نشریه زیست شناسی کاربردی
سال سی و پنجم شماره 1 (بهار 1401)

Zearalenone (ZEA) is one of the most important and abundant fungal toxins that causes contamination of food and feed of livestock and poultry as well as serious damages to humans and livestock. The present study investigated the effect of organic adsorbent containing four strains of native Lactobacillus and the yeast cell wall of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on the reduction of the ZEA mycotoxin. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the effects of different factors including incubation time, temperature, as well as synergism of the strains were measured. Based on the obtained results, the investigated organic adsorbent can adsorb the mycotoxin ZEA and reduce its amount in the sample. Also, the heated and culture medium activated adsorbents possessed the best absorption. Evaluation of synergistic of strains showed a greater reduction of the toxin than each strain alone. Therefore, the studied organic adsorbent is proposed to control and reduce mycotoxin ZEA contamination.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of increasing the hydrolyzed protein of canola meal on growth factors, expression of GH, IGF and ghrelin genes and beluga (Huso huso) juvenile body composition. For this purpose, 840 juveniles beluga with an average weight of 30±5grams were distributed in 12 tanks, 70 in each tank. Each tank has a capacity of 2400 liters. Canola meal hydrolyzed protein was fed with different levels of 0 (control), 300 (treatment 1), 400 (treatment 2) and 500 (treatment 3) mg of protein for 8 weeks. At the end of the breeding period, bioassay was performed to evaluate growth factors and biopsy of brain, stomach and liver tissue to evaluate the expression of these genes. The results showed that with increasing the amount of hydrolyzed protein in canola meal in the diet, body weight gain, specific growth rate and protein efficiency increased and the highest value was in treatment 3 (500 mg) which was a significant difference with other groups(P <0.05). Also, the expression of all 3 genes showed an increasing trend that the difference between treatments and control was significant (P <0.05). The highest expression was observed for all three genes in the 500 mg treatment. The lowest amount of protein was in treatment 3, but there was no significant difference in the amount of protein, fat, ash and moisture between the control and other treatments (P> 0.05). In general, hydrolyzed canola protein can positively affect growth performance in beluga fish.

This study was performed to determine the prevalence of infection in sheep and goats by observing parasite nymph in mesenteric lymph nodes and indirect haemagglutination test. Furthermore, changes in serum protein and membrane osmotic instability of erythrocytes in infected and non-infected groups were evaluated. 791 samples of blood and mesenteric lymph nodes from sheep (456) and goats (335) were collected from the slaughterhouse of Ahvaz city (Khuzestan province). The results showed that 7.8% of all ruminants in the present study were infected with L. serrata. The infection rate was estimated to be 5.7% in sheep and 10.7% in goats. Total protein and albumin concentration, as well as albumin to globulin ratio, decreased significantly and globulin levels increased significantly in the infected group compared to the non-infected group in both animals (p˂0.05). The amount of membrane osmotic instability of erythrocytes increased in the groups infected with L. serrata (p˂0.05). Overall, the present study showed that sheep and goats are infected with L. serrata in Iran. This parasite also causes changes in the serum proteins of small ruminants. Infection with this parasite may cause oxidative stress and damage the structure of red blood cells and increase their membrane instability.

Migratory species move on their migration path in a wide range of environments, but their dynamic response to the environment and how migratory birds choose their habitat has rarely been considered. Due to the need for studies in this field, the present study was conducted to investigate the distribution and environmental parameters affecting the habitat selection of white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons, Scopoli 1769) as a migratory species in Iran.In this study, four groups of environmental variables including: topographic, climatic and land use / land cover variables were used. Points of presence were obtained using reports from the Environmental Protection Agency. For modeling, 9 algorithms in BIOMOD package under R software were used. The accuracy of modeling was evaluated using ROC and TSS indices. The results showed that parameters such as annual rainfall, distance to rainfed fields, rainfall in the warmest season and distance to wetlands have the greatest impact on the distribution of white-fronted goose. Also, the validation results showed that the models used in this study have high accuracy in modeling the distribution of species. The proposed method in this modeling can increase how researchers understand the distribution and habitat selection to provide management and conservation solutions for species.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of primers in evaluating soil bacterial community structure. For this purpose, soil samples were taken from cold and warm area which grazed (disturbed) or not grazed (undisturbed) in spring and autumn. Microbial DNA was extracted and sequenced after amplification by two primers which amplify V1-V3 and V4-V5 area of 16S rRNA. Next generation sequencing data were analyzed by QIME to determine bacterial community structure. Results showed the effect of area, grazing and season on bacterial community structure. NGS data analysis showed that primers which amplified V4-V5 area identified more bacteria (97.9%) in compared to V1-V3 primers (90.4%). V1-V3 primers had better efficiency to identify Proteobacteria (37.85%) in compared to V4-V5 which identified more Actinobacteria (33.6%). In addition, V4-V5 primers identified more bacteria in class, family and genus taxonomic groups in compared to V1-V3 primer. Although V4-V5 primer had better efficiency in bacteria identification, it is recommended to use both primers to evaluate precisely bacterial community structure.

