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Exopolymers (EPS) are high-molecular-weight polymers secreted by some micro-organisms and have several applications in food, pharmaceutical, packaging and agricultural industries, as well as medicine. Actinobacteria are valuable bacteria in biotechnology and many commercial drugs such as antibiotics, antioxidants and immune-suppressant agents are derived from Actinobacteria. Recently, their other capabilities such as exopolymer production have been taken into consideration. Due to the high potential of actinobacteria in producing various compounds and increased prevalence of infections by antibiotic-resistant pathogens, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential of isolated Actinobacteria from various locations of Iran to produce EPS with antimicrobial activity. Appropriate dilutions of the samples were, therefore, cultured in ISP2 medium after treatment. The isolates were primarily identified by morphological tests. Then, their ability to produce EPS was investigated in BHI medium with 5% sucrose. The exopolymers of the most efficient strain were analyzed by UV-visible spectroscopy and FT-IR. Finally, the most efficient isolate was molecularly identified. Of the 120 isolates, 38 were able to produce EPS, and six had significant capability of producing EPS (10-14 g/L) and showed antibiotic activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger. The EPS of the strain So49 had high absorbance in 190-230 nm, but did not have absorbance in 260-280 nm. Therefore, it does not have any protein impurity. The EPS has hydroxyl and carboxyl functional groups, according to FT-IR analysis. 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that the most efficient isolate had 99.68% similarity to Promicromonospora xylanilytica. 


 

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The present study aimed to increase the seed germination and the initial performance of pistachio seeds by investigating the effects of the magnetic field and osmopriming treatments simultaneously. 10 treatment levels of 10, 20 and 30 mT for 5, 15, 25 minutes and 1 control treatment (without exposure to a magnetic field) were performed in three replicates and the best level of magnetic surface was selected. The results showed that seeds subjected to the magnetic field showed an increase in plumule length, radicle length, total length of seedlings, fresh and dry weight of plumule as well as radicle and germination speed compared with the control treatment. However, there was no significant difference in the germination percentage and uniformity of seeds. Magnetized seeds, with the superior selective treatment (10 mT for 15 minutes), were primed with solutions of potassium nitrate, humic acid and salicylic acid at levels of 10, 25 and 40 mM and a control level (the best level of magnetism) in three replicates. The best result was obtained from humic acid (25 mM). With regard to the low cost of the purchase or construction of magnetic devices and their positive effects, their application could be recommended (10 mT for 15 minutes) combined with the humic acid (25 mM)) so that the quality of pistachio seedlings production would be increased.
 

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Pterocephalus (Caprifoliaceae) consists of 30 species worldwide, mainly distributed in the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, of which 14 species were reported from Iran, including five endemic ones. In this study, 35 leaf-related traits and 30 peduncle-related traits were investigated by light microscopy of 15 samples from 11 Iranian species of Ptreocephalus. Our results showed that there were two types of midrib, six types of leaf indumentum and five types of peduncle indumentum. Crystalized calcium oxalate was observed in the leaves and peduncles of most species except in P. plumosus and P. brevis. The profiles of the peduncles were hexagonal, circular or elliptical. The vascular cylinder shape varied from circular to sinuate form. P. wendelboi, with a very different morphology as compared with other species, also exhibited different anatomical characters. The hexagonal sections of peduncle in P. ghahremanii and P. kurdicus and two samples of P. szovitsii were found to be very similar. However, the mentioned characters were found to be less informative or charachterisation of other species. In conclusion, the results showed that the anatomical characters of the leaves and peduncles might have some taxonomic importance in the identification of some species of the genus Pterocephalus.
 
 
 

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Gentamicin (GM) is an antibiotic widely used against gram-negative infections. However, its clinical application is limited due to its nephrotoxicity. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the nephrotoxicity of gentamicin. Previous studies showed that Rosa canina L. (RC) fruits possess antioxidant, antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effect. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of RC on GM-induced nephrotoxicity in rats. Thirty male Wistar rats were divided into five groups and treated as follows: Group 1 (control group) was treated by the oral administration of 1 ml normal saline, Group 2 was treated by a 100 mg/Kg (B.W) dose of GM intraperitoneally, Group 3 was treated by oral administration of 200 mg/Kg (B.W) of RC followed by a 100 mg/Kg (B.W) dose of GM intraperitoneally, Group 4 was treated by oral administration of 400 mg/Kg (B.W) RC followed by a 100 mg/Kg (B.W) of GM intraperitoneally, and Group 5 was treated by oral administration of 400 mg/Kg (B.W) of RC. The nephrotoxicity observed in each group was histopathologically evaluated by light microscopy and biochemically evaluated by measuring the levels of creatinine and urea in the blood serum. The relative weight of kidney in each gentamicin-treated animals in the group 2 was increased in comparison with those in the control group (p<0.05), however, the administration of RC extract decreased the kidney somatic index toward the normal level. While the animals treated with gentamicin showed significantly higher levels of serum urea and creatinine (p<0.001), simultaneous coadministration of GM with a high dose of RC (400 mg/Kg (B.W) ameliorated the biochemical indices of nephrotoxicity, showing the significant decrease in the levels of serum creatinine and urea. In addition, Histomorphological examination showed that the rats treated with GM suffered necrosis and desquamation of tubular epithelial cells, glomerular stasis and inflammatory cell infiltration in renal cortex, while simultaneous administration of RC and GM reduced those histologically damages. It could be concluded that the administration of RC showed a protective effect on the rat kidney by preventing renal damages induced by GM, therefore, the RC-based supplements could be proposed to minimize the GM-induced renal damages.
 

