Changes in antioxidant enzymes activities and proline, total phenol and anthocyanine contents in Hyssopus officinalis L. plants under salt stress

The relationships between salt stress and antioxidant enzymes activities, proline, phenol and anthocyanine contents in Hyssopus officinalis L. plants in growth stage were investigated. The plants were subjected to five levels of saline irrigation water, 0.37 (tap water as control) with 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 dSm−1 of saline water. After two months the uniform plants were harvested for experimental analysis. Antioxidant enzymes activities and proline, phenol and anthocyanine contents of the plants were examinated. Enhanced activities of peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase were determined by increasing salinity that plays an important protective role in the ROS-scavenging process. Proline, phenol and anthocyanine contents increased significantly with increasing salinity. These results suggest that salinity tolerance of Hyssopus officinalis plants might be closely related with the increased capacity of antioxidative system to scavenge reactive oxygen species and with the accumulation of osmoprotectant proline, phenol and anthocyanine contents under salinity conditions

Effects of salicylic acid on the growth and pathogenicity of Zymoseptoria tritici

Introduction: Zymoseptoria tritici, is a species of filamentous fungus and causes the widespread wheat disease Septoria tritici blotch (STB). Salicylic acid has a key role in plant defence reactions and is also involved in the induction of systemic acquired resistance. However, the contribution of SA to the interaction of Z. tritici -wheat in STB is not entirely clear.In this study, it was shown that the Z. tritici mycelial growth and conidia germination were significantly inhibited the presence of increasing concentration of SA in both liquid and solid media. In addition, the effect of SA on pathogenicity of Z. tritici in wheat was investigated. Materials and methods: In this study, the inhibitory effect of SA on Z. tritici at different concentrations (1 to 20 mM) in vitro, and also, the efficacy of its exogenous application in the suppression of STB in wheat under the greenhouse condition were investigated. In vitro evaluation was done on YMDA and YMDB to determine the effect of SA on the germination of conidia and growth of mycelium, respectively.  Susceptible bread wheat cultivar was grown in pot and inoculated with fungus spores and SA in a three-leaf stage for green house experiments. Results: The results showed that the germination ofconidia was completely inhibited by 4 mM SA. Furthermore, in modified YMDA plates at over 0.8 mM, the colonies diameter was reduced significantly. The result of in planta assay indicated that the foliar application of 4 mM SA can significantly reduce the disease symptoms on the wheat leaves. Discussion and conclusion: Regarding our data, it seems that SA shows more inhibitory effect in in vitro experiments than in planta. Moreover, according to the positive effects of SA on STB, the survey results can be considered as a potential approach in the management of this disease

Transformation of Mortierella alpina (fatty acid supplier) myceliums via AMT system (Agrobacterium Mediated Transformation)

Introduction: Mortierella alpina is one of the most important fungi in food industry because of having ability of synthesizing unsaturated fatty acids, particularly Arashidonic Acid. This is a precursor of Eicosanoidregulate-lipoprotein metabolism which is involved in blood rheology, platelet activation and leukocyte-function, and the functional characteristics of the cell membrane. Materials and methods: In this study genetic transformation of M. alpina CBS754.68 fungus was evaluated via Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Agrobacteriums containing pBI121 vector were used for transformation of three days of old mycelia. Three days old hyphae were exposed to the bacteria with three level of time (one, two and three hours) in the present of acetosyringone. Mitotic stability of the third generation of transgenic (T2) was confirmed by GUS assay and amplification of CaMV 35S promoter by polymerase chain reaction. Results: The highest percentage of transformation and mitotic stability were obtained by using A. tumefaciens and A. rhizogenese, respectively. Discussion and conclusion: The results showed that to obtain more efficient and more stable transformation, the fundamental factor is the use of suitable species of Agrobacterium. It is the first report for transformation of autothroph strain of M. alpine via Agrobacterium

Evaluation of deoxynivalenol production in dsRNA Carrying and Cured Fusarium graminearum isolates by AYT1 expressing transformed tobacco

