Breaking of dormancy in the narrow endemic Jasione supina Sieber subsp. supina (Campanulaceae) with small seeds that do not need light to germinate

The germination properties of Jasione supina Sieber subsp. supina (Campanulaceae), which is endemic to Mount Uludağ, Bursa, Turkey, were determined. In this study, we investigated the effects of GA3, the combination of hormone series and short-term moist chilling (1-month), and long-term moist chilling (4-month) on the germination percentage and mean germination time in relation to seed dormancy breaking. All treatment series were incubated under continuous dark (20 °C, 24 h) and light/dark (20/10 °C, 12/12 h) conditions. Seeds were collected from specimens widespread on the alpine and subalpine grasslands and dwarf shrubs of Mount Uludağ (1800-1900 m a.s.l.). Depending on the concentration, GA3 and the combination of hormone and moist chilling treatments promoted seed germination in both dark and light/dark conditions. After 4-month-moist chilling treatment, seeds germinated 27% in a light/dark and 80% in a dark regime. Hormone and moist chilling treatments reduced the mean germination time. Our results showed that J. supina seeds have physiological dormancy, require prolonged times of moist chilling and preferentially complete germination in darkness

Inhibition of ABA (abscisic acid) inhibition by stimulating growth agents during germination of mono and dicotylseed seeds

Bu çalışmada sekiz adet monokotil ve altı adet dikotil tohumu kullanılmıştır. Öncelikle tohumlarda çimlenmeyi % 100,75 ve 50 oranlarında engelleyen absisik asit (ABA) dozları ön denemelerle bulunmuştur. Daha sonra ABA ile birlikte gibberellik asit (GA3) ve iki sitokinin, benziladenin (BA) ve Kinetin (KİN), tek başlarına ve GA3 ile birlikte iki Sitokininden birisi ile yaptıkları kombinasyonlar halinde çimlenme ortamına verilmiştir. ABA, normal olarak tohumlarda çimlenmeyi engellemekle birlikte koleoptil/hipokotil çıkışını ve kök, gövde uzamasını da engellemiştir. ABA'nın çimlenmeyi engelleyici etkisini dikotillerde BA ve BA+GA3 kombinasyonu, monokotillerde de GA3 ve ve BA+GA3 kombinasyonu ile yenilmiştir. Monokotillerde ABA konsantrasyonu düştüğü zaman sitokinin+GA3 kombinasyonlarının daha etkin oldukları görülmüştür. Hipokotil çıkışının ABA tarafından inhibisyonuna BA+GA3 kombinasyonu etkili olmuştur. Koleoptil çıkışı ise ABA tarafından engellenememiştir. ABA tarafından kök gelişiminin inhibisyonu monokotillerde ve dikotillerde BA+GA3 ve KİN+ GA3 kombinasyonları ile yenilmiştir. Dikotillerde ABA'nın gövde gelişimi üzerindeki inhibisyon etkisi BA+GA3 kombinasyonu ile yenilmiştir. Monokotillerde ABA'nın gövde gelişimi üzerindeki engelleyici etkisi KİN+GA3 ve BA+GA3 kombinasyonları ile yenilmiştir. Çalışmada kullanılan sitokininlerden BA'nin KİN'den daha etkin olduğu görülmüştür.In this research, We worked with eight monocot and six dicot seeds. At former, we found the ABA doses of the choosen seeds which inhibits 100,75 and 50% germination. At later, gibberellic acid (GA3) and two cytokinins, benzyladenine (BA) and kinetin(KIN) were given into the germination media individually and in combinations with GA3 and one cytokinin to overcome the inhibition of ABA. Normally, we observed the inhibitions of germination, coleoptile/hypocotyl growth and root growth. In the overcoming inhibition of ABA on germination in dicots, BA+GA3 combination and BA alone was very succesfull. In monocots, ABA inhibition on germination was reversed by GA3 alone and BA+GA3 combination. When the concentration of ABA is fall in monocots, cytokinin+GA3 combination was very succesfull. ABA inhibition on emergence of hypocotyl was reversed by BA+GA3 combination. The emergence of coleoptile, was not inhibited by ABA. In dicots and monocots, inhibition of root growth was reversed by BA+GA3 and KIN+GA3 combinations. ABA inhibition on stem growth in dicots was reversed by BA+GA3 combination. In monocots, ABA inhibition ön stem growth, was reversed by BA+GA3 and KIN+GA3 combinations. We observed BA is more effective than KIN on the ABA inhibition

