconstruct their relationships based on molecular data (nrDNA ITS). The morphological results showed high polymorphism intra and inter the populations of species and inter species and molecular data could only show the separation of species with limited distribution. The presence of different populations of V. pseudodigitalis with wide distribution range (Kermanshah Provinceto Fars Province) in different parts of the phylogenetic tree and inter other species of the genus indicated the variety of characters and adaptation of the plant in different ecological conditions The presented data was not able to separate the species of this genus without overlapping, which might be due to an aneuploidy, polyploidy, high percentage of polymorphism and hybridization of species.Keywords: Polymorphism, hybridization, morphology, Verbascum L., nrDNA ITS.

In order to Identification of Ranunculaceae, morphological information of Delphinieae (Delphinium, Aconitum and 2 species of Consolida) was investigated to clarify taxonomic grouping this tribe. Delphinieae contains annual and perennial herb that similar in many anatomical and morphological traits. It was performed Morphological studies on 49 quality and quantity characteristics. Statistical analysis was conducted by SPSS software and cluster analysis was performed by Average linkage method. PCA analysis was performed and the most variable character were identified. The first group includes Aconitum species and the second main group includes Delphinium and Consolida taxa (two species of Consolida were studied). Principle Component Analysis Showed that most variable character include: root form, tepal form, stem striate, stem color, bract form and anther color. Based on the phonogram obtained, the results of numerical taxonomy studies confirm the classical classification available in most flora. The findings of this study confirm that D. elbursense var. gymnobotrys could be have higher taxonomic level.

In order to increase vegetable productivity by improving environmental conditions, this article investigates the effects of stimulates exogenous of silicon and biological treatment on the activities of major antioxidant enzymatic and non-enzymatic and on lipid peroxidation under Pb stress. This study was conducted in pot experiment to determine the effects of four Pb concentrations (0, 500, 1000, and 1500 ppm) at three different concentrations of silicon (Si) (0, 1.5 and 3 mM) and PGPR (non-inoculated, isolated 6 and 19 and mycorrhiza) on a coriander (Coriandrum sativum). The traits measured in this study included plant biomass, catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, ascorbate peroxidase, malondialdehyde, phenol, and flavonoid and antioxidant capacity. The results of this study showed a significant decrease in plant biomass at different concentrations of Pb. In addition, the content of malondialdehyde, peroxidase, phenol, and flavonoid and antioxidant activity increased with increasing Pb concentration but catalase and superoxide dismutase activity only up to 500 ppm Pb was able to increase. The interaction isolate 6 bacteria or mycorrhizal isolate with foliar treatment with 3 mM silicon nanoparticles, which increased in most traits.

Broccoli has been well known as a plant of high nutritional value. Application of broccoli peroxidase in different areas of clinical biochemistry, biotechnology and food industry enhances the interest for further study on the enzyme. The objective of this study was to evaluate the kinetic parameters of broccoli's peroxidase and their variations in the presence of methanolic extract of some endemic plants from Mazandaran. In this investigation, the crude extract from broccoli was homogenized, centrifuged, precipitated by ammonium sulfate and dialyzed. The enzyme activity was monitored in 414 nm with H2O2 and ABTS in phosphate-citrate buffer. The specific activity of the peroxidase was determined 0.58 U/mg in crude extract and 3.61 U/mg in dialysate. The optimum pH and temperature of the enzyme were obtained 4 and 30°C respectively. The extract of Artemisia tschernieviana, Eryngium caucasicum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Sambucus ebulus, Ligularia persica, Crataegus douglasii, Papaver rhoeas, Viscum album and Allium ursinum were prepared by maceration method. The enzyme activity was measured in presence of the extracts in different concentrations. The kinetic results shown that the extract of Crataegus douglasii, Rosmarinus officinalis, Papaver rhoeas and Artemisia tschernieviana in 33 µg/ml concentration inhibited the enzyme as 88.2, 79.5, 78.6 and 76.3% respectively. The extract of Ligularia persica shown no effect on maximum velocity of reaction while reduced the Km value by 4 times. Allium ursinu showed a partial inhibition on the peroxidase. Therefore, study on these plants for achieving to effectors on broccoli’s peroxidase, with pharmaceutical, agricultural and industrial applications could be recommended.

