Germination and seedling growth of barley as affected by Artemisia annua water extract
Mazen Salman*, Naser Salameh, Saeid Abu-Romman
Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie, P.O. Box 7, Tulkarm, Palestine
Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Mutah University, Karak 61710, Jordan
Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Al-Balqa’ Applied University, Al-Salt 19117, Jordan
Abstract
Laboratory and greenhouse pot experiments were conducted to assess the allelopathic effects of Artemisia annua water extract on germination and growth of barley. Lower concentrations of A. annua water extract (0.5 and 1.0 %) did not affect the germination of barley seeds. However, higher concentrations (1.5-3.5 %) resulted in significant reductions in the germination percentage. Seedling growth of barley was also affected by A. annua water extract. Both shoot and root lengths were negatively affected by A. annua water extract and the degree of inhibition was concentration dependent. When barley seedlings were subjected to 0.5% extract concentration, shoot length was inhibited by 6% while root length showed 18.5% inhibition over control seedlings. The lowest shoot and root lengths were recorded at 3.0 and 3.5 % water extract. At 0.5 % extract concentration, shoot and root fresh and dry weights were significantly unaffected compared with the control. Shoot fresh weight was significantly unaltered when seedlings were treated with 1.0 % extract. However, at the same concentration root fresh weight, shoot dry weight, and root dry weight were inhibited by 44.7, 33.3, and 40 %, respectively. The present results confirmed that root growth (length and weight) was more sensitive to A. annua water extract than shoot growth. The present results also indicated the presence of water soluble allelochemicals in A. annua that are able to inhibit growth and reduce of barley.
Pages 1-6 | Read More| doi: 10.21475/poj.10.01.17.241
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Begomovirus infection on Cucumber in Saudi Arabia
Sayed Sartaj Sohrab*, Muhammad Yasir, Sherif Ali El-KafrawySpecial Infectious Agents Unit; King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Cucurbits are an important vegetable crops and among them Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) used mainly as vegetables and salad. The cucumber crop was found to exhibit yellow mosaic symptoms grown in the natural field in Saudi Arabia. We collected naturally infected samples and detected the begomovirus infection by polymerase chain reaction and full length as well as betasatellites viral genome was cloned and sequenced. The sequences of the full length viral genome had 2784 and betasatellites had 1377 nucleotides respectively. In a multiple sequences analysis, highest homology was observed with Tomato yellow leaf curl virus previously reported from Jizan and Al-Qasim, Saudi Arabia. The betasatellites sequences were also analyzed but, interestingly the highest homology was observed with Tomato yellow leaf curl betasatellites reported from Jeddah and Oman. In a phylogenetic tree analysis, the closest cluster was formed with begomovirus isolates identified earlier from Jizan and Al-Qasim. Based on the results obtained in this study, it is concluded that a variant of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus associated with yellow mosaic disease of cucumber in Saudi Arabia. These findings provide valuable information about the natural infection and disease spread caused by begomovirus in new geographic regions on new host.
Pages 7-14 |Read More| doi: 10.21475/poj.10.01.17.281……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Tracing the role of sucrose in potato microtuber formation in vitro
M.S. Islam*, M.Z.K. Roni, A.F.M. Jamal Uddin, Kazuhiko Shimasaki
The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Ehime University, 3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8566, Japan
The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Ehime University, 3-5-7 Tarumi, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-8566, Japan
Department of Horticulture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh
Faculty of Agriculture, Kochi University, B 200 Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan
Abstract
Sucrose is a necessary external carbon substrate for in vitro microtuber induction and development. In this study, we determined the correlation between sucrose and microtuber formation in potato by investigating the role and significance of sucrose in the medium and the origin of explants, as well as the potential function of sucrose in microtuber formation in vitro. Sucrose strongly influences microtuber induction, growth, and earliness without negative side effects. The results of this study show there was a significant correlation of R2 = 0.95 between tuberization and high sucrose content in the medium. High sucrose content in the medium is the carbon source that influences microtuber formation and development irrespective of the origin of explants. The present work could be considered efficient for large scale multiplication and propagation of this important vegetable crop in vitro. Hence, the results of this study should help rapid micropropagation of commercial potato cultivars by using high concentrations of sucrose in the microtuberization medium for a higher percentage of microtuber formation with earliness.