Effects of Pre-Treatments on Seed Dormancy and Germination of Endemic <i>Muscari bourgaei</i> Baker

M. bourgaei Baker is an endemic plant that grows in Türkiye. It has the potential to be an ornamental plant, so it is important to know its germination characteristics and seed morphological characteristics. We evaluated the effects of moist chilling (3 to 12 months) and application of gibberellic acid (GA3) (250 to 1000 mg/L−1) on seed germination under two different light regimes (light phase and dark phase) and four temperature regimes (20, 20/10, 25/15, and 15/10 °C). Seeds were collected from the subalpine belt of Mount Uludağ at an altitude between 2200 and 2300 m. M. bourgaei seeds were dormant and reached the highest germination percentage after 12 months of moist chilling. GA3 applications only have a limited effect on the breaking of dormancy in most cases. Maximum germination of 28 percent was obtained by the GA3 application of 1000 mg/L under dark phase with incubation at 15/10 °C. Scarification with sulfuric acid did not result in any germination. Seed germination of above 80 percent was obtained after 6 months of moist chilling and above 90 percent after 9 and 12 months of moist chilling. Intermediate physiological dormancy was determined as the type of dormancy. Our findings on seed germination and dormancy characteristics of M. bourgaei, which is an endemic alpine meadow plant, will contribute to the protection and development of the germplasm of this species

Investigation on proteolitik enzyme activity and protein mobilization of Vicia faba L. seeds