Acer L. contains about 148-150 species that are almost all distributed in Asia, China and Japan. 10 species of Acer are the principal component in Iran forests. The presence of unidentified and hybrid species, and influences of environmental changes on morphological traits, have further complicated the confusion over species grouping in species. This work was initiated with the objective of the morphology and anatomy of leaf and wood of existing taxa in Iran to identify and establish their similarities and dissimilarities relationship between them. Thus, we observed 52 quantitative and qualitative characters from leaf and epidermis. Cluster analysis Ward and Principal components analysis (PCA) were done in R sofware. PCA obtained the same result of the cluster analysis. Results showed that all Acer species were classified in a major cluster and distinct from two other species Koelreutaria paniculata and Dodonea viscosa. A. campestre and A. microphyllum had the most morphological similarities and also other species A. negundo united with them in cluster seperately. Different clusters of species showed that two kind of attributes are responsible for seperation and distinction between species. Leaf anatomical characters such as midrib thickness, the presence or absence of trichomes, different shapes and size of trichomes, trichome density, thickness and variety of epicuticular waxes and their shapes, size and stomatal density, bundle sheath form and amphicribral vascular bundle varied from species to another. It appears that differences and similarities among species are related to ecological environment and habitat conditions.

Two habitats of rangelands that are dominated by Stachys byzantina and Rhamnus pallasii and a forest area is dominated by oak (Quercus castaneifolia( were selected. In the plots, 36 litter and soil (0-20cm depth) samples were collected and conveyed to laboratory for measuring of the amounts of C, N, Ca, Mg, K and P elements in the litter and calculation of theirs storage in soil. The results showed that the amount of organic C and N of the litter (84.52 and 2.97%) were highest in rangelands of Rh. pallasii. Whereas the greater amounts of Ca and Mg (0.77 and 294.4%) found in forest litter, and also the higher values of K and P (0.31 and 149.0%) were observed in St. byzantina rangelands. The storages of organic C, N, Ca and Mg (1042088, 29298.3, 188396.88 and 7589.258 kg/ha, respectively) were increased in forest soils, but the St. byzantina rangeland cover improved the accumulation of P and K (18920.28 and 300.97 kg ha-1). In general, the findings of this research showed that the relationship between different plant species and the amount of accumulation of soil elements is not constant, And the positive effect of oak species on soil nutrient storage could be due to the quantity and quality of litter produced by this species compared to other species studied in this study.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of melatonin on the ripening, quality and postharvest life of strawberry and selecting its effective concentrations on strawberry cv Queen Elisa. Melatonin foliar application was performed at five concentrations including zero (control), 1, 10, 100 and 1000 μM in light green fruit stage. To investigate the effect of treatments on ripening process, fruits were harvested at 5, 10 and 15 days after treatment and their growth and physiological changes were evaluated. Also, in order to evaluate the effect of melatonin on postharvest life and quality, fruits were stored at 4 °C for 12 days. The 1000 μM treatment results increased the amount of ABA content and PAL enzyme activity during the ripening process. Also, 10 μM treatment decreased ABA production compared to those of control. The results of postharvest samples showed that fruits treated with melatonin at 100 μM concentration had higher firmness during postharvest, which was associated with higher TSS / TA ratio. In addition to sensory quality, the accumulation of phenol, anthocyanin and ascorbic acid with antioxidant capacity was higher in fruits harvested from 100 μM melatonin treatment compared to control treatment. It can be concluded that the effect of different concentrations of melatonin on the strawberry ripening process showed that the concentration of 1000 μM accelerated ripening compared to the control. Treatment with 10 μM melatonin delayed maturation compared to control samples.