Onosma is one of the most diverse genera of Boraginaceae. The areas of endemism as well the main diversity centers of the genus cover the Iranian as well Anatolian plateaus and the Mediterranean region. The present study has been conducted to determine the distribution patterns, centers of diversity, endemism centers as well as assessment the endangered species in the middle part of the Central Zagros. During the field studies, 75 populations of 10 species of Onosma were collected in the target area. The studied species showing an elevation range of 803- 2952 m. Additionally, the species are distributed in habitats with semi-humid, Mediterranean, and semi-arid climates and in alkaline soils (8/48-37/48. (The altitude and content of potassium in soil are the most important environmental variables affecting diversity as well species distribution in the studied area. Our results showing that half of the species in the studied area are located in the threatened categories. Finally, the results of this study emphasize the need for ex-situ conservation in some highly endangered species.

In this research the effects of bipod nettle aquatic and alcoholic extracts on the growth and some biochemical parameters of tomato plant, Super chef cultivar, were investigated under the greenhouse condition. For this purpose, aquatic and alcoholic extracts prepared from dried stems and leaves of nettle weed plant. Tomato seedlings were treated by direct injection of the extracts into the soil rhizosphere medium at the defined concentrations of 100,300 and 500 ppm. The growth and some biochemical parameters in treated tomato plants were assessed 3, 6, 9 and 14 days after treatment. The expression level of the SlHK4-Cytokinin inducer gene was also evaluated 14 days after the treatment using RT-sqPCR assay. Results showed that aquatic and alcoholic extracts of the nettle plants at the concentration of 500ppm significantly increased the relative growth rate, chlorophyll a and b concentratins, total phenol content, the specific activities of peroxidase (POX) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) as well as the expression level of SlHK4-Cytokinin inducer gene in treated tomato plants. The results of this study can be used as an applicable method to improve the growth of the tomato plant under the greenhouse condition.

Diabetes is one of the most common disease of the present century. The many side effects of the chemical drugs used to treat it increase the tendency to be treated by herbs that have fewer side effects. Plant flavonoids with their antioxidant effect have the ability to inhibit oxidative stress and diabetes. Bistort contains flavonoids, so in this study, the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Bistort root on blood glucose in streptozotocin diabetic mice have been assessed in the present study. In this experimental study, diabetes was induced by administration of 30 mg/kg of streptozotocin intraperitoneally in 15 mice and they were randomly divided into 3 groups. One group considered as control. The control and diabetic groups received normal saline and the treatment groups received glibenclamide at dose 0.5 mg/kg and hydroalcoholic extract of Bistort root at doses of 150 μg/kg for 15 days. At the end of the first , seventh and fifteenth days of the study, blood samples were taken and blood glucose levels were measured. The data were analysed by one way Anova and Turkey's test using SPSS 25. In this study, P<0/05 was considered.In this study, following the induction of diabetes blood glucose levels in all diabetic groups in the first, seventh and fifteenth days had a significant increase compared to control group (P<0/05).

The amount of chemical composition in the body of aquatic animal depends on the type of nutrition,,environment, age and sex of the living organism. The aim of this study was to investigate the carcass composition (protein, fat, moisture and ash) in rainbow trout with weight, length (50 ± 10 g, 250 ± 10 g and 600 ± 10 g weight groups and 12 ± 5 cm, 22 ± 5 and 38 ± 5 cm) and different genders were performed. The results of comparing the weight and length groups showed that the amounts of protein, fat, moisture and ash of fish carcasses were significantly different between different groups (P <0.05), the fish that had the highest length and weight, the amount of protein and fat was in the highest amount (P <0.05) and the inverse relationship between ash and moisture was observed and no significant difference was observed between the 50 and 250 g groups (P> 0.05). The results of different gender showed that the amounts of protein, fat, ash and carcass moisture of fish were significantly different between different groups (P <0.05) so that in males it was significantly higher than females. The results of the present study showed that in rainbow trout, the effect of length, weight and gender on carcass composition was significant and fish with 600 g and an average length of 38 cm had better quality. Also, the amount of protein, fat, ash and moisture in males is significantly higher than females of rainbow trout.

Parkinson's disease is a destroyer of dopamine neurons in the dense structure of the substantia nigra and other areas of the brainstem. Anxiety and depression are common in Parkinson's. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oleuropein and exercise on anxiety and depression in animal models of Parkinson's disease. In this experimental study, 40 rats were divided into five groups: control, Parkinson's (6-hydroxy dopamine to the striatum area unilaterally), swimming practice (five sessions per week and 30 minutes each session), oleuropein recipient for 4 weeks (20 mg per kilogram of body weight per day) and combined with swimming practice and oleuropein. To assess anxiety, the elevated plus maze test was performed and to assess depression, the open box test was performed. One-way ANOVA and Tukey's post hoc test were used to determine the differences between the groups. The results showed that the use of oleuropein with exercise significantly increased the duration of Parkinson's model animal in the Plus open maze arms (P<0.05). Also, the use of oleuropein with exercise in open feild box testing significantly increases the number of animals crossing the central square and significantly reduces the number of crossings of marginal squares and the number of hands raised (P<0.05). The results of this study showed that exercise combined with oleuropein consumption can improve anxiety and depression behaviors in Parkinson's rats with its antioxidant effect.