فصلنامه زیست شناسی جانوری تجربی
سال دهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 39، زمستان 1400)

Ovarian cancer happens as the result of change in gene and molecular metabolites. Because of chemotherapy side effects in cancer treatment such as drug resistance, using of complementary therapy with herbal and their derivatives is increased. This study evaluates anti-tumor effects of vitexin on AHRI, p53 and Kras genes expression by Real time PCR. Also metabolite changes due to these variations are measured by 1D NOESY, 1 HNMR. SKOV3 cells treated whit different concentrations of vitexin and determined IC50 by MTT assay. The IC50 was measured as 520µg /ml. Then RNA extracting and building of cDNA done to determine level of genes expression changes. Metabolites extracted by water, chloroformed and methanol and lyophilized samples evaluated by 1HNMR. The expression of AHRI and p53 tumor suppressor genes in the treated cells increased by 1.93 and 1.76 times, respectively, and the expression of Kras oncogene gene decreased by 0.23 times. Maximum changes in metabolites pathways observed in Aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, Biotin, cysteine, methionine, branch amino acids, lysine metabolism, and steroids biosynthesis. Vitexin shows its anti-tumor effects by targeting of several biochemical pathways and reload of metabolites by change in genes which have roll in ovarian cancer. So to confirm this study more evaluations in pathway signaling is needed.

The aim of this study was to determine the abundance of biofouling communities and compare their growth in different panels of concrete, PVC and iron in the port of Kushkonar (N W Parsian Gulf).A total of 162 panels were placed in Kushkonar port. The panels were placed by the diving team in 3 stations in March 2016. The first harvest of the panels was done after 6 months in the summer and second harvest was done in winter 2016.  A total of 162 panels were placed in Kushkonar port. Different panels (with 3 repetitions) at a depth of 5-7 meters were placed horizontally by the diving team in 3 stations in March 2016. The first harvest of the panels was done after 6 months in the summer and second harvest was done in winter 2016. Overall24 species have settled, Crustaceans (6), Gastropoda (5), Bivalvia (4), Polychaeta (10), Polyplacophora (2), Bryozoan (1) and Macroalgae( 4).The abundance  of biofouling communities in the second harvest was much higher than the first harvest. In the second harvest, the highest density of biomass was related to PVC multilayer panels with 10696.67±447.75/m-2,There were also no specimens of Polyplacophora, Polychaeta and Bryozoa in the iron panels. Also, another factor in increasing the frequency of biofouling communities on PVC multilayer panel and concrete panel, was the presence of many pores in these panels, which created a shelter for larvae to settle and thus increase their adult abundance.

Ants with more than 13.700 species belong to Formicidae family and Hymenoptera order. Ants are the most well-known social insects that have a significant impact on the ecosystems of their habitat. The role of these insects in the physical and chemical changes of the soil and their interaction with plants, microorganisms and other living organisms is undeniable. Iran, with its diverse climatic conditions and habitat variety, has a great diversity of plant and animal species. The research is conducted in order to complete the faunistic of ants located in the eastern part of Kurdistan province in Iran. The region is divided into 11 zones according to different ecological conditions in which samples are collected either manually or by hand and pit fall. In the work about 23 species derived from 11 genus and three subfamilies are identified. All species are obtained from Kurdistan province for the first time, statistically coming from Messor syriacus species from Myrmicinae subfamily in abundance. All species are verified by professor Taylor from the Royal Museum of England.

Red Deer is the largest native deer in Iran. The species distribution is restricted to only some core zones of protected areas of the country. The most important factors in the decline of the population of the species are the destruction and fragmentation of its habitat, overhunting, and poaching which are strongly influenced by human activities. Therefore, modeling and identifying breeding habitats in the remaining suitable areas can help conservation managers to protect the remaining populations of this species. The core zone of the Central Alborz Protected Area is the most important core area for breeding Red Deer. In this study, we investigated the species habitat selection by the ecological niche factor analysis method. The results in the ENFA method with values of 1.3 marginalities and specialty 5.5 indicate habitat areas with higher slopes and dem than the average which has low tolerability, are preferred by the species. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the protection of the region is an important factor to conserve the species.

