Effect of salinity on some physiological and biochemical parameters in explants of two cultivars of soybean (Glyicine max L.)

     Effect of NaCl on fresh mass, contents of sugars, free proline, protein, activity of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) in explants of two cultivars (Hack and Zan) of soybean were investigated. Explants were grown for one month in medium with different NaCl concentrations (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 mM). Fresh mass of explants in both cultivars decreased continuously with an increase in salinity. Proline, reducing sugars, soluble sugars and total sugars contents enhanced under salinity in both cultivars. Oligosaccharide content in both cultivars increased up to 50 mM and declined at higher salinities. Polysaccharide of Hack explants increased up to 100 mM and then diminished, but in Zan explants, it reduced at 50 mM and increased at higher salinities. Protein content in Hack improved by salinity but in Zan explants, protein content decreased up to 100 mM NaCl and then increased at higher salinities. PPO activity in two cultivars increased up to 150 mM NaCl and then decreased. POD activity in both explants increased up to 200 mM NaCl. Fatty acid composition was modified by salinity. Saturated fatty acids content in explants of both cultivars declined but unsaturated fatty acids content (linoleic and arachidonic acid) improved under salinity. These results showed that cv. Hack exhibit a better protection mechanism against salinity damage and more salt-tolerant by maintaining and/or increasing fresh mass, osmolyte accumulation and activity of antioxidant enzymes than cv. Zan. ÂÂ

Effects of Salicylic Acid on Carotenoids and Antioxidant Activity of Saffron (Crocus sativus L.)

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.), the most valuable medicinal food product, belongs to the Iridaceae family, which has been widely used as a coloring and flavoring agent. The stigmas contain three major compounds; crocins (carotenoid compound responsible for color), picrocrocin (responsible for taste) and safranal (responsible for odor). It has been used for medicinal purposes, as a spice and condiment for food and as a dye since ancient times. Numerous studies have shown crocins as main carotenoids of saffron to be capable of a variety of pharmacological effects, such as protection against cardiovascular diseases and inhibition of cancer cell development. Salicylic acid is a signaling molecule and a hormone-like substance that plays an important role in the plant physiological processes. Due to the importance of saffron as a valuable product, the aim of this study is to investigate the effect of salicylic acid application (0.01, 0.1 and 1 mM) on crocin and safranal content and antioxidant activity of stigmas. The results showed that salicylic acid application at 1 mM was the most effective treatment in increasing the crocin content and stronger antioxidant activity of stigmas, but it had a negative effect on safranal content; the highest quantity of this compound was observed in the control plants

Antioxidant Activity and Flavonoid Content of Matricaria Chamomilla Extracts from Different Populations of Iran

Matricaria chamomilla is a valuable medicinal plant belonging to the Asteraceae family. Its medicinal and pharmaceutical impacts are correlated to major flavonoid compounds like apigenin. In this investigation, methanolic extracts of M. chamomilla inflorescence gathered from six natural populations were evaluated for their phytochemical content and antioxidant activity. The content of total flavonoid and phenol modified from 3.72 to 7.94 mg g-1 DW and 1.37 to 3.51 mg g-1 DW, respectively. Flavonoid compositions revealed significant differences among six populations, and the highest apigenin (1.27 % (w/w)) and apigenin-7-glucoside (0.86 %(w/w)) contents were recognized in MD populations, respectively. Both PCA and Pearson's correlation analyses revealed total phenol, flavonoid, apigenin and apigenin-7-glucoside were negatively correlated with the IC50 of DPPH activity and EC50 of reducing power. Altitude and precipitation indicated the positive and negative effects on phytochemical contents, respectively. These results can provide a theoretical basis for getting the targeted antioxidant phytochemicals of M. chamomilla for pharmaceutical and food industries, and also give a science for selection of the best population for cell culture and secondary metabolite production in future

Biological Effects of Weak Electromagnetic Field on Healthy and Infected Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) Trees with Phytoplasma

Exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) has become an issue of concern for a great many people and is an active area of research. Phytoplasmas, also known as mycoplasma-like organisms, are wall-less prokaryotes that are pathogens of many plant species throughout the world. Effects of electromagnetic fields on the changes of lipid peroxidation, content of H2O2, proline, protein, and carbohydrates were investigated in leaves of two-year-old trees of lime (Citrus aurantifolia) infected by the Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifoliae. The healthy and infected plants were discontinuously exposed to a 10 KHz quadratic EMF with maximum power of 9 W for 5 days, each 5 h, at 25°C. Fresh and dry weight of leaves, content of MDA, proline, and protein increased in both healthy and infected plants under electromagnetic fields, compared with those of the control plants. Electromagnetic fields decreased hydrogen peroxide and carbohydrates content in both healthy and infected plants compared to those of the controls

The defense response in seedling roots of two wheat cultivars with contrasting resistance to Fusarium crown and root rot disease

Fusarium culmorum (Fc) is a hemibiotrophic plant fungal pathogen that causes crown and root rot disease in wheat. In this study, for the first time, a comparative proteomic analysis was made in seedling roots of two wheat cultivars Falat (susceptible) and Sumai3 (resistant) to understand defense responses induced during the early stage of Fc-infection. The patterns of differentially expressed protein spots (DEPs) were located on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis 48 h after F. culmorum inoculation and a total of 30 major protein spots were successfully identified by mass spectrometry. These proteins were grouped into diverse functional categories which were involved in cellular metabolism (70%), defense (10%), energy (10%) and cell structure (3%), while only two proteins were unknown (7%). Seven DEPs were equally up-regulated with significant expression changes in both cultivars, while seventeen DEPs such as isocitrate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, enolase which are related to cellular respiration besides lipoxygenase that is vital enzyme in jasmonate biosynthesis were up-regulated only in Sumai3. Likewise, RuBisCO, as a photosynthesis responsive DEPs, showed significantly higher abundance only in Falat. These results showed that the resistant cultivar provides required energy for combating pathogen by reducing photosynthesis and increasing cellular respiration during early stage of Fc-infection. Moreover, lipoxygenase as main marker of octadecanoid pathways solitary increased in resistant cv. Sumai3 and there is a direct correlation between expressed proteins and level of defense responses to crown and root rot disease in wheat