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Phelipanche pouyanii is described here as a new species from South Khorassan Province, East of Iran. Its diagnostic morphological features are the calyx teeth being far longer than the calyx tube and staminal filaments being glabrous. These characters clearly differentiated the new species from its closely related taxa, i.e., P. mutelii, P. angustelaciniata and P. nana. Results obtained from the pollen and seed micromorphological characters showed no significant taxonomic value in the delimitation of the new species from its closely related species. The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences, however, showed sufficient differences to delineate the new species from its closely related species.
 

 

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Tamarix is the largest genus in the family Tamaricaceae with about 54 species. T. tetragyna var. meyeri and T. tetragyna var. deserti were previously reported from Iran. Due to the presence of overlapping features in the previously designed identification keys for the separation of these two varieties, it could be helpful to use other characters and character states derived from other sources, such as anatomical and molecular studies, in addition to find more effective morphological features for the separation of the two varieties. Therefore, the present study aimed to differentiate these two presumed varieties by multiple approaches using morphological, anatomical and molecular data. For morphological study, 6 quantitative and qualitative characters were examined in 12 samples of the two varieties. ANOVA analysis showed a significant difference between the studied characters. For anatomical study, 10 traits were examined in 4 samples of the two varieties, which also showed a significant difference. AMOVA analysis based on molecular studies using Scot marker showed a significant difference between the two varieties. The PCA biplot show the most variable traits in morphological and anatomical studies. For varieties delimitation, different clustering methods were drawn in all three studies. The results of this study showed that the use of appropriate diagnostic traits in morphological and anatomical studies as well as the use of molecular markers can be effective in showing the separated boundaries of the two varieties studied.
 

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate phytochemical characterizations and the in vitro antifungal capacity of the aqueous and methanolic extracts of the flower of Tulipa biflora Pall., against various yeast and mold species. For this purpose, fresh flowers were grinded and then macerated in methanol and water overnight, the resulted extracts were then evaluated by various tests. The results indicated that the extracts had different phytochemical components such as terpenoids, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, and phlobatannins. After the evaporation of solvents, antifungal activities of the concentrated extracts were evaluated by the well-diffusion method on Candida albicans, Trichosporon asahii, Yarrowia lipolytica, Aspergilus niger and Fusarium oxysporum. The results showed that the extracts were effective on yeasts and mold species studied except for Aspergilus niger. In order to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum biocidal concentration (MBC) of the extracts, anti-microbial tests were performed in micro-plates. The methanolic extract had more antifungal effectsthan that in the aqueous extract. Therefore, the extract of Tulipa biflora could be introduced as a source for antifungal agents.
 
 

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The aim of this study was to increase the shelf life of traditional yogurt, to improve its consistency and to prevent whey syneresis by adding tarragon essential oil. Yogurt was produced by industrial procedures and then the essential oil was inoculated into yogurt in different concentrations (10, 25, 30 ppm). Samples were examined for water storage capacity and microbial evaluation during 3 weeks of storage at two temperatures (refrigerator temperature and room temperature). The results showed that different concentrations of tarragon, temperature and storage time had a significant effect (p <0.05) on water holding capacity as well as the number of starter bacteria, molds, and yeasts. Tarragon essential oil reduced the number of bacteria, molds, and yeasts that spoil yogurt. The final results showed that the use of tarragon was not effective in water retention of yogurt samples, but it affected the number of initiator bacteria and yeast. Yogurt samples with high concentration of tarragon had the highest score in terms of consistency and sour taste. While samples with low concentration of tarragon, in terms of yogurt taste, had the highest sensory score.
 

