Synergistic Accumulative Effect of Salicylic Acid and Dibutyl Phthalate on Paclitaxel Production in Corylus avellana Cell Culture

Suspension cell cultures of Corylus avellana were challenged with salicylic acid and its combined use with dibutyl phthalate solvent. Salicylic acid with concentrations of 12.5, 25 and 50 mg L–1 and 10% (v/v) dibutyl phthalate were used and added on day 8 and 10 of subculture, respectively. The results showed that growth, viability and protein content of cells were decreased by the treatments, compared to control. In all treatments, hydrogen peroxide content and lipid peroxidation rate of cells increased, compared to those of the control cells. Activity of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase increased by salicylic acid and, dibutyl phthalate exaggerated effect of salicylic acid. While flavonoids content decreased by the treatments, paclitaxel content increased significantly. The extracellular paclitaxel was more affected, compared to cell-associated paclitaxel and all treatments increased paclitaxel release and specific yield compared to that of the control. The most production of paclitaxel and specific yield of it were observed under effect of combined use of salicylic acid (50 mg L–1) and dibutyl phthalate, suggesting a synergistic accumulative effect

Effect of methyl jasmonate and silver nanoparticles on production of secondary metabolites by Calendula officinalis L (Asteraceae)

Purpose: To investigate the effects of two elicitors, methyl jasmonat (MeJA) and silver nanoparticles (SNPs), on the production of secondary metabolite by Calendula officinalis L (marigold).Methods: For the extract of the aerial part of the plant, membrane lipid peroxidation rate and 2, 2ˈdiphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity were assessed along with total anthocyanin, flavonoid, chlorophyll, carotenoids and saponin content. The effect of C. officinalis L extract with and without SNPs and MeJA on HeLa cell viability was also evaluated by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay.Results: The presence of SNPs and MeJA in marigold extract increased membrane lipid peroxidation but decreased DPPH radical scavenging activity. Anthocyanin and flavonoid content also decreased in all the treatments investigated. Exposure to SNPs decreased chlorophyll and carotenoid content in the plant by 30 - 50 %, while MeJA increased them. In comparison with the control group, treatment with 0.4 mM SNPs and 100 μM MeJA increased saponin content in the plants by up to 177 %. Exposure of HeLa cells to the extracts of marigold significantly reduced their viability and this reduction was morepronounced when the plants were treated with MeJA and SNPs.Conclusion: Treatment of C. officinalis L. with SNPs and MeJA seems to be a simple and cost-effective method of improving the medicinal properties of this plant.Keywords: Calendula officinalis, Silver nanoparticles, Methyl jasmonate, Secondary metabolites, HeLa cells, Membrane lipid peroxidation, Radical scavengin

Two new morphotypes of Pinus eldarica: Discrimination by macromorphological and anatomical traits

Pinus eldarica has been introduced to Iran from more than 800 years ago. Some individuals of this pine have altered both in shape and growth rate in northeastern of Iran, and generated two distinct morphotypes which are called Conical-shaped and Ball-shaped pines. This study was conducted to discriminate these morphotypes using macromorphological and anatomical characteristics. Results of macromorphological analysis showed significant differences both with univariate and multivariate analysis and consequently two new morphotypes were clearly separated from Mondell pine individuals. Furthermore, anatomical differences observed in Conical-shaped pine in comparison with two other pines, from some valuable taxonomical point of view traits such as cross-section form of needle, number of stomata per area, number and position of resin ducts etc. Furthermore, the existent difference in traits like cuticle thickness, stomata density, needle perimeter and length, state increasing the adaptation potential to aridity in Conical-shaped pine in comparison with two others. The differences of two new morphotypes demonstrate that they are new variants of Mondell pine and it is need to be used molecular markers and phylogenic studies for specifying the cause of these morphological and anatomical differences

Metabolic activity and pathway study of aspirin biodegradation using a microbial electrochemical system supplied by an alternating current

