Department of Horticulture (2010 - Present)
Horticultural Science- Breeding and Biotechnology in Vegetable Crops
Horticultural Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Agricultural Engineering, Horticulture
Horticultural Science, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Hyoscyamine (HYO) and scopolamine (SCO) are tropane alkaloids acting as anticholinergic factors on the parasympathetic nervous system in humans and are produced by Solanaceous plants. Two strains of Agrobacterium rhizogenes, A4 and LBA9402, were used to infect Atropa acuminata Royle ex Miers and Atropa belladonna L. leaf explants. A. acuminata was inoculated either by direct infection or sonicated‐assisted A. rhizogenes‐mediated transformation (SAAT) was performed. A. belladonna was inoculated with the A4 strain using a direct method. The selected hairy root lines of both species were elicited with 50 mM methyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD), 0.5 μM coronatine (Cor) or 50 mM β‐CD + 0.5 μM Cor on day 14 of culture. The elicitor
Many studies on Heracleum have shown poor correspondence between observed molecular clusters and established taxonomic classification amongst closely related species. This might reflect both unresolved taxonomy but perhaps also a lack of good genetic markers. This lack of appropriate and cost effective species-specific genetic markers hinders a resolved relationship for the species complex, and this in turn causes profound management challenges for a genus that contains both endemic species, with important ecological roles, and species with an invasive potential. Microsatellites are traditionally considered markers of choice for comprehensive, yet inexpensive, analyses of genetic variation, including examination of population structure, spe
The genus Nepeta is one of the largest genera in the Lamiaceae family, and Iran is one of the main centers of origin of this genus. The genetic diversity estimation of the genus Nepeta germplasm provides a basis for future biodiversity conservation efforts and also for the selection of high-productive genotype(s) for the field production improvement. In this work, eleven RAPD primers with suitable banding pattern and prominent polymorphism were used for the estimation of infraspecific genetic diversity of N. kotschyi based on 21 populations. The study included 19 and 2 populations belonging to var. persica and var. kotschyi, respectively. Eleven primers amplified totally 225 scorable RAPD loci, 204 of which were polymorphic. The average num
The medicinal sage plant (Salvia spp.), belonging to Lamiaceae family, is one of the most important medicinal and aromatic plants. The members of this genus are globally known due to its antimicrobial, antioxidant, astringent, spasmolytic, antihidrotic and specific sensorial properties. In this study, we investigated the potential impact of water deficit on transcript abundance, and essential oil composition of five major metabolites, ie 1–8 cineole, α–β-thujone, camphor, and borneol in three genotypes of Salvia spp. Results showed that relative expression of three genes and their corresponding metabolites increased together at three stages under drought condition, but the CS gene transcript decreased independently from 1, 8-cineole i
Mint species (Mentha sp.) are important vegetables with medicinal and economic characteristics. In this study, the genetic relationships of 34 accessions of 5 mint species including Mentha spicata, Mentha longifolia, Mentha piperita, Mentha aquatica, and Mentha mozaffarianii Jamzad were evaluated using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers, followed by the analysis of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products on a high-resolution acrylamide gel. ISSR primers yielded 74 clear and reproducible bands, of which 50 bands were polymorph (65.28%), with a minimum of 7 ((TG) 8 G) and a maximum of 17 ((GA) 8 YC) bands per primer. Polymorphism information content (PIC) for each primer varied from 0.37 to 0.46 with an average of 0.41. The mark
Satureja bachtiarica Bunge (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant native to Iran which is widely used in traditional medicine, as a spice and as a vegetable. Understanding the patterns of genetic variation and structure of natural populations of the plant will be crucial for breeding and management purposes. However, until now, there has been no molecular tool with codominance inheritance available for studying genetic variation in this plant. In this study, we developed microsatellite markers for S. bachtiarica using a next-generation sequencing technique, and applied these markers to quantify the genetic variation and structure of natural populations. Sixty individuals collected from five natural populations were tested with 15 markers, 11 of w
Fenugreek is one of the important edible and medicinal vegetables that have a long history of cultivation and consumption. Characterize the extent of the genetic diversity among landraces will provide a good context for future breeding programs and genetic resource preservation. Genetic diversity and population structure of 88 individuals of eight landraces of Iranian fenugreek evaluated based on SRAP markers. Seventy-two bands generated from 6 primers in which 56 (80.11%) band were polymorph. Hamadan landrace showed the lowest values of percentage of polymorphic loci (67.86), Nei's gene diversity index (0.24), number of effective alleles (1.40) and Shannon’s Information index (0.36). Nei’s genetic distance matrix revealed the highest g
