PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Although some studies have characterized endomycorrhizal fungi population occuring in rhizosphere soils of argan trees grown in the southwest of Morocco, numerous sites of this area remained unexplored. There is a need to study additional soil samples which cover more sites of argan tree stands. Hence, we studied endomycorrhizae diversity and the mycorrhizogenic infectious potential (MIP) of rhizosphere soils collected from 15 argan forest stands (Lakhssas, Smimou, Ait Baha, Tamanar, Essaouira, Taroudante (Elkoudia), Ighrm, Guelmim, Immsouane, Anzi, Tiznit, Taghazoute, Ait Melloul, Bouizakarne and Oulad Teima) .The results revealed the presence of different AMF structures such as vesicles and arbuscules in the root cortex of the argan tree with a respective frequency of mycorrhization in the range of 90% and 100%. The  total number of AMF spores isolated from the rhizosphere were between 561 spores/100g of soil (Smimou) and 69 (Tiznit). 39 morphotypes of endomycorrhizal fungal spores were identified representing 7 genera: Glomus (15 species), Scutellospora (3 species), Entrophospora (4 species), Pacispora (2 species), Gigaspora (4 species), Acaulospora (10 species) and Ambispora (1 species).   This AMF community was dominated by the species Glomus macrocarpum whose appearance frequency reached 12.64%. It was found that 3g of rhizosphere soil of argan trees from different sites in southwestern Morocco promoted mycorrhization of sorghum plants at rate of 50% which reflected  a high infectious potential under bioassay conditions. This potential offers an opportunity for production of vigorous argan seedlings that can resist to natural environment constraints.

Wheat production is adversely affected by extreme temperature and pH. Moreover, combination of temperature and pH, have a prominent effect on plant growth and development. In the present study seven days old wheat varieties of Triticum aestivum (HI1418, HI1500, HI1531, HI1544, HI1563, HD2932) and Triticum durum (HD4672, HI8381, HI8498, HI8627, HI8663, HI8737) were evaluated for nine combination of different pH (4.0, 5.0, 6.0) and temperature (10°, 20°, 30°C). Seedling were supplemented with one-fourth strength hoag land nutrient solution in static hydroponic condition. Effect of temperature was more prominent in fresh tissue weight, length and chlorophyll concentration. The fresh shoot tissue weight, length and chlorophyll content increased at 20°C and 30°C for all the varieties of T. aestivum and T. durum. While root weight and length marginally affected in both species. Effect of pH was visible for NR activity, protein and proline content. NR activity decreased at pH 6 with increase in temperature whereas at pH 4 and 5 increase in activity was observed up to 20°C in T. aestivum and T. durum varieties. Protein content in shoot tissue of T. aestivum was observed high at pH 4 temperature 10°C while in, root tissue it was pH5 temperature 20°C except HI1544. Whereas in T. durum high protein content was observed at pH 6 temperature 20°C. High proline content was observed at 10°C in both species which decreased with increase in temperature except HI1544, HI1563 and HD2932 at pH4. High protein and low proline content was observed in T. durum as compared T. aestivum. Moreover, at pH 5 low proline and high protein content was observed in HD 4672, HI 8498 and HI 8737 varieties, thus maybe potentially cultivated on non-arable land.