Acceleration Breaks the Cells Defense Mechanisms against Vibration in Anthemis gilanica Calli

Vibration is a mechanical stress which happens in nature and affects many biological aspects of plants. In this research, the effect of acceleration and vibration was investigated on some physiological and biochemical responses of Anthemis gilanica in vitro. Calli were induced from leaf (LS) and root segments (RS) and were applied to different frequencies of vibrations (0, 50, and 100 Hz) and accelerations (1, 2, and 4 g) on the A. gilanica calli for 30 min. Results showed that vibration significantly increased relative water content (RWC), growth parameters, protein and proline contents, ascorbate peroxidase (APX), peroxidase (POX), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities and decreased total carbohydrate, malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2 contents, and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in both LS and RS calli. Inversely, increase of acceleration in vibrated calli decreased growth parameters, RWC, protein content, and POX activity and induced proline and carbohydrate accumulations, SOD, APX, and PPO activities as compared to vibration alone. Different responses of two callus types were observed, and the highest growth, protein content, and membrane stability were observed in LS calli as compared to RS calli. It found that high acceleration amplitude intensified the resonance effect of vibration by induction of lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress damage in A. gilanica

Growth enhancement and salt tolerance of Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.), by salicylic acid

It has been shown that salicylic acid acts as an endogenous signal molecule responsible for inducing stress tolerance in plants. The effect of SA (1 mM) and sodium chloride (0, 100, and 200 mM NaCl) on some biochemical and molecular responses of safflower plants was studied. Plants were harvested randomly at 21 days after the start of treatments. Results revealed that chlorophyll and total soluble protein contents decreased under salinity, however proline, glycine betaine, carbohydrate, total carotenoids, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents, as well as PAL gene expression increased. The exogenous SA improved the response of safflower to salinity by increasing glycine betaine, total soluble protein, carbohydrates, chlorophylls, carotenoids, flavonoid, and anthocyanin contents. In addition, qRT-PCR analysis showed that exogenous SA induced expression of PAL gene in both salt-treated and untreated plants. Moreover, SA application under saline conditions decreased the levels of proline which could indicate successful acclimatization of these plants to saline conditions. Our data suggested that the exogenous SA played a key role in stress condition through regulation of osmotic adjustment and antioxidant system due to some compounds. These results provide novel insights about the physiological and molecular role of SA in salt resistance. Therefore, this component can be considered due to low price and availability. Keywords: Safflower, Salinity, Salicylic acid, Resistance, PAL, Gene expressio

Attractive combinations of female gingival displays, buccal corridor sizes, and facial heights according to orthodontists, dentists, and laypeople of different ages and sexes: a psychometric study

Abstract Introduction Esthetics plays a crucial role in orthodontics and many other dental and medical fields. To date, no study has assessed the combined effects of the 3 facial features ‘facial height, gingival display (GD), and buccal corridor size (BC)’ on facial/smile beauty. Therefore, this study was conducted for the first time. Methods In this psychometric diagnostic study, beauty of 27 randomized perceptometric images of a female model with variations in facial heights (short, normal, long), gingival displays (0, 2, 4, 6 mm), and buccal corridor sizes (2%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%) were evaluated by 108 judges (36 orthodontists, 36 dentists, 36 laypeople) using a 5-scale Likert scale (1 to 5). Combined effects of facial heights, GDs, BCs, judges’ sexes, ages, and jobs, and their 2-way interactions were tested using a mixed-model multiple linear regression and a Bonferroni test. Zones of ideal features were determined for all judges and also for each group using repeated-measures ANOVAs and the Bonferroni test (α=0.05). Results Judges’ sex but not their age or expertise might affect their perception of female beauty: men gave higher scores. The normal face was perceived as more beautiful than the long face (the short face being the least attractive). Zero GD was the most attractive followed by 4 mm; 6 mm was the least appealing. BCs of 15% followed by 10% were the most attractive ones, while 25% BC was the worst. The zone of ideal anatomy was: long face + 0mm GD + 15% BC; normal face + 2mm GD + 15% BC; long face + 2mm GD + 15% BC; normal face + 0mm GD + 15% BC. Conclusions Normal faces, zero GDs, and 15% BCs may be the most appealing. Facial heights affect the perception of beauty towards GDs but not BCs

Central role of salicylic acid in resistance of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) against salinity

The effects of salicylic acid (SA) on growth parameters and enzyme activities were investigated in salt-stressed safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.). Twenty-five days after sowing, seedlings were treated with NaCl (0, 100, and 200 mM) and SA (1 mM), and were harvested at 21 days after treatments. Results showed that some growth parameters decreased under salinity, while malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, phenolic compounds, and some enzyme activities increased. SA application increased some growth parameters, MDA and H2O2 content, and enzyme activities except catalase (CAT), which was different from the other enzymes and SA significantly reduced CAT activity in plants. These results suggest that SA-induced tolerance to salinity may be related to regulation of antioxidative responses and H2O2 level. Our study suggested that the resistant safflower can direct reactive oxygen species from a threat to an opportunity by using SA. Therefore, exogenous application of SA played this role through regulation of the antioxidant system