Apiaceae is one of the largest plant families with a wide distribution including 114 genera and 363 species in Iran. Heracleum consists more than 100 species in the world, eight of them being reported in Iran including three endemic species. Based on taxonomic descriptions in Flora Iranica, the species reported in Pubescentia and Wendia sections have several morphological similarities and some display extensive geographical variation. We used the nuclear ITS and the chloroplast rpl32-trnL nucleotide sequences were used to evaluate the genetic relationships of different populations of Heracleum species. The Bayesian analysis showed that the phylogenetic tree constructed based on both nuclear and cpDNA were relatively similar, but a higher nu
High performance liquid chromatography data related to the concentrations of 12 phenolic compounds in vegetative parts, measured at four sampling times were processed for developing prediction models, based on the cultivar, grapevine organ, growth stage, total flavonoid content (TFC), total reducing capacity (TRC) and total antioxidant activity (TAA). 12 Artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed with 79 input variables and different number of neurons in the hidden layer, for the prediction of 12 phenolics. The results confirmed that the developed ANN-models (R2 = 0.90 – 0.97) outperform the stepwise regression models (R2 = 0.05 – 0.78). Moreover, the sensitivity of the model outputs against each input variable was computed b
In this study, a sensitive, accurate and reproducible high performance liquid chromatographic method was developed for determination of diosgenin from fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) leaves in 22 ecotypes of Iranian fenugreek. The obtained results showed that the highest concentration of diosgenin with 23.8 mg g-1 dw was found in Boshruyeh ecotype. While, Mashhad ecotype with 3.51 mg g-1 dw diosgenin contained the lowest concentration of diosgenin. The method employed in current study confirmed significant variations in the diosgenin concentration in Iranian fenugreek. Therefore, Iranian fenugreek can be considered as a new potential crop and source of diosgenin in the pharmaceutical industry.
Plant genetic diversity is the fundamental of plant-breeding programs to improve desirable characteristics. Hence, evaluation of genetic diversity is the first step in fruit-breeding programs. Accordingly, the current study was carried out to evaluate 25 superior walnut genotypes in respect of phenotypic and cytological characteristics. For this purpose, 560 walnut genotypes in southwest of Iran were evaluated based on UPOV and International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptor. After a 2-year primary evaluation, 25 superior genotypes were selected for future phenotypic and genome size assessment. Flow cytometry was used to estimate genome size of the selected superior genotypes. A high genetic diversity was found in walnut
ISSR markers were applied to evaluate the genetic diversity and differentiation of 270 individuals of 27 Iranian C. melo landraces of various varietal groups include vars. inodorous, cantalupensis, reticulatus, ameri, dudaim. Genetic diversity among the studied genotypes obtained by GeneAlex analysis (H = 0.08, I = 0.12, Na = 0.77, PPL = 22.6%). Cluster analysis divided Iranian melon landraces into two main cluster. Non-sweet genotype (dudaim group) was well separated from sweet genotypes (inodorous, ameri, reticulatus, cantalupensis). The most similar genotypes were BANI and TONI (0.95) and the most dissimilar ones were GER and TS (0.58). AMOVA result showed that the percentage of genetic variation among and within Iranian
Nepeta is one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family, and Iran is one of the main centers of origin of the genus. There are lots of reports related to biological activities of secondary metabolites of Nepeta that shows the importance of the genus. Quantity and quality of essential oil (EO) components of 12 accessions of three Iranian Nepeta species, N. cataria, N. menthoides and N. crassifolia, cultivated in West of Tehran, were studied. Also, EO components capability on intra and inter-specific relationships was investigated. Plant aerial parts were harvested at full bloom stage. EO was extracted by hydrodistillation method from shade-dried plant materials. EO was quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed by GC and GC/MS, respective
An Ionic Liquid Based Ultrasonic Assisted Extraction (ILUAE) was developed for profitable extraction of diosgenin from fenugreek leaves. Imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) differing in their anions was used as catalytic agent for extraction procedure in order to optimize the diosgenin extraction. Five ionic liquids, concentration of ILs, reaction time and solid to liquid ratio were optimized on one at the time procedure. The particle size was considered the same for all experiments [BMIM] HSO4 was selected as the best IL and in the final optimized condition, the extraction efficiency increased from 0.77 to 10.24 (mg g-1dw) diosgenin. The method was also used to evaluate the concentration of diosgenin in different 13 accessions of Iranian
Nepeta is one of the largest genera of the Lamiaceae family, and Iran is one of the main centers of origin of the genus. There are lots of reports related to biological activities of secondary metabolites of Nepeta that shows the importance of the genus. Quantity and quality of essential oil (EO) components of 12 accessions of three Iranian Nepeta species, N. cataria, N. menthoides and N. crassifolia, cultivated in West of Tehran, were studied.Also, EO components capability on intra and inter-specific relationships was investigated. Plant aerial parts were harvested at full bloom stage. EO was extracted by hydrodistillation method from shade-dried plant materials. EO was quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed by GC and GC/MS, respectivel
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