One of the most important causes limiting the growth of plants is soil nutrient deficiency. Nitrogen is considered as one of the essential nutrients for plant production and its deficiency is common in many parts of the country. One of the ways to provide nutrients for plants is foliar application of them. In present study the effect of soluble micronutrients (iron and zinc) on some of the biochemical traits of thyme, including length and dry weights of root and leaf, leaf area, relative water content, chlorophyll, soluble sugar and proline contents and catalase and ascorbate peroxidase enzymes activity and essential oil constitutes was evaluated under nitrogen deficiency. Treatments included nitrogen deficiency at two levels of normal and deficiency and foliar spraying of micronutrients (iron and zinc) in three levels of control, one percent and two percent of the source iron sulfate and zinc sulfate. The results showed nitrogen deficiency reduced the chlorophyll content and increased carotenoids content compare to control. soluble sugar and proline contents and the activity of antioxidant enzymes increased in roots and leaves of thyme plant in nitrogen deficiency conditions. Spraying micronutrients improved nitrogen deficiency conditions, and in general, zinc nutrient had a more significant effect on biochemical factors compare to iron. The main constitute of thyme essential oil was thymol, that increased under nitrogen deficiency and also leaf nutrition by micronutrients. There was a significant correlation (P0.7) between catalase activity and ascorbate peroxidase activity of plant.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of climate variables on the width of the growth rings of Cupressus sempervirens Var. Horizontalis In the cities of Rudbar and Noshahr in Gilan and Mazandaran provinces. For this purpose, the number 13 discs were totally prepared from the breast height of the trees in two regions and after the preparation of samples including: cutting, sanding and specifying the borders of growth rings, the surfaces of the discs were photographed. Images were imported to Digimizer software in JPG format and the width of the growth rings was measured with 0.01 mm accuracy. Then the standardization and time matching steps were performed on the images. The chronological length of 38 years (1979-2017) gained and matching of the variance (GLK) of 77.26 and 70.10%, for Rudbar and Nowshahr measured, respectively. The average growth of 2.46 mm for Rudbar tree rings and 5.20 mm for Nowshahr tree rings were obtained. The results also showed that the growth of trees in Rudbar region had a positive and high correlation with precipitation factor (r = 0.94) and a negative and moderate correlation with temperature factor (r = -0.51). However, the effect of climatic factors on the growth rings of trees in Noshahr was not significant. According to the results of this study, the lack of dry season and mild condition of the plain in Noshahr area,

Genetic diversity is the basis of breeding programs and allows plant breeding with desirable traits and characteristics. Aegilops spp. is one of the wild relatives of bread wheat and has a large distribution in the Middle East and West Asia, with Iran covering a large part of this region. In this research, 154 native populations of Aegilops triuncialis L. from the National Iranian Genetic Bank were evaluated in an Agement block design with three replications. Evaluation of morphological traits was carried out according to the instructions of the International Institute of Genetic Resources. According to the results, the highest genetic diversity was related to the Aegilops triuncialis populations of East Azarbaijan and Ghazvin provinces, and the least diversity was in the populations of Kurdistan and North Khorasan provinces. In terms of diversity coefficient of qualitative traits, the accessions of East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan and Zanjan provinces in most of the traits have the highest indices and the accessions of Semnan province were in most of the traits lacking diversity. Correlation analysis showed that spike and stem traits had the highest correlation coefficients. Based on the cluster analysis of the accessions with morphological traits, in some cases, the grouping pattern was matched with the geographic distribution of the accessions. Given that the use of wild wheat relatives in breeding programs requires genetic diversity, the results of this study emphasize the importance of Ae. triuncialis species as a source of valuable genes that have high genetic potential for wheat breeding.

Cadmium is one of the heavy metals that causes oxidative stress in plants. In this regard, the use of plant growth regulators such as salicylic acid is suggested as a suitable compound to alleviate the toxic effects of cadmium. This study was conducted to investigate the interaction between cadmium chloride and salicylic acid on growth characteristics, antioxidant enzymes activity, carbohydrate and proline content of lemon balm. This research was carried out in a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications in a plant physiology research laboratory located at the University of Zabol in 1396. Expriments factors include four different cadmium levels (0, 1, 0.5, 1 μM) and three levels of salicylic acid (0, 0.5, 1 mM). The results showed that different growth characteristics, including root and stem weight, root and shoot length, were decreased by cadmium stress. The addition of SA improved the growth characteristics. Carbohydrate and protein content were reduced by cadmium stress and SA reduced the decline. Antioxidant enzymes activity (catalase, ascorbate peroxidase, Guaiacol peroxidase) as well as malondialdehyde content increased under cadmium stress conditions. While SA decreased malondialdehyde content and antioxidant enzymes activity. These findings suggest that the use of salicylic acid somewhat eliminates some of the toxic effects of cadmium and improved the tolerance of lemon balm under cadmium stress.