Materyal olarak Viciafaba L. cv. Eresen 87 tohumlarının kullanıldığı bu çalışmada, çimlenmenin 7 günlük bir süreci boyunca protein mobilizasyonundaki değişmeler araştırılmıştır. Tohumlar, normal ve embriyosu çıkarılmış kotiledonlar halinde saf su veya bitki büyüme regülatörlerinin varlığında 0,1,3,5,7 günlük sürelerde, petri kaplarında 23 °C karanlıkta inkübe edilmişlerdir. Büyüme regülatörlerinin embriyo ekseninin yerini alıp alamıyacağmı belirlemek amacıyla embriyosu çıkarılmış kotiledonlar 3 ve 5 günlük sürelerde su veya büyüme regülatörleri varlığında inkübe edilmişlerdir. İnkübasyon süresinin sonunda tohumlardan hazırlanan ekstrelerde EP (Endopeptidaz), LAP (Lösin aminopeptidaz), CP (Karboksipeptidaz) aktiviteleri, çözünebilir toplam protein içeriği, serbest amino asit içeriği belirlenmiş, SDS-PAGE ile tohum proteinlerindeki değişimler incelenmiştir. Ayrıca, tohumlarda çimlenme süreci boyunca yaş ve kuru ağırlık değişimleri belirlenmiştir. EP aktivitesi için substrat olarak azokazein, LAP aktivitesi için substrat olarak L-Leucine 4-Nitroanilid, CP aktivitesi için substrat olarak N-CBZ-Phe-ala kullanılmıştır. Enzim kaynağı olarak kullanılan homojenat, substrat ile belirli bir süre su banyosunda inkübe edilip, reaksiyon durdurulduktan sonra spektrofotometrik olarak EP aktivitesi Ünite/saat, LAP aktivitesi salınan p-Nitroanilin ve CP aktivitesi ise inkübasyon süresi sonunda salınan mM Lensin amino asidi eşdeğeri cinsinden ifade edilmiştir. Ekstrelerdeki çözünebilir toplam protein miktarı Coomasie Brilliant Blue ile BSA (Sığır serum albümini) standartı kullanılarak, mg/kotiledon cinsinden belirlenmiştir. Ekstrelerdeki serbest amino asit miktarları Lösin standardı kullanılarak, Ninhidrin reaksiyonu ile belirlenmiş ve mM Lösin eşdeğeri/kotiledon olarak ifade edilmiştir. Ayrıca hazırlanan ekstrelere, SDS-PAGE uygulanarak, protein mobilizasyonu gösterilmiştir. İnkübasyon süresi ilerledikçe toplam çözünebilir protein içeriği hem normal tohumlarda, hem de embriyosu çıkarılmış kotiledonlarda düşüş göstermiştir. Serbest amino asit miktarı da çimlenme süresi ilerledikçe normal tohumlarda yükselmiş fakat embriyosu çıkarılmış kotiledonlarda yükseliş olmamıştır. Normal tohumlarda çözünebilir toplam protein İle serbest amino asit İçeriği arasında negatif ve anlamlı bir korelasyon tespit edilmiştir. Embriyo ekseninin çıkarıldığı durumda protein mobilizasyonunun tamamen baskılanmadığı fakat yavaşladığı tespit eilmiştir. Aktiviteleri araştırılan 3 proteolitik enzim içerisinde sadece EP’nîn embriyo ekseninin çıkarılmasından etkilendiği belirlenmiştir. Çimlenme periyodunun başlangıcında düşük olan EP aktivitesi sürekli artış göstermiştir. LAP aktivitesi hem normal, hem de embriyosu çıkarılmış kotiledonlarda başlangıçta yüksek olup, çimlenme süresi ilerledikçe düşmüştür. CP aktivitesi ise 5. günde en yüksek değere ulaşmış ve normal tohum ve embriyosu çıkarılmış kotiledonlarda birbirine yakın değerlerde bulunmuştur. Uygulanan bitki büyüme regülatörlerinden (10 4 M BA, GA3j IAA ve 10 '5M ABA) sadece BA, enzimlerden LAP aktivitesini ve çözünebilir toplam protein miktarım arttırmıştır. SDS-PAGE ile normal tohumlarda protein mobilizasyonunun 3. günde, embriyosu çıkarılmış kotiledonlarda 7. günde başladığı belirlenmiştir. Bitki büyüme regülatörlerinin protein mobilizasyonu üzerindeki olumlu etkileri SDS-PAGE ile de görülmüş, fakat literatürdeki veriler ışığında hormonların etkilerinin türe ve çeşide göre değişebildiği belirlenmiştir. Normal tohum kotiledonlarının kuru ağırlığı çimlenme süreci ilerledikçe düşerken, embriyonun kuru ağırlığının artması depo besinlerinin olasılıkla mobilize olarak, embriyoya taşınmasından dolayıdır.Tn this study it was aimed to show changes in protein mobilization and proteolytic activity of the Vicia faba L. cv. Eresen 87 (Fabaceae; Leguminosae) secds which is known to have high protein content. The working procedure was planned to determine the effect of the embryonic axis and the effects of plant grovvth regulators (GA3, BA, IAA and ABA) on Endopeptidase (EP), Leucine aminopeptidse (LAP), Carboxypeptidse (CP) activities, changes in total soluble proteins and free amino acid content during the 7 days period. As well as the SDS-PAGE was used to examine the the changes in total soluble proteins during the germination period. The seeds were sovvn as attached (normal) and detached cotyledons in petri dishes and incubated with vvater or plant grovvth regulators at 23 °C darkness, during the 0,1,3,5,7 days period. Detached cotyledons vvere incubated for 3 and 5 days with plant grovvth regulators to determine vvhether the plant grovvth regulators can take place of the embryonic axis. Asocasein for EP, L-Leucine 4-nitroanilide for LAP, and N-CBZ Phe-ala vvas used for CP activity as substratum. The crude homogenate vvas used as source of enzyme, and it vvas incubated for a certain period of time in a vvater bath. After termination of reaction, the activity vvas determined with spectrophotometric method. EP activity vvas defined as Units/hour, LAP activity vvas defined as released p- Nitroanilide/cotyledon, CP activity vvas defined as released mM Leucine equivalents/cotyledon. Total soluble proteins determined with Coomasie Brilliant Blue stain with BSA(Bovine Serum Albumine) standart and expressed as mg/cotyledon. The ninhydrine reaction vvas done for determining the free amino acid contents of the homogenate and it vvas expresscd as mM Leucine/cotyledon. Total soluble protein content has decreased in both attached and detached cotyledons as the germination proceeds. Free amino acid content has increased in attached cotyledons but not detached cotyledons as the germination proceeds. The negative significant correlation vvas found betwecn total soluble protein and free amino acid content in attached cotyledons. It vvas concluded that the protein mobilization not completely supressed vvhen the embryonic axis detached from the cotyledons. Among the three proteolytic enzymes, only EP activity vvas found to be affected by removal of the embryıonic axis. The EP activity vvas lovv at the beginning of germination but increased during the incubation period in both attached and detached cotyledons. LAP activity was low at the beginning of the germination but decreased as the germination proceeds both in attached and detached cotyledons. CP activity was reached maximum at the day 5 th, then decreased in both attached and detached cotyledons. Among the used plant growth regulators (104 M GA3, BA, IAA and 10'5M ABA), only BA was found to cause an increase of the LAP activity and total soluble protein content.According to results from SDS-PAGE, protein mobilization was started at the day 3rd in attached cotyledons and the 7th day for detached ones. The positive effects of plant growth regulators has been seen, hovevver it was concluded from the knowledge of the literatüre the effects of the plant grovvth regulators could be specific to species and also cultural variety.While dry weight of the attached cotyledons decreased, the dry weight of the embryonic axis increased as the germination proceeds. Probably, this could be due to mobilization of the storage reserves from cotyledons to embryonic axis