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The genus Ulva L. (Sea lettuce), one of the most valuable marine macroalgae, is found in shallow coastal areas and in brackish and fresh water around the world. Ulva species have nutritional and medicinal values in addition to other applications, and contain various compounds such as lipids, proteins and carotenoids. These species have high phenotypic plasticity and varied in response to different environmental conditions. In this study, 38 populations of 10 species of Ulva from the coastal areas of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea, from different areas of Bushehr, Hormozgan and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces, were studied and identified on the basis of morphological and anatomical traits. Different populations showed variations in characteristics such as height, shape and color of thallus, number of pyrenoids and cell dimensions. Metabolites such as total protein, total oil, chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids contents were measured and compared among the different populations. The results should that the percentage of protein was highest in U. prolifera of Shif Island from Bushehr province as compared with the Ulva species studied, with about 26.5% of dry weight, and the percentage of total oil was lowest in U. flexuosa of Hakhamanesh region from Hormozgan province as compared with the species studied, with about 4.8% of dry weight. These results show that different environmental conditions affect the morphological and anatomical structure of species and the content of their metabolites. Due to the high-protein and low-calorie content of the Ulva genus and the importance of finding new and sustainable resources for food and pharmaceutical industries, the species of this genus have valuable potentials.
 

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Successful germination is the main factor in proper establishment and seedling yield. Information on seed germination, in the face of temperature changes at the time of planting, is a way to identify more suitable cultivars for cultivation at the planting site. For this purpose, a factorial experiment was performed based on completely randomized design with 3 replications. This experiment was conducted to investigate the temperature changes on the germination and growth indicators of lentil cultivars at Khatam Al-Anbia University of Behbahan. The studied treatments included five lentil cultivars of Gachsaran, Kimia, Robat, Ziba and Bilehsevar, and the temperature levels were 20, 25 and 30 °C, similar to the autumn conditions of Khuzestan Province. The results showed that all the seedlings of investigated cultivars cultivated at temperatures of 20 and 30 °C had a significant decrease in all the investigated traits, i.e., germination percent, germination rate, germination vigor, seed vigor index, endosperm consumption, plumule length, radicle length, seedling length, plumule dry weight and radicle dry weight, in comparison with those seedlings cultivated in 25 °C. The study of the interaction of cultivar-temperature effects showed that Bilehsevar cultivar had the highest germination and growth indices at 25°C compared to other investigated cultivars. This increase in traits such as germination rate, germination vigor, seed vigor index, plumule dry weight and radicle length was more significant in Bilehsevar cultivar compared to other cultivars. The second rank of the highest germination and growth indices was assigned to Gachsaran cultivar under 25°C conditions, which had a significant increase compared to other cultivars (Kimia, Robat and Ziba). Considering the autumn cultivation of lentils and the changes of temperature in that season (temperature range of 20 to 30 °C) in the studied area, the use of Bilehsevar and Gachsaran cultivars under the temperature of 25 °C, due to their higher germination indicators compared to the other cultivars, i.e., Ziba, Kimia and Robat, could be recommended.


 

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Urmia Lake is the largest lake in the Iranian plateau and the second largest Salt Lake in the world. This study was conducted to identify hypersaline bacteria in the lake through the screening with molecular markers. For the molecular study of the bacterial microbiome of the lake, samples were collected from water, sludge and soil of the different parts of the lake during different seasons of 2018 and 2019, and then transferred to the laboratory under standard conditions. Bacterial isolates were purified from the samples using universal culture media. ERIC molecular marker was used to study the species diversity. After clustering analysis of the species on the basis of their genetic markers, one bacterium from each cluster was selected as the representative of each cluster and then identified by DNA barcoding method using the 16srDNA. Biochemical tests were performed to confirm the molecular results. In total, 102 bacterial isolates were isolated and purified from the samples, of which only 29 isolates were extremely-halophilic. The molecular diversity of isolates, based on ERIC molecular marker, showed that isolates can be assigned to five different clusters. Five isolates selected from each cluster were selected and their 16SrDNA region were amplified and sequenced with 16SrDNA-specific primers. The results showed that the five selected isolates with 99% similarity belonged to the species Microbulbifer halophilus, Halomonas salina, Bacillus sonorensis, Salinivibrio costicola and Bacillus aquimaris. The results of molecular identification were consistent with the results of biochemical tests.
 