Giant bamboos (Bambusa spinosa) are abundant along the Philippine countryside that contains carbohydrates, protein, and mineral. Meanwhile, the Japanese snail (Achatina fulica) is a mollusk pest found in most gardens in the Philippines. By increasing soil organic matter, organic farming can reinstate the damaged soil's natural fertility, which will improve crop productivity like in leafy vegetables such as lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. Curly Green). Four treatments (T0: commercially available liquid fermentation-based fertilizer, T1: fermented bamboo shoot-based liquid fertilizer, T2: fermented Japanese snail-based liquid fertilizer, and T3: Combination of both bamboo and Japanese snail-based liquid fertilizer) in three replications were conducted to determine their effects on the weekly height, leaf length and above and below ground fresh weight of lettuce. The recommended rate (10ml/L) for commercial liquid fertilizer was followed for all treatments. For the erectness of leaves (plant height) and length of leaves, the combined use of bamboo and Japanese snail-based liquid fertilizer is generally comparable to using commercially available liquid fermentation-based fertilizer. At termination, the combined application of Japanese snail and bamboo shoot liquid fertilizer was 13.88±0.51SE cm high and had leaves 15.78±0.78SE cm long. Lettuce applied with the commercial liquid fertilizer was 14.01±1.11SE cm high, with leaves measuring 15.75±0.86SE cm long. All treatments have approximately four fully opened leaves 20 days after transplanting. For above and below ground fresh weight, lettuce applied with fermented bamboo shoot-based liquid fertilizer alone performed the least after four weeks at 80±4.47SE and 39.33±2.89SE g/plant, respectively. These suggest that the combined application of bamboo shoot and Japanese snail has the potential to be used as liquid fermented fertilizer for organic lettuce production.

Tolerance to high temperature in cotton is a complex traits which controlled by multiple genes that working in combination to avoid or to resist high temperature. Genotype independent may show quantitative and qualitative differences in gene expression when treated to high temperature. In plants, Heat Shock Protein plays many roles in stages of development, plant growth, and regulation of multiple pathways in higher plant which are responsible for abiotic stresses tolerance. In this study, were designed specific primers to isolate and identify some genes that responsible for tolerance of high temperature in Gossypium barbadense. Four heat shock protein (HSP) genes Hsp21, Hsp26, Hsp23 and Hsp36 were isolated, sequenced and identified. Search of databases showed that the four fragments identify for four genes that have high homology in Gossypium sp. and related to heat treatment. Multiple Sequence Alignment and comparative mapping showed the relationship between sequences and function that give explanation of mechanism of adaption which related by genotype. Understand of tolerant mechanism and its gene function allows improving of cotton tolerance to high temperature by means of genetic manipulation and molecular breeding.

Aspergillus niger was used for the submerged production of citric acid to explore the high yield citric acid producers other than citrus fruits. Rice and potato extracts were taken as substrates for a comparative analysis of higher yield giving substrate. Varying concentrations of Sucrose, Glucose and Nitrogen supplements were used to trace the fluctuations in yield of citric acid production. The citric acid extracted from variable media was titrated to determine the concentration of citric acid produced. The comparative study was carried out to find out the optimum requirements for the higher yield of citric acid production. This study can give a better approach for the large-scale industrial production of citric acid as it is among the highly consumed organic acids.

Chickpea is one of the pivotal legume due to its nutritious value and used all over the world as food for human and feed for animals. Drought is effecting grain yield up to 30-40% in chickpea. The initial move towards improvement of drought tolerance in chickpea is to screen existing germplasm. The experiment conducted in Pulses Research Institute Faisalabad in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020. Ten Desi chickpea and 10 Kabuli chickpea genotypes assessed at seedling stage on physio-morphic traits. Desi chickpea genotypes D-14005, D-13011 and Kabuli chickpea K-01216, K-14004 lines had maintained root/shoot ratio, relative water contents and excised leaf water loss under 50% FC and 100% FC. Five best performing Kabuli chickpea genotypes and five Desi chickpea genotypes further evaluated for drought tolerance and grain yield in field with regular irrigation and drought. The physiological traits included excised leaf water loss, cell membrane thermostability, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll contents recorded at anthesis and yield related traits days to flowering, days to maturity, plant height, number of grains per plant, 100-grain weight and grain yield per plant recorded at maturity indicated Desi Line D-14005and Kabuli line K-14004 are drought tolerant. The selection criteria developed for identifying drought tolerant chickpea genotypes is very efficient.

Dates are important fruits in arid and semi-arid region which preferred habitats by having its own good taste and high nutritional values that enhancing human health, date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) trees become famous cultured in the most highways in Egypt for its tolerance feature and valuable fruits for humans and livestock, different highways have gas exhaust with heavy metals, therefore the main objective of this study was to determine the concentrations heavy metals which emission from highway and are described as a toxic elements Pb, Ni, Cr, Co and Cd in the date palm fruits collected from different highways for soft, semi dry and dry cultivars of date palm which widespread in all Egypt ways. It’s worth mentioning the important results that is dates have considerable contents of  Pb, Ni, Cr, Co and Cd in the fruits,  in overall, un-washing fruits recorded highest values upon the washing fruits that have the lowest contents of these elements, Based on the obtained results, washing dates useful for consumed as well as edible dates fruits can be include daily foods.

Grain aphids reduce wheat yield by 30 to 75%. As a result of absorption of plant sap by aphids  from the leaves and ears of grain crops, the crops become stunted, and in some cases no ear emergence is observed. Accordingly, this leads to a sharp decrease in the quantity and quality of the yield. In order to determine the genetic polymorphisms of resistance to grain aphids, among 38 samples of local landrace, СIMMYT and local wheat varieties of bread wheat grown in Uzbekistan, 9 SSR primers and PCR amplifications were performed, and this article presents an analysis of these PCR results. Resistance to Russian wheat aphids has been identified in 6 of the Dn genes, namely Dn1, Dn2, Dn4, Dn5, Dn6 and Dn8 genes, and the genotypic polymorphism was studied to be 60%.

Cotton growing is one of the most developed industries in Uzbekistan today. Therefore, water saving is a period requirement. Drip irrigation has also become widely used in cotton growing. This not only saves water, but also prevents soil salinization. This method is used in agriculture in many countries around the world (China, Turkey, Israel, USA, etc.) and high yields On September 6, 2019, a strategy was developed for agricultural development in Uzbekistan for 2020-2030.

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the most important vegetable crops across world and India is second largest producer of this crop across the world. Late blight disease has been the most serious threat to world’s potato production, resulting in 80-100 % yield loss. The causal agent of late blight is fungi, Phytophthora infestans. The present investigation was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of mycogenic silver nanoparticles as an antifungal agent against P. infestans. The silver nanoparticles were synthesized biologically by using Aspergillus niger biomass and characterization of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was done by UV-Vis Spectroscopy, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) and Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR). The inhibition percentage of P. infestans caused by silver nanoparticles treatment was established in vitro. Field experiment was conducted to compare the efficiency of silver nanoparticles and chemical fungicide at the parameters of disease severity, tuber number and tuber weight. The data were analysed by SPSS software for descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA) including least significance difference (LSD). The development of mustard yellow colour in the reaction mixture preliminary confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs. The UV-Vis Spectral report showed peaks corresponding to AgNPs at 420, 430, 440 and 460 nm. The FESEM images confirmed synthesis of roughly spherical nano-sized particles and the elemental composition of the same was confirmed to be silver by EDX analysis report. DLS analysis depicted the average size of nanoparticles as 37.2 nm. The FTIR spectral report provided information about the molecular interactions between AgNPs and surrounding chemical functional groups. The AgNPs showed 75% inhibition percentage during in vitro analysis. The average disease severity was found to be significantly higher in control plants as compared to AgNPs and chemical fungicide treated plants. Also, AgNPs and chemical fungicide treated plants showed significantly higher average tuber production as compared to control as tested at 0.05 significance levels. There was no significant difference between AgNPs and chemical fungicide treated plants at all the parameters taken under consideration. It may be concluded by the study that AgNPs may be proved to be potential fungicides in near future and it is an excellent alternative to chemical fungicides.

Atropa belladonna is an important medicinal plant as it is valuable source of Tropane alkaloids. Two types of explant were used from A. belladonna (shoot tip, nodes) and two plant growth regulators, Cytokinines (kinetin and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) were applied, respectively, at concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0) mg L^-1. The aim of present study was the determination of the best explant for propagation, as well as determining the optimal hormone type and concentration, for precise propagation of A. belladonna plant. The obtained results showed that the best explant for A. belladonna propagation was shoot tip, which gave the highest average number of explants, the greatest length of the shoot and the highest number of leaves. The most effective cytokines used in the propagation was 6-benzylaminopurine (BA) which increased the average number of shoots, shoot length and number of leaves in comparison to kinetin (Kin). The best concentration used to obtain the highest average of shoot number was 2.0 mg L^-1 of the BA (3.25 shoot explant^-1). Whereas the highest value for the average length of the shoot reached to 3.03 cm and the number of leaves to 7.0 leaves explant^-1 by using the BA at a concentration of 1.0 mg L^-1.

Whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is one of the major pests of many crops worldwide. It is a cryptic species complex composed of at least 39 different indistinguishable species. However, the common species of this insect in Iraq including Karbala Province is not fully recognized. Thus, the main aim of this research was to explore the genetic characteristics of this species in Karbala province, Iraq based on the mitochondrial DNA CO1sequencing analysis as well as control it using some chemical pesticides and nanoparticles. The mtCO1 results suggest B. tabaci species complex have a high level of genetic polymorphic, and three members of B. tabaci (B, B2, and MEAM2) were identified in (Nursery threshold Husseiniya, Al-Husayniyah, and Karbala desert), respectively. The most common type was B, which is Middle East-Asia Minor1 (MEAM1) according to the global dataset of this species complex. Furthermore, the influence of the ZnO and MgO nanoparticles evaluated were similar to the pesticides examined. Thus, they are a potential alternative method can be harnessed to control the whitefly.

Envenomation coming about because of snake bite is a significant general wellbeing peril in numerous areas of the world, especially revealed in tropical and subtropical nations. Snake bite has been remembered for the World Health Organization (WHO) rundown of dismissed tropical maladies. Snake bite is a typical word related peril among the ranch laborers, ranchers, snake-handlers and others bringing about passings and numerous cases persistent physical debilitation in the dynamic more youthful individuals. Inaccessibility of against serum in medical services segments of India or other creating nations merits quick consideration. Polyvalent enemy of serum accessible ties to poison, consequently forestall further results however doesn't invert the impacts previously brought about by the toxin. Considering the downsides related  to existing enemy of serum treatment, methodical approval of plants for toxin poisonousness is defended. Plant extracts are an incredibly rich wellspring of phytoconstituents which can neutralize snake toxin proteins or venoms. Numerous phytocompounds have been recognized found to have a liking towards peptides, proteins, chemicals, poisonous parts and metal particles present in the toxin. The current survey showed the point by point robotic methodology about the serum toxin capability of restorative plants and their separated bioactive venomous snake species.

The genus Bambusa (family Poaceae) is the fastest growing grass in the world and adapted to various climatic conditions. Bamboos are used for variety of purposes such as for making poles, paper, charcoal, candles. Most of the species of the bamboos are edible and have high nutritional and mineral value. Bamboo shoots, leaves and other parts are used as food both in the fresh and dried form. Edible bamboos are used as tea, pickles and many more due to their high nutritional value. The flowering in bamboo is infrequent and seed viability is low, to fulfil the requirements of the bamboo In vitro culture of bamboo can be done. Different explants are used to grow the bamboo in the laboratory. It is present all over the world with a great genetic diversity and to classify the bamboo traditional methods are not appropriate. There are around 1200 species indigenous to Asia and new world of bamboo and their genetic diversity can be evaluated by using different molecular markers. A wide range of molecular markers is available that can help in the classification of bamboo and identification of bamboo genetic diversity. The present review highlights the use of molecular markers that are used in the genetic evaluation of the bamboo species.

The global climate change induced frequent droughts are holding back wheat productivity. A lot of efforts are made across the world for the generation of drought tolerant wheat cultivars. However, the progress is hampered due to the complexity associated with the plant drought stress response. Besides, the large and complex genome of wheat is adding to the challenge. At present, the generation of drought tolerant variety will require the combined efforts from multiple disciplines of plant science. This review summarizes the possible strategies for combating drought stress associated with wheat yield loss, morphological, physiological, biochemical and molecular response of the wheat plant in response to drought stress. Further emphasis is laid on already reported studies on the wheat cultivars for the identification and selection of drought-tolerant wheat cultivars based on transcriptomics, proteomics and transgenic approach.