Verbascum bombyciferum Boiss. (Scrophulariaceae) as possible bio-indicator for the assessment of heavy metals in the environment of Bursa, Turkey

t In this study, we determined the heavy metal content (Cd2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+) in the soil surrounding the roots and different organs of Verbascum bombyciferum Boiss. (Scrophulariaceae), which is endemic to Uludag Mountain, Bursa, Turkey. Plant samples ˘ were collected from roadsides, and heavy metal accumulation capabilities were tested. This is one of the pioneer species of ruderal plant communities on roadsides, building sites, rubbish dumps, etc. Different organs of plant samples (roots, stems, leaves, and flowers) and their soils were analyzed by inductively couple plasma optical emission spectroscopy for their heavy metal contents. Some of the analyzed heavy metals (Cd2+, Cr3+, Pb2+, and Zn2+) were usually increased depending on the traffic in the sample sites, and this variation was also reflected in heavy metal content of plant samples. Our results show that H. Arslan (B) · G. Güleryüz Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Uludag, Görükle 16059, Bursa, Turkey ˘ e-mail: [email protected] Z. Leblebici · A. Aksoy Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science, University of Erciyes, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey S. Kırmızı Gemlik Asım Kocabıyık Graduate Vocational School, Uludag University, Gemlik, 16600, Bursa, Turkey ˘ this plant can be used as a bio-indicator species in the monitoring of increased Cd2+, Cr3+, Pb2+, and Zn2+ in the environment. We also concluded that V. bombyciferum have the capability of Cd2+, Cr3+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, and Zn2+ accumulation

Heavy metal content of asphodelus aestivus brot. from degraded areas in the mediterranean environment (Bursa, Turkey)

In this study, we determined the heavy metal content (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) in the soils and different organs of Asphodelus aestivus Brot. (Walter). from degraded areas in the Mediterranean environment from Bursa, Turkey. The last degradation stage of ecosystems in the east Mediterranean Basin is dominated by this species. Soils and different organs (roots, stems, leaves and flowers) of plant samples were analyzed by ICP-OES for determining the heavy metal content. The heavy metal contents were not high in the soils of all samples sites. In general, the heavy metal contents of plant samples were not higher than the comparable levels reported in literature. But we determined the high cadmium, chromium, nickel and lead contents in plant samples compared to normal levels which reported in some studies. These results may reflect the possible Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb accumulation capacity of this species. However, the contribution of plant organs to accumulation capacity of this species was specific to metal. The possible capability of A. aestivus for accumulating the Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb may help to plant to become dominant on degraded areas in the Mediterranean environment

Antioxidative defense mechanism of the ruderal Verbascum olympicum Boiss. against copper (Cu)-induced stress