Pages 15-19 |Read More| doi: 10.21475/poj.10.01.17.282
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Tomato Leaf Curl Sudan Virus (TLCSDV) causing leaf curl disease on a new host Amaranthus cruentus L.Sayed Sartaj Sohrab
Special Infectious Agents Unit; King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Amaranthus leaf curl disease symptom was observed in the farmer’s field based at Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. This crop used as leafy vegetables in many countries. In this study, a field survey was conducted in April 2014 and naturally infected Amaranthus leaf samples were collected to identify the associated virus with leaf curl disease. The causative agent was transmitted through whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) from naturally infected leaves to healthy Amaranthus seedlings. The begomovirus infection was identified by PCR by using specific primers. The full viral genome was amplified by rolling circle amplification. The presence of betasatellites was also confirmed by using betasatellites specific primers. The full viral genomes as well as betasatellites were amplified, cloned and sequenced. The full-length viral genome sequence analysis showed the highest (99.9%) homology with Tomato leaf curl Sudan Virus infecting tomato reported from the Arabian Peninsula. The betasatellites sequence analysis showed the highest identity (99.3%) with Tomato leaf curl betasatellites-Yemen. The phylogenetic analysis was performed by using both full as well as betasatellites genome and full genome formed the closest cluster with Tomato leaf curl Sudan virus while betasatellites genome formed closed cluster with tomato yellow leaf curl Yemen betasatellites. The recombination analysis was performed and results showed that the associated virus could be a variant of Tomato leaf curl Sudan virus, a virus that occurs in Sudan, Yemen and Arabian Peninsula. This is the first report that about the Tomato leaf curl Sudan virus causing leaf curl disease on a new host Amaranthus in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Pages 20-27 |Read More| doi: 10.21475/poj.10.01.17.292……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Quantitative analysis of antimicrobial activity of Foeniculum vulgare: A review
Khaldoun J. Al-Hadid
The University of Jordan, Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences, Amman 11942, Jordan
Abstract
Foeniculum vulgare is a perennial herb that belongs to Apiaceae family. Traditionally, it is used as an antiseptic, carminative, digestive, diuretic, and expectorant agent. This is a systematic review on antimicrobial activity of Foeniculum vulgare using the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) technique. Essential oil extract had more antimicrobial effect than the alcoholic extract of the same tested microorganisms. F. vulgare essential oil, alcoholic, hexane, and diethyl ether extracts had strong inhibitory activity against Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. Essential oil extract had low MIC values for Bacillus cereus, Bacillus megaterium, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Sarcina lutea, Shigella boydii, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella shiga, Shigella sonnie, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus-β- haemolyticus. The alcoholic extract had low MIC values for Aspergillus flavus, Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. Hexane and diethyl ether extracts had low MIC values for Aspergillus flavus, Bacillus cereus, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, and Staphylococcus aureus. Microbial inhibition can be specific for the species. The antimicrobial activity strength of methanolic extract is similar to that of ethanolic extract. Acetone extract had lower MIC values than those for aqueous extract for the same tested microorganisms. Acetone, diethyl ether, and alcoholic extracts have stronger antifungal effects than essential oil. The essential oil extracted from F. vulgare leaves was not as effective as the essential oil extracted from its seeds. F. vulgare extracts have high potential to be an effective antibiotic agent.
Pages 28-36 |Read More| doi: 10.21475/poj.10.01.17.322
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Tissue-specific response of primary metabolites in tomato plants affected by different K nutrition status
Jwakyung Sung, Hejin Yun, Minji Cho, Jungeun Lim, Seulbi Lee, Deogbae Lee,Taek-Keun Oh*
Soil and Fertilizer Division, NIAS, RDA, Wanju, Jeollabuk-do, 55365, Korea
Department of Bio-Environmental Chemistry, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-Ro, Yuseong-Gu, Daejeon 34134, Republic of Korea
Abstract
As one of the most important mineral nutrient elements, potassium (K) plays crucial roles in many fundamental processes, including enzyme activation, membrane transport, anion neutralization and osmo-regulation, and determines the yield and quality of crop production. In order to better understand and elucidate plant tissue-specific primary metabolic changes under different K nutrition status. Four-week-old tomato plants were subjected to different K nutrition situations: low (0.25 mM); normal (2.5 mM); and high (10.0 mM); and the emerging leaves, fully expanded leaves, petioles, stem and roots were harvested at 15 and 30 days, time points which the external symptoms are observed, after K treatments. Primary metabolites, amino acids, organic acids and sugars, extracted from each tomato tissue were measured with HPLC system. Several interesting findings from this study could be summarized as follows: (1) metabolites showed K-dependent responses, which indicated that the rates of an increase and decrease in low K-affected were 50 % : 50 % ;whereas, 80 % : 20 % in high K; (2) the petioles revealed the most sensitive plant tissue in response to K nutrition status; and (3) metabolites such as glucose and fructose (soluble sugars), malate and citrate (organic acids), and glutamine, asparagine, glutamate and aspartate (amino acids) strongly fluctuated (up or down) by the K nutrition ratio. These findings may contribute to a better understanding and elucidating the tissue-specific biosynthetic patterns and primary metabolite accumulation under different K nutrition ratios, and provide a new strategy for comprehensive information involved in the spatio-temporal metabolic networks
Pages 37-44 |Read More| doi: 10.21475/poj.10.01.17.277