The emergence of personalized medicine based on molecular techniques, such as next-generation sequencing, has increased our understanding of drivers of complex diseases, including cancers. In many cases due to the complexity of cancer, it is difficult for human physicians and biologists to make decisions on the basis solely of clinical practice or laboratory evidence. Thus, the personalized medicine approach comes into play and provides large volumes and valuable data for experts. Further, data analysis with bioinformatic tools has opened a new horizon in the process of prognosis and screening of in risk individuals. It has caused significant recent advances in diagnostic technology and improved targeted treatments. In the present study, archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue from an Iranian female patient with invasive breast carcinoma was investigated. In this way, after DNA extraction and purification, the whole exome was sequenced and the mutation data were analyzed. Obtained information could help to the enrichment of the Iranian genome databases. In the light of this research and by studying other Iranian samples, we can provide an optimized roadmap for precision oncologists to increase the life expectancy of breast cancer patients.

Knowledge about the species geographic range and habitat affinities is essential in the species conservation programs Thus, it can be said that  habitat selection is one of the most effective behavioral mechanism in the fitness of the organisms .Sand cat is a rare species. Sand cat is not well studied because this species lives in a harsh environment that is often remote, and these cats are nocturnal, subterranean, and secretive animals.  In this research we investigated SAND CAT’s habitat suitability and distribution in Sistan and Baluchistan province of the south eastern Iran using Maximum Entropy modeling approach. Our results indicated that the presence of the desert bushlands and vegetation cover is the most important variable which affects the species habitat selection and use since it provide prey habitat use in the area. Since there is no documented conservation and management program regarding SAND CATs in the study area, this research can provide enough basic data for such programs.

Among Iranian venomous snakes, the most important groups causing envenomation are Naja Naja Oxiana, Echis,Vipera albicornuta, Vipera  latifii Mertens, pseudocerastes  peersicus and Vipera lebetina. Many researchers believe natural snake venom toxins are containing several pharmacologically active components  that could be of  potential therapeutic  value. In the  past, studies have  shown that  some neurotoxic fractions of snake  venom interfere with some infectious and non-infectious diseases such as cancer. we purified snake venom of V. lebetina by fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) using Sephacryl S-200 hr column. The fractions collected and evaluated by SDS-PAGE analysis.  The cytotoxicity effect of crude venom and fractions on Vero cells were demonstrated using 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and adhesion assay. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of Macrovipera  lebetina (one of the native snakes of many parts of iran) , in order to create an appropriate animal cell culture model to evaluate the effects of protein complexes on diseases such as viral infections.

Despite the many chemical drugs available, the prevalence and mortality rate of melanoma is high. Therefore, the use of drugs of natural origin with lower cost and higher efficiency can be a good way to save patients. Therefore, in this study, the main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of Moringa extract on melanoma. Hydroalcoholic extract of Moringa leaves was prepared. After examining the total phenolic and flavonoid content of the extract, their type was confirmed by HPLC and spectrophotometer methods. The antioxidant power was measured by DPPH free radical scavenging and FRPA methods. Then the tumor was induced in C57BL6 mice and then the effects of the extract were evaluated on B16F10 cell line and tumor mice. The total flavonoid content was 60.65±1.75 mg quercetin acid per gram of dry extract and the total phenol content was 20.25±1.23 mg gallic acid per gram of dry extract. Three phenolic and flavonoid compounds with antioxidant properties identified include quercetin, gallic acid, and caffeic acid. The free radical scavenging power and the reducing power of the extract increased with increasing the concentration. The IC50 of moringa extract was 73 μM/mol. The tumor volume was significantly reduced by different doses of the extract in two weeks. The results of present study show the positive effect of Moringa leaves extract in reducing the survival rate of B16F10 melanoma cancer cells and tumor volume in mice.