The endemic Verbascum olympicum has characteristics that allows it to live in degraded areas of Uludağ Mountain, Turkey and therefore known as a ruderal species. In this study, V. olympicum seeds collected from Uludağ Mountain were grown in the Hoagland nutrient solution, under hydroponic conditions. The activity of antioxidative enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; ascorbate peroxidase, APX) were examined to demonstrate the role of antioxidative mechanism in the seedlings exposed to different Cu concentrations (0, 50, 250, 500 μM) for seven days. Also, certain growth parameters (such as the water content, biomass production, soluble protein), the level of lipid peroxidation, cell membrane injury and permeability were investigated. As a result, some toxic effects are observed following the application of 500 μM Cu, after the seedlings growing in 50 and 250 mM Cu concentrations showed high resistance and survived in hydroponic conditions. Our findings provide information about the resistance of V. Olympicum seedlings to oxidative stress caused by excessive Cu concentrations

Changes in EEG complexity with neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning in children with dyslexia: a multiscale entropy analysis

Multiscale entropy analysis (MSE) is a novel entropy-based approach for measuring dynamical complexity in physiological systems over a range of temporal scales. MSE has been successfully applied in the literature when measuring autism traits, Alzheimer’s, and schizophrenia. However, until now, there has been no research on MSE applied to children with dyslexia. In this study, we have applied MSE analysis to the EEG data of an experimental group consisting of children with dyslexia as well as a control group consisting of typically developing children and compared the results. The experimental group comprised 16 participants with dyslexia who visited Ankara University Medical Faculty Child Neurology Department, and the control group comprised 20 age-matched typically developing children with no reading or writing problems. MSE was calculated for one continuous 60-s epoch for each experimental and control group’s EEG session data. The experimental group showed significantly lower complexity at the lowest temporal scale and the medium temporal scales than the typically developing group. Moreover, the experimental group received 60 neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning sessions, each lasting 30 min, with Auto Train Brain. Post-treatment, the experimental group’s lower complexity increased to the typically developing group’s levels at lower and medium temporal scales in all channels

A mobile app that uses neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning methods improves reading abilities in dyslexia: a pilot study

Reading comprehension is difficult to improve for children with dyslexia because of the continuing demands of orthographic decoding in combination with limited working memory capacity. Children with dyslexia get special education that improves spelling, phonemic and vocabulary awareness, however the latest research indicated that special education does not improve reading comprehension. With the aim of improving reading comprehension, reading speed and all other reading abilities of children with dyslexia, Auto Train Brain that is a novel mobile app using neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning methods was developed. With a clinical study, we wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of Auto Train Brain on reading abilities. We compared the cognitive improvements obtained with Auto Train Brain with the improvements obtained with special dyslexia training. Auto Train Brain was applied to 16 children with dyslexia 60 times for 30 minutes. The control group consisted of 14 children with dyslexia who did not have remedial training with Auto Train Brain, but who did continue special education. The TILLS test was applied to both the experimental and the control group at the beginning of the experiment and after a 6-month duration from the first TILLS test. Comparison of the pre- and post- TILLS test results indicated that applying neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning method improved reading comprehension of the experimental group more than that of the control group statistically significantly. Both Auto Train Brain and special education improved phonemic awareness and nonword spelling

Changes in EEG complexity with neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning in children with dyslexia: a multiscale entropy analysis

Multiscale entropy analysis (MSE) is a novel entropy-based approach for measuring dynamical complexity in physiological systems over a range of temporal scales. MSE has been successfully applied in the literature when measuring autism traits, Alzheimer's, and schizophrenia. However, until now, there has been no research on MSE applied to children with dyslexia. In this study, we have applied MSE analysis to the EEG data of an experimental group consisting of children with dyslexia as well as a control group consisting of typically developing children and compared the results. The experimental group comprised 16 participants with dyslexia who visited Ankara University Medical Faculty Child Neurology Department, and the control group comprised 20 age-matched typically developing children with no reading or writing problems. MSE was calculated for one continuous 60-s epoch for each experimental and control group's EEG session data. The experimental group showed significantly lower complexity at the lowest temporal scale and the medium temporal scales than the typically developing group. Moreover, the experimental group received 60 neurofeedback and multi-sensory learning sessions, each lasting 30 min, with Auto Train Brain. Post-treatment, the experimental group's lower complexity increased to the typically developing group's levels at lower and medium temporal scales in all channels