Effects of drought stress on some agronomic and bio-physiological traits of Trititicum aestivum,Triticale, and Tritipyrum genotypes

ABSTRACT

Drought tolerance is a complex trait that involves different biochemical and physiological mechanisms in plants. It was the objective of the present study to evaluate the agronomic and biochemical responses of triticale, tritipyrum, and wheat to drought stress. For this purpose, twenty-seven genotypes were evaluated under two levels (non-stress and drought stress) of irrigation during 2015?2017. The metabolic traits studied included relative water content (RWC), membrane stability index (MSI), chlorophyll a (Chla), chlorophyll b (Chlb), carotenoids (Car), leaf proline content (Pro), leaf soluble carbohydrates (LSC), glycine betaine (GB), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), seeds per spike (SS), seed weight (SW), biological yield (BY) and seed yield (SY). Drought stress increased Pro, LSC, and GB contents as well as lipid peroxidation through increasing MDA and H₂O₂ activities. However, both RWC and MSI indices as well as SS, SW, SY and BY reduced as a result of drought treatment although the least decrease of SY was observed at triticale group. During the two years of study, the tritipyrum genotypes exhibited their drought tolerance by accumulation of more LSC and GB as well as lower decrease in SW while the triticale ones responded by maintaining higher levels of RWC but producing less MDA and H₂O₂. It may, therefore, be concluded that the three species studied exploit different mechanisms to maintain tolerance against drought stress. Finally, correlation analysis indicated the positive effects of LSC on SY under both drought and normal conditions, which is obviously a promising trait in wheat, triticale, and tritipyrum that can be beneficially exploited in drought tolerance improvement programs.     

An epidemiological survey on bovine and ovine babesiosis in Kurdistan Province, western Iran

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the Babesia infection in domestic animals in Kurdistan Province of Iran for the first time. In this survey, 9,111 domestic livestock, including cattle and sheep, were randomly sampled and examined from 500 flocks in Kurdistan Province from July 2007 to September 2009. Thin peripheral blood smears were taken and then stained by Giemsa staining method. From a total of 9,111 collected samples, 2,642 were sheep and 6,469 were cattle. Babesia spp. is detected in 1,359 (51.4%) out of sheep samples and 136 (2.1%) out of cattle samples by direct examination of blood smear. Altogether, the prevalence rate of Babesia infection was 16.4% (n = 1,495) in both animal groups. Babesia ovis and Babesia bigemina were the most prevalent species found in sheep and cattle, respectively. The relatively high prevalence of Babesia infection in livestock indicates the epizootic stability status of babesiosis in the western part of Iran.     

Preclinical toxicity and safety evaluation of Althaea officinalis L. extract as naturopathic medicine in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.): Hematological and biochemical study

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of marshmallow extract (Althaea officinalis L.) administration on blood cells and biochemical parameters of carp liver. A total of 150 carps (Cyprinus carpio, initial body mass of 37.7 ± 4.4 g) were fed diets containing 0.0 (control diet), 2.5, 5, and 10 g marshmallow extract for 60 days. On days 30 and 60 of the experiment blood samples were collected and hematological parameters and liver enzyme activities—aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP)—were measured. No significant difference was found (p > .05) in red blood cells (RBC); hemoglobin concentration (Hb); hematocrit (Htc); mean corpuscular volume (MCV); mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCH); or the percentage of neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils in fish fed with different concentrations of marshmallow extract on days 30 and 60. However, the white blood cell (WBC) count was increased significantly in the fish fed for 60 days with feed supplemented with 5 g marshmallow extract (p < .05). The MCHC was increased signi?cantly in ?sh fed with diets supplemented with 2.5 g marshmallow extract for 60 days (p < .05). Administration of marshmallow extract (5 g) significantly increased (p < 0.05) lymphocytes on days 30 and 60. However, dietary intake of 10 g marshmallow extract had significantly decreased the monocyte percentage after 60 days. A significant increase was observed in AST, ALT, ALP, and LDH levels in livers of fish fed with extract 10 g, which may be attributed to cytotoxicity. However, marshmallow extract 2.5 and 5 g did not have adverse effects on liver enzymes. These results indicate that preclinical dietary supplementations of 2.5 and 5 g marshmallow extract per kg diet have no side effects on common carp.