 

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It has been found that the second isoform of COX enzyme known as COX-2 plays an important role in inflammation and rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Thus, designing COX-2 inhibitors to treat inflammation is among the most important goals of researchers. In this study, the inhibitory effect of 3 new imidazole derivatives on COX-2 was evaluated by in silico approach. Molecular docking was done using Autodock Vina and the best binding mode of inhibitors was used as input of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. MD was performed using Gromacs software for 120 ns. Then, structural and thermodynamic analyzes (ΔG_binding) and prediction of physicochemical properties were performed. RMSD data showed the compounds reached a good equilibrium and had favorable stability during simulation. Also, the RMSF showed that due to binding of inhibitors, the fluctuations of complexes decreased and the active site residues had the lowest amount. Rg, SASA and DSSP analysis showed that the protein structure did not change significantly. It was also found that Ser530 and Tyr355 residues play a more effective role in hydrogen bond formation. Physicochemical parameters determined the good drug-likeness properties for all compounds. Structural and thermodynamic analyzes (MM-PBSA) and IC₅₀ data indicate the favorable inhibitory effect of compound 5b.

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The new species Onosma nuristanica is described and illustrated here on the basis of specimens collected from Parun in Nuristan and Chapa Dareh in Kunar, one of the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. An extensive review of the literature and a comparative study with specimens from several herbaria led to the determine of this new species. Our results represent significant divergence between studied specimens in terms of the most important morphological features, i.e., flower color, pedicel length, bract length filaments length, cauline shape and form.  In this article, a detailed description of the new species and a diagnostic key for Onosma species thriving in Afghanistan are provided and the new species is compared morphologically with its closely related species. In addition, a distribution map is provided for the new species and its close relatives in the area.

 

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Nepeta binaludensis jamzad, as a medicinal plant, which is at risk of extinction due to irregular harvesting and damage of its habitat. Four treatments including: 1- inoculation with Azotobacter chooroccum, 2- inoculation with Bacillus cereus and Pseudomonas putida, 3- inoculation with a mix of three bacteria (A. chooroccum + B. cereus + P. putida) and 4 controls (without inoculation), in the form of a completely randomized design with 3 replications in two vegetative growth stages (ten and twenty weeks after sowing). Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) improved all the evaluated morphological characteristics, including the length and dry weight of the aerial part, total leaf area and root length compared to the control. Also, the results of biochemical investigations showed that in 10 and 20 weeks old plants, the application of PGPB could increase the phenolic and flavonoid compounds and also antioxidant activity. The contain of some elements such as calcium, potassium, phosphorus, iron and magnesium also increased as a result of inoculation with PGPB. Since the PGPB improved the growth and also increased the effective compounds of N. binaludensis plants, they can be introduced as useful bio fertilizers and considered as a good alternative to chemical fertilizers.

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This study was conducted to investigate the ecological niche overlap of two sympatric species, Paracapoeta trutta and Capoeta damascina in the Iranian part of the Sirvan River, Persian Gulf basin. For this purpose, during the winter of 2021, sampling was done from eight stations (each with three repetitions). After identification, samples were released into the same sampling sites. Then some 10 environmental factors including depth, water velocity, river width, pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), Altitude, slope, and dissolved oxygen were measured and recorded. Investigating the habitat suitability indices of P. trutta  were recorded as pH 7.5-8, temperature about 10°C, TDS 150mg/liter, EC 400μS/cm, altitude 1150 m, depth 15cm, river width about 9m, velocity 1 m/s, slope 2% and dissolved oxygen 9mg/l and for C. damascina as pH 6-6.5, temperature about 10°C, TDS 180 to 200mg/l, EC 300μS/cm, altitude 1150m, depth 25cm, river width about 6m, velocity 0.5 m/s, the slope is 2% and the dissolved oxygen 8mg. The results of the ecological niche overlap showed that two species based on studied environmental factors had the highest overlap value for dissolved oxygen (0.646) and the  value for temperature (0.293). The average ecological niche overlap was 0.432 for the two species.
 

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Texture quality is an important factor in evaluating of fruits. The cut surfaces of the apple fruit turn brown because of the oxidation of phenolic compounds, triggered by polyphenol oxidase enzyme. Preventing the oxidation of phenolic substances and changing color of fruit are very important in the food industry. Due to the adverse effects of chemical additives on human health and increasing consumer preference for natural alternative compounds makes an interesting market for natural plant ingredients. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of some chemical and natural compounds including sodium metabisulfite, and citric acid, aromatic waters (sweats) of chicory, licorice and lemongrass on polyphenol oxidase enzyme activity of apple fruits. The activity of polyphenol oxidase was evaluated spectrophotometrically using pyrogallol as substrate. The optimum temperature and pH values were 32 °C and 7, respectively. It was found that the enzyme activity decreased due to use of natural compounds, sodium metabisulfite and citric acid. In conclusion, polyphenol oxidase activity can be reduced to prevent of fruits browning by using suitable natural compounds instead of chemicals.