In this study, the essential oil composition, flavonoid and phenolic contents, and antioxidant activities of metanolic extract of stems, leaves and fruits in Postia puberula at post flowering stage were determinated. Essential oils were analyzed by using GC and GC/MS, The antioxidant activity were measured by 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and β-carotene/linoleic acid assay, also phenol and flavonoid content were measured by gallic acid and quercetin as standard compound. Result showed that cadinol (13.30%), hexenyl benzoate (12.06%) and caryophyllene oxide (11.96%) were the main compuned found in the leaves while; the stems were rich of cis-3-hexenyl benzoate (7.07), hexadecanic acid (5.75%) and δ-cadinol(5.71), also the major compouned of fruits were nuciferol (8.98%), benzyl benzoate (7.39%) and hexenyl benzoate (6.55%). In both DPPH and β-carotene/linoleic acid tests the leaves have stronger antioxidant activity compare with other organes, also, the results demonstrated that the leaves have more flavonoid and phenolic contents than the others

Allelopathy is defined as biochemical interactions among plants by releasing the chemical compounds known as allelochemical. These compounds can affect the growth and physiological processes of receiver plants. The present study was aimed at the identification of chemical constituents of ethanolic extract from root, stem, leaf, and flower of Convolvulus arvensis L. and its allelopathic activity on growth and physiological parameters of Triticum aestivum L. experimental design was completely randomized design with three replications. A total of 23 compounds were identified in ethanolic extracts which palmitic acid, 9-octadecenal, 9-octadecanoic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, and stearic acid were the major compounds. The results indicated that the germination and early growth of wheat were reduced by extracts especially in higher concentrations (50 and 100 g/L). Photosynthetic pigments content (chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids) was reduced. Total soluble proteins content was mostly increased by increasing the concentration of the extracts. Catalase activity was increased in low concentrations but decreased by high concentrations. A decreasing trend was observed in the peroxidase activity. Malondialdehyde content was increased with increasing the concentration of the extracts, indicating the occurrence of oxidative stress in both shoot and root of wheat seedlings. It was concluded that the extracts from different organs of field bindweed negatively affected the growth and physiological processes and cause oxidative stress in wheat seedlings.

Plant community’s classification provides an organization framework for design of future studies of the Functional features of communities or systems and the relationship between species and the environment of the studied region and since the plant species growing in an area are affected by environmental and biological factors on these regions, Therefore, identification and classification of vegetation distribution and climatic, soil and geomorphometry properties are necessary. In this research, vegetation Sampling was done by random-systematic method to place plots along four transects. In each plot, vegetation Cover information (name of plant species and percentage cover) was recorded, and at the beginning and end of each transect was digging the soil profile. Then, climatic and geomorphometry data were extracted. In order clustering regions based on climatic, soil, geomorphometry factors, was used hierarchical method and to calculate distance between clusters was used Ward's method. The results of regional clustering based on environmental factors showed that these results correspond with reality and areas with a zero percentage coverage of Artemisia sieberi in a cluster and areas with a moderate to high level of A. sieberi were found in other clusters. Generally, it can be concluded that there is a relationship between the environmental factors and the distribution pattern of the plants.

Alginic acid is a valuable polysaccharide that is extracted from brown algae and used widely in the food, pharmaceutical, biomedical, cosmetic, textile, dyeing and printing industries as thickeners, emulsifiers, stabilizers and the ability to form gels. Extraction methods and environmental conditions are the factors of the influence on the extraction yield. Evaluation of these agents have particular importance. In this research, alginic acid was extracted using acidification and calcification methods, and were compared with each other. Temperature, concentration and time were evaluated to determine optimal extraction conditions. FTIR spectroscopy was used to identify and compare the alginic acid sample with the standard. The alginic acid sample was analyzed by using the methods provided in food chemicals codex. Based on the results, the extraction yield of alginic acid was increasing 8% by calcification method ratio to the acidification method. Effective parameters have been identified to increase the extraction yield of alginic acid, including the concentration of 3% mineral acid at 2 hours, 4% alkaline concentration at 6 hours and temperature of 40 °C. The results of analysis of alginic acid were with an average purity of 93.57%, total ash 3.13%, loss on drying 13.2%, sulfate ash 7.33%, heavy metals as lead less than 0.004%, lead and arsenic less than 10 ppm and 3 ppm respectively. These results were based on the specified range food chemicals codex, and therefore it was introduced as an alginic acid food grade. The FTIR spectrum from alginic acid sample showed in according to its standard sample.