Introduction: Fusarium head blight (FHB), is the most destructive disease of wheat, producing the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol, a protein synthesis inhibitor, which is harmful to humans and livestock. dsRNAmycoviruses-infected-isolates of Fusariumgraminearum, showed changes in morphological and pathogenicity phenotypes including reduced virulence towards wheat and decreased production of trichothecene mycotoxin (deoxynivalenol: DON). Materials and methods: Previous studies indicated that over expression of yeast acetyl transferase gene (ScAYT1) encoding a 3-O trichothecene acetyl transferase that converts deoxynivalenol to a less toxic acetylated form, leads to suppression of the deoxynivalenol sensitivity in pdr5 yeast mutants. To identify whether ScAYT1 over-expression in transgenic tobacco plants can deal with mycotoxin (deoxynivalenol) in fungal extract and studying the effect of dsRNA contamination on detoxification and resistance level, we have treated T1 AYT1 transgenic tobacco seedlings with complete extraction of normal F. graminearum isolate carrying dsRNA metabolites. First, we introduced AYT1into the model tobacco plants through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in an attempt to detoxify deoxynivalenol. Results: In vitro tests with extraction of dsRNA carrying and cured isolates of F. graminearum and 10 ppm of deoxynivalenol indicated variable resistance levels in transgenic plants. Discussion and conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the transgene expression AYT1 and Fusarium infection to dsRNA can induce tolerance to deoxynivalenol, followed by increased resistance to Fusarium head blight disease of wheat

Analysis of transcriptional responses in root tissue of bread wheat landrace (Triticum aestivum L.) reveals drought avoidance mechanisms under water scarcity.

In this study, high-throughput sequencing (RNA-Seq) was utilized to evaluate differential expression of transcripts and their related genes involved in response to terminal drought in root tissues of bread wheat landrace (L-82) and drought-sensitive genotype (Marvdasht). Subsets of 460 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in drought-tolerant genotype and 236 in drought-sensitive genotype were distinguished and functionally annotated with 105 gene ontology (GO) terms and 77 metabolic pathways. Transcriptome profiling of drought-resistant genotype "L-82" showed up-regulation of genes mostly involved in Oxidation-reduction process, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, abiotic stress response, transferase activity and heat shock proteins. On the other hand, down-regulated genes mostly involved in signaling, oxidation-reduction process, secondary metabolite biosynthesis, auxin-responsive protein and lipid metabolism. We hypothesized that the drought tolerance in "L-82" was a result of avoidance strategies. Up-regulation of genes related to the deeper root system and adequate hydraulic characteristics to allow water uptake under water scarcity confirms our hypothesis. The transcriptomic sequences generated in this study provide information about mechanisms of acclimation to drought in the selected bread wheat landrace, "L-82", and will help us to unravel the mechanisms underlying the ability of crops to reproduce and keep its productivity even under drought stress

Study of defense genes expression profile pattern of wheat in response to infection by Mycosphaerella graminicola

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of salicylic acid on the gene expression pattern of four enzymes; Phenylalanine ammonialyase, Polyphenol oxidase, Peroxidase and Catalase in wheat-Mycosphaerella graminicola pathosystem. For this reason, Salicylic Acid (2mm) were sprayed on wheat in two-leaf stage before inoculation with the fungal pathogen. Sampling of the plants was done at five time points (0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h) after inoculation. The scanning of genes expression pattern of encoding enzymes were carried out by reverse northern dot blotting method. The results showed that within 24 hours post inoculation the gene expression of these enzymes significantly increased in this tolerant cultivar. SA enhanced the expression of Phenylalanine ammonialyase and Peroxidase genes in all time points. The expression of Polyphenol oxidase was increased by SA after 12h. On the other hand, increasing the expression level of these genes directly increases the activity of the enzymes which indicates direct role of these gens in plant defense system. SA caused a rapid rise in expression of Catalase gene, but this effect was not continued for 24h

Study of some physiological parameters hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) in the vegetative stage under the influence of salinity

The most important abiotic stresses is salinity, the high levels of sodium which is toxic to most varieties of plants species, and more importantly affect plant growth and limit the plants yield capacity. Hyssopus officinalis L. has been known as a culinary and medicinal herb for hundreds of years, it is cultivated globally. Although Hyssopus officinalis L. is one of valuable medicinal plants and its cultivation is continuously being extended in the world, no information is available on the responses of this plant to salinity. Since the growth stages are very sensitive to stress, in this research the effects of salinity on growth parameters of Hyssopus officinalis L. in seedling stage were studied. The treatments were six levels (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 dS m-1 of saline water). The results showed that with increasing the salinity stress, protein, cartenoids, oligosaccharides and reducing sugar, MDA and H2O2 contents significantly increased however total chlorophylls, chl a and chl b contents and total sugar and polysaccharides significantly decreased. It seems that increasing the amount of protein, cartenoids and carbohydrates are important risk factors for resistance to salt Hyssopus officinalis L