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In order to study the interaction effects of salinity and ascorbic acid on the photosynthetic pigments, soluble sugar, proline, and protein in Satureja khuzestanica plant, factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design (salinity in 4 levels 0, 40, 80 and 120g in 100kg soil and ascorbic acid in 2 levels 0 and 2 mM ) with 6 replicates. The results showed that salt stress reduced photosynthetic pigments amount by increasing the soil salinity from 0 to 40g NaCl in 100kg soil and then increased by 80g NaCl in 100kg soil and again decreased by concentration of 120g NaCl in 100kg soil. The amount of solouble sugar, proline and protein by the soil salinity increased from 0 to 40g in 100kg soil and then decreased in concentration of 80g NaCl in 100kg soil, in 120g NaCl in 100 kg soil increased amount of characters. In present of ascorbic acid photosynthetic pigments amount of pigments increased by increase the soil salinity from 0 to 40g NaCl in 100kg soil and then decreased by 80g NaCl in 100kg soil and again increased by concentration of 120g NaCl in 100kg soil. But, amount of solouble sugar, proline and protein by the soil salinity decreased from 0 to 40g in 100kg soil and then increased in concentration of 80g NaCl in 100kg soil. Finally, in 120g NaCl in 100kg soil decreased amount of characters.

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A laboratory research carried out to evaluate the effect of drought stress on germination characteristics in two 'Indian' and 'Isfahanian' populations of Fenugreek. This experiment performed in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replicates. Four levels of drought stress applied by using polyethylene glycol 6000. Percentage of germination, germination rate, vigor index, root and shoot length as well as fresh and dry weight were measured after 7 days. The results showed that drought stress caused a significant reduction in both population growth and germination, although the percentage of germination, seedling growth and vigor index in the Isfahanian population was higher than the Indian. With the increase of water stress and the reduction of water potential from -3 Bar to -7 Bar, the percentage of germination, vigor index, root and shoot length as well as fresh and dry weight significantly decreased.

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Plantago lagocephala is recorded as a new species for the flora of Iran from Razavi Khorassan Province. It is compared with the closely related species including P. lachnantha, P. ciliata and P. psammophila. Moreover, the diagnostic morphological characters and a distribution map are provided. The conservation status of the new record is evaluated based on the IUCN red list categories and criteria.
 

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DNA extraction from plant tissues often causes most problems. For example, unsuccessful removal secondary metabolites during extraction, such as phenolic compounds in aromatic and medicinal plants, cause to some mistakes in result of molecular experiments by using of the extracted DNA. Achillea wilhelmsii is a medicinal plant belong to Asteraceae family and native to Iran, there is little information about genomic data in this plant. Therefore, optimizing of the DNA extraction methods for obtaining suitable quality and quantity yield is necessary. In this study, two traditional DNA extraction methods (using fresh and herbarium leaf samples) and commercial DNA kit MAGNAN_TM in Yarrow have been compared. Results showed that DNA extracted from fresh leaves of yarrow according to Khanuja et al. (1999) was better than the other methods which mentioned in this research, because of the increased amount of extracted DNA and reduced harmful compounds such as RNA, polysaccharides, protein and secondary metabolites. To evaluate the quality of extracted DNA from herbarium specimens showed that, in spite of the high yielding DNA (10-50 fold ratio to the other methods), quality of this extract was low on agarose gel because of smear and broken down the molecules. It can be considered as a limitation of the extract in molecular experiments. Procedure of MAGNAN_TM DNA kit was appropriate for reducing time and cost of the extraction as well as low contamination to protein and RNA, but the process needs some modifications for yarrow to increase the amount of extracted DNA.

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The cave barb habitat is located in a Karst formation along the Sezar River. The springs on the walls of the Sezar River valley may provide a means for fish in surface waters to penetrate into the underground waters. These observations propose the probability for a migratory relationship between Garra gymnothorax in the Sezar River and the cave barbs (Garra typhlops and Garra lorestanensis). In addition, a variety of different body shapes including fusiform and slender body forms are observed among the cave fish. This phenotypical variation may be a sign of an unknown genetic diversity or could be attributed to the variable environmental conditions in different parts of the subterranean habitat. To clarify the situation, we used the sequences of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I and next generation sequencing method. The results showed that the fusiform and slender body shapes of G. typhlops and G. lorestanensis were not different with regard to their mtDNA and genomic compositions. Moreover, the analysis of the genomic their mtDNA and genomic compositions. Moreover, the analysis of the genomic showed that a limited level of gene flow (less than 3%) from G. gymnothorax probably existed in G. thyphlops. The low level of gene flow may be related to the lower fitness and adaptability of the surface dwelling fish to the subterranean life conditions.