The Mishdagh protected area, with an area of ca. 34000 ha. is located in 15 km of Bostan city, Om-Al Dobase and Dashte Azadegan area. The area belongs to the Saharo - Sindian region. Study of richness will help to accurate understanding of ecosystem function, conservation of gen sources, controle of environment change and success or un success of management programes. The data of species coverage, density and biomass were obtained from 60 plots in fencing area, by using systematic - random sampling method too. In this research, 139 species belong to 35 families were determined. Most of the species belonged to Asteraceae Chenopodiaceae each with 20, and then Poaceae with 16 and Fabaceae and Brassicaceae with 10 and 9 species respectively. The results showed if the area is reserved, production capacity woulde be about 755 kg/ha. For this area numerical value of Shannon and Simpson indices respectively were 2.87 and 0.92. This is because of gen resources and species evenness. Most of species are therophytes so, they will growth stagnation or elimination in end of spring. So, species richness in this area belonged to time and from spring to autom it will reach to minimum value.

Understanding the mechanisms shaping plant communities in community ecology is a challenge. Recently, including the molecular phylogenies into ecological researches can resolve this challenge. However, such studies are still poor in rangeland ecosystems. Therefore, the aim of this study is evaluation of community assembly processes relating to variation in phylogenetic community structure along elevational gradient at 2500 ha of mountainous rangelands located in southern part of Khorassan-Kopet Dagh floristic province. In order to, phylogenetic structure andturnover of 91 plant communities were calculated using basal and terminal indices including NRI, NTI and Phylosor. We used the program Phylomatic to build a phylogenetic supertree for the available plant species in our studied area. Branch lengths were estimated using the BLADJ algorithm based on family ages in a dated version of megatree implemented in Phylomatic. We uses linear regression to study the changes of the phylogenetic indices along elevation. The results revealed significant variation in phylogenetic community structure from phylogenetically clustering to more phylogenetically overdispersed at higher elevation, which can be result from competition among close relatives and facilitation among distantly related taxa. Phylogenetic beta diversity index represented increasing of terminal phylogenetic dissimilarity with elevation that can indicate the important role of elevation on dispersal limitation of some taxa across niche limitation. Therefore, elevation was significant factor in operating the niche based processes and processes related to dispersal of taxa on variation in phylogenetic community structure in studied area.

Measuring plant traits is one of the essential requirements for calculating functional diversity indices. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the changes of morphological characteristics of Astragalus brachyanus species under the influence of environmental and management factors. In order to measure plant traits, three transects of 50 m long were located in each location. On each transect, five random points were selected and the closest plant base to the random point was identified. Finally, 15 stands per plant were selected to measure plant traits. At each site, three composite soil samples were also taken to measure soil parameters. Some environmental and management factors such as slope, aspect, elevation and grazing intensity of locations were also noted. Data reduction was performed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Regarding the calculated gradient length, RDA was used as linear method to study the relationship between vegetation traits and environmental factors. The results showed that the mean traits of crown diameter, collar diameter, base height, branch length and biomass dry weight in A. brachyanus were significantly different among distribution sites. According to the ordination diagram, branch lenght is mostly influenced by the elevation; collar diameter, affected by soil silt percentage and dry weight of biomass is affected by modified azimuth aspect. The height of the stands was affected by the percentage of porosity and crown diameter is affected by the percentage of sand. The results indicate the influence of environmental factors on morphological traits of A. brachyanus.

Catharanthus roseus is one of the most extensively investigated medicinal plants. Increase the concentrations of TIAs in plant organs, by biotic and abiotic treatments, is an important breeding objective on C. roseus. The effect of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria, Pseudomonas fluorescens and Azospirillum brasilense separately and in combination along with moisture treatment at two levels were tested in Catharanthus roseus as a factorial experiment based on randomized complete block design in three replications. Effect of treatments was evaluated 30 days after applying moisture treatments on some of morphological traits and Tdc and Str genes expression at the root of plant using qRT-PCR reaction. Water deficit significantly increased root length but it had no significant effect on the expression of these genes. Treatment with A. brasilense in normal condition enhanced length, volume and surface of roots, also significantly increased Str key gene expression. P. fluorescens had a positive and significant effect on the expression of the studied genes under normal and stress conditions compared to the control plants, despite the decrease in the amount of morphological traits. P. fluorescens and A. brasilense, separately, performed better in terms of their effects on the expression of the studied genes and increased the gene expression in normal and stress conditions compared to control plants. It is expected that by increasing the expression of Tdc and Str genes, the product of these genes as well as the final products of TIAs biosynthetic pathway, including ajmalicin content enhance at the root of periwinkle plant.