The main aim of this study is to investigate the biodegradation of highly concentrated aspirin as an emerging pollutant from aqueous solution using an alternating current microbial electrochemical system. A single-chamber Plexiglas cylindrical reactor equipped with stainless steel mesh electrodes (18 cm height � 16 cm diameter) was applied as the bioreactor in batch mode with an effective volume of 5 L, height of 20 cm, and the diameter about 20 cm by AMPL = 2 Vpp, OFST = 0.1 V, waveform = sinusoidal, frequency = 10 Hz, and pH = 7. The process parameters including initial concentration (100�400 mg L-1), chemical oxygen demand (COD), activity of enzymes, biokinetic and pathway studies at very low voltage and very low frequency alternating current were investigated. The specific biodegradation rate of aspirin was calculated based on Michaelis�Menten model. The complete aspirin removal efficiency and the maximum enzymatic activity were achieved at 250 mg L-1 aspirin, voltage of 2 Vpp and applied current = 3 mA during 6 h. The bioassay of aspirin concentrations in biofilm of the system using flow cytometry analysis resulted in the live and necrotic cells shares of 96.2, and 0.44, respectively. Moreover, the LC and GC-MS analysis showed low molecular weight acids such as oxalic and acetic acid at 6 h time under the optimal conditions using very low applied voltage and frequency. Obtaining low reaction time for degradation, high potential in biodegradation, oxidation and mineralization ability were the novelty of treatment system with high concentration aspirin in the study. © 2019 Elsevier Lt

Effects of Hexaconazole on Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of Two Soybean Cultivars under Water Deficit Stress Conditions

In order to investigate the effect of Hexaconazole (HEX) on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of two soybean (Glycine max L.) cultivars under water deficit stress, an experiment was conducted in the Faculty of Agriculture of Tarbiat Modares University in the year 2010-2011 as a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design arrangement. Factors examined in this study were soybean cultivars (L17 and Clark63), HEX concentration (0 and 35 mg/L) and water deficit stress levels (optimum irrigation and water deficit stress based on depletion of 60% of available soil moisture). Chlorophyll content, Fv/Fm, seed yield, yield components, biological yield, harvest index, protein and oil percentage of seeds were investigated. Results showed that water deficit stress and HEX application had significant effect on the most of traits and the cultivars showed different responses to the treatments. In both water treatments, HEX increased the yield of both cultivars but under water deficit stress increase in seed yield of L17 (35.99%) was higher than Clark63 (14.53%) in comparison with non- HEX application. Among the effective factors on seed yield, number of pods per plant had the highest share in the seed yield. Under water deficit condition, seed protein percent of Clark63 increased (6.14%) in response to HEX treatment but in L17 the content of protein was not affected by HEX. Oil percentage of seeds was not affected by any of the treatments. In both cultivars, HEX increased resistance to water deficit stress and the cultivars showed different responses to HEX treatment and under water deficit the yield response of L17 to HEX was more notable, although this combination improved the grain quality of clark63

Metabolomic study reveals a selective accumulation of l-arginine in the d-ornithine treated tobacco cell suspension culture

The non-protein amino acid ornithine (Orn) plays essential roles in regulation of the urea cycle and polyamines biosynthesis in tobacco. Herein, we show that d-enantiomer of Orn, can actively participate in metabolites production in tobacco cells, functioning a positive role in plant cells metabolism, as opposed to the common l-enantiomer. Using a comprehensive amino acids and amines profiling method by liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization triple quadruple mass spectrometry (LC–ESI-QqQ-MS) in combination with chiral LC–ESI-MS, it was shown that d-Orn has a potential advantage in promoting selective and large accumulation of l-arginine (l-Arg) in tobacco cells. Exogenous d-Orn resulted in a selective up-regulation of l-Arg by 80-fold, while l-Orn slightly increased the levels of all amino acids. Changes of all the urea cycle related intermediates, e.g. citrulline, Arg and Orn were also shown to be critical following change of Orn's stereochemistry. GC/MS profiling of the metabolites revealed that high nicotine production was the dominant change driven by l-Orn treatments. From these observations, d-Orn was shown to be a selective regulator of l-Arg biosynthesis and the urea cycle. We propose that d-Orn has a potential function in the tobacco cells which through some previously unidentified mechanism result in l-Arg accumulation