Plant Productions

The Study on Gene Expression of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-Coa Reductase (HMGR) and γ-Terpinene Synthesis in Thymus Vulgaris L. Under Water Deficit Stress

Fatemeh Mirzaei; Ahmad Ismaili; Foad Fatehi; Ardeshir Ghaderi; Soheila Afkar

Volume 42, Issue 2 , June 2019, , Pages 165-180

https://doi.org/10.22055/ppd.2019.20928.1436

Abstract

Abstract Background and Objectives Drought is a major abiotic stress that limits agricultural crop production. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant which ... Read More Abstract Background and Objectives Drought is a major abiotic stress that limits agricultural crop production. Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is an aromatic and medicinal plant which is very important for the herbal industry. This study was aimed to investigate the variation some of the secondary metabolites and morphological traits as well as changes in expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis of thymol (including HMGR and TPS2) by real-time PCR. One of the main goals of the present study was to find out the relationship between the transcript of these genes and related metabolites in thyme. Materials and Methods This study was conducted in the greenhouse of Iranian Institute of Medicinal Plants of Jahad Daneshgahi (Karaj, Iran) in 2016. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with 5 replication and 4 water deficit stress treatments, including 100% (T1, control), 70% (T2, mild stress), 40% (T3, moderate stress), and 20% (T4, severe stress) of field capacity (FC). Total RNA was extracted from leaves using TRIzol reagent following the manufacturer’s instructions. First strand synthesis of cDNA was performed immediately using 1 µg of total RNA with simultaneous use of oligo-dT (50 µM) primers and random hexamer and reverse transcriptase enzyme following the manufacturer protocol. In order to examine gene expression by real-time PCR, the method of fluorescence dye SYBR green (Fermentase, USA) was used. The amount of thymol and carvacrol were measured by HPLC. Results Results of morphological traits showed that increasing the water deficit stress caused a decrease in root biomass, shoot fresh weight, plant height, root length, and the number of side branches. Results of gene expression profiling showed that the highest expression of TPS2 and HMGR genes and the highest amount of thymol and carvacrol was obtained in treatment T2 (70% FC). Discussion TPS2 and HMGR gene expression changes were similar to the changes of monoterpenes thymol and carvacrol in all treatments and the highest number of monoterpenes and gene expression were obtained in mild water deficit stress treatment in comparison with control, moderate, and severe stresses. Altogether, according to the results of this study, mild stress had a significant effect on increasing the expression of HMGR and TPS2 and led to a higher production of monoterpenes.

The Effect of Different Nutritional Systems with Nitrogen and Phosphorous Fertilizers on Quantitative and Qualitative Traits of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Mehdi Aghighi Shahverdi; Majid Amini Dahaghi; Hojjat Ataei Somagh; Behnam Mamivand

Volume 41, Issue 4 , March 2019, , Pages 1-14

https://doi.org/10.22055/ppd.2018.22330.1479

Abstract

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesAiming to remove or reduce the chemical input in order to obtain high quality and yield sustainability, plants production in sustainable agriculture. ... Read More AbstractBackground and ObjectivesAiming to remove or reduce the chemical input in order to obtain high quality and yield sustainability, plants production in sustainable agriculture. On the other hand, the combined application of chemical and bio-fertilizers can improve yield and quality of medicinal plants. Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), a member of Lamiaceae family, is an annual plant and is widely used as a vegetable and as an aromatic plant. Considering the importance of medicinal herbs and the global trend for their production and reproduction in sustainable and low-input agricultural systems as well as a lack of research on the response of Basil's medicinal plant to the combined nutritional systems (chemical and biological), the aim of this study was to compare the effects of various nutritional systems with chemical and biological nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers as high-quality nutrients on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Basil. Materials and MethodsThis research was conducted as a factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design with three replications at the Research Center of Faculty of Agriculture, Shahed University, Tehran, in 2014. The experimental factors included nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer combinations, 100% chemical based on a soil test, 100% biological (for nitrogen, Azotobacter crocococcus and Azospirillium lipophorum, for phosphorus, and Pseudomonas fluorescence) and combining a system of 50% chemical fertilizers with biofertilizers. To provide nitrogen fertilizer from the source of urea containing 46% pure nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer were used triple superphosphate containing 46% phosphorus oxide (P2O5). Biofertilizers used to provide nitrogen are a mixture of Azotobacter crocum (Azeto-5 strain) and Azopyrillium lipophorum (93 strain), and for phosphorus from the mixture of Pseudomonas putida (P-168 strain) and Pseudomonas fluorescence (P-169 strain), all of which have a concentration 107 CFU/ml provided by the National Institute of Soil and Water Research of Iran. ResultsThe results showed that different combinations of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers and also the interaction between these two had a significant effect on plant height, the number of leaves and shoots yields, percentage, and yield of essential oil. The highest number of leaves per plant was found in treatments N2 × P4 (100% chemical nitrogen with combined of bio-fertilizer and 50% chemical phosphorus) and N4 × P4 (combin of bio-fertilizer and 50% chemical hosphorus combined with bio-fertilizer and 50% chemical nitrogen) respectively with the mean of 54.72 and 54.44 leaves per plant. Interaction of nutrition systems showed that the highest leaves and essential oil yield was in combination N4 × P4 respectively with the average 596.33 kg.ha-1 and 6.56 lit.ha-1. The uses of combination system of nitrogen and phosphorus increased the mean composition of the oils constitutive such as Linalool, Carvacrol and Eugenol compared to control. DiscussionThe results of this study indicate that the use of bio-fertilizers phosphorus and nitrogen, either alone or in combination with 50% chemical fertilizer to improve the quantity and quality of basil had a positive impact. They can, instead of continuous use of chemical fertilizers, be used to optimize the biological inputs for sustainable agriculture and reduce the pollution caused by the use of nitrogen and phosphorous fertilizers.

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Keywords = Carvacrol

The Study on Gene Expression of 3-Hydroxy-3-Methylglutaryl-Coa Reductase (HMGR) and γ-Terpinene Synthesis in Thymus Vulgaris L. Under Water Deficit Stress

Abstract

The Effect of Different Nutritional Systems with Nitrogen and Phosphorous Fertilizers on Quantitative and Qualitative Traits